Leading up to the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas Theo Epstein addressed the media and dropped some bad news. Brandon Morrow, who was the team's closer in 2018, had surgery back in November and at this point isn't expected to be ready for Opening Day next season.
Even if Morrow didn't have the surgery to clean up his right elbow the Cubs needed to improve the bullpen that currently doesn't convey much confidence. So yeah, the Cubs are looking at the free agent market and they've known about Morrow's status since Nov. 6, so that news won't put them in a panic.
The latest report has the Cubs showing interest in 34-year-old righty Joakim Soria.
Soria began 2018, as the White Sox closer and was pretty good, recording 16 saves and a 2.56 ERA in 40 games. The White Sox traded him to the Brewers and Soria transitioned into a middle relief role in Milwaukee. The right-hander didn't pitch nearly as well with the Brewers, posting a 4.09 ERA in 22 innings, but he pitched in several high-leverage spots and has plenty of closing experience that the Cubs now need. Soria started his career with the Royals in 2007, and quickly became one of the best closers in the game. From 2008-10, Soria saved 115 games for Kansas City. Since his first stint as a Royal, Soria has bounced around the league, pitching for the Rangers, Tigers, Pirates and the Royals again for two years before signing with the White Sox prior to the 2018 season. With the White Sox and Brewers, Soria had a combined 3.12 ERA, 11.13 K/9 and 2.37 BB/9 in 60.2 innings. He has a career 2.88 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, with 220 saves. The Cubs have also reportedly been in contact with Andrew Miller and Zach Britton this offseason. Oh, and while you're here, check out the latest episode of the Pinwheels and Ivy Podcast. We had Kevin Fiddler from Sin City Sports Mockery.
He used to be one of Kris Bryant's baseball coaches back in high school. Kevin shared the latest he's been hearing about Bryce Harper from some people in the know in Vegas and also talked about how close Harper and Bryant really are. Kevin will join the show again next week to share the latest news from the Winter Meetings. SUBSCRIBE! SUBSCRIBE! SUBSCRIBE!
