A modest but important update on erstwhile Cubs closer Brandon Morrow: things are still good.
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy tells Jesse Rogers that Morrow is progressing as expected, and is just one more bullpen away from facing live hitters. On that basis, we could project out a minor league rehab stint beginning in about two weeks, depending on how many times he does live BP before getting into game action. That would set him up, in terms of a normal build-up timeline, for a healthy big league return around the start of May, which has always been the target.
What state the bullpen will be in by the time he returns, and what he can provide the Cubs have missing nearly a year of action (and having arthroscopic elbow surgery), well, that remains to be seen. Counting on him to return immediately as a lock-down closer is probably not wise, but the Cubs may not have a lot of options. We’ll see what happens over the next month.