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Cubs sign Brandon Morrow to help bullpen, as his comeback story reaches new heights

Brandon Morrow jumps from one NL powerhouse to another, signing a two-year deal with the Cubs. (AP)
Brandon Morrow jumps from one NL powerhouse to another, signing a two-year deal with the Cubs. (AP)

On the eve of Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings, the Chicago Cubs went and locked up one of the most sought-after relievers on the free-agent market.

Brandon Morrow, who revived his career after an impeccable 2017 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be jumping over to the team the Dodgers beat in the NLCS — the Chicago Cubs. That’s from Yahoo Sports’ own Jeff Passan, who reported the Cubs and Morrow have a two-year deal in place. Morrow ranked as the No. 5 reliever on Passan’s free-agent rankings and No. 24 overall.

We don’t know the money on the deal officially, but Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports had previously said the Cubs and Morrow were working on a deal in the $10-$11 million per year range. It’s a big raise either way, as Morrow signed a minor-league contract last year with the Dodgers and got $1.25 million upon making the big-league club.

Not only did Morrow make the team, he was was a huge part of the Dodgers’ success. Morrow was one of the most effective setup men in the NL last season, and one of the better stories in baseball. He appeared in 45 games for the Dodgers and allowed only 10 runs. His 2.06 ERA was great and the 33-year-old was able to make himself a major-league commodity again after three years of injury struggles. From 2013-16, he appeared in 46 games total.

Workload might be something to worry about, as Morrow threw way more last season than he had in the past. Plus, the Dodgers rode Morrow hard in the postseason. He was Dave Roberts’ go-to guy in high-leverage spots, throwing 13.2 innings in October compared to his 43.2 innings in the regular season. Morrow was wiped by the end of the postseason, even blowing a Game 5 lead for the Dodgers in the World Series.

The Cubs are betting that they’ll get the regular-season version of Morrow, and they’ll need him as they try to restock their bullpen for 2018. Morrow had been one of their targets this offseason, and they figured it better to lock him up before the Winter Meetings get going. He could end up being the Cubs’ closer if they don’t solidify that spot.

Chicago reportedly also wants ex-Rays starter Alex Cobb for the gap in their rotation, so we’ll see how that plays out as baseball’s Hot Stove gets burning this week.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!