KC Royals: Will Franklin Morales Return In 2016

The KC Royals bullpen was dominant in 2015. Dayton Moore did a great job signing free agents who could help this bullpen be the best in the league, including signing Franklin Morales, formerly with the Rockies and Red Sox.

Franklin Morales was more than likely towards the bottom of the Royals’ bullpen, but he was still a very good reliever for the Kansas City Royals.

He was mainly used against left-handed batters and filled that role quite nicely for the duration of the season. Players batted .192 and .558 ops against Morales during the regular season, and he became that “left-handed” threat out of the bullpen.

Despite Morales’ ability to get outs against lefties, could he be back in Kansas City next year? Morales, a free agent, has not been garnering much attention on the market, so there is a chance that Kansas City could re-sign him.

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Morales, however, slumped greatly near the end of the season.

While he did manage to post a 3.18 ERA this season, Morales’ postseason stats were not good at all. He ended the postseason with an ERA of 19.29 in just 2.1 innings of work in three games pitched. He allowed five hits and five earned runs in that span with a WHIP of 2.57.

Four of the five runs that Morales allowed were in Game 3 of the World Series against the Mets. Of course, everyone remembers the weird play he had when he spun around on the mound and everyone ended up being safe as a result. It was a really strange moment and not something anyone wants to be remembered for.

Even with that awkward moment, Franklin Morales was a good pick-up by the Kansas City Royals. He did what Dayton Moore signed him to do – pitch well against left-handed batters.

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Despite being one of the lesser relievers out of the bullpen, Morales still had an ERA of 3.18 at the end of the season. He began to slump in September, ending the month with an ERA of 11.05, and it got to a point where Morales was usually in the game if it was the bad end of a blowout. You didn’t see him out there in crucial situations after awhile because the trust was gone with Morales.

Honestly, I wouldn’t think the KC Royals would bring Franklin Morales back next year. As good as he was in 2015, his slump near the end of the season was troublesome, and could be a telling sign for his future in the league.

Still though, in one season with the Kansas City Royals, Franklin Morales pitched 62.1 innings in 67 games. He allowed only four home runs and struck out 41 batters. He ended the season with a 4-2 record and a WHIP of 1.16.

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Morales’ regular season stats are certainly good enough to get him a job, but will it be with the Royals? Only time will tell.