Francisco Morales

The Phillies announced that right-hander Francisco Morales has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He had been designated for assignment last week when the club signed Craig Kimbrel.

Morales, 23, was working in the lower levels of the Phillies’ system before the pandemic. His walks were on the high side but he showed plenty of promise down there nonetheless. Baseball America has considered him one of the top 30 Philly farmhands since back in 2018, and he even jumped up to the #4 slot in 2020.

The Phillies added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2020 to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 draft. Unfortunately, his command issues have gotten worse in the upper levels of the minors. In 2021, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A but walked 15.5% of batters he faced and posted a 6.28 ERA. The club tried converting him to a full-time relief role last year but it didn’t help. He posted a 19.7% walk rate in the minors and also an incredible 28.6% rate in the majors. That latter number was in a small sample of just three appearances but still highlights the ongoing issue.

Morales will now stick in the system but without occupying a roster spot. Since this is his first outright and he has less than three years of MLB service time, he doesn’t have the ability to reject the assignment and become a free agent. He’ll start the year in the minors and try to better harness his stuff to get back onto the roster.

The Phillies have announced their signing of righty Craig Kimbrel, making it official. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, fellow righty Francisco Morales has been designated for assignment.

Morales, 23, was working as a starter in the lower levels of the Phillies’ minor league system in the early parts of his career. He showed some promise at that time, including throwing 96 2/3 innings at Single-A in 2019 with a 3.82 ERA. His 11% walk rate that year was a bit on the high side but he also struck out 30.9% of batters faced. Baseball America has liked Morales for some time, as he’s been on their list of top Philly prospects since 2018.

That strong 2019 campaign got him all the way up to the #4 slot at BA going into 2020, when the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic. The Phillies added him to their 40-man roster in November of that year in order to protect Morales from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

However, the past couple of seasons have been a struggle. In 2021, he made 24 appearances, 22 of those being starts, between Double-A and Triple-A. He still struck out hitters at a healthy 27.1% clip but his walk rate shot up to an untenable 15.5%, helping his ERA climb to 6.28. That seemed to put an end to his days as a starter, as he pitched exclusively in relief in 2022. However, the move hasn’t suited him so far, as he tossed 51 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year with a 30.6% strikeout rate but a 19.7% walk rate and 4.76 ERA. He also made three appearances in the big leagues but walked 28.6% of the batters he faced and posted a 7.20 ERA.

It seems the rough results over the past couple of seasons have worn on the patience of the Phillies, costing Morales his roster spot. However, he’s still quite young and has shown promise in the past. He still has one option year remaining and could garner interest from the clubs in search of extra pitching depth. The Phils will have one week to work out a trade or pass Morales through waivers.