Cubs insider pours cold water on Adrian Morejon hopes for surprising reason

There's been a sense that the Chicago Cubs could look for a lofty addition to their bullpen this offseason. Adrian Morejon has been a popular name speculated to be a fit for the Cubs, and it's not wrong. A left-handed high-leverage arm with a fastball reaching triple digits, and an ability to miss bats frequently, it's what the Cubs have lacked in the bullpen for several years.

Two things might be standing in the way of that. The first being that Morejon is arguably the best relief pitcher available this offseason, and that puts him in line for a lucrative multi-year deal. The second being that the Cubs, under Jed Hoyer, have shied away from the big-money deal for relief pitchers.

For that reason, the expectation from The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney that the Cubs won't be involved in the bidding for Morejon this offseason.

Cubs may be passing on Adrian Morejon because of a familiar belief

While the Cubs did previously pursue Tanner Scott on a lucrative multi-year deal, they were successful in jumping the market for Phil Maton last offseason. The deal was much smaller in scale than their offer for Scott, nonetheless, it may have proved Jed Hoyer's overall philosophy. There's extreme volatility in signing free-agent relievers, and that is why the Cubs prefer to have multiple bites at the apple, instead of one giant bite.

The other reality is that the Cubs' bullpen, for the most part, is already in place. Daniel Palencia, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Jacob Webb are all returning, and the Cubs will also still have Ryan Rolison, Shelby Miller, and Javier Assad. The bullpen doesn't need to be reconstructed in the way that it was last offseason. The Cubs also need multiple starting pitchers. Add that together and it gives you a teams that's unlikely to spend on Morejon.

Given how pitching is now viewed, it's been suggested that teams could be interested in Morejon as a starting pitcher. If that's the case, then the Cubs likely would have some level of interest. It's worth mentioning that Morejon was largely used a starting pitcher during his ascension through the San Diego Padres' system, and in his early years, made a handful of starts. Still, there's been no indication that he's considering such a role change.

With that in mind, for now, it feels like the idea of Morejon joining the Cubs' bullpen needs to be tabled. Perhaps circumstances change, but the Cubs have other areas of their roster that need to take priority first.

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