CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians and Cubs have completed a trade to send right-handed relief pitcher Eli Morgan to Chicago in exchange for a minor league outfield prospect. The Guardians confirmed the trade after ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Morgan was heading to Chicago. Cleveland acquires 20-year-old Alfonsin Rosario, who spent the 2024 season in Class-A Myrtle Beach, hitting .

230 with 18 doubles, four triples, 16 homers and 73 RBI in 109 games. Rosario stole 20 bases in 25 attempts and scored 61 runs while making 80 starts in center field and 12 in right field. He ranked third in RBI in the Carolina League and fourth in home runs and total bases (162).

Rosario was selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the P27 Academy in Lexington, SC. Morgan, 28, appeared in 32 games and covered 42 innings for Cleveland in 2024. He posted a 1.

93 ERA and 34 strikeouts to go along with a 3-0 record. An eighth-round pick out of Gonzaga in 2017, Morgan combined for a 3. 27 ERA in 176 innings over the last three seasons after debuting in 2021.

According to MLBTradeRumors. com, Morgan was set to make about $1 million in his first year of salary arbitration this offseason. Morgan saw his strikeout rate dip to a career-low 20.

4% in 2024, and with Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase relied upon heavily throughout the season, he did not get many chances to pitch in leverage situations. Still, the righty is an effective strikeout option out of the bullpen. He whiffed 28.

1% of batters faced in 2022 and 25. 1% in 2023 while walking just 6. 6% of opponents.

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