Report: Red Sox Have Been Contacted by a Few Teams About Franklin Morales

by Ricky Doyle on Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 2:42PM

Franklin Morales proved to be a valuable asset to the Red Sox last season, and his versatility didn’t go unnoticed.

According to The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, a few teams have contacted the Sox about Morales this offseason and a few others have the left-hander on their list of pitchers to watch closely in spring training.

Morales went 3-4 with a 3.77 ERA in 37 appearances last season. While the lefty served primarily in a relief role, the Red Sox did use him as a starter for nine games, which evidently was enough to intrigue some teams. Cafardo notes that teams will be interested this spring to see if Morales can consistently maintain his high velocity — around 96 mph to be exact — for a full outing.

While it’s unclear which teams contacted the Red Sox about Morales, Cafardo thinks that the Nationals could be a suitor if Gio Gonzalez is forced to miss any time as a result of his alleged involvement with a PED-selling, anti-aging clinic in Miami.

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