PITTSBURGH — Brandon Morrow became one of the breakout performers during last year’s playoffs, pitching in 14 out of 15 postseason games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, all the way into November and a World Series Game 7 loss.
The same guy who waited for his phone to ring in January, settled for a minor-league deal and started the 2017 season with Triple-A Oklahoma City used that exposure to land a closer’s job with the Cubs and a two-year, $21 million contract.
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With Morrow, it’s always been a matter of staying healthy and finding the right situation, because he had the raw talent to get drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft, ahead of Andrew Miller, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Max Scherzer.
That upside made Saturday afternoon’s bullpen session at PNC Park so intriguing. The previous two nights, the Cubs had executed playoff-style baseball, piecing together back-to-back 1-0 wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates without their best ninth-inning reliever.
Morrow, who has been on the disabled list since July 18 with right biceps inflammation, revealed he’s been recovering from a “bone bruise,” sounding both encouraged by his progress and resigned to the idea that he’ll have to manage and tolerate it until the season ends.
“Stuff’s sticking around that I think I’m just going to have to learn to live with the rest of the year,” Morrow said. “If it holds up and stays the same, it should be good.”
Morrow (1.47 ERA, 22-for-24 in save chances) went to Cal-Berkeley — and has survived so many injuries throughout his career — so he knows how to talk to the media and explain the medical side of the game.
“It’s a weird feeling,” Morrow said. “It’s just kind of like some underlying achiness that doesn’t necessarily get sharp when I throw. It’s just kind of there.
“It’s not knowing if it’s going to hold up in the long run. I can pitch with it now. It’s manageable, so if it doesn’t go too far in the wrong direction, it should be OK. I’m not losing strength with the achy soreness, so that’s why I’m optimistic about it.
“Usually, you have a sore shoulder, you get a sore elbow, you lose strength with it. But everything still feels like it’s coming out really well and it’s not getting any worse.”
To fully ramp up again, Morrow estimated he would need two or three more bullpen sessions, a simulated game and a rehab assignment, assuming the minor-league affiliates are still playing at that point. Being realistic, Morrow doesn’t expect to be activated until the roster expands in September. Even that would require more maintenance, building up to back-to-back appearances while conserving his pitches for the biggest moments of the year.
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“It’s a bone bruise, so it just takes longer than a muscle strain,” Morrow said. “It’s stress reactions in the bone, and I’m just not familiar with how that’s going to feel long-term. If it’s something that the muscles are all healed around it — and if it’s just that achiness from the bone bruise that’s still in there — then that shouldn’t get worse.
“I should still be able to throw with full strength — with just some achiness in there — which I can handle.”
Can you get back to the point where you’re the same pitcher who dominated the Cubs during last year’s NLCS?
“I hope so,” Morrow said. “Hopefully, we’re still with a little comfortable lead and we’re able to pick our spots and line it up how we want and get things to full health. That’s obviously the long-term goal: to be 100 percent for the playoffs and be able to burn it out again then.”
Manager Joe Maddon’s answer to that question: “I want to believe that. We don’t know that.”
Maddon doesn’t want to play too many what-if games or set unrealistic expectations for Morrow and injured third baseman Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation).
“[Morrow] still has a little bit of that discomfort in there,” Maddon said. “I know he’s feeling better. Not unlike KB. They’re kind of like the same guy right now. When they do come back, they may have to play with being less than 100 percent. If they can. So just listen to them.”
Theo Epstein’s front office built up depth in the bullpen and at Triple-A Iowa and made deals for pitching before the July 31 trade deadline. Maddon has demonstrated a good feel for mixing and matching relievers, dividing up the work and showing confidence in the group. After being one of the most reliable relievers in the NL for years, Pedro Strop (4-1, 2.57 ERA, 10 saves) has shown that his fearless attitude and sense of swagger translate in the ninth inning.
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“I hope there’s still a setup job available when I come back,” Morrow said. “Stropy’s been unbelievable. [Steve] Cishek has a lot of experience at the end of games and we got a lot of veteran guys, so it’s not going to throw off what we’re doing out there. Guys have already stepped up and filled the void. It’s a non-issue at this point. These guys are great.”
(Top photo: Jon Durr/Getty Images)
