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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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    Toronto Blue Jays sign Kendrys Morales and a young Cuban defector in active day on free-agent market

    jedi17
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    • Post n°1

    Toronto Blue Jays sign Kendrys Morales and a young Cuban defector in active day on free-agent market Empty Toronto Blue Jays sign Kendrys Morales and a young Cuban defector in active day on free-agent market

    Post by jedi17 Mon 14 Nov 2016, 7:55 pm

    Toronto Blue Jays sign Kendrys Morales and a young Cuban defector in active day on free-agent market

     
    Kendrys Morales (smiling) and his Kansas City Royals teammates line the field for the National Anthem and a World Series Champion flag-raising ceremony at Kauffman Stadium on April 3, 2016.
     The Toronto Blue Jays added a player for the present and one for the future with two free-agent signings on Friday.
    Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins signed former Kansas City Royals DH Kendrys Morales to a three-year deal according to news reports.

    The team has yet to confirm either signing and likely won’t do so with Morales until after his physical exam.
    Assuming Gurriel begins his Blue Jays career in the minor leagues, the club now has nine veterans under contract for 2017 for a cost of $118.3 million. Morales would join Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, Melvin Upton Jr., and Justin Smoak among the signed hitters. Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis remain under club control and have not even reached their arbitration years. Veteran pitchers Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ and Francisco Liriano are signed for 2017; Marcus Stroman is in his first year of arbitration and while Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna are pre-arbitration.
    The move to add Morales addresses the need to replace some power in the middle of the lineup with the possible departure of free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. Morales had a very productive season (.290/.362/.485, 127 OPS+ with 22 home runs and 106 RBIs in the regular season) in 2015 when the Royals dispatched the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series and then won the World Series over the New York Mets. Morales’s 2016 season was a step back, although he finished the year with a sizzling September in which he hit .321/.370/.587 with eight homers and 30 RBIs.
    Morales was scheduled to make $11 million in 2017 but he declined the mutual option to become a free agent. The Blue Jays met the same $11 million per-year asking price for three seasons to add a left-handed bat to their predominantly right-handed lineup. (Morales is a switch-hitter who has produced better splits from the left side of the plate.)
    Morales, a 33-year-old from Cuba, first signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2005. He had his career year in 2009 when he hit .306 with 34 homers and 108 RBIs. He finished fifth in the voting for the AL MVP.
    As the Jays seek to add bats to replace their aging sluggers, Morales is the same age as Encarncion and capable of filling some of the production gap at the DH spot. The signing leaves a hole at first base, though, since Encarnacion split his time there. Morales played five games in right field in 2016 and nine games at 1B in 2015. But at this point in his career, he is a full-time DH.
    The relative value of Morales’ contract may open the door to re-signing Bautista, who is not likely to be as popular on the open market as Encarnacion because of his injury-marred season and having turned 36 in October.
    The Jays’ first deal of the day was to sign the 23-year-old Gurriel, a recent Cuban defector, to a deal reportedly worth US$22 million over seven years.
    Gurriel, part of Cuban baseball’s “first family,” defected with brother Yuliesky in January. The 32-year-old Yuliesky signed with the Houston Astros, but Lourdes, still just 22, was subject to international signing guidelines. He turned 23 in October, which allowed major league teams to sign him without using their international bonus pool.
    Gurriel, who is ranked No. 6 among international prospects at MLB.com, hit .321 with eight home runs in 43 games for the Havana Industriales before his defection. MLB.com describes him as “a good runner with a good glove” who is “athletic enough play infield and outfield” and has “shown some power potential at the plate.”

    Gurriel is likely to have a shorter path to the big leagues than most prospects because of his age. If he gets to big leagues quickly the Blue Jays’ biggest current need is in the outfield — Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders are both free agents — but the picture could look very different by the time the season rolls around. Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis have the middle infield locked down, barring injury.
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