The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Brent Morel refused his outright assignment and he is now a free agent. The Pirates called him up on July 20th and he went 2-for-7 with a double and an RBI in three games. Once Aramis Ramirez joined the team five days later, Morel was designated for assignment.
In 81 games for Indianapolis this season, he hit .266/.322/.441, with 21 doubles and nine homers. His was actually one of the best hitters in the entire organization over the last two months, but his overall numbers don’t reflect that due to a very slow start.
In other minor transaction news, Bristol pitcher Miguel Ferreras retired. The 23-year-old righty missed time with injuries during his career, including the entire 2011 season. He’s been in the organization since 2010. The Pirates liked his size at 6’5″, 221 pounds and his arm, but his career was plagued by control issues, which continued into this season.