Morales-AP.jpg
Kendrys Morales has hit .292 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 34 career games at Safeco Field. (AP)

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listen Listen: Zduriencik discusses what Morales brings to the Mariners
General manager Jack Zduriencik joins "The Kevin Calabro Show" to explain why the Mariners traded starting pitcher Jason Vargas for first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales.
The Mariners have made a trade to add what they hope will be an impact bat, acquiring first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the Angels in exchange for starting pitcher Jason Vargas.

The club made the announcement Wednesday.

Morales, 29, has spent his entire career with the Angels, hitting .281 with 79 home runs and 265 RBIs in six seasons.

Vargas, 29, was a solid starter during his four seasons with the Mariners, going 36-42 with a 4.09 ERA in 110 starts. He led the Mariners in wins last season with 14.

"We have been focused on adding offense this off-season, and feel that Kendrys will be a middle-of-the-order bat for us. He's a switch-hitter with power who has played, and hit, in the AL West," general manager Zduriencik said in a press release.

"He's familiar with the teams and parks and is a proven run-producer. We hate to part with Jason, and really appreciate everything he's done for us, but we are in a situation where we had to give up talent to acquire talent."

Morales hit a career-high 34 home runs in 2009, finishing fifth in American League MVP voting that season. The following season, he infamously broke his leg while celebrating a walkoff grand slam against the Mariners, forcing him to miss the rest of that season and all of 2011.

Morales hit .273 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs in 134 games last season.

"Kendrys gives us a veteran presence and a proven, middle-of-the-order bat, with power from both sides of the plate," manager Eric Wedge said in the press release. "Adding him to our line-up immediately makes us a better offensive club."

Follow Brady Henderson, MyNorthwest.com Sports Editor

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Comments (18)


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  • SeaTownSportsAtic wrote...
    Good Move!
    December 19, 2012 1:47 pm
    Morales could be a consistent middle of the order bat for us. I'm not too worried about giving up Vargas because we are so staked at pitching right now. Good Move Z!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SalemDawg wrote...
    Goodbye Mr. Smoak
    December 19, 2012 1:55 pm
    With Montero and Morales, Smoak's at-bats are not gone, unless Montero moves to full-time catching duties.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sambra27 wrote...
    RE: Smoak
    December 19, 2012 2:13 pm
    The Smoak conversation will be an interesting one, but I honestly see Morales slotting in as the permanent DH, with Jaso spelling Montero behind the plate when Montero needs a day off. Smoak plays WAY better defense at 1b (correct me if I am wrong). Smoak still needs a year before we give up on him.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Dan1 wrote...
    Might be a good move
    December 19, 2012 1:55 pm
    Morales hit AVG HR RBI OBP .273 22 73 .320
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • darrengrama wrote...
    Idk if I like it
    December 19, 2012 2:34 pm
    His numbers are very Jesus Montero-ish and we said all year that his numbers weren't good enough for the 4 or 5 spot. How is a career .280 hitter any better? Unless we think Jesus Montero is going to get exponentially better this year and he can hit 3 or 4. But an 80 RBI guy in the middle of the order again when it didn't work last year, idk. But maybe I'm just reactionary right now.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Derrol_o wrote...
    darrengrama
    December 19, 2012 6:10 pm
    It all depends on any lingering effects of the broken leg, maybe not so much physically but any erosion of skills that might have occured while he sat out a season and a half. If he can find his way back to where he was pre-injury, this will be a slam dunk win for the M's. But I agree, his numbers last year were sort of, meh. Just gotta hope he's got more to offer next season.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shane5150 wrote...
    Nice
    December 19, 2012 3:17 pm
    & Howard / Chuck save another $1.5 million for their slushee fund
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • irony wrote...
    good move
    December 19, 2012 3:56 pm
    vargas will do well in angels stadium. now that seattle is moving in the fences they're going to be hurting for good pitching and he's not one of them. morales is a good bat and the young guys are starting to hit better so they should protect him. get swisher for insurance there.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • clevesside wrote...
    It's a Beane kind of trade.....
    December 19, 2012 4:13 pm
    ....and you hope it better works. No jumping on home plate after a grand slam allowed! This means everybody!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • droop360 wrote...
    hell yea
    December 19, 2012 4:31 pm
    finally a good move by the mariners. i was getting worried for a while
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    I'm not a baseball fan...
    December 19, 2012 5:29 pm
    So pardon if I'm offbase here, but 79 home runs over 6 seasons only works out to 13 per year. That doesn't seem to qualify as a "big bat"...or was there some mitigating element like he missed 3 or 4 years with injuries?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sambra27 wrote...
    Morales was out the better part of two seasons
    December 19, 2012 6:52 pm

    Coming off a broken leg injury. And he never really got regular playing time with the Angels until his fourth season. So it's more like 79 homeruns over three seasons, which plays better to what his averages are. You can view his stats here:

    http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/6188/kendrys-morales

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    sambra27
    December 19, 2012 8:01 pm
    thanks. I imagine a leg injury is something that is pretty much no big deal for most positions in baseball to overcome. If they traded for a part time player I hope they traded the equivelent of a part time pitcher. I don't follow it closely although I do listen to sports radio from time to time, and I'm given to think the Mariners tend to make poor deals...then look forward to the next deal to fix the problem with the past one.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • NoiseMan wrote...
    I Wouldn't Call His HR's Into Question....
    December 20, 2012 3:34 am
    Unless most of them came against the Mariners. If that's the case, then we may have a problem.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • soo purletiv wrote...
    @ rational
    December 19, 2012 7:04 pm
    Although I am not awestruck with this trade, as many in the media are....

    MLB, as you probably know is 162 +/- games a season. If you calculate KMR numbers on the 162 game structure, his numbers actually get better than just dividing by years in service. Although literal numbers (Homeruns divide by Years in service) are well, real, we in the MLB world like to dwell on potential rather than actual.

    So, instead of years in the bigs, we like to calculate PA's (plate appearances) and G (games). When calculated Morales averages 28 home runs a season rather than the 13 you came up with.

    In reality your figure is what a the Angel's actually got from him. But as I mentioned earlier, we in the MLB don't look at reality, we live in and off the potential based on certain calculations.

    Hope I didn't confuse you more. I tried to post in as layman of terms as possible. :-)

    BTW: Morales has been hitting the long ball a bit more consistently over the past 3 or so seasons, minus the injury year and the year off. He hit 22 in only 134 games in 2012.

    Hope he stays healthy.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    soo purletiv
    December 19, 2012 7:57 pm
    But as I mentioned earlier, we in the MLB don't look at reality, we live in and off the potential based on certain calculations. Hope I didn't confuse you more. I tried to post in as layman of terms as possible. :-)

    LOL...I appreciate your effort to explain it to me. I work as a finance analyst...I understand potentials, I also understand opportunity costs. Who could they possibly have obtained for the same resources, and it seems like a typically bad idea to give decent pitching (presumably the trade was generally fair) to a team in your division.

    Guess that's partly why I like football much more...Go Hawks!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }

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Zduriencik discusses what Morales brings to the Mariners

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012

General manager Jack Zduriencik joins "The Kevin Calabro Show" to explain why the Mariners traded starting pitcher Jason Vargas for first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales.
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