Franklin Morales

[Station 13]

Both are 4-5 innings starters. They are ok if we got couple of starters who are 1-2. We don't.

[Orange Juiced]

He's better than Doubront, although oddly Doubs was very good against the Yankees. Neither is a solid starter and neither is part of the solution.

 

Doubront is just 24 with a plus fastball (he hits 95 often) and a plus curve. His k/9 rate of 9.1 is proof that he has excellent stuff. He's still learning how to pitch at this level. I'm not suggesting he's the next Sandy Koufax. I am suggesting that he's a young kid with a lot of ability and it is in the Red Sox' best interest to continue to develop him. 95mph, 9.1 k/9 left-handed starters aren't exactly growing on trees.

 

Morales is in a similar situation. Not as young (26), but a more proven MLB record (3.77 era this year) and similarly electric stuff. 9.0 k/9 shows that. Again, not necessarily the next great pitcher, but there's plenty there to work with and develop. There is no way we can say at this point that neither of these guys is "part of the solution". If Doubront can give the Sox 160 innings of 4.50 era ball at the cost of about $500k, that most definitely *is* part of the solution. That's a very valuable commodity. Can he do that? Who knows. He's given them 134 innings of 5.21 ball so far, so he'd need to improve.

 

The average AL starting pitcher has an era of 4.44, averages 5.9 innings per start, has a .752 ops against, a 1.34 whip, and a 6.9 k/9.

 

Can either Morales or Doubront put up those numbers? As a starter this year, here's what Morales has done, compared to the league average:

 

Category - AL AVG - Morales

ERA - 4.44 - 4.14

IP/S - 5.9 - 5.1

OPS - .752 - .732

WHIP - 1.34 - 1.25

K/9 - 6.9 - 9.3

 

So can Morales be part of the pitching solution? Absolutely, positively, without question, the answer is yes. Will he be? Different question entirely. But slotting Morales into the #5 spot would be a terrific asset for the Red Sox. He's performed in a starting role this year as a *better than average AL starter*. Having your #5 be a better than average starter, who is making just a million dollars, is a tremendous value.

[SoxSport]

The Red Sox need to rethink how they use their pitchers. Doubront and Morales have worn down the 2nd half from overuse? Or maybe from a lack of conditioning?

 

Aceves was abused by Valentine, and hotly reacted--for which he gets criticism. You don't get rid of a guy like that for a bunch of BS. He was one of their best pitchers this year--did everything asked of him except clean the toilets.

 

You have guys like Melancon come over here and pitch like little leaguers. How does that happen? That tells you something about Cherington and the Front Office--but Henry isn't listening, except for rehiring James and other consultants who were wrongly let go a few years ago to save a few bucks--literally.And what about Hoyer and Byrnes? Were they replaced? Who knows.

[SoxSport]

Both are 4-5 innings starters. They are ok if we got couple of starters who are 1-2. We don't.

 

All of the Red Sox starters are now pretty much 4-5 innings starters, and the FO needs to ask itself what it is doing wrong that the starters don't go deeper into games. The arm strength isn't there.

[Orange Juiced]

The Red Sox need to rethink how they use their pitchers. Doubront and Morales have worn down the 2nd half from overuse? Or maybe from a lack of conditioning?

 

Doubront and Morales did wear down. They just hadn't pitched that many innings before. It's pretty normal actually. No surprise there.

[a700hitter]

Doubront and Morales did wear down. They just hadn't pitched that many innings before. It's pretty normal actually. No surprise there.

Neither of them is anything but a #5 at best. They are just not very good.

[Palodios]

Neither of them is anything but a #5 at best. They are just not very good.

 

Did you watch Doubront pitch at the beginning of this year? There were games where he looked phenomenal, #3 stuff. His splits explicitly show that he's worn down through the season.

[a700hitter]

Did you watch Doubront pitch at the beginning of this year? There were games where he looked phenomenal, #3 stuff. His splits explicitly show that he's worn down through the season.

I attended probably two of his best outings which were against the Yankees. He's at best a #5. He throws too many pitches. His command is not the greatest. At his best he is a 6 inning pitcher. If he's our #3, we can get used to the basement. One of these guys is our #5 and the other is depth.

[jung]

Felix was our 4 most of this year mainly because of who we had in the 5 hole. Finally with the exception of Buch they have all looked like 5s', some of them trying to be 4s'.

[a700hitter]

A5.25 ERA and 22 HRs in 134 innings is nothing to be turning cartwheels over. He has been gassed for the last 30 innings-- useless since he hit 100 innings.

[Orange Juiced]

Neither of them is anything but a #5 at best. They are just not very good.

 

You are obviously not paying attention. Franklin Morales, as a starting pitcher, wasn't just a decent #5 pitcher. He was a *better than average American League starting pitcher*. It is unclear whether he can keep that up over a full season, but his actual performance was really solid. If he, at his price, is your team's fifth-best starter, you're in pretty good shape.

 

Of course, for the Sox this year, his starting stats made him essentially our best starting pitcher (at least, during the time he was starting). Which means the Sox sucked.

[a700hitter]

You are obviously not paying attention. Franklin Morales, as a starting pitcher, wasn't just a decent #5 pitcher. He was a *better than average American League starting pitcher*. It is unclear whether he can keep that up over a full season, but his actual performance was really solid. If he, at his price, is your team's fifth-best starter, you're in pretty good shape.

 

Of course, for the Sox this year, his starting stats made him essentially our best starting pitcher (at least, during the time he was starting). Which means the Sox sucked.

You obviously weren't paying attention. That's a little snotty don't you think? When he pitched against a team that could hit like the Yankees, he sucked it hard giving up 8 HRs in less than 9 innings of work. He had 9 starts and his results were mixed. He should compete with Doubs for the #5 spot the loser is a depth option. If they are both in the rotation when they go north, get used to 4th place and fighting to be a .500 team all season.

[Orange Juiced]

You obviously weren't paying attention. That's a little snotty don't you think?

 

Yes, I can see how I came across that way.

 

When he pitched against a team that could hit like the Yankees, he sucked it hard giving up 8 HRs in less than 9 innings of work. He had 9 starts and his results were mixed. He should compete with Doubs for the #5 spot the loser is a depth option. If they are both in the rotation when they go north, get used to 4th place and fighting to be a .500 team all season.

 

Of course he was somewhat spotty. He's not an ace or a stud or any such thing at this point in his career (and he very well may never get to that point). Here are the games in which he started:

 

Jun 17 at ChC: 5.0 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 2 er, 0 bb, 9 k

Jun 23 vs Atl: 6.0 ip, 7 h, 3 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 8 k

Jun 28 at Sea: 7.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 7 k

Jul 7 vs NYY: 3.1 ip, 6 h, 6 r, 6 er, 2 bb, 2 k

Jul 13 at TB: 5.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 3 b, 5 k

Aug 5 vs Min: 6.0 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 1 er, 3 bb, 4 k

Aug 11 at Cle: 5.1 ip, 2 h, 3 r, 3 er, 4 bb, 6 k

Aug 17 at NYY: 5.1 ip, 6 h, 5 r, 5 er, 1 bb, 3 k

Aug 23 vs LAA: 2.2 ip, 6 h, 6 r, 6 er, 2 bb, 3 k

 

Like Morales, most pitchers tend to struggle against the better teams. That's how it works. That's not news. David Price is having a Cy Young caliber season, but let's compare his own stat line against the two best teams in the league by winning percentage, versus his overall season line.

 

Season: 2.54 era, .612 ops against, 6.8 ip/s

vs. NY: 3.20 era, .695 ops against, 6.3 ip/s (not bad, but still, quite a bit worse than his total season's line)

vs. Tex: 6.97 era, .862 ops against, 5.0 ip/s (horrendous)

 

So it's normal to pitch worse against the really good teams.

 

He (Morales) did have two really good outings against high-quality teams (at TB and vs Atl). He was shut down due to injury after the LAA game, so maybe the injury had something to do with that one...who knows.

 

Of his 9 starts, he had 3 bad ones, one so-so one (at Cle), and the rest were really good. 5 of 9 starts being "really good" makes him a better than average starting pitcher.

 

Both he and Doubront are young and have pretty electric stuff, as evidenced by their k/9 numbers, which are outstanding. There's a TON of room to grow there. You seem to think that they are what they are, as if a 24-year old like Doubront has no room for improvement and as if a 26-year old Morales has peaked.

 

I'm not saying the Sox should go to war with these two as their guys. I am saying that for you to suggest that there's no way these guys could be part of the pitching solution is extremely short-sighted. Who knows what they could become? They certainly are young enough and have a great deal of talent. With hard work and the right coaching, and a legit opportunity, they could both be very solid major-league starters.

[Behindenemylines]

Both Morales and Doubrount have hit the wall. Neither one of them has pitched this much in one season. Because they both started out strong and are lefties I wouldn't write them off for 2013. They both just reach a place that nether has been before. If the plan is to have them in the rotation next year then they have to approach the off season that way. It has to be hard on what they asked of Morales this year.

[a700hitter]

Yes, I can see how I came across that way.

 

 

 

Of course he was somewhat spotty. He's not an ace or a stud or any such thing at this point in his career (and he very well may never get to that point). Here are the games in which he started:

 

Jun 17 at ChC: 5.0 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 2 er, 0 bb, 9 k

Jun 23 vs Atl: 6.0 ip, 7 h, 3 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 8 k

Jun 28 at Sea: 7.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 7 k

Jul 7 vs NYY: 3.1 ip, 6 h, 6 r, 6 er, 2 bb, 2 k

Jul 13 at TB: 5.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 3 b, 5 k

Aug 5 vs Min: 6.0 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 1 er, 3 bb, 4 k

Aug 11 at Cle: 5.1 ip, 2 h, 3 r, 3 er, 4 bb, 6 k

Aug 17 at NYY: 5.1 ip, 6 h, 5 r, 5 er, 1 bb, 3 k

Aug 23 vs LAA: 2.2 ip, 6 h, 6 r, 6 er, 2 bb, 3 k

 

Like Morales, most pitchers tend to struggle against the better teams. That's how it works. That's not news. David Price is having a Cy Young caliber season, but let's compare his own stat line against the two best teams in the league by winning percentage, versus his overall season line.

 

Season: 2.54 era, .612 ops against, 6.8 ip/s

vs. NY: 3.20 era, .695 ops against, 6.3 ip/s (not bad, but still, quite a bit worse than his total season's line)

vs. Tex: 6.97 era, .862 ops against, 5.0 ip/s (horrendous)

 

So it's normal to pitch worse against the really good teams.

 

He (Morales) did have two really good outings against high-quality teams (at TB and vs Atl). He was shut down due to injury after the LAA game, so maybe the injury had something to do with that one...who knows.

 

Of his 9 starts, he had 3 bad ones, one so-so one (at Cle), and the rest were really good. 5 of 9 starts being "really good" makes him a better than average starting pitcher.

 

Both he and Doubront are young and have pretty electric stuff, as evidenced by their k/9 numbers, which are outstanding. There's a TON of room to grow there. You seem to think that they are what they are, as if a 24-year old like Doubront has no room for improvement and as if a 26-year old Morales has peaked.

 

I'm not saying the Sox should go to war with these two as their guys. I am saying that for you to suggest that there's no way these guys could be part of the pitching solution is extremely short-sighted. Who knows what they could become? They certainly are young enough and have a great deal of talent. With hard work and the right coaching, and a legit opportunity, they could both be very solid major-league starters.

8 HRs in 2 games is way too much. Yes you expect a pitcher's stats to not be as good as they are against bad teams. Eight HRs in two starts is just frightening. Like I said, he can fight it out with Doubs for the 5th slot. If they are both in the rotation, we will be a 4th place team.

[Brennan]

Yeah, let's parse stats to keep arguing why we should be satisfied with guys like Morales and Doubrant and try to win the AL East every year. And while we are at it, let's dream about bringing back Tito cause this team refused to play for him for the past few seasons or maybe Farrell who has his Jays right near the top of the division and was here during the big slide from '08 to '11. I'm sure we will read more posts about where Lackey will slot in in front of Morales next season or maybe how we should try to re-sign DiceK cause he pitched a respectable game a few starts ago. How about that Aviles? At least we have our S.S next season. Hey? Why don't we bring in Brad Mills after the Astro's lose 100+ games this season?

 

 

Apparently a lot of folks here want more of what sunk this ship to begin with. Open your eyes people, this mess could only dream of being a .500 team and it get's worse with every passing day.

[Brennan]

Neither of them is anything but a #5 at best. They are just not very good.

 

 

 

That's it in a nutshell but I'm sure if I search hard enough I could dig up a stat showing that Franky is an Ace! For instance, he gave up 0.0 runs today so take that (and I'm going out on a limb and predicting that he will give up 0.0 runs until his next torturous start.)

[Orange Juiced]

8 HRs in 2 games is way too much. Yes you expect a pitcher's stats to not be as good as they are against bad teams. Eight HRs in two starts is just frightening. Like I said, he can fight it out with Doubs for the 5th slot. If they are both in the rotation, we will be a 4th place team.

 

Yep, he got hammered by the Yankees. No question about it. But you realize that most of a starting pitcher's games will be against teams that are NOT the cream of the crop. Morales is NOT the next Sandy Koufax. But he certainly has shown that he has the ability to be an *above-average major league starting pitcher*. And for a million bucks, that is tremendous value. It allows them to spend a lot more money to go get a true #1.

 

And that means that Morales could, in fact, very well be and important "part of the solution". Contrary to what you claimed.

[a700hitter]

Yep, he got hammered by the Yankees. No question about it. But you realize that most of a starting pitcher's games will be against teams that are NOT the cream of the crop. Morales is NOT the next Sandy Koufax. But he certainly has shown that he has the ability to be an *above-average major league starting pitcher*. And for a million bucks, that is tremendous value. It allows them to spend a lot more money to go get a true #1.

 

And that means that Morales could, in fact, very well be and important "part of the solution". Contrary to what you claimed.

He's in the mix for the 5th slot. Number 5 starters are not a solution. Arguably, all of our pitchers except for Buchholz have been #5 quality starters. We have plenty of them. Right now, we only have 1 guy to put in the first 3 slots. Lester has to earn his way back to the top of the rotation.

[Orange Juiced]

He's in the mix for the 5th slot. Number 5 starters are not a solution. Arguably, all of our pitchers except for Buchholz have been #5 quality starters. We have plenty of them. Right now, we only have 1 guy to put in the first 3 slots. Lester has to earn his way back to the top of the rotation.

 

When you say "part of the solution", what, exactly, do you mean? Nobody - not me, not anyone I know - has suggested that Morales should be slotted into a #2 or #1 spot. He has a world of ability, but has yet to prove he can handle a full workload as a starter, so you have to put him in as the #4 or #5, if you're going to put him in at all.

 

But the reason he can be part of the solution is because the "solution" is to improve the pitching staff (hopefully considerably). Moving Morales out and signing some veteran at 2-5 times the money is a very bad idea. No, I know you haven't suggested that...I'm just talking in general terms.

 

And he can be part of the solution because he can potentially give the Red Sox a better-than-league-average starting pitcher for very little money *at a spot where the average guy is far worse than league-average*. So it could give the Red Sox a significant competitive advantage in that spot, plus saving money that could be used to bolster the team elsewhere.

 

That kind of situation is very, very valuable to any team. So yes, that would potentially qualify as Morales being part of the solution.

[a700hitter]

When you say "part of the solution", what, exactly, do you mean? Nobody - not me, not anyone I know - has suggested that Morales should be slotted into a #2 or #1 spot. He has a world of ability, but has yet to prove he can handle a full workload as a starter, so you have to put him in as the #4 or #5, if you're going to put him in at all.

 

But the reason he can be part of the solution is because the "solution" is to improve the pitching staff (hopefully considerably). Moving Morales out and signing some veteran at 2-5 times the money is a very bad idea. No, I know you haven't suggested that...I'm just talking in general terms.

 

And he can be part of the solution because he can potentially give the Red Sox a better-than-league-average starting pitcher for very little money *at a spot where the average guy is far worse than league-average*. So it could give the Red Sox a significant competitive advantage in that spot, plus saving money that could be used to bolster the team elsewhere.

 

That kind of situation is very, very valuable to any team. So yes, that would potentially qualify as Morales being part of the solution.

He's a #5. We have guys to compete for that slot. We have Doubront. We got Lackey coming back. One of those 3 will be the #5 or they will take turns in that slot as the season progresses. As I said numerous times, if we break camp with both Morales and Doubs in the rotation, we will stay a 4th place team.

[Orange Juiced]

He's a #5. We have guys to compete for that slot. We have Doubront. We got Lackey coming back. One of those 3 will be the #5 or they will take turns in that slot as the season progresses. As I said numerous times, if we break camp with both Morales and Doubs in the rotation, we will stay a 4th place team.

 

If they got rid of Lackey and added a stud starter (crazy trade for Felix Hernandez, say), and their rotation was:

 

1. Felix

2. Lester of 2008-2010

3. Buchholz

4. Morales

5. Doubront

 

That is a 4th place team? I don't think so. It would be the best 1-2 punch in baseball, followed by a potential Cy Young candidate in Buchholz, giving them one of the best 1-2-3 SPs in the sport. That team could very well live with an above-average-starting-pitcher in Morales in the 4-slot, and a below-average SP in Doubront in the 5-slot.

 

Obviously they wouldn't do much if they didn't score any runs, but that's a different part of the equation entirely.

 

The point is that you're talking about the 4-5 spots in the rotation in isolation of everything else. It all depends on what else they do.

 

EDIT: One other thing. The "solution" may be a long-term fix, not a fix for 2013. If Doubront and Morales both needed one more year of experience before budding into really solid MLB starters, would it be worth it to you to let the Sox go through one more year of growing pains in order to see the fruit of that in 2014? Or does the "solution" need to mean a playoff appearance in 2013?

[a700hitter]

If they got rid of Lackey and added a stud starter (crazy trade for Felix Hernandez, say), and their rotation was:

 

1. Felix

2. Lester of 2008-2010

3. Buchholz

4. Morales

5. Doubront

 

That is a 4th place team? I don't think so. It would be the best 1-2 punch in baseball, followed by a potential Cy Young candidate in Buchholz, giving them one of the best 1-2-3 SPs in the sport. That team could very well live with an above-average-starting-pitcher in Morales in the 4-slot, and a below-average SP in Doubront in the 5-slot.

 

Obviously they wouldn't do much if they didn't score any runs, but that's a different part of the equation entirely.

 

The point is that you're talking about the 4-5 spots in the rotation in isolation of everything else. It all depends on what else they do.

Yes, a 4th place team.

[Orange Juiced]

Yes, a 4th place team.

 

A team with a rotation of Felix, the stud version of Jon Lester, and the potential Cy Young Award version of Clay Buchholz, plus Morales and Doubront is a 4th place pitching rotation?

 

:lol::lol:

[Brennan]

If they got rid of Lackey and added a stud starter (crazy trade for Felix Hernandez, say), and their rotation was:

 

1. Felix

2. Lester of 2008-2010

3. Buchholz

4. Morales

5. Doubront

 

That is a 4th place team? I don't think so. It would be the best 1-2 punch in baseball, followed by a potential Cy Young candidate in Buchholz, giving them one of the best 1-2-3 SPs in the sport. That team could very well live with an above-average-starting-pitcher in Morales in the 4-slot, and a below-average SP in Doubront in the 5-slot.

 

Obviously they wouldn't do much if they didn't score any runs, but that's a different part of the equation entirely.

 

The point is that you're talking about the 4-5 spots in the rotation in isolation of everything else. It all depends on what else they do.

 

EDIT: One other thing. The "solution" may be a long-term fix, not a fix for 2013. If Doubront and Morales both needed one more year of experience before budding into really solid MLB starters, would it be worth it to you to let the Sox go through one more year of growing pains in order to see the fruit of that in 2014? Or does the "solution" need to mean a playoff appearance in 2013?

 

 

 

So you think adding Hernandez to four of the losers that sunk this season is what the Dr. Ordered? And even if it was (it's not), What happens if Hernandez struggles or gets injured?

[a700hitter]

If they got rid of Lackey and added a stud starter (crazy trade for Felix Hernandez, say), and their rotation was:

 

1. Felix

2. Lester of 2008-2010

3. Buchholz

4. Morales

5. Doubront

 

That is a 4th place team? I don't think so. It would be the best 1-2 punch in baseball, followed by a potential Cy Young candidate in Buchholz, giving them one of the best 1-2-3 SPs in the sport. That team could very well live with an above-average-starting-pitcher in Morales in the 4-slot, and a below-average SP in Doubront in the 5-slot.

 

Obviously they wouldn't do much if they didn't score any runs, but that's a different part of the equation entirely.

 

The point is that you're talking about the 4-5 spots in the rotation in isolation of everything else. It all depends on what else they do.

 

EDIT: One other thing. The "solution" may be a long-term fix, not a fix for 2013. If Doubront and Morales both needed one more year of experience before budding into really solid MLB starters, would it be worth it to you to let the Sox go through one more year of growing pains in order to see the fruit of that in 2014? Or does the "solution" need to mean a playoff appearance in 2013?

Lester is not a #2 at this point. I don't think we can count on him to be a #2 stud.

[a700hitter]

A team with a rotation of Felix, the stud version of Jon Lester, and the potential Cy Young Award version of Clay Buchholz, plus Morales and Doubront is a 4th place pitching rotation?

 

:lol::lol:

We need more than 1 starter, and we are not getting King Felix. Doubs and Morales in the same rotation= 4th place. With King Felix maybe third place.

[Orange Juiced]

Lester is not a #2 at this point. I don't think we can count on him to be a #2 stud.

 

I don't know if we can count on that either. I don't know if we can "count" on anything, really. Who would have thought that, after his near-MVP season in 2011, that Jacoby Ellsbury would have put up the stinker of a year he has (even after the injury he's been pretty mediocre at best)? Lester was incredibly consistent for four straight years, and then was awful for the first 4 months of this year. He was, until this year, someone you pretty much could "count on", but nope. Not this year. If we landed Felix Hernandez, I'd like to think we could count on him, but it's always possible that he goes out there and sucks rocks.

 

Please answer the question I asked you in my previous post. I'll post it again here:

 

The "solution" may be a long-term fix, not a fix for 2013. If Doubront and Morales both needed one more year of experience before budding into really solid MLB starters, would it be worth it to you to let the Sox go through one more year of growing pains in order to see the fruit of that in 2014? Or does the "solution" need to mean a playoff appearance in 2013?

[Brennan]

I don't know if we can count on that either. I don't know if we can "count" on anything, really. Who would have thought that, after his near-MVP season in 2011, that Jacoby Ellsbury would have put up the stinker of a year he has (even after the injury he's been pretty mediocre at best)? Lester was incredibly consistent for four straight years, and then was awful for the first 4 months of this year. He was, until this year, someone you pretty much could "count on", but nope. Not this year. If we landed Felix Hernandez, I'd like to think we could count on him, but it's always possible that he goes out there and sucks rocks.

 

Please answer the question I asked you in my previous post. I'll post it again here:

 

The "solution" may be a long-term fix, not a fix for 2013. If Doubront and Morales both needed one more year of experience before budding into really solid MLB starters, would it be worth it to you to let the Sox go through one more year of growing pains in order to see the fruit of that in 2014? Or does the "solution" need to mean a playoff appearance in 2013?

 

 

 

 

 

I'll answer it. After three straight years of no playoffs and you want to wait another year to see if Doubrant and Morales MIGHT pan out to be what we need to win in the AL east?

 

You're just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point. When did Franklin Morales become Stephen Strasburg?

[a700hitter]

I don't know if we can count on that either. I don't know if we can "count" on anything, really. Who would have thought that, after his near-MVP season in 2011, that Jacoby Ellsbury would have put up the stinker of a year he has (even after the injury he's been pretty mediocre at best)? Lester was incredibly consistent for four straight years, and then was awful for the first 4 months of this year. He was, until this year, someone you pretty much could "count on", but nope. Not this year. If we landed Felix Hernandez, I'd like to think we could count on him, but it's always possible that he goes out there and sucks rocks.

Ellsbury got injured and missed most of the season. Lester has been healthy. His game has been slipping for the last 2 years.

 

Please answer the question I asked you in my previous post. I'll post it again here:

 

The "solution" may be a long-term fix, not a fix for 2013. If Doubront and Morales both needed one more year of experience before budding into really solid MLB starters, would it be worth it to you to let the Sox go through one more year of growing pains in order to see the fruit of that in 2014? Or does the "solution" need to mean a playoff appearance in 2013?

I don't think either of them are that good. I don't think they are part of the short or long term solution. These are bottom of the rotation guys at best. They don't project any higher down the road. Most likely, Morales cannot hold up physically over the course of a season as a starter. Even if he can, he's just a bottom of the rotation guy. He's already 26 years old with no track record as an MLB starter. I'm not getting my hopes up.