OAKLAND — The A’s appear to have found a power bat to fill the absence of Matt Olson. The club announced the acquisition of slugger Kendrys Morales in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday in exchange for minor league infielder Jesús Lopez and international slot money. Morales, 35, hit .249 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI last year with the Blue Jays and is a career .268 hitter with 211 home runs over 12 big league seasons. He was primarily their designated hitter, only playing 18 of 130 games at first base, but he won’t DH much with Khris Davis around. Morales is likely to get some time at first base with Olson currently out at least a month following surgery that involved a right hamate excision from his right hand. While Morales boasts a career .994 fielding percentage, he has only played 46 games at first since 2015, so it remains to be seen just how much time the A’s will use him at the position. One possibility would be to pair the switch-hitting Morales with right-handed hitting Mark Canha in a platoon role. The numbers suggest Morales will likely be utilized often against right-handed pitching. He hit .274 with 18 of his home runs against righties in 2018 as opposed to just a .199 average against left-handers. Right-handed pitcher Jharel Cotton was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to make room on the A’s 40-man roster. Though no corresponding move to add Morales to the active roster has been made official, the likely option here will be to send Franklin Barreto down to Triple-A. Barreto was the A’s top hitter this spring with a .351 batting average, but the club will likely want Barreto to get regular at-bats in the minors rather than just sit on the bench in the majors. Lopez, 22, spent his 2018 season at Single-A Beloit where he hit .238 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs.<doc-sep>TORONTO — Veteran designated hitter Kendrys Morales was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. The Blue Jays also sent cash considerations to Oakland. This deal is about roster flexibility, plain and simple. Long overdue.#BlueJays valued Morales’ presence in the clubhouse, but the flexibility and ability to cycle the DH is WAY more valuable. — Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) March 28, 2019 Toronto got minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and international signing bonus pool space in return. The 35-year-old Morales hit .249 with 15 doubles, 21 home runs, and 50 walks over 130 games in 2018. The switch-hitter played two seasons in Toronto, combining to hit .249 with 40 doubles, 49 home runs, and 142 RBIs across 280 games. Morales has a career average of .268 and 211 home runs over 12 MLB seasons with the Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals. Lopez played all of 2018 with the Class-A Beloit Snappers where he hit .239 with 15 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, and 41 RBIs in 84 games. The 22-year-old right-handed hitter has batted .221 with 68 extra-base hits and 111 RBIs across 333 games over five minor league seasons.<doc-sep>TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 5: Kendrys Morales #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits an RBI single in the first inning during MLB game action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on September 5, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) Blue Jays: It looks like there is harmony in the rotation once again Blue Jays: It looks like there is harmony in the rotation once again by Chris Henderson In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, the Blue Jays have traded Kendrys Morales to the Oakland A’s in exchange for INF Jesus Lopes and international bonus pool money. While the Blue Jays have been shopping many of their veteran players throughout the winter, I’m surprised to say that Kendrys Morales has been traded to the Oakland A’s on the eve of Opening Day. It’s not that Morales isn’t still a solid hitter, I’m just surprised that in today’s evolving league that the Blue Jays were able to find a taker for a DH only option, however the injury to Matt Olson last week could have something to do with that. In return the Blue Jays will be getting a minor league infielder named Jesus Lopes, as well as some international bonus pool signing space, which could certainly carry some value. Regardless of the return though, perhaps the greatest benefit is that the Blue Jays have opened up more at bats for their young players. It was thought that Morales would be leaned on this season as a key leadership piece in the dugout, but it appears the Blue Jays are comfortable moving on without him. He was lauded as someone that the Latin-American players could look to, especially guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., but moving on from the 36 year should be easy enough to handle with other strong voices kicking around, especially new manager Charlie Montoyo. Morales overcame a dreadful start last season to become one of, if not the best hitter on the team in the second half. He finished the season with a .249/.331/.438 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI in 2019, playing in 130 games and accumulating 413 at bats throughout the year. My assumption is that the Blue Jays will now make sure that Teoscar Hernandez is in the lineup all the time, whether he’s in the outfield or in the DH spot. It remains to be seen if the Blue Jays have any other corresponding moves, but with the talent in their minor league system close to being ready to contribute, they may not want to fill that space anyway. More to come as we learn more details on the trade, but for now, that’s for the memories Mr. Morales.<doc-sep>Veteran designated hitter Kendrys Morales was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. The Blue Jays get minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and $1 million in international signing bonus pool allocation. Toronto will pay Oakland $11,445,000, meaning Morales costs Oakland only the $555,000 minimum. The switch-hitting Morales hit .249 with 21 homers and 57 RBIs in 130 games last season for Toronto. Morales is getting $12 million in the final year of a $33 million, three-year contract. The switch-hitter played two seasons in Toronto, combining to hit .249 with 40 doubles, 49 home runs, and 142 RBIs across 280 games. Morales has a career average of .268 and 211 home runs over 12 MLB seasons with the Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals. Really sad to see KMo go.. never let our language barrier get in the way of giving me advice or pointers during games/practice. Doesn’t get any credit for being a leader but what he does behind the scenes for those young kids is unbelievable. Good luck kmo —@KPILLAR4 Lopez played all of 2018 with the Class-A Beloit Snappers where he hit .239 with 15 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, and 41 RBIs in 84 games. The 22-year-old right-handed hitter has batted .221 with 68 extra-base hits and 111 RBIs across 333 games over five minor league seasons.<doc-sep>
The Toronto Blue Jays traded veteran designated hitter Kendrys Morales and cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday for minor-league infielder Jesus Lopez and international signing bonus space, the teams announced. Toronto is getting $1 million in bonus pool money, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Morales is expected to play first base for the Athletics while Matt Olson recovers from hand surgery, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The 35-year-old Cuban has worked almost exclusively as a DH since 2012 and made just 30 appearances as a first baseman over the last two seasons combined. However, Athletics general manager David Forst told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that Morales "really enjoys playing first base" and is looking forward to donning a trapper's mitt in Oakland. To open a 40-man roster spot for Morales, Oakland moved pitcher Jharel Cotton to the 60-day disabled list. Infielder Franklin Barreto is likely to be optioned to Triple-A once Morales is activated, per Slusser. Morales, who won the 2015 Edgar Martinez DH of the Year award, spent the last two campaigns in Toronto and is in the final season of a three-year, $33-million contract. The Blue Jays are covering more than $10 million of his $12-million salary this year, a source told Slusser. Last year, the switch-hitter slashed .249/.331/.438 (112 OPS+) with 21 homers, 57 RBIs, and 50 walks to 95 strikeouts over 130 games. Although his production did not lead to on-field success for the Blue Jays, Morales was looked upon as a clubhouse leader and mentor to many of the team's young Latin American players. Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar and Opening Day starter Marcus Stroman both shouted out their former teammate after the trade was completed: Can’t agree with this more. He’s a legend. His guidance for the young ones is amazing. Always wanting to spread his knowledge and help. Love you KMo! https://t.co/bX0CxHSFk3 — Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) March 28, 2019 Lopez, the infield prospect heading to Toronto, is entering his sixth professional season. The 22-year-old Nicaraguan slashed .239/.293/.402 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs in 84 games at Single-A Beloit last year while seeing time defensively at third base, second, and shortstop. Lopez was not ranked among MLB Pipeline's top 30 Athletics prospects.