Morejon Makes Sense as Cubs May Jump Market with Multiple Pre-Lockout Deals
We’ve all been saying it for years now, and Michael Canter noted this recently as well, but the Cubs have to be aggressive this winter. But this isn’t a typical winter, as there figures to be about a month of free agency before a lockout shuts the league down until a new collective bargaining agreement is ratified. This is very much like in 2021, when a flurry of deals were signed just ahead of the CBA’s expiration on December 1.
One of those was between the Cubs and Marcus Stroman, a surprise move that no one had really even begun to report on before the ink was dry on the contract. That whopper of a story was then followed by blog posts about Stroman’s athleticism and offseason work, which is what happens when there’s nothing of deeper substance to cover. The biggest difference between 2021 and now is that the Cubs have a lot more holes to fill and, presumably, a lot more money with which to fill them.
Jed Hoyer admitted during his end-of-season press conference that pitching is his top priority heading into 2027, and that he expected sprints before and after the dead period. The uncertain financial parameters of next season and beyond mean that any early deals will probably be more like a brisk jog, which means you can probably forget about Tarik Skubal, but the Cubs can and should still get a lot done.
“There are certainly going to be contracts that are going to make sense regardless of the structure,” Hoyer said. “Knowing what is going to be after, I think you’re making a lot of assumptions, but certainly there are deals, contracts, players that you would retain regardless of what that structure was.”
I could see guys like Matthew Boyd, Clay Holmes, and Kevin Gausman falling under this description; contracts that won’t be very long or carry burdensome AAVs. They’re sort of like safety nets because they’re known commodities who provide a foundation that allows Hoyer to build more when things open up again. Ah, but simply retaining a mid-rotation veteran starter or three isn’t going to accomplish Hoyer’s goals of getting the pitching staff to the level of the position-player group.
To that end, the Cubs could make a Stroman-esque splash for one of the top arms other than Skubal. Freddy Peralta and Michael King headline that list, and it’s possible one or both could look to take advantage of market conditions much like Stroman did. If they’re looking to draft behind Skubal, though, the Cubs will be SOL. Peralta is a year younger and has a better track record, plus he’s got history with Craig Counsell from their time in Milwaukee, so it would not surprise me to see Hoyer try to get a deal done quickly.
If they opt to make a splash for a reliever, there are a few big-ticket options there as well. The one who stands out above the rest for me is lefty Adrian Morejon, who used his lights-out stuff in a multi-inning setup role for the Padres this past season. He has pitched almost 160 innings over 151 appearances in the last two years for San Diego, striking out 177 with only 45 walks, and his fastball sat just over 99 mph last year.
Morejon is actually a sinker specialist who generated grounders at a 58% clip last season, and his avoidance of the home run ball makes him a great fit for the Cubs. Though Hoyer has shown a great reluctance to pony up for relievers, Morejon checks all the necessary boxes — big velo, bat-missing stuff, keeps the ball on the ground — for breaking with tradition. Unless, of course, the Cubs don’t view Morejon as a reliever.
The southpaw came up through San Diego’s system as a starter and remained so until the organization decided in 2023 to make him a full-time reliever. While there’s certainly risk in going away from what has worked so well, Holmes is an example of paying an elite reliever to convert back to a starting role. Both Holmes and Morejon are sinkerballers who excelled in high-leverage roles following iffy early results as starters, so the blueprint is certainly there.
A swing like that would also make more sense in terms of Hoyer’s MO than just paying through the nose for a reliever. Because Morejon could always move back to the bullpen should he struggle in the rotation, giving him a little less risk than a typical relief pitcher. There’s also the notion that Ben Brown might have to move back to the ‘pen if that’s the best way to mitigate his persistent neck issues.
Given how many holes they’ve got to fill and how much money they’ve got coming off the books, coming out of the gate hot by signing two big pitchers wouldn’t even be all that aggressive. It might seem borderline reckless based on Hoyer’s history, but it’d barely put a dent in his full offseason wishlist. As such, I think it’s entirely possible we’ll see the Cubs do even more deals in November.
Most will be relatively ho-hum, as is always the case, but I think a one-two punch of Peralta and Morejon could provide exactly the kind of pitching upgrade the Cubs need.
