You may not have even been aware of this, since everyone has been analyzing the addition for days, but the Cubs deal with free agent reliever Brandon Morrow wasn’t actually officially official before just now. The signing was pending a physical (not an insignificant thing for a guy like Morrow, with his injury history).
Fortunately … everything must’ve been great (or good enough!):
#Cubs and RHP Brandon Morrow have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with a club/vesting option for the 2020 season. pic.twitter.com/vlpL00TRHo
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 13, 2017
Morrow, 33, had a breakout season with the Dodgers in 2017 and figures to compete/be a front-runner for the Cubs closing job in 2018. You can read more about him and his deal here, here, and here (free agent profile).
According to Ken Rosenthal, his deal is for two years and $21M, with a $3M buyout or $12M vesting option for 2020. The Cubs’ announcement indicates that the 2020 option is “club/vesting,” so I assume it either vests as a player option, or the Cubs get to still make their own decision on it as a club option. That’s nice.
Now, we just have to pretend we never saw this (I kid, I kid):
Brandon Morrow’s first choice was to go back to the dodgers. But LA is hampered by tax and debt service issues, so this may be a quieter winter for them. The cubs are a nice fallback option in any case.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 12, 2017
After the Morrow signing and the Drew Smyly signing, the Cubs’ 40-man roster stands at 37.