When the Dodgers 2016 season ended with a loss to the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs, they were faced with a serious dilemma – either pay All-Star closer Kenley Jansen BIG bucks, or lose him to free agency. Fortunately, they paid him … to the tune of $80 million for five years that will keep him in Dodger Blue through the 2021 season.

All the 6′-5″ / 275-pound Willemstad, Curacao native did was convert a National League best 41 of his 42 save opportunities during the 2017 regular season and earn a trip to Miami for his second consecutive All-Star Game. And for good measure, he also won the 2017 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year trophy.

Well guess what? After falling one win short of capturing the 2017 World Series title, the Dodgers find themselves faced with yet another serious dilemma – either pay right-handed reliever and Dodgers de facto set-up man Brandon Morrow BIG bucks, or lose him to free agency, and simply put, they would be foolish to not pay him those big bucks.

Morrow has made it abundantly clear that he wants to be a closer next season. It is also clear that he will be abundantly paid as a free agent this off-season. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

For those unfamiliar with the Brandon Morrow story, it is a rather remarkable one.

Morrow, who was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California and attended Rancho Cotate High School in nearby Rohnert Park, was initially drafted by the Anaheim, California, Los Angeles, (etc.) Angels in the 40th round of the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of high school but opted instead to attend Cal Berkeley. This proved to be an exceptionally wise decision, as three years later Morrow was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft two spots ahead of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

The Mariners drafted the now 33-year-old right-hander to be a starting pitcher and he, in fact, made a combined 113 starts over his 11-year MLB career with the Mariners (15 starts), Toronto Blue Jays (93) and San Diego Padres (5).

On January 25, 2017, the Dodgers signed Morrow to a rather crafty one-year minor league deal that included an invitation to major league spring training camp. The contract guaranteed that Morrow would earn a hefty $1.25 million if he made the Dodgers major league roster. And even though the then 10-year MLB veteran did not make the Dodgers Opening Day 40-man roster, he received a call-up to the bigs on May 29, thereby guaranteeing him that $1.25 million. After a brief return to Triple-A Oklahoma City, the 6′-3″ / 205-pound flame-throwing righty was called back up to stay on June 21 and has never looked back.

“I felt really good going into the off-season last year,” Morrow said. “I wanted to give myself an opportunity with a team that I thought had a really good chance of not only winning the division but going deep in the playoffs. I kind of always bet on myself in that aspect.”

Not only did the Dodgers go deep in the 2017 playoffs, they came one win shy of becoming World Champions due in a large part to Brandon Morrow. In his 45 relief appearances during the regular season, Morrow posted a remarkable 6-0 record and minuscule 2.06 ERA in his 43.2 innings of work. Along the way, he walked only nine batters while striking out 50 – most on his fastball that often reached triple digits.

Even when Dodgers right-hander Brandon Morrow didn’t hit triple digits with his fastball, he was always very close to doing so. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

While Dodger fans undoubtedly think that re-signing Morrow is a no-brainer, it most certainly is not for those holding the purse strings. It’s not that the Dodgers brass doesn’t want him back or aren’t willing to pay the man what he wants, it’s that Morrow wants to do what Kenley Jansen is doing – become one of the game’s elite closers – which he is certainly very capable of doing. And while the soft-spoken right-hander has repeatedly said that he wants nothing more than to remain a Dodger, the chances of him supplanting Jansen as the team’s closer range somewhere between none and ludicrous.

That being said, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Dodgers will do everything within their power to keep Brandon Morrow in a Dodgers uniform.

…even if it costs them their bottom dollar.