The Pittsburgh Pirates have recalled pitcher Charlie Morton to make the start in tomorrow’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, marking the return to the majors for Morton, who was sent down on July 2nd. Morton really struggled this year, with a 9.35 ERA in 43.1 innings over ten starts in the majors. Morton was placed on the disabled list in June, and didn’t do so well in his rehab work in the minors, with a 4.50 ERA in 38 innings before the AAA All-Star break. The poor performance was enough for Morton to remain in AAA once his rehab work was over.
Morton has been improving at the AAA level recently, with a 3.21 ERA in 42 innings since the All-Star break, and a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings over four starts in the month of August. Most importantly, his K/BB ratio was 17:9 in August, with a .200 BAA and a 2.38 GO/AO ratio. The Pirates saw some good performances out of Morton in 2009 after acquiring him in the Nate McLouth trade, but didn’t see anything like that in 2010. Hopefully his August numbers in AAA show that he is back on track.
Justin Thomas was optioned to AAA to make room for Morton.