On the Brandon Morrow front, there really hasn’t been much positivity to share going back to, oh, say, last July, when an MRI on his arm revealed “stuff in there.” Never a great sign, by the way, unless the stuff is just normal bones and ligaments and what-have-you.
Since then, there was a fitful rehab that didn’t quite pay off before the season ended, then an offseason elbow surgery, then a slow ramp-up process in the Spring that came with a setback, and now what has proved to be an even slower ramp-back-up process, which had him throwing on flat ground over a month ago … and then still throwing on flat ground … and then still throwing on flat ground. In other words, since his setback in April, Morrow had really only been able to play catch.
Until now!
No, he’s not back up on the mound yet, but Jed Hoyer says the former Cubs closer is at least now up to throwing from 135 feet. That’s a step, even if no one is going to espouse any kind of certain optimism about a return for Morrow soon or at all.
“We’ve been down this road a few times where he feels good and then he has a setback,” Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer told The Score. “I don’t want to be over-optimistic. I don’t want to be pessimistic. We just want him to be healthy. I just feel awful for him. Nobody is more disappointed or more frustrated. Hopefully, this time through, it works for him.”
So, then, the mildly positive update is that there HAS been a moving forward of the ball, so to speak. But let’s make things very plain: it’s long been the case that the reasonable expectation for 2019 is no contribution from Morrow. It sucks to be so plain about it, but that’s just how it’s gotta be for a guy his age (35 in July), with his extensive injury history, coming off a year with multiple arm issues and setbacks, and coming off a surgery. There’s a slim chance he could surprise and contribute in the second half – dream on it! – but that shouldn’t be your expectation at this point.
In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted whenever there are updates, be they mildly positive or crushingly negative.