Cody Morris 'trolled' with demotion before Guardians call-up

If nothing else, individuals throughout the Cleveland Guardians organization are having fun and keeping things light during a heated battle over the American League Central title. 

As Mandy Bell explained for the MLB website, manager Andy Tracy of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers recently called right-hander Cody Morris into his office for a meeting the 25-year-old had been anticipating for some time. Per Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, Morris was first shut down on March 25 with what was later called a teres major muscle strain, but he began his rehab assignment in early August. Morris was hoping to be promoted to the Guardians before the fall but instead initially received upsetting news from Tracy. 

"We're going to make you a starter again, lengthen you out, send you to [Single-A] Lake County and get some more innings there," Tracy reportedly told Morris. As Morris stood there stunned, Tracy added: 

"Make sure to stop by Progressive [Field] on your way in, that's where you're going." 

Morris had, indeed, been called up to the big-league club. 

"It's a dream come true," Morris told reporters. "I've been hurt a lot, ups and downs, lots of bumps in the road. But to make it here is really a dream come true."

According to Lewis, Morris completed just 21.1 innings of work in the minors this year and recorded a 1.69 ERA with 39 strikeouts. He'll now be looking to assist the first-place Guardians that started Friday with just a one-game lead over the second-place Minnesota Twins in the division standings. 

Whether or not Morris and his teammates can get fans to attend Guardians home games this month shall be determined. Per Morris' ESPN bio, he'll likely make his MLB debut as a multi-inning reliever.