At his best, Morales was a high-quality threat from both sides of the plate. But the first baseman/DH had a fair number of peaks and valleys over the years. Ultimately, he finishes with 5,357 plate appearances of .265/.327/.453 hitting and 213 career long balls.

Morales’s best season came in 2009 with the Angels, when he launched 34 home runs and finished fifth in the American League MVP voting. He was similarly productive in the ensuing season until a major high turned into a brutal low. Morales shattered his ankle and lower leg on home plate after launching a walk-off grand slam. He missed over a hundred games in 2010 and all of the 2011 season.

Fortunately, Morales was able to bounce back and return to being quite a productive hitter. After a quality 2012 showing, he was shipped to the Mariners for Jason Vargas. With another good year in the books, Morales hit the open market in search of a big multi-year deal. He ended up becoming a qualifying offer cautionary tale, waiting until mid-season to sign with the Twins — who ended up dealing him back to Seattle when things didn’t go as hoped.

Despite the rough 2014 season, the Royals took a shot on Morales on a two-year deal. He produced at a 119 OPS+ clip in K.C., identical to the mark he carried over his six seasons with the Halos. Morales’s ensuing three-year, $33MM deal with the Blue Jays didn’t work out so well. He was only an average offensive performer in Toronto. The organization ended up eating most of the deal’s final year in a trade with the Athletics, who ultimately passed Morales on to the Yankees in what proved a miserable 2019 season for the veteran.

Now, at 36 years of age, Morales won’t attempt yet another bounceback. Instead, he says, he intends to spend more time with his family. MLBTR wishes Morales all the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

It’s been a tough season for Morales, 36, who has posted a combined .194/.313/.253 batting line with two home runs in 201 plate appearances between the Athletics and Yankees. Morales is in the final season of a three-year, $33MM contract that he initially signed with the Blue Jays, who traded him to Oakland on the eve of their season opener in 2019. Despite his struggles this year, Morales notched a solid .249/.331/.438 batting line with 21 homers and 15 doubles in 471 plate appearances with Toronto a season ago. Any team that signs Morales would only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends in the Majors.

Morales’ roster spot has looked to be in jeopardy since Didi Gregorius returned and the team and added another healthy option to the infield mix. He dodged one bullet and quite likely had his Yankees tenure prolonged due to the calf strain that landed him on the IL 12 days ago, but his tenure in the Bronx now looks to have reached its conclusion. With Luke Voit and the newly acquired Edwin Encarnacion now likely to split time between first base and DH, the Yankees simply don’t have room on the roster for Morales.

The 35-year-old Morales mustered only a .177/.320/.242 line through 75 plate appearances with New York while splitting first base/DH duties with Voit.  It’s been a rough season overall for the veteran slugger, who has followed up a solid 2018 season at the plate (.249/.331/.438) with a .194/.313/.253 effort in 201 plate appearances between Oakland and New York. The Yankees will gauge interest in Morales, if they haven’t done so already, and if there’s no suitor in a trade, he’ll likely be released and return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Morales, 35, hasn’t hit well since being acquired from the Athletics. He’s stumbled to a .177/.320/.242 line through 75 plate appearances with New York while splitting first base/DH duties with Luke Voit. Morales looked like he could be at risk of losing his spot with the Yankees when Didi Gregorius returned and the team needed to open a 40-man roster spot. However, the organization thought enough of the veteran Morales that they instead opted to move Troy Tulowitzki to the 60-day IL and option Thairo Estrada to Triple-A instead.

It’s been a rough season overall for Morales, who has followed up a solid 2018 season at the plate (.249/.331/.438) with a .194/.313/.253 effort in 201 plate appearances between Oakland and the Bronx. The IL placement will keep him in the team’s plans for the time being, but Morales will need to eventually start swinging a better bat if he’s to stick around on a Yankees roster that should soon be getting several key sluggers as they return from their own IL stints.

Morales, 35, was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday. Oakland had picked him up early in the season after losing first baseman Matt Olson to a hand injury for more than a month. However, the veteran Morales struggled quite a bit in limited time with the A’s, hitting at a .204/.310/.259 clip and connecting on just one home run. With Olson and fellow first baseman Mark Canha healthy in Oakland alongside designated hitter Khris Davis, there simply wasn’t a place on the Athletics’ roster for the struggling Morales.

That’s not necessarily the case up in the Bronx, however. While Luke Voit has solidified himself as the team’s primary first baseman, the outfield/designated hitter mix is considerably less certain. Morales could see fairly regular time at DH in the short term, leaving the Yankees with a starting outfield of Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier, while Cameron Maybin shifts into a reserve role. Although Morales’ 2019 production has been nonexistent, he’s just a year removed from a respectable .249/.331/.438 batting line and is a combined .270/.330/.465 hitter dating back to the 2009 season — when he first established himself as a Major League regular.

Of course, that alignment isn’t anywhere near what the Yankees had envisioned heading into the season, but the team’s jaw-dropping list of injuries has been well documented by now. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Troy Tulowitzki and Didi Gregorius are all on the injured list, while Aaron Hicks was only just activated from the IL and has yet to make his season debut. To their credit, despite that slate of injuries, the Yankees are hitting .253/.333/.430 (104 wRC+) as a team and rank right in the middle of the pack in terms of total runs scored among MLB clubs.

“Unfortunately, we had to let him go,” Melvin said of the decision to designate Morales. “I’ll tell you what, this guy, maybe he didn’t put up great numbers, but this is a terrific teammate. Yesterday, he didn’t play, and there’s a lot of speculation about him going away, and all he’s doing is rooting for every guy we have on every pitch. … Unfortunately, we don’t have room for him right now, and somebody’s going to pick him up. I know that, but boy, we really enjoyed our time with him. He’s a real pro.”

It was indeed a struggle for Morales, 35, during his limited time with the A’s. Oakland acquired him in late March after losing Matt Olson to a hand injury, and Morales saw pretty regular playing time at first base and DH. However, in his 126 plate appearances with the organization, he hit just .204/.310/.259 with one home run.

Morales drew his share of walks and didn’t strike out at a high clip, but the veteran slugger wasn’t able to produce enough at the plate for the organization to consider retaining him as a bench bat now that Olson is back in the lineup. With Olson and Canha both healthy and Khris Davis entrenched at designated hitter, there’s not much of a role in Oakland for Morales at this point.

The Athletics will have a week to trade or release Morales. Though he played the field in Oakland, most clubs will look at him as a pure DH option, so he’s likeliest to land with an American League club. The Indians have been mixing at matching throughout their lineup all season and parted ways with Hanley Ramirez already, while the Twins are evaluating Nelson Cruz for a potential injury. Morales could also latch on with a non-contender who hopes to bring in a veteran leader that can mentor a younger, developing core of players.

• Khris Davis has been hampered by a left hip contusion, though manager Bob Melvin told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters that the team hopes to have Davis back in the lineup for Friday’s game.  Davis suffered the injury crashing into the wall to make a catch in foul territory on Sunday, which necessitated an early removal from the game.  He attempted to return on Wednesday, though was removed in the fifth inning once his hip again caused discomfort.  While this abbreviated appearance means an IL stint couldn’t be backdated three more days, it doesn’t yet appear as though the problem is serious enough for Davis to miss much more time.
• Mark Canha is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday and is expected to be activated from the injured list next week. (MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos was among those who reported the news.)  A sprained right wrist sidelined Canha on April 29, though he’ll likely end up missing only slightly beyond the minimum 10 days.  Canha was off to a solid start prior to the injury, hitting .200/.377/.375 over his first 53 plate appearances of the season.  As Gallegos notes, Canha’s return could mean the end for Kendrys Morales on the Oakland roster, as Davis’ health issues may have given Morales only a brief respite now that Matt Olson is back from the IL.
• Pitching is the main focus of Slusser’s latest fan mailbag piece in the Chronicle, as the A’s continue to deal with uncertainty in both their rotation and bullpen.  Slusser figures the A’s will look to add a reliever or two if the team is in contention at the trade deadline, though in terms of in-house names, Oakland isn’t likely to part ways with Fernando Rodney any time soon.  Four of Rodney’s 15 appearances this season have resulted in multiple runs allowed, including an ugly outing on Sunday that saw him allow four runs in just a third of an inning in a walkoff loss to the Pirates.  Rodney has an 8.78 ERA and a 6.1 BB/9 over 13 1/3 innings for the Athletics this season, though Slusser says the A’s will give Rodney time to get back on track in lower-leverage situations.
• Sonny Gray took the mound for the Reds against the A’s on Wednesday, leading The Athletic’s Julian McWilliams (subscription required) to look back on the trade that sent Gray from Oakland to the Yankees back in July 2017.  Specifically, the piece looks at Jorge Mateo, who is off to a .340/.378/.578 start in 156 Triple-A plate appearances after struggling at the Triple-A level in 2018.  That lost year knocked back from his previous status as a top-100 prospect in baseball, though it might have ended up being something of a needed “wake-up call” for Mateo, McWilliams writes, as scouts had questioned Mateo’s effort level and focus.  “At some point in time he’s going to be in the big leagues, whether it’s this year or next year. He’s a really talented kid,” Melvin said.  Mateo has played exclusively at shortstop and second base over the last two seasons, potentially tabbing him as a replacement for Marcus Semien (who is scheduled for free agency following the 2020 season).

Olson has been working back from a hamate fracture that has sidelined him for most of the season to date. The 25-year-old will look to pick back up where he left off last season, when he launched 28 home runs, slashed .247/.335/.453, and secured a Gold Glove Award.

The A’s could certainly use a boost. Entering play today, the club was stuck in the AL West cellar with a six-game gap separating them from first place.

Oakland had acquired Morales in the wake of Olson’s injury in hopes of avoiding this sort of early hole. A veteran switch-hitter who has mostly featured as a designated hitter in recent years, Morales has been utilized at first base since the A’s already have a full-time DH in Khris Davis.

Unfortunately, that move hasn’t worked out as hoped. Morales carries only a .209/.318/.275 slash with a single home run through 107 plate appearances. That showing is likely to spell the end of his tenure with the A’s, though Slusser adds that it’s possible he could stay on the roster for a few more days if the club elects to option down outfielder Skye Bolt.

It was always going to be tough to carry Morales on a roster with Olson and Davis. Given his lack of production, it’s no surprise to hear that such a move is imminent. It’s still a bit of a tough pill for the Oakland org to swallow, though, having given up some trade resources and taken on salary to add Morales.

YESTERDAY, 7:40pm: Slusser reports that the Jays are covering more than $10MM of the $12MM remaining on Morales’ contract.

7:06pm: The two teams have announced the trade. Toronto is sending Morales and cash to Oakland in exchange for minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and international bonus money. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Oakland transferred right-hander Jharel Cotton to the 60-day injured list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

7:02pm: In a surprising move, the Blue Jays have traded designated hitter Kendrys Morales to the Athletics, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The 35-year-old Morales is earning $12MM in the final season of a three-year, $33MM contract with the Jays, so presumably Toronto is providing substantial financial relief in the deal.

Oakland recently lost first baseman Matt Olson when the slugger underwent a hamate excision procedure on his right hand. Olson suffered the injury in the second game of the Athletics’ two-game set against the Mariners in Tokyo. With Khris Davis locked in as the primary designated hitter in Oakland, it seems likely that Morales will play first base while Olson is sidelined. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Olson will be out anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Morales won’t match Olson’s offensive output or especially his glovework, but the veteran switch-hitter is coming off a solid 2018 rebound campaign in which he batted .249/.331/.439 (112 OPS+) with 21 homers. His recent work at first base has been extremely limited, as he’s logged just 30 games at the position over the past two seasons. The A’s also have Mark Canha and Jurickson Profar (who played 24 games at first base last year in Texas) as alternative options at first base should the need arise.

The addition of Morales will also help to balance out a righty-heavy Athletics roster. Prior to the trade for Morales, switch-hitters Profar and Robbie Grossman were the only two players on the active roster capable of hitting left-handed. A career .264/.328/.468 hitter against right-handed pitchers, Morales isn’t exactly a standout but will present a sound platoon partner for the right-handed-hitting Canha.

For the Blue Jays, the move creates some much-needed roster flexibility. Teoscar Hernandez can now receive semi-regular at-bats in the DH slot, with Billy McKinney, Kevin Pillar and Randal Grichuk lining up around the outfield. The Jays can also rotate some other regulars through the DH slot, and the trade of Morales could even create a path to the Majors 24-year-old first baseman Rowdy Tellez on the heels of a .280/.308/.600 showing in Spring Training.

The return for the Jays, as one would expect when dealing a soon-to-be 36-year-old DH in the final season of an undesirable contract, is minimal. The 21-year-old Lopez spent the 2018 season with Class-A Beloit, where he hit .239/.293/.402 with 10 homers, 15 doubles and a couple of triples in 326 plate appearances. He spent time at third base (587 innings), shortstop (65 innings) and second base (53 innings). Lopez wasn’t ranked among the Athletics’ top prospects. The amount of international money picked up by Toronto in tonight’s deal isn’t clear, though international funds must be traded in blocks of at least $250K.

Morales is in the second season of a three-year, $33MM contract in Toronto. While he’s recently gone through a near-historic hot streak at the plate, homering in seven consecutive games to boost his overall batting line to a strong .261/.342/.480 with 21 long balls, he’s still a 35-year-old DH owed about $13MM through the end of the 2019 season.

As for Estrada, he’s struggled through back issues and performed poorly of late, pitching to a 6.53 ERA with a 19-to-15 K/BB ratio across eight starts (30 1/3 innings). He’s on a one-year, $13MM contract and is owed about $2.36MM of that total through the end of the year — a hefty sum for perhaps six starts from an ailing 35-year-old.

The Blue Jays could always add some cash in order to help facilitate a trade involving either player, though it’d require a rather sizable sum in the case of Morales — recent hot streak notwithstanding. The Brewers and Mariners are among the teams that have been connected to rotation upgrades in recent weeks, though it’s not clear whether either organization will ultimately find a deal to their liking. It’s tougher to see any sort of market for Morales developing, though the Jays certainly figure to gauge interest over the next couple of days.

Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up Players’ Weekend…

• Relievers were the only position group that seemed immune to last offseason’s stalled free agent market, as several bullpen arms scored lucrative multi-year contracts.  Looking ahead to this winter, however, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman wonders if the bullpen market could also begin to suffer, in no small because so many of the relievers who signed those big contracts last offseason have struggled in the first year of their deals.  This year’s free agent is headlined by such names as Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, and Cody Allen, though the latter three have seen their value diminish due to injuries or ineffectiveness.
• Chris Archer allowed six runs in four innings in the Pirates’ loss to the Brewers today, and the right-hander now has a 6.45 ERA over five starts in a Pittsburgh uniform.  Needless to say, this isn’t what the Bucs were hoping for after landing Archer for a hefty prospect package at the trade deadline, though Archer himself doesn’t feel he’s that far off his usual form.  Archer told reporters, including The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel, that he thinks his struggles are “based on some minor things here and there that are easily adjustable.”  Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage feels Archer needs to pitch inside more often and move his fastball around the strike zone, though the bottom line is, as Archer said, “I just have to be better, period.”
• As of Saturday, Red Sox pitchers had a 3.08 ERA when Sandy Leon was catching, compared to a 3.84 ERA with another catcher.  Leon’s game-calling and defensive abilities have made him a favorite of the Sox rotation, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes, and the team hasn’t lost a beat with Leon taking the bulk of playing time with Christian Vazquez on the DL.  Mastrodonato’s piece also delves into Leon’s early development as a player, and how his quick grasp of English helped him easily learn how to work with pitchers.

First and foremost, the vast majority of Major League players will be placed on revocable trade waivers this month — many assuredly already have been — with most instances going unreported. By month’s end, there will likely be dozens of players who have cleared waivers without garnering any sort of headlines. It also bears repeating that players can still be traded in September, but Aug. 31 serves as the deadline for postseason eligibility, making it a sort of soft trade deadline. Deals of note are rarely consummated in September, though Juan Nicasio did change hands after Aug. 31 in 2017.

Lastly, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades or simply need a quick refresher, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work to kick off the month. We’ll keep this post updated throughout the remainder of the month for those who wish to bookmark it.

Onto the names…

(Last update: 8/29)

• Jerry Blevins, Mets (link): Blevins has a long track record of shutting down left-handed opponents, but lefties have clobbered him so far in 2018 while righties have been unusually ineffective. He’s a specialist who’s owed $1.23MM through season’s end before reaching free agency, making him an expensive piece with a fairly limited role.
• Kendrys Morales & Marco Estrada, Blue Jays (link): Both relatively expensive veterans went unclaimed, with Morales still owed $13MM through the end of the 2019 season and Estrada owed more than $2.5MM through the end of the current campaign. Morales has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters but comes with no defensive value, largely limiting him to an AL club or an NL club with an opening at first base. Estrada has pitched through back struggles for the past couple of seasons and recently acknowledged that he’s been playing through discomfort again recently. He has an ERA north of 6.00 dating back to July 30.
• Josh Harrison, Pirates (link): A run of success in advance of the non-waiver deadline led the Bucs to add two controllable pitchers, but the team has since sunk in the standings. That could lead to some late-August salary dumping, with Harrison among the most likely candidates to be moved. He’s not hitting much this year and is playing on a fairly hefty $10MM annual salary, but it’s certainly possible to imagine a contender adding the scrappy, athletic, and versatile utilityman. It seems likely the Pirates will be paying Harrison $1.5MM in buyouts at season’s end regardless, so perhaps the team will cover that expense while trying to offload Harrison’s remaining 2018 salary.
• Alex Cobb & Andrew Cashner, Orioles (link): Both Cashner and Cobb have struggled through disappointing seasons after signing multi-year deals this past winter. Cobb, in particular, was a lock to clear waivers with three years remaining on an ill-fated four-year deal that promised him $57MM. Cashner’s two-year deal is worth a more palatable $16MM in total, but he’s barely been able to keep his ERA under 5.00 while delivering middling K/BB numbers and career-worst 42.6 percent ground-ball rate.
• Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters & Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals (link): A trio of expensive Nats vets reportedly cleared waivers at the same time, though there’s virtually no chance that Zimmerman is moved with more than $23MM owed to him through next season and full trade veto power via his 10-and-5 rights. Wieters hasn’t hit enough to make himself a very desirable trade chip, though perhaps a contender would add him as a backup if the Nats absorbed most of the just over $2MM remaining on his contract. Gonzalez is the most plausible of this bunch, though, as very few starters have made it through waivers. While he was still owed about $2.5MM at the time he was reported to have cleared and is having a down season, Gonzalez still misses bats and induces grounders, and he has a lengthy track record of solid mid-rotation work.
• Andrew McCutchen, Giants (link): Cutch was owed $3.155MM at the time he cleared waivers, and while he’s not the MVP-caliber bat he was in his mid-20s now that he’s approaching his 32nd birthday, he’s still a solidly above-average hitter. In 538 plate appearances with the Giants, he’s slashed .255/.353/.412 with 14 home runs, 26 doubles and two triples. McCutchen’s 44.6 percent hard-hit rate is the best of his career and ranks 22nd among qualified hitters. The Giants would likely be willing to pay down some of his deal to get a decent prospect, and there should be trade interest.
• Starlin Castro, Marlins (link): Castro is owed the balance of this year’s $10MM salary plus another $11MM in 2019 and at least a $1MM buyout on a $16MM option for the 2020 season. He’s given the Marlins slightly above-average offense with respectable defense at second base, but there aren’t too many contenders looking for upgrades at second base. Even if he’s not moved in August, the Marlins will likely shop him again this winter.
• Justin Smoak, Blue Jays (link): It’s at least a moderate surprise that Smoak, an affordable switch-hitting slugger in the midst of a productive season, cleared waivers. He was hitting .255/.365/.463 with 18 homers at the time he was reported to have cleared, and while that’s not up to his Herculean 2017 levels, it’s still plenty productive. He’s earning $4.1MM in 2018 and has a cheap $6MM club option for the 2019 season that the Jays will surely pick up if he is not dealt.
• C.J. Cron, Rays (link): Cron has rewarded the Rays for buying low on him this past offseason, delivering a career-best .250/.317/.480 slash with a personal best 24 home runs through 454 plate appearances as of the time he was reported to have cleared waivers. He’s earning just $2.3MM in 2018 and is controlled for another two seasons, though he doesn’t bring any defensive or baserunning value to the table. Cron also doesn’t walk at an especially high clip, so he’s unlikely to emerge as a serious on-base threat.
• Wilmer Flores, Mets (link): Flores has experience at all four infield positions and was hitting .275/.326/.444 at the time he was reported to have cleared waivers. But he’s been unusually inept against left-handed opponents in 2018 and is due a raise on this season’s $3.4MM salary in arbitration this offseason. He could deepen a team’s bench, but contenders would likely have had more interest were he performing well against southpaws. The Mets maintain that they’re aiming to contend in 2019, so perhaps they prefer to hang onto Flores.
• Lucas Duda, Royals (link): Duda has played far too much against lefties in 2018, dragging down his overall numbers, but he’s still a threat against right-handed opposition. He’s limited to first base, but with a $3.5MM salary he’d be an affordable bench bat for any contending club.
• Logan Forsythe, Twins (link): Forsythe, acquired in the Brian Dozier trade largely as a means of offsetting the duo’s identical $9MM salaries, wasn’t even a lock to stick around with Minnesota after being acquired, but he’s batted .361/.418/.426 through his first 67 PAs in Minnesota, helping to rebuild some stock after a miserable season in L.A. He won’t net the Twins much of anything in a trade if he’s moved, but the Twins might not mind simply shedding the remaining $2.1MM on his salary (as of Aug. 19).
• Adam Jones, Orioles (link): Jones was reported to have cleared waivers on Aug. 16 and was owed $4.27MM of his $17MM salary at the time. While he’s eligible to be traded to any team, it’s entirely up to Jones whether he moves. The five-time All-Star has 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service, the past five with one team), meaning he can veto any trade. Jones reportedly already exercised those rights rather than approving a trade to the Phillies. He’s hitting .285/.317/.438 as of this writing and is in the midst of a torrid hot streak, but he has family and charity reasons (among others) for wanting to remain in Baltimore.
• Curtis Granderson, Blue Jays (link): Now 37 years of age, the Grandy Man isn’t the star that he once was, but he remains a reasonably productive bat against right-handed pitching. He’s playing the season on a one-year, $5MM deal and is still owed about $1.23MM of that salary as of this morning. While Granderson is largely limited to the outfield corners, he could be a useful bench piece for contending clubs down the stretch.
• Francisco Liriano, Jose Iglesias & Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers (link): It was a 100 percent certainty that Zimmermann, still owed $55.9MM through 2020 (including the remainder of this year’s salary) would clear waivers. Even with improved results this season (4.36 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 in 88 2/3 innings), there’s virtually no hope of the Tigers shedding that salary this month. It was less certain that rentals like Liriano or Iglesias would clear, however. Liriano’s ERA ballooned to 4.72 last night after he was roughed up by the Twins, but he’s held left-handed pitching to a terrible .141/.247/.239 slash through 81 plate appearances. With $984K still owed to him through the end of the year, he’d be a reasonably affordable lefty specialist for a contending team’s bullpen. As for Iglesias, it seems quite likely that he’ll be moved to a contender. He’s hitting a respectable, albeit unspectacular .264/.306/.389 while playing terrific defense at shortstop. He’s owed $1.54MM of his $6.275MM salary through season’s end.
• Joe Mauer & Logan Morrison, Twins (link): Morrison won’t be going anywhere after having season-ending hip surgery last week, and it seems likely that the Twins will buy out his 2019 option after a disappointing all-around season. Mauer, like Jones, has the right to veto any trade and wouldn’t be in much demand anyhow. After a strong .305/.384/.417 slash in 2017, he’s posted a more pedestrian .272/.352/.358 line in 2018 — the final season of his eight-year, $184MM contract.

Some more from around the AL East…

• Yankees GM Brian Cashman “wouldn’t comment” to media (including the New York Post’s George A. King III) on a recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi about the Yankees’ interest in Mike Moustakas as a possible first base option.  King did note that the Royals recently had scouts watching not just the Yankees, but also New York’s Double-A and Triple-A teams as well, so Kansas City seems to be checking out both Major League and minor league players in the organization.  In terms of what the return could be on a potential Moustakas trade, King doubts that the Yankees would part with current first baseman Greg Bird for just two-plus months of Moustakas’ services.
• An MRI revealed inflammation in Jonathan Loaisiga’s throwing shoulder, as reported by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and others.  The Yankees right-hander will meet with doctors in New York on Monday to further access the problem.  Loaisiga made his Major League debut earlier this season and pitched well in four starts, posting a 3.00 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and a 2.63 K/BB rate over 18 innings.  That performance did much to elevate his value, particularly with the Yankees short on rotation depth options.  Loaisiga had been sent down to the minors last week but was expected to be recalled for a start on Monday when the Yankees had a double-header against the Orioles,
• Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks was taking some grounders at second base prior to Friday’s game, George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  It isn’t very likely that Hicks will actually see time at the keystone with Gleyber Torres on the DL, as New York already has Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, and Tyler Wade (all of whom were also participating in the fielding drills) on hand to play the position.  It could be that the Yankees were simply exploring all options, perhaps with a very long view towards maximum roster flexibility during a playoff series, or something of that nature.  Hicks also did some warmups as a first baseman last season, underscoring his athleticism and versatility.
• Kendrys Morales had a measly .499 OPS in his first 109 plate appearances this season, but has since posted an .899 OPS over his last 129 PA.  While a swing tweak or perhaps simple reversion to the mean could be behind the turnaround, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Morales’ hot streak coincides with his decision to stop wearing glasses at the plate.  Morales had produced strong hard-hit ball numbers all season long, though he is now putting the ball in the air with far more regularity since losing the frames.  It isn’t likely that Morales has revived his value enough to become a legitimate trade chip for the Blue Jays, as he is limited to a DH role and is still owed roughly $17MM through the 2019 season, though it is a bit of a relief for Toronto given that Morales looked like a release candidate through the first six weeks.

• The Nationals were linked to Jake Arrieta during the offseason, and Heyman reports that the team was interested in signing the righty to a contract similar to the three-year, $75MM deal Arrieta eventually got from the Phillies.  No offer was officially made, however, while GM Mike Rizzo had interest in adding Arrieta, ownership declined to make another big investment in a starting pitcher.  With Arrieta pitching well and the Phillies ahead of the Nats in the NL East standings, this non-signing could be an interesting what-if scenario for the future, though Washington’s rotation is already one of the best in baseball.
• Speaking of winter what-ifs, Heyman adds the Mariners, Braves, and Dodgers to the list of teams that had interest in signing Lorenzo Cain before the center fielder inked a deal with the Brewers.  Seattle had a clear need for center field help prior to the Dee Gordon trade, though the other two wouldn’t seem to be obvious fits on paper for Cain’s services.  The Braves already have Ender Inciarte in center, plus they needed to trade Matt Kemp to make room for Ronald Acuna’s eventual promotion; potentially, Cain could’ve been a fit if Atlanta had managed to trade Nick Markakis (and then convince Cain to shift to right field).  For the Dodgers, signing Cain would have run counter to their plan of getting under the luxury tax threshold, plus L.A. would’ve had to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus pool funds as compensation for signing Cain.  It’s also possible, of course, that both the Braves and Dodgers merely had a due diligence-type of interest in Cain given that his free agent stint stretched into late January.
• Khris Davis and the Athletics were in talks about a one-year extension to cover Davis’ final season of arbitration eligibility, though Heyman reports that Davis declined an offer from the team.  It isn’t known whether negotiations are ongoing or if the two sides will table the issue.  Davis has a .235/.307/.497 slash line and 13 homers through his first 205 PA, so he is on pace to earn another big raise from his current $10.5MM salary in his last arb year.
• The Mets aren’t for sale, though “folks around the league believe” that Rays owner and New York native Stuart Sternberg would try to buy the the Mets if they were available.  Needless to say, the Mets would be a highly sought-after property if the Wilpon family did decide to sell — one would imagine the sale price of a team in the gigantic NYC media market would easily surpass the $2 billion mark.  Heyman writes that there is even some speculation Sternberg would try to move the Rays to New York or Montreal if the league allowed it, though obviously the Mets and Yankees would have something to say about the former option in terms of territorial-rights issues.  Sternberg’s relative lack of ties to his own team’s area (“he isn’t often in Tampa“) could also be an obstacle in the Rays’ longstanding desire for a new stadium.
• The Reds have been playing better under Jim Riggleman, but if the team does still want to make a long-term change in the dugout, Heyman hears that the team isn’t going to be spending big on a managerial salary.  A new skipper will almost certainly make less than Dusty Baker’s $3.5MM annual salary when he was running the team.  This could rule out a star hire like Joe Girardi, who impressed Reds ownership when he interviewed for the job prior to Baker’s hiring.  Interestingly, Heyman believes that Girardi — an Illinois native — could be a candidate if the White Sox decided to make a managerial change, though there isn’t any indication that the Sox are considering moving on from Rick Renteria.  That scenario would have a strong echo of Renteria’s last managerial job, when he stewarded the Cubs through some rebuilding years before being replaced by another star manager in Joe Maddon.
• The Royals had some interest “awhile back” in a reunion with Blue Jays DH Kendrys Morales, though that trade possibility has evaporated since both the Royals and Morales are badly struggling.  K.C. is looking like a deadline seller, while Morales is hitting so poorly (.163/.248/.279 through 117 PA) that the Jays may have to release him or eat all of the approximately $19.76MM left on his contract through the 2019 campaign.

Here’s more from the AL East:

• The Blue Jays may soon face a tough call on DH Kendrys Morales, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. The veteran switch-hitter is off to an abysmal start, though GM Ross Atkins says that the organization still has some grounds for optimism. While there isn’t a clear roster crunch at present, that could change. If Morales can’t generate some positive momentum, Nicholson-Smith suggests, the Toronto front office will increasingly find it difficult to keep the bat-only player on the roster.
• It seems that Rays righty Nathan Eovaldi is facing yet another hurdle. Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, via Twitter, the long-rehabbing starter won’t make it back as hoped later this month. While his elbow isn’t the culprit this time, thankfully, Eovaldi will first need to recover from a right rib muscle strain. The prognosis is not terribly clear at the moment, so it could yet be that this’ll be more of a speed bump than a roadblock, but it’s certainly disappointing to hear that Eovaldi has again been dealt with tough luck on the cusp of a return to the majors.
• Red Sox right-hander Steven Wright has been activated for the first time this year, the club announced. To create a roster spot, fellow righty Hector Velazquez is going onto the 10-day DL with a lower back strain. Wright served a 15-game suspension after opening the year on the shelf while recovering from knee surgery. He’ll likely work as a long man out of the Boston bullpen upon arrival, though he’s also likely the first man up if a rotation need arises.
• Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com checks in on where things stand for the Orioles roster. Despite a recent uptick in play, argues Connolly, the team must still be preparing to blow things up this summer. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams also argued recently, it’s hard to imagine a path back to contention in 2018 for the O’s. Meanwhile, Connolly wonders just why the Orioles placed a claim on slugging, reputedly poor-fielding corner man Renato Nunez. He suggests the org may simply hope to pass him through waivers once a 40-man spot is needed.