| Morales in, Kubel Out |
| By Sally Haase June 9, 2014 The Minnesota Twins made another free agent splash over the weekend with the signing of Kendrys Morales to a one year deal. The deal adds power to the Twins lineup, which is lacking now that the Twins only carry two catchers on the roster and manager Ron Gardenhire refuses to place both catchers in the lineup. The move sends outfielder Jason Kubel on the waiver wire and if he clears waivers, the choice is his to take the minor league assignment, free agency, or retirement. The addition of Morales at the expense of Kubel is already an improvement. Morales is a career .280 hitter and has hit 90 home runs in the past four seasons. Morales also gives the Twins more flexibility in lineup where Morales can be the DH while Josmil Pinto catches and it still leaves a catcher on the bench if Pinto would need to leave the game. And if Gardenhire wants to give Joe Mauer a day off in the field, Mauer can be the DH and Morales can play first. The bad thing about the signing is the fact that Morales has not played since last season and he is out of options, so the Twins cannot send him to the minors to get back into the swing of things. Morales will have to adjust while being on the roster and as cautious as Gardenhire is with his players, you know that Gardenhire will not put Morales in the lineup until he is sure Morales is comfortable and ready to go. The move sends Twins fans the message that the team is not going to roll over just yet. The Twins are hovering around the .500 mark two months into the season and the AL central is one of the weakest divisions this season and 85 wins may win the division. The Twins are adding players where they need it; they need run production and Morales has shown in his seven seasons that he is a run producer. |
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