Morrow wants to start

[youngLion]

Link

He isn't really sure how he's viewed by the year-old regime of new GM Jack Zduriencik but says he thought he'd shown something in September as is "moving forward'' as a starting pitcher.

He thanked the M's for drafting him in the first round and giving him a rare chance to break into the big leagues right away as a reliever in 2007. But that decision, by former GM Bill Bavasi and his counterparts, was a double-edged sword for Morrow,.

"I was never really allowed to develop as a starter the way I and a lot of other people thought I should be allowed to,'' Morrow said. "Hopefully, this new chance means I get to develop as a starter more. Changing roles has just been detrimental to me.''

And now, it's Morrow's turn to go -- to what he hopes will be a place where he can blossom as a starter full-time.

"It looks like that's what they want,'' he said of the Jays.

I'm not so sure he's right. This team has a lot of options for the starting rotatoin.

[OldNo7]

We have a lot of options, sure. But we also have a lot of injuries and a lot of young guys who could take a step back from last year. There is no guarantee for Zep, Cecil, Mills, etc to keep their rotation spots if they dont produce. Tallet and Richmond could/should be used as long men out of the bullpen. Litsch and McGowan arent locks to be back or viable options to start this year. And we arent really sure what to expect out of Marcum or Romero this year. So we have a lot of names to throw around, but no one is really locked into a position to start the year except Marcum and RR.

[The Flying Gent]

He must be a starter. He's so much more valuable as one.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Link

I'm not so sure he's right. This team has a lot of options for the starting rotatoin.

But no clear cut #1 starter. If Morrow was to be a closer with the Jays, the trade doesn't really make sense in terms of what we gave up.

[LieCheatSteal]

Let him start. In Seattle, there was always so much pressure on him to succeed (Lincecum vs Morrow thing). In Toronto, he gets a clean slate so he should just let it fly. Again, it's not like the Jays have a shot next year anyways. Keep Drabek, Stewart and Jenkins down on the farm and let Morrow chuck away. Best case scenario, if Morrow gets his footing, a rotation of Drabek, Stewart, Jenkins, Morrow and Romero in a couple of years is pretty good. Worse case, it's another League with 2 more years of contract control.

[kelso]

Let him start. In Seattle, there was always so much pressure on him to succeed (Lincecum vs Morrow thing). In Toronto, he gets a clean slate so he should just let it fly. Again, it's not like the Jays have a shot next year anyways. Keep Drabek, Stewart and Jenkins down on the farm and let Morrow chuck away. Best case scenario, if Morrow gets his footing, a rotation of Drabek, Stewart, Jenkins, Morrow and Romero in a couple of years is pretty good. Worse case, it's another League with 2 more years of contract control.

I think Marcum will be there somewhere, and possibly McGowan if he ever recovers.

[ansoncarter]

so worst case scenario is Morrow becomes a reliever like...brandon league

seems like there's really no downside to this trade. At all. Worst case is we get a player who's just as good as the guy we traded

[Hoopstarr]

so worst case scenario is Morrow becomes a reliever like...brandon league

seems like there's really no downside to this trade. At all. Worst case is we get a player who's just as good as the guy we traded

Actually, the worst case is that Yoho Chavez becomes a star and further proves why no one should mess with Jack-Z. Unless that happens and/or Morrow falls flat on his face, it's a win win for the Jays.

[SCF99]

Chavez becoming a star makes me nervous, is it possible that the Jays have to many young good arms?
It seems to me we have alot of high end prospects on the pitching end of the farm but the lack of up and coming position players is starting to concern me. Morrow is just another arm in the list of arms that even if 50% of them become major leagers that there won't be enough room for them on the jays roster, but other than Snyder and maybe now Wallace we don't have to many sure things coming up

[Relentless88]

I really doubt Chavez becomes a star, it'll probably be surprising if he makes the majors even.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Chavez becoming a star makes me nervous, is it possible that the Jays have to many young good arms?
It seems to me we have alot of high end prospects on the pitching end of the farm but the lack of up and coming position players is starting to concern me. Morrow is just another arm in the list of arms that even if 50% of them become major leagers that there won't be enough room for them on the jays roster, but other than Snyder and maybe now Wallace we don't have to many sure things coming up

Chavez wasn't exactly a sure thing. Sure he hit 21 HR's in A ball, but to think he's a lock to be a future stud is a little bit of an overstatement (not saying you're saying that).

This is a trade the Jays can't refuse. A former 1st round, 5th overall pick, former top 100 prospect, with good stuff, just needs to be able to control his pitches a little more.

Not to mention, pitching seems to be able to fetch you a lot more in trades then positional players.

[youngLion]

The other day on PTS Keith Law suggested that Morrow should be sent down to the minors to work on his control and develop a dependable off speed pitch. I'm not saying that'll necessarily happen, but it is indicative of the fact that he does have a long way to go before he can be relied upon as a full time starter.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

He was always groomed as a reliever while with the M's, until last year, where he got the chance to start. There's no doubt he should be put in the minors to work on his control. There's no need to rush him.