{"id":2375150,"date":"2026-04-15T22:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2375150"},"modified":"2026-04-15T22:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:24:23","slug":"former-underrated-guardians-reliever-becoming-key-cog-in-royals-bullpen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/former-underrated-guardians-reliever-becoming-key-cog-in-royals-bullpen\/","title":{"rendered":"Former underrated Guardians reliever becoming key cog in Royals\u2019 bullpen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div q:key=\"QW_5\"><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5g q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>While former Guardians reliever Eli Morgan didn&rsquo;t make the Kansas City Royal&rsquo;s Opening Day roster at the end of spring training, they took a huge step toward making him a permanent part of the team&rsquo;s roster picture by adding him to their 40-man roster at the end of spring training and optioning him to the minors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5h q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5i\">While former Guardians reliever Eli Morgan didn\u2019t make the Kansas City Royal\u2019s Opening Day roster at the end of spring training, they took a huge step toward making him a permanent part of the team\u2019s roster picture by adding him to their 40-man roster at the end of spring training and optioning him to the minors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5j q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>But it didn&rsquo;t take long for him to work his way into that big league picture, as the Royals added him to their MLB roster a week ago in response to the team&rsquo;s taxing doubleheader against the Guardians.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5k q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5l\">But it didn\u2019t take long for him to work his way into that big league picture, as the Royals added him to their MLB roster a week ago in response to the team\u2019s taxing doubleheader against the Guardians.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5m q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>And he&rsquo;s been able to parlay that opportunity into some success for Cleveland&rsquo;s division rival, as he entered play today with five scoreless innings and a save across his two appearances with Kansas City.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5n q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5o\">And he\u2019s been able to parlay that opportunity into some success for Cleveland\u2019s division rival, as he entered play today with five scoreless innings and a save across his two appearances with Kansas City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5p q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>It may not be the flashiest role in the world, but it seems like Morgan <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/eli-morgan-signs-bounce-back-contract-with-guardians-division-rival-01kg7parkbag\">has found a role for himself as the longman in Kansas City&rsquo;s &lsquo;pen.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5q q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5r\">It may not be the flashiest role in the world, but it seems like Morgan <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/eli-morgan-signs-bounce-back-contract-with-guardians-division-rival-01kg7parkbag\">has found a role for himself as the longman in Kansas City\u2019s \u2018pen.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5s q:key=vcaa:\n\n<h2>Eli Morgan&rsquo;s success with the Royals should look familiar to Guardians fans&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5t q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5u\">Eli Morgan\u2019s success with the Royals should look familiar to Guardians fans\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5v q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Morgan had a bit of an up-and-down career with the Guardians. After opening his big league career with a 5.34 ERA in 2021 while working primarily as a starter, he shifted over to the bullpen in 2022 and had a 3.38 ERA in 66 2\/3 innings with 72 strikeouts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5w q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5x\">Morgan had a bit of an up-and-down career with the Guardians. After opening his big league career with a 5.34 ERA in 2021 while working primarily as a starter, he shifted over to the bullpen in 2022 and had a 3.38 ERA in 66 2\/3 innings with 72 strikeouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5y q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>He took a step back in 2023 (4.01 ERA in 67 1\/3 innings), but had a 1.93 ERA in 2024 (his final season with the Guardians). <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5z q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"60\">He took a step back in 2023 (4.01 ERA in 67 1\/3 innings), but had a 1.93 ERA in 2024 (his final season with the Guardians). <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=61 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>That said, he was limited to just 42 innings that season due to elbow inflammation, which was one of the biggest reasons the Guardians decided to trade him to the Cubs after that season <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/prospect-guardians-fleeced-from-cubs-highlighted-as-team-s-top-breakout-prospect-01kdm884dh58\">in exchange for prospect Alfonsin Rosario.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=62 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"63\">That said, he was limited to just 42 innings that season due to elbow inflammation, which was one of the biggest reasons the Guardians decided to trade him to the Cubs after that season <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/prospect-guardians-fleeced-from-cubs-highlighted-as-team-s-top-breakout-prospect-01kdm884dh58\">in exchange for prospect Alfonsin Rosario.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=64 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Morgan only appeared in 7 1\/3 innings last year with the Cubs before his season ended due to an elbow impingement. That led to the Cubs <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/latest-cubs-non-tender-gives-guardians-opportunity-to-reunite-with-bullpen-ace-01kavfhjwwm0\">DFA&rsquo;ing at the end of the season.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=65 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"66\">Morgan only appeared in 7 1\/3 innings last year with the Cubs before his season ended due to an elbow impingement. That led to the Cubs <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/latest-cubs-non-tender-gives-guardians-opportunity-to-reunite-with-bullpen-ace-01kavfhjwwm0\">DFA\u2019ing at the end of the season.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=67 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>He signed a minor league contract with the Royals in the offseason and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/3-former-guardians-who-could-make-most-of-non-roster-invitee-status-with-new-club\">was added to their roster <\/a>after allowing one run across 10 1\/3 innings in spring training.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=68 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"69\">He signed a minor league contract with the Royals in the offseason and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awaybackgone.com\/3-former-guardians-who-could-make-most-of-non-roster-invitee-status-with-new-club\">was added to their roster <\/a>after allowing one run across 10 1\/3 innings in spring training.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6a q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>While he doesn&rsquo;t boast an incredibly overpowering arsenal, he has a looping changeup that ranks among the league&rsquo;s best when he&rsquo;s healthy and has experience going deep into games, which<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/royalskeep.com\/news-rumors\/kansas-city-royals\/is-eli-morgan-this-years-royals-breakout-reliever-r4239\/\" target=\"_blank\"> the Royals have been taking advantage of.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6b q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6c\">While he doesn\u2019t boast an incredibly overpowering arsenal, he has a looping changeup that ranks among the league\u2019s best when he\u2019s healthy and has experience going deep into games, which<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/royalskeep.com\/news-rumors\/kansas-city-royals\/is-eli-morgan-this-years-royals-breakout-reliever-r4239\/\" target=\"_blank\"> the Royals have been taking advantage of.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6d q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>He<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royalsreview.com\/kansas-city-royals-news\/96673\/royals-shuffle-bullpen-add-eli-morgan-and-mitch-spence\" target=\"_blank\"> made his first appearance of the season <\/a>on April 4 as the 27th man in Kansas City&rsquo;s doubleheader against the Brewers, where he threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to close out the Royals&rsquo; 8-2 win.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6e q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6f\">He<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royalsreview.com\/kansas-city-royals-news\/96673\/royals-shuffle-bullpen-add-eli-morgan-and-mitch-spence\" target=\"_blank\"> made his first appearance of the season <\/a>on April 4 as the 27th man in Kansas City\u2019s doubleheader against the Brewers, where he threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to close out the Royals\u2019 8-2 win.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6g q:key=vcaa:https:\/\/streamable.com\/m\/joey-ortiz-lines-out-to-left-fielder-isaac-collins?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share--><!--qv q:id=6h q:key=SRoa:mL_1--><!--qv q:id=6i q:key=EEns:oZ_1--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6k q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>His next outing came last week when he threw two scoreless innings in Kansas City&rsquo;s 2-0 loss to the White Sox on April 9. Although he only had one strikeout in that outing, he allowed one walk and one strikeout.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6l q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">His next outing came last week when he threw two scoreless innings in Kansas City\u2019s 2-0 loss to the White Sox on April 9. Although he only had one strikeout in that outing, he allowed one walk and one strikeout.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6n q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Kansas City has been scrambling in its bullpen thanks to injuries to Carlos Est&eacute;vez and Bailey Falter, so Morgan has helped them pick up a bit of the slack as an innings-eater.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6o q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">Kansas City has been scrambling in its bullpen thanks to injuries to Carlos Est\u00e9vez and Bailey Falter, so Morgan has helped them pick up a bit of the slack as an innings-eater.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6q q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>While it would be hard for Morgan to have a role in the current iteration of the Guardians&rsquo; bullpen, it&rsquo;s still a bit bittersweet to him healthy and producing for a division rival. <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6r q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">While it would be hard for Morgan to have a role in the current iteration of the Guardians\u2019 bullpen, it\u2019s still a bit bittersweet to him healthy and producing for a division rival. <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:id=6t q:key=1jXG:QW_3--><!--qv q:id=6u q:key=9yVI:Ef_0--><\/p>\n<div on:click=\"q-1Tftb5V2.js#s_Ytib2zHV0Tc[0 1]\" q:key=\"WY_1\" q:id=\"6v\"><!--qv q:s q:sref=6u q:key=--><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"google-news-widget\" class=\"my-5 p-4 flex items-center gap-4 rounded-lg bg-[#F0F0F0]\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 flex-1 items-center gap-3\"><span class=\"font-group-big text-black text-[16px]\">Add us as a preferred source on <span class=\"font-bold\">Google<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Follow awaybackgone.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=awaybackgone.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\"><span class=\"hidden pt-[1px] leading-[1.4] md:inline\">Follow<\/span><svg viewbox=\"0 0 4 8\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"h-[12px] w-[6px] md:h-[8px] md:w-[4px]\"><path d=\"M0.5 0.5L3.5 4L0.5 7.5\" stroke=\"white\" stroke-width=\"1.5\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source awaybackgone.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While former Guardians reliever Eli Morgan didn\u2019t make the Kansas City Royal\u2019s Opening Day roster at the end of spring training, they took a huge step toward making him a permanent part of the team\u2019s roster picture by adding him to their 40-man roster at the end of spring training and optioning him to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2375151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Former-underrated-Guardians-reliever-becoming-key-cog-in-Royals-bullpen.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2375150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2375152,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375150\/revisions\/2375152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2375151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2375150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2375150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2375150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}