Andrew Morris’s Debut Became An Unforgettable Moment

Minneapolis – A day after he threw his first pitch in the majors, Andrew Morris was still feeling the high of accomplishing a lifelong dream. It certainly helped that the Minnesota Twins had a 13-6 win over the Boston Red Sox Monday night, but nothing could shake the smile off his face.

Just a few days earlier, he was shagging fly balls in Toledo for the St. Paul Saints. He was standing next to Zebby Matthews in left field when they saw Saints clubhouse manager Matt Tramp go on the field to talk to manager Brian Dinkelman. That’s what tipped them off that some news, good or bad, was about to come their way.

“We looked at each other, and were like, ‘That’s not normal, that doesn’t usually happen,” Matthews recalled Tuesday at CHS Field. “Then to see him get called up there was awesome, and to be able to watch some of his outing there in Toronto was really cool. It was special.”

“As he got up there, I was like, ‘Hey, you’re going to catch that flight to Detroit tonight to go to Toronto. You’re going to the big leagues,’” Dinkelman said. “He broke down crying, so it was quick, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re in the middle of getting ready for the game, next thing you know, you’re telling a guy he’s going to the big leagues for the first time.”

Andrew Morris spent part of his childhood with his mom, Tricia Leines, who raised him as a single parent. Tricia was a professional opera singer in Morris’ youth. However, as his baseball career developed, she began making sacrifices in her own career to help him grow into the pitcher he is today.

“We moved around for a long time, and she always put me first,” Morris said on Monday. “And [she] always gave me everything I needed to make sure I had baseball stuff and lessons, even though we didn’t always have the most money. She was able to put my needs first for that stuff, and I mean, look where I got, so it’s pretty cool.”

So when he took the mound in the sixth inning for Minnesota's 8-2 victory in Toronto on Sunday, the Twins TV broadcast caught Leines’s reaction in the stands. She was tearfully letting out a joyful, ‘That’s my boy, that’s my boy,’ as her son accomplished his lifelong dream.

“I think it’s cool to look back on the whole journey and, you know, how far I’ve come and how far all the people have been there to help me,” he said. “So it’s not just my journey, but all of them, so it was really special [that] they could all be there.”

Andrew Morris allowed six hits over three innings of long relief. Still, he showed what his prospect upside was all about, getting two strikeouts, allowing no walks, and topping out at 98.6 MPH. It was many Twins fans' first exposure to what Morris offers on the mound. However, Twins manager Derek Shelton saw it all up close in spring training and was very impressed.

“His velo comes out at you; he's not an overly big guy, and he has the ability to execute pitches,” Shelton said on Monday. “Yesterday, that's not an easy lineup to navigate. I know the fact [that] the game was where the score is, but it's still a major-league debut. You're still facing guys that are really good major league hitters.

Morris averaged 96.5 MPH on his fastball, which topped out at 98.6 MPH when facing Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Jesus Sanchez in the 7th inning. While his velo had everyone talking, Morris felt the best pitch in his debut was the sweeper, which induced four swings and misses, including his first MLB strikeout of Eloy Jimenez in the sixth.

“I was really happy with where everything was at. It was probably the best it’s felt all year,” Morris said. “Best everything has felt coming out, I think that the was the best the sweeper has ever been. So it’s up to not thinking about it and going out there and having fun.”

“His stuff impresses me, and I don't think he really gave up a ton of hard contact yesterday,” said Shelton. “I know he ended up giving up six hits, but chopper through the middle, chopper through the middle, flair that falls in. He was impressive, he did a nice job, and we'll see [if] he'll get more opportunities to line up.”

Facing the defending AL Champions for his MLB debut was no easy task, even if the Blue Jays have multiple key hitters such as George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and Anthony Santander on the IL. Arriving at the Rogers Center on Saturday gave Morris plenty of time to think about what he could do against his first MLB lineup.

“I mean, not trying to treat them any differently, not trying to give them too much credit at the same time,” said Morris. “I got to watch Joe [Ryan] on Saturday, and that was awesome, how he picked apart that lineup. I faced them in 24 in spring training, so it’s like, it wasn’t completely new. So I had to remind myself that I’m here for a reason, too.”

As things stand, Andrew Morris is expected to remain in the Twins' bullpen as their go-to long relief man for the foreseeable future. There’s no ETA on when Cody Laweryson will return from the IL with his right forearm strain, which landed him on the 15-day IL and allowed the Twins to call Morris up.

But the Twins have no intention of taking away his role as a starting pitcher any time soon. The season is still so young that they don’t want to risk removing anyone from the 40-man roster to clear a spot for a veteran reliever to fill in for Laweryson. Morris had the best start to the season among the St. Paul pitchers on the 40-man roster, with a 1.23 ERA, five strikeouts, and two walks in 7 ⅓ innings.

Andrew Morris may remain a long reliever for the first stint of his MLB career, but could be in Minnesota's starting rotation by the end of this season, or 2027. It’s not uncommon for teams to stretch out their top starting pitching prospects in long relief roles to start and move them back in the rotation when a spot opens, and Shelton could see that being the case for Morris this year.

“The Brewers are probably the gold standard of it over the last 10 years,” said Shelton. “In terms of bringing Woodruff, Burnes, [and] Peralta into the big leagues and pitching them in those long-inning roles and then transforming them into starter roles. I think right now we'll see what the role is for Andrew and then go from there.”