Darren Calabrese
The Seattle Mariners' bold off-season makeover isn't looking so hot right now, and the move that could end up being their biggest regret flew mostly under the radar.
The Dec. 23 trade of right-hander Brandon Morrow to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Brandon League and outfield prospect Johermyn Chavez came five days after the more talked about acquisition of Milton Bradley from the Cubs for starter Carlos Silva.
That news-making, problem-for-problem swap went down just two days after the Mariners were part of the Roy Halladay blockbuster, in which they picked up ace lefty Cliff Lee from the Philadelphia Phillies for three prospects. And a week before that they signed free agent third baseman Chone Figgins, so Morrow's departure was little more than a footnote amid the sudden visions of contention in Seattle.
It shouldn't be now.
Over Morrow's last four starts, the 25-year-old has begun to show the brilliance on the mound projected for him ever since the Mariners made him the fifth pick of the 2006 draft. He's allowed just five runs on 17 hits over 26 innings during that span, walking nine while striking out 19.
But more impressive, and more telling in terms of progress, is the way he's put up those numbers. He's thrown his off-speed pitches for strikes. He's dialled his 98 mp/h. fastball up or down as needed. He's made adjustments mid-inning when called for.
Put simply, he's been pitching.
"In a way he's developing up here right before our eyes," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
"His stuff is second-to-none, probably the best pure stuff on our staff. Everyone knows he's got a great arm and great velocity. Now he's learning to take something off, throw the slider 0-0 to get it in for a strike, set guys up, move the ball around. Those are all things that have been encouraging."
The Blue Jays deserve some of the credit for that.
Morrow bounced between the bullpen and starting rotation in Seattle and his inconsistencies that came as a result of the club's indecision over his role helped him fall out of favour there. Fairly or not, he had gained a reputation as man with no control on the mound and there were doubts he could ever succeed as a starter.
The problem was he couldn't really settle into one role for very long, stunting his development. The Blue Jays made him a starter immediately and have stuck to it.
"At times," Morrow says when asked if he was bothered by the labels. "Nobody wants to be known as a wild guy who can't throw strikes.
"I always thought with time and with that consistent role that I'd be able to pull myself out of that niche that I carved for myself as this wild pitcher who'd just run up and try to throw fastballs by everybody all the time.
"I think I can be a good strike-thrower. I'm not going to not walk anybody but I'm also going to strike a bunch of guys out. It tends to even itself out."
Morrow's most recent start, Friday against the San Francisco Giants, was an example of how far he's come. There wasn't much in his tank that night and instead of hitting the corners at 98, he was all over the place at 92-93. At one point in the first inning, he threw 10 straight balls, four of them leading to a bases-loaded walk.
Last year, maybe even last month, he would have imploded. On Friday, he made an adjustment and ended up pitching six innings of two-run ball.
"I was just trying to make something magically appear that wasn't going to be there that day (in the first inning)," said Morrow. "I had to really pull myself back a little bit and focus on hitting spots and pitching, mix it up with off-speed stuff."
That's precisely the formula he followed on May 31 versus Tampa Bay, when he allowed one run on three hits over seven brilliant innings despite not lighting up the radar gun. When he got in trouble versus the Giants, he had a point of reference to draw on.
"By knowing that I've had those games previously, I was like 'OK, this is how I'm going to pitch today,"' said Morrow. "After that first inning when I kind of realized that, I just kind of went back to what I did that day and tried to duplicate that."
Still, Morrow is by no means a finished product and there are sure to be bumps on the road ahead. He's started only 20 games in the minors and 29 more in the majors during his career, so there's plenty of room for him to grow.
At the same time, he's really beginning to settle in as a starter, and looks like a key building block for years to come with the Blue Jays.
"I think I proved myself to be a major-league pitcher (in Seattle), it was just a matter of consistency and the ability to stay here as a starter," Morrow said. "I think I'm starting to show that after some inconsistencies and maybe some question marks of 'Can I pitch deep enough into ball games?'
"I think I'm starting to put a few of those to rest and starting to show that I can become more consistent in the strike zone and more consistent with my off-speed stuff."
Every step he makes in that direction further tilts the trade in the Blue Jays' favour although the final tally won't come in for years yet, depending on whether League can eventually become a closer, and until Chavez's career path is a little more resolved. There are some with the Blue Jays who believe he can become a middle-of-the-order bat and that would change the trade's complexion a great deal.
Until that happens, acquiring a starter who throws fire with the potential to dominate each time out for a solid reliever and a prospect looks like a steal for the Blue Jays, and a cause for real regret for the Mariners.