The Pittsburgh Pirates have added infielder Brent Morel to the active roster, replacing Phil Irwin, who was optioned yesterday.
The move to add Morel is a surprise, since he’s done nothing in Triple-A to deserve a promotion. He currently has a .215/.279/.312 line in 93 at-bats with Indianapolis. He also hasn’t been hot in his last ten games, with a .333 OPS in 37 at-bats. It’s not like this could be chalked up to a small sample size, as he had a .751 OPS in Triple-A last year, and a career .609 OPS in 669 plate appearances in the majors.
Andrew Lambo would have been the obvious choice for the promotion, but he’s currently on the disabled list. He’s eligible to come off the DL early next week, and if he’s healthy enough to come off the DL and come up to the majors, then the addition of Morel would only be for three games. If that’s the case, then it would explain why Chris Dickerson didn’t get the promotion, since Dickerson would have had to be added to the 40-man roster, and doesn’t have options remaining to go back down once Lambo arrives.
The player who would have been more deserving right now is Jaff Decker. He doesn’t have a great season line, with a .696 OPS, but he has been hot lately, with a 1.026 OPS in 30 at-bats over his last ten games. He also has done well against right-handers, with an .830 OPS on the season, compared to a .409 OPS against lefties.
The Morel move might only be for three days, but Decker would have been the better option for those three days.
