The Brewers have released lefty Franklin Morales, per a club announcement. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on Twitter that Morales had been informed that he would not make the club. As an Article XX(B) free agent, he would be due a retention bonus if not placed on the active roster.
Milwaukee stood to promise Morales $2.3MM if he made the club under the minor league deal he signed over the winter. That contract also included $1.5MM in available incentives.
Morales was coming off of a nice bounceback season last year with the Royals, in which he threw 62 1/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with 5.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 with a 49.5% groundball rate. While the peripherals suggested that he benefited from some luck (as well as the Royals’ defense behind him), Morales was undeniable excellent against left-handed hitters — who slashed just .194/.250/.320 against him.
The move appears to open the door for fellow southpaw Chris Capuano to make the club, as Haudrcourt notes on Twitter. Indeed, he’s been informed that will be the case, per colleague Todd Rosiak (also via Twitter).
With those numbers against left handed batters, I wouldn’t doubt if the Braves sign Morales next.
Worth a shot. He clearly will not be getting what Brewers were expected to give. Need another lefty.
Useful guy. Shouldn’t stay unemployed for long. Brewers that deep in the pen that they can’t keep two lefty middle guys?
Brewers are a horror show. Capuano was awful with the Yankees last year. 100 losses coming your way, Milwaukee.
Capuano was DFA’d and was bounced around in his roles last season. Hard to produce when you have next to no job security. Worth a shot seeing if he can right the ship
Iffy moves at best. Why get rid of a guy like that when you know others will want/need that type of guy at some point. He is not blocking anybody and would be highly useful on a team that is a doormat at this point. But then again, I don’t know what the Brewers have behind the next door as they try to rebuild.
They have young guys that they would rather have get major league experience than holding on to both he and Capuano. Only 1 was going to make the roster and they may have felt that the difference between the two was not substantial enough to pay the extra amount on Morales’ contract. Cap has been pretty bad the last 2 years, but a lot of that has been in spot starts or stretched out in the pen, as a situational lefty maybe he can be a little better.
good point!
Capuano was actually half decent pitching for the Yankees in 2014. He kept them in most of the games he started which is pretty much all you can expect from a guy acquired for cash considerations. He had that injury early last year and never seemed to right the ship afterwards.
Wow. Morales may cost twice as much as Capuano, but last year he was at least twice as good of a pitcher. Morales won’t be unemployed for more than 24 hours.
If he were in that big of demand he wouldn’t have been a free agent into March and then settled for a minor league deal with a non-contending club.
With Alex Torres being sent down today I wonder if the Braves take a look at Morales. May be to expensive though.
Capuano is not good.