WASHINGTON – Akeel Morris will have to wait to make a good first impression on the Braves, at least as far as actually pitching in a major league game is concerned.
Less than 24 hours after joining the Braves in Washington, the relief-pitching prospect was on his way back to Double-A Mississippi early Saturday. Morris, 23, was optioned to open a spot for reliever Ryan Weber, who was recalled again from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Because Weber was sent down to Gwinnett on April 3, the Braves had to wait 10 days to recall him. And so that they would have a fresh arm in the bullpen Friday to pitch and inning or more if necessary, they brought up Morris, 23, who was already on the 40-man roster, making the transaction a simple one.
Morris wasn’t used in Friday’s 8-5 win against the Nationals, and rejoined Mississippi’s team in time to pitch Saturday night if he was needed.
“You’re a roster guy that we can do that to,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said of Morris’ two-day whirlwind trip to the big leagues and back to the bushes. “It’s (about) not going short (in bullpen) up here. It’s like I told him, ‘People really like you in the organization, they like your arm, and just keep doing what you’ve been doing.’
“They say there’s a lot to like there. I’ve never seen him throw, but the reports are good, and the fact that he is on the roster makes it easy for him to be that guy (to be brought up for a day).”
For his troubles, Morris got to spend a day in a major league uniform in D.C., got paid a one-day prorated portion of the major-league minimum $507,500 salary, and spent a night at the Ritz-Carlton, the team hotel in a Washington suburb.
Morris came from the Mets in a June 8 trade for Kelly Johnson and had a 2.78 ERA in 18 appearances at Mississippi before Saturday. In 40 combined appearances with the Mets’ and Braves’ Double-A affiliates this season, he was 5-2 with a 3.75 ERA and had an impressive 66 strikeouts – albeit with 33 walks — and four homers allowed in 48 innings.
A native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, he pitched in one game in the majors for the Mets in 2015 and gave up three runs, five hits and three walks in just two-thirds of an inning, leaving him with a 67.50 ERA. Morris had hoped to begin whittling that number down, but he’ll have to wait at least until his next call-up.
