Guardians' Cody Morris: Role undetermined upon return
Rotowire
Guardians manager Terry Francona said over the weekend that Morris (lat) will be built up to three innings during his rehab assignment before the organization decides whether he'll serve as a starter or reliever upon returning from the 60-day injured list, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Morris, who is working back from a right lat strain, covered 1.2 scoreless innings in his second rehab outing with Double-A Akron on Sunday, so he'll presumably make at least one more appearance in the minors before the Guardians solidify their plan for him moving forward. Though the 26-year-old right-hander has been working as a starter up to this point in his development, the Guardians are already flush with rotation depth and will get Aaron Civale (oblique) and Triston McKenzie (shoulder) back from the IL within the next week or two. With that in mind, the bullpen likely represents the clearer path for Morris to pitch with the big club at this time, though it's possible the Guardians choose to option him to Triple-A Columbus at the conclusion of his rehab assignment to have him continue to make regular starts and stay ready in case injuries hit the big-league rotation down the road.
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Guardians' Cody Morris: Ready for rehab assignment
Rotowire
Morris (lat) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday with Double-A Akron, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Morris, who has been on the shelf since early in the spring with a right teres major muscle strain, looks ready to advance to the final phase of his throwing program after he spent the last several weeks building up at extended spring training in Arizona. Expect the right-hander to handle a limited pitch count Wednesday and gradually increase his workload over multiple outings in the high minors before the Guardians bring him back from the 60-day injured list. Because rookies Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee have delivered quality results since entering the big-league rotation and with both Triston McKenzie (shoulder) and Aaron Civale (oblique) being further along in their respective rehab programs, Morris likely won't have a spot in the rotation waiting for him once activated. The Guardians could still view Morris as a useful multi-inning option out of the bullpen if they don't want to have him make regular starts at Triple-A Columbus once his rehab assignment ends.
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Guardians' Cody Morris: Begins mound work
Rotowire
Guardians manager Terry Francona said April 4 that Morris (shoulder) has resumed throwing off a mound, MLB.com reports.
While it's encouraging that Morris is making his way through a throwing progression again after he was shut down for most of spring training with a right teres major strain, the Guardians are expected to bring him along slowly after shoulder trouble previously cost him large chunks of the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. Despite Morris' health concerns, he's still expected to be built up as a starter, so he could be a name to keep an eye on once he reaches the point in his recovery program that he's making minor-league rehab starts and is eligible to return from the 60-day injured list in late May. The Guardians' current back-end rotation options are Zach Plesac and Hunter Gaddis, and when healthy, Morris could be viewed as an upgrade if he fares well during his rehab outings.
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Guardians' Cody Morris: Placed on 60-day IL
Rotowire
The Guardians placed Morris on the 60-day injured list with a right teres major strain.
The move rules Morris out though at least late May. He's been sidelined since February and doesn't seem to have started a throwing program yet.
Guardians' Cody Morris: Dealing with lat discomfort
Rotowire
Morris will be brought along slowly this spring due to lat discomfort, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Moving slowly is certainly preferable to being shut down, but it's not an ideal start to camp for the 26-year-old righty. After posting a 2.28 ERA (albeit with a much less promising 4.33 FIP) in seven outings as a rookie last season, Morris appeared to have the chance to at least contend for a rotation spot in camp. The odds of that happening could quickly evaporate if the lat issue is significant enough to prevent him from getting stretched out before Opening Day, but he'll still have a good chance of pushing for starts down the road as long as the injury isn't too serious.
The Guardians are including Morris on their ALDS roster versus the Yankees, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Morris will presumably be used for long relief and/or mop-up duties in the ALDS after being left off the wild card roster. The righty had a 2.28 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 23:12 K:BB in 23.2 innings this season.
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Guardians' Cody Morris: Not on wild-card roster
Rotowire
Morris wasn't included on the Guardians' roster for the AL Wild Card Series against the Rays, which begins Friday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
The 25-year-old was one of the odd men out with the roster shrinking from 28 to 26 players for the postseason. Morris made seven appearances (five starts) in his first taste of the majors this year and pitched well with a 2.28 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 23:12 K:BB over 23.2 innings, so he should be in the mix for a roster spot if Cleveland advances to the next round.
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Guardians' Cody Morris: Moves to bullpen
Rotowire
Manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that Morris will move into a relief role, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
With Zach Plesac (hand) due to return from the 15-day injured list Friday, Morris will lose his spot in the Cleveland rotation. Over his first five big-league starts, Morris turned in a 2.18 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 20:11 K:BB across 20.2 innings.
Morris (1-2) picked up the first win of his young major-league career Friday against the Rangers, giving up two runs (one earned) in five innings while striking out five and allowing two walks and four hits.
The Rangers scored twice in the bottom of the second inning on a Kevin Plawecki single and a Myles Straw throwing error. Three batters reached base in that inning, but Morris didn't allow more than a single baserunner in any of his other four frames. The Guardians were losing when he completed the bottom of the fifth but scored six runs in the top of the next frame while Morris was still the pitcher of record. The outing brought Morris' ERA down to 2.18 through his first five starts. He tentatively lines up to face the Rays and Royals (both at home) to end the regular season.
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Guardians' Cody Morris: Strong outing in loss
Rotowire
Morris (0-2) took the loss Sunday against Minnesota, allowing a run on six hits and a walk while striking out six in six innings.
Morris had the best and longest outing of his big-league career Sunday, allowing just a solo homer and retiring 11 in a row at one point. The 25-year-old had not tossed more than four innings in any of his three previous starts. Control issues had been a cause for concern in his first three appearances, as he walked eight batters in 9.2 innings, but he walked only one batter and threw 63 of his 81 pitches for strikes against Minnesota. His next start will likely be next weekend in Texas.
