The Cubs gambled on a reliever, but a disappointing season and injury crushed their hopes, leaving a prospect on the table.
Last offseason, the Chicago Cubs made a trade with the Cleveland Guardians to improve their bullpen. They traded away Single-A prospect Alfonsin Rosario for up-and-coming reliever Eli Morgan.
Morgan was coming off a dominant 2024 season in which he finished with a 1.93 ERA and 34 strikeouts across 42 innings pitched. That was really a breakthrough campaign for the right-hander after he finished with a 4.01 ERA during the 2023 campaign.
Given that current Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins had a hand in drafting Morgan to the Cleveland organization back in 2017, no one knew him better than Hawkins. So, the team believed it was getting a difference maker in the bullpen.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Morgan appeared in just seven games for the Cubs last season. He gave up 10 runs across 7 ⅓ innings pitched, which included an outing where he allowed six earned runs in a blown loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 30.
The right-hander eventually went on the injured list due to a right elbow impingement a few weeks later. Although the Cubs didn’t believe that injury was season-ending, a setback in June forced Morgan to miss most of the 2025 season.
Chicago could have brought him back for the 2026 season, but the front office decided not to tender his contract for next year. That effectively ended his Cubs tenure after just 7 ⅓ innings pitched. Morgan will now officially be a free agent.
It was definitely a disappointing trade for the Cubs to acquire Morgan last offseason. He didn’t contribute much to the bullpen in 2025, and the player the front office gave up in the deal had a fantastic year in the Minor Leagues.
Rosario hit .251 with 21 home runs, 22 doubles, 64 RBI, and 14 stolen bases across 115 games at High-A and Double-A. While it’s too soon to tell if the young prospect will be an impactful big leaguer, giving him away for a reliever who barely pitched in 2025 was a bad move.
In fact, this trade was one of the worst ones the front office has made over the last couple of years. Morgan only lasted one season with the Cubs and didn’t provide the team with anything out of the bullpen.
Hopefully, the front office doesn’t make a similar move this offseason for a relief pitcher who has struggled with consistency in his career.