Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com tweets that Seattle Mariners DH/1B Kendrys Morales has been claimed off revocable trade waivers.
An unknown team has put in the claim, but it would make sense for the claim to come from an American League team. Every team in the AL would have a chance to acquire him ahead of National League clubs because the waiver process works in reverse order of the standings.
The Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees have been in the market for offense as their divisional races heat up, and the Yankees had been linked to Morales earlier during the season (even though they never called about him, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com). Even though he’s played just 27 games at first base this season, he would serve as the right-handed counterpart to Lyle Overbay.
The Yankees did just pick up Mark Reynolds—who hasn’t been terrible—but picking up a bat like Morales’ would be ideal for their playoff push.
Morales has performed well in his first season with the Mariners, posting a line of .281/.338/.446 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, though, and Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik could choose to let him walk.
Instead, he’ll now have two days to work out a trade with the claiming team. Again, this team is currently unknown. They will likely remain unknown until a trade is either reached or falls through.
The Yankees have some recent trade history with the Mariners, as they dealt Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi prior to last season for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Zduriencik could have a more open line of communication due to their recent history.
Acquiring Morales shouldn’t take all that much. The Yankees can offer the Mariners the ability to take on the remainder of his $5.25 million and even swing a low-level prospect their way. A guy like pitcher Zach Woods or catcher Tyson Blaser (both from High-A Tampa) could interest the M’s.
Adding a switch-hitter like Morales to the middle of the lineup could have huge implications on the AL East for the Yankees. With pretty much the entire lineup finally healthy (minus Mark Teixeira, of course), bringing in some more power could be the last piece to a playoff berth.
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