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Eli Morgan was one of the first moves the Chicago Cubs made last offseason in an effort to stabilize their bullpen, and it was his struggles during the early weeks of the season that signaled that Jed Hoyer may have misevaluated the construction of the unit. Through his first 7 appearances, Morgan was carrying an ERA of 12.27, and hitters had no trouble squaring him up.
When the Cubs placed Morgan on IL halfway through April, it felt like a phantom injury-type move. It clearly wasn't working for Morgan at the Major League level, and it felt like the IL trip was done just to get him reset. Nearing the end of August, it turns out there was more to the injury.
Morgan seemingly opened the season trying to pitch through an elbow injury, and that injury has kept him on the shelf until this week. Morgan began a minor-league rehab assignment with the South Bend Cubs earlier this week. His first outing was on Wednesday, and he pitched a scoreless inning. Considering the time he has missed, it feels like Morgan will likely need several outings before the Cubs determine whether or not to bring him back to the Major League level.
Forgotten Cubs pickup takes first step back after injury-plagued season
Morgan does have minor-league options remaining, so it's possible that the Cubs simply option him to Triple-A once he is activated from the IL. If healthy, though, Morgan flashed signs last season of being a pitcher who can help during a postseason push. Morgan had an ERA of 1.93 in 32 appearances with the Cleveland Guardians last season. If the Cubs wanted to give up on the Ryan Brasier experiment, in theory, Morgan could be an option to replace him once healthy.
Of course, we can't bring up Morgan without talking about Alfonsin Rosario, the prospect the Cubs gave up in the trade with the Guardians. Rosario has had a breakout season in the Guardians' system, hitting 18 home runs with a 131 wRC+. It feels like the Cubs moved too soon when trading Rosario, and it remains unclear what value Morgan will have moving forward.