The Mets needed an extra arm in their overworked bullpen. So earlier this week, they bought up pitcher Akeel Morris all the way from Class-A St Lucie mainly because he was already on the 40-man roster.
The 22-year old righty made his major league debut on Wednesday against the Blue Jays in Toronto and got hammered, giving up 5 runs in just two-thirds of an inning.
Immediately after the game, Morris was optioned to Double-A Binghamton which is technically still a promotion for the Virgin Islands native.
Keith Hernandez strongly criticized the decision saying he couldn’t believe the front office would subject a player from Single-A to that kind of abuse. “I don’t understand what they were thinking. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
His ERA is 67.50 which is the second highest ERA in Mets history after Garrett Olson’s 108.00 (4 ER, 0.1 IP), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
ESPN New York reported that the five runs Morris gave up equaled the total number of runs he gave up all of last season with Savannah. His ERA last season was 0.63 ERA.
“It’s what you dream of — to get up there and pitch in the big leagues,” said Morris. “It didn’t go the way that I drew it up. It happens. You shake it off and get back at it next time.”
Right-hander Logan Verrett was called up from Las Vegas to replace Morris.
The former 2011 third-rounder pitched nine innings and posted a 6.00 ERA while with the Texas Rangers this season before he was waived and re-acquired by the Mets last month. In 11 appearances with Las Vegas this year, including four starts, he has a 3.00 ERA.
