While the market of free-agent starting pitchers leaves some to be desired after Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish, there is not a shortage of notable relievers who are available. That group is headlined by closers Wade Davis and Greg Holland.
Not far behind them is Brandon Morrow, who is looking to cash in on a stellar season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing a Minor League deal last January, the 33-year-old is projected to ink one of the more lucrative contracts this winter.
It’s believed the Dodgers and Morrow have mutual interest in agreeing to terms, while the New York Mets are among the clubs to checked in with the hard-throwing righty.
With the General Managers meetings now underway, the San Francisco Giants have also reached out to Morrow, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle:
I was told the Giants have checked in on free-agent reliever Brandon Morrow, who’s coming off a spectacular season as a Dodgers setup man.
While the Giants signed Mark Melancon last offseason, the bullpen struggled to get their closer the ball. Moreover, Melancon himself failed to meet expectations, suffered from injury and eventually underwent surgery in September.
The Giants bullpen ranked 19th with a 4.34 ERA, 27th with a 1.43 WHIP, and 21st by allowing a .741 opponents’ on-base plus slugging percentage.
In 45 regular-season appearances, Morrow yielded a minuscule 2.06 ERA, 1.55 FIP and 0.92 WHIP in 43.2 innings, complete 50 strikeouts against nine walks. He was strong in the postseason, save for stumbling in Game 5 of the World Series.
Morrow became the second pitcher in MLB history to appear in all seven World Series games. He finished with a 3.95 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 14 playoff games.
