{"id":810866,"date":"2017-07-25T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T16:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/piratesbreakdown.com\/?p=16233"},"modified":"2017-07-25T12:00:54","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T16:00:54","slug":"potential-pittsburgh-pirates-trade-target-profile-brandon-morrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/potential-pittsburgh-pirates-trade-target-profile-brandon-morrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Target Profile: Brandon Morrow"},"content":{"rendered":"
Less than a week remains until the annual MLB trade deadline and it’s bound to be an interesting one with teams selling on pieces while others buy in for a chance to make a playoff push. Much to everyone’s surprise, the Pittsburgh Pirates fit in as buyers heading in to the deadline, and could be bound to make some much needed improvements in areas including the bullpen.<\/p>\n
While Pirates relievers have been relatively stellar as of late, there is still room for improvement. Some of the top relievers available include Miami Marlins righty AJ Ramos<\/a> and Philadelphia Phillies reliever Pat Neshek<\/a>, both of whom we have highlighted in our trade target profiles. (The profile on Ramos, written by Ethan Obstarczyk, can\u00a0be found here<\/a>, while Jason Rollison’s profile on Neshek can be seen right here<\/a>).<\/p>\n While those two pitchers, along with San Diego Padres reliever Brad Hand<\/a>, are arguably the best bullpen arms available, they will likely come at a higher cost. For my two trade target profiles, I decided to look at a pair of more affordable options, ones that the Pirates wouldn’t have to give up much in exchange for. I highlighted Marlins reliever Dustin McGowan<\/a> in my first profile<\/a>, and now I will take a look at Los Angeles Dodgers veteran righty Brandon Morrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 32-year old Morrow has spent his 11 year MLB career with four different teams including the Seattle Mariners, the team he was drafted by in 2006 with the fifth overall pick in the MLB first year player draft. Morrow has also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and now the Dodgers.<\/p>\n Morrow began his career as a 22 year old reliever for the Mariners in 2007, sporting a 4.12 ERA in 60 appearances. He made his first start with Seattle in 2008, which began his career as a starter. Morrow became a full time starter in 2010 and struggled in his first two years in that role. However, he found success in 21 starts in 2012, sporing a 2.96 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP along with a 10-7 record.<\/p>\n Morrow has started 113 games throughout his career and has appeared in 272, sporting a 4.11 career ERA, a 3.86 FIP and a 1.33 WHIP.<\/p>\n Throughout his career with the Blue Jays, Morrow battled a good amount of injuries including ones to his shoulder and arm. He has bounced up and down from the minors to the majors throughout the past few years with the Padres and Dodgers, but he has put up some nice numbers in the last two years when he has received the opportunity to pitch at the big league level.<\/p>\n (mobile app users – tap to enlarge)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a> It’s not a guaranteed thing that the Dodgers would want to trade away Morrow given his success and their place in the division. However, they could want to deal him in an attempt to get some value in return and replace him with another top notch reliever.<\/p>\n If they do decide to deal him, I’m not sure the Dodgers would ask for much in return. And the Pirates shouldn’t offer up much in return either. I think a mid level prospect could do the trick as Morrow is currently signed to a minor league contract with Los Angeles.<\/p>\n I don’t think a deal for Morrow would necessarily hurt the Pirates. He has proven he can pitch quality innings and could help by bringing a veteran presence in to the clubhouse.<\/p>\n Like McGowan, I feel as if Morrow could be an affordable option for the Pirates. It’s possible they could get outbid for the top relievers, but Morrow could most definitely serve as an underrated gem they can afford to acquire at a cheap price, if the Dodgers are willing to part ways with him.<\/p>\n Photo credit – Flickr Creative Commons<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A handful of teams may be willing to trade away bullpen arms at the upcoming trade deadline. While plenty of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[610258686],"tags":[582054157,140059],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProfile and performance<\/h3>\n
Career-to-date<\/h3>\n
\nTable courtesy of Baseball Reference<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThe case\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>Morrow<\/h3>\n
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The case against<\/em> Morrow<\/h3>\n
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What it might take<\/h3>\n
Conclusions<\/h3>\n