Eli Morgan signs bounce-back contract with Guardians’ division rival 

For three seasons, Eli Morgan was a solid middle-leverage reliever for the Cleveland Guardians. While he doesn’t have overpowering stuff or a varied arsenal, Morgan always seemed to wiggle out of whatever jam he found himself in.

But his career hit a huge roadblock in 2025 thanks to a disaster season with the Cubs where he pitched in just seven games before suffering a season-ending arm injury that led to him being designated for assignment after the season. 

But now he’ll get a chance to rebuild his career in a place familiar to every Guardians fans, as Morgan signed a minor league deal with the Royals on Thursday that includes an invitation to major league spring training. 

Former Guardians reliever Eli Morgan inks minor league deal with Royals 

In total, Morgan posted a 12.27 ERA in 7 1/3 innings with the Cubs last year due to an elbow impingement that ended his season in April. He was due back in September and actually went on a rehab assignment, but the Cubs elected to send him down to Triple-A instead of calling him up. 

That was a far cry from where he was during his time with the Guardians, as he had an ERA of 4.01 or better in all three of his seasons in Cleveland’s bullpen. He had a 1.93 ERA in 2024 but also only managed to throw 42 innings due to elbow inflammation, which ended up being a harbinger of what was to come in 2025. 

The Guardians were still able to capitalize on his value by trading him to the Cubs for outfield prospect Alfonsin Rosario, who is becoming a budding star in the Guardians’ minor league system. 

Morgan’s best season in Cleveland’s bullpen came in 2022 when he posted a 3.38 ERA in 66 2/3 innings with 72 strikeouts. While he was never the biggest name in the Guardians’ bullpen, it didn’t take long for him to become a favorite for manager Terry Francona. 

The biggest thing working against Morgan now is his lack of velocity. He primarily relies on a fastball that sits around 92 miles per hour and a loopy changeup that looks like a cartoon when he’s hitting his spots. 

While he has a strong major league track record using that arsenal, it’s tough for him to get hitters out when he doesn’t have his command, which has been a problem that he’s run into in the past (and is the biggest reason why Cleveland converted him to a reliever). 

Even though Morgan’s not on a big league contract, he still has a good shot to make the Royals’ roster thanks to the team’s offseason reshuffling. 

The main depth options the Royals have in their bullpen are Alex Lange, Daniel Lynch and James McArthur — none of whom have extremely stong holds over their roster spots. 

Lange served as the Tigers’ closer in 2023 but has only thrown 19 2/3 innings over the past two seasons due to injury, while McArthur missed all of 2025 due to an elbow injury. 

Morgan also has one more minor league option remaining, which gives him a leg up on some of the players he’s competing against.