Coming off a 2016 season in which he posted a 0.0 WAR, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to take a flier on Brandon Morrow as a potential bridge to Kenley Jansen. Morrow hadn’t posted a WAR higher than 0.5 since 2012, and had seen his career marred by injuries.
Things weren’t looking great at the get-go. Morrow posted a 6.55 ERA in 13 Spring Training games and was sent to the Minors to start the season. He struggled in Triple-A Oklahoma City as well, surrendering a 7.20 ERA in 20 games.
But he got the call in May when Alex Wood went down with injury. Morrow worked five scoreless outings before being sent back to the Minors. He returned 11 days later, and was back with the Dodgers for good.
Morrow was a revelation in the bullpen, to say the least. His 43.2 IP was his highest mark in the Majors since 2013.
He posted a 2.06 ERA, struck out 29.4 percent of batters faced and finished 24th in reliever WAR despite pitching in the Minors for the first two months of the regular season.
In the postseason, Morrow was dominant save for a couple outings. The only postseason game he didn’t pitch in was Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
His implosion in Game 5 of the World Series was undoubtedly caused by fatigue. Morrow provided the Dodgers with a reliable bridge to Jansen that they didn’t have in recent years.
2017 highlight
Following the devastating Game 5 loss in the World Series, the Dodgers were desperate to force the series to go seven. In Game 6, Rich Hill made the start and allowed a solo home run to George Springer in the third, giving Houston an early 1-0 lead.
He got into trouble in the fifth, allowing a single and a double to start the inning. After getting Josh Reddick and Justin Verlander to strikeout, Springer was intentionally walked and Morrow came in to quell the bases loaded threat.
He got Alex Bregman to ground out to end the inning, keeping the Dodgers in a game they’d eventually win.
2018 outlook
Morrow will definitely have a key bullpen role in 2018, though it was unclear if it was going to be in the form of a second season with the Dodgers. Morrow’s dominant 2017 campaign may have priced him out of their plans, as he reportedly agreed to a contract with the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
