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Morgan

Morgan pitched three scoreless innings for a bullpen-saving save in his Royals debut on Saturday. He’ll return to give the pen a fresh arm through the weekend.

Morgan was the Royals’ 27th man in the doubleheader, so he’ll be going right back to Triple-A. Given his showing tonight, though, he might not stay there long. Morgan struck out five and allowed just one hit.

The Royals will keep Morgan after signing him to a minor league deal at the end of January, but it won’t be as a major leaguer initially. The former Guardians reliever allowed just one run and struck out 12 in 10 1/3 innings this spring.

Another veteran reliever for a team that just signed Héctor Neris. Morgan, 29, missed most of last season with elbow troubles, though not before he gave up 10 runs in 7 1/3 innings for the Cubs in April. He was much more successful in Cleveland the previous three seasons, posting a 3.27 ERA and a 181/48 K/BB in 176 innings.

After being acquired from the Guardians at the tender deadline last winter, Morgan went on to miss most of 2025 with elbow problems, and he gave up 10 runs in 7 1/3 innings during his brief time in the majors. In moving on from Morgan and Andrew Kittredge, the Cubs don’t have a single true reliever due to make over $1 million next season (Javier Assad, who might wind up in the pen if he fails to win a rotation spot, will probably make about $2 million).

The 29-year-old hurler has been shelved since mid-April due to a right elbow impingement. Before landing on the injured list he had posted a troublesome 12.27 ERA, 2.05 WHIP and a 4/3 K/BB ratio over 7 1/3 innings in his seven appearances. He’ll stay sharp at the Triple-A level in case he’s called upon over the final week of the regular season.

The procedural move frees up a spot on Chicago’s 40-man roster for top prospect Cade Horton. Morgan hit the injured list back in mid-April with a right elbow impingement.

Morgan heads to the injured list after leaving Monday’s relief appearance against the Padres with a trainer. It’s a substantial hit to Chicago’s relief depth since the 28-year-old righty was expected to be one of their main high-leverage options bridging the gap to closer Ryan Pressly.

Wicks, 25, will not open the season in the rotation but instead get work in Triple-A with Iowa. Morgan also was sent down to the PCL, and he could be an up-and-down option for the Cubs whenever the team needs an extra reliever.

Morgan had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $1 million via arbitration, so both sides should be pleased with how it ultimately turned out. The 28-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Guardians in late November after registering a 1.93 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and a 34/11 K/BB ratio across 42 innings. He’ll work in high-leverage situations for the Cubs and could ultimately challenge for save chances at some point during the 2025 season.