SAN FRANCISCO — Following Monday’s shaky outing against the Giants, starting pitcher Franklin Morales will be sent down to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Wednesday, the team learned Tuesday.
Reliever Kip Wells will not be considered as a replacement, as he was sent back to Denver on Tuesday to have a hand injury examined.
The move is not a surprise given that manager Clint Hurdle put the young left-hander on notice before the outing. Hurdle told Morales before Tuesday that without improvement, he would be optioned down to Colorado Springs.
“This is something that needs to be done,” said pitching coach Bob Apodaca. “This will allow him to go into an environment where they can take some of the pressure off.”
Morales walked a season-high five batters on Monday, lasting just 4 1/3 innings in the 4-0 loss to the Giants, Colorado’s eighth loss in its past nine games.
“At this point in time there were just too many inconsistencies,” Hurdle said Tuesday.
Hurdle is schedule to meet with reporters at 6 p.m. mountain time, at which point he’s expected to address plans for Morales.
On Monday, general manager Dan O’Dowd said that Josh Towers would be a possible replacement in the rotation, which has three struggling members — Morales, Ubaldo Jimenez and Mark Redman.
The Rockies are also discussing the possibility of acquiring Kansas City pitcher Jorge De La Rosa as the player to be named from the Ramon Ramirez trade from spring training. He has pitched well in Triple-A for the Royals this season.
For now, Redman’s next start will skipped and he will be available for bullpen work until he starts again on May 6. Saturday’s starter in replace of Morales has not been determined, with a corresponding roster move expected as soon as Wednesday.
More Lineup tweaks
Hurdle continues to experiment with his lineup. Entering Tuesday’s game he put slumping shortstop Troy Tulowitzki back on the bench. Tonight’s lineup:
CF Willy Taveras
1B Todd Helton
LF Matt Holliday
3B Garrett Atkins
RF Brad Hawpe
2B Jeff Baker
SS Clint Barmes
C Yorvit Torrealbe
P Aaron Cook
