Kendry Morales might be the next Mark Texeira, he might be a switch-hitting Mark Grace, he might not be that great but he is pretty good and there doesn't seem to be a chance of him totally falling on his face. He turned 25 on June 20, so he still has a little room to grow and he is an absolute bargain contract-wise. in 1,220 Minor League At-Bats he has a .901 OPS, 55 HR, 72 Walks and only 168 strikeouts.
BUT... he IS blocked if the club signs Mark Teixeira, unless the Angels give him on-the-job training in Right Field while Vlad Guerrero's kneecaps are rested at DH.
And yet... he has the glow of "magic prospect" about him, though, that could yield a LOT from other teams - teams hit by the economic downturn looking to unload primo players who are paid well.
So tell the Angels: Kendry Morales... Play Him or Trade him?
0 recs | 49 comments
Heres my vote...
Keep K-Mo, but re-sign Tex, a great record in the minors, does not mean a great pro career, if we get Tex back through free agency,why not sign him,I am soooo torn it ain’t funny. I can’t speak for all of us 909er’s, but lets get it started, let the good times roll…..
halofolife - October 26, 2008
Sign TEX
At almost any cost; he’s a cornerstone. Shop Kendry but not to simply make a deal… let him play OF.
KyRod - October 26, 2008
I doubt anybody
would take k-mo so take a shot with him cant do n e worse than GMJ. Plus, if he doesnt pan out we have trumbo who has shown upside, but who knows. if we dpnt sign tex in our 15 day window we will lose him…lets go reagins get it done.
angelskid2210 - October 27, 2008
K-Mo
He likely will be playing 1st base in ’09 for the Angels most likely unless they make a trade.
I just don’t see the Angels resigning Tex because he’s going to get some outrageous contract from either the Yanks or Boston.
stolenbases - October 27, 2008
As I say with pretty much everyone...
Don’t trade him just to trade him but if an intriguing deal presents itself, then trading him should be at least considered. But yeah, only CONSIDER trading him if we are able to re-sign Tex.
Chzburger Jones - October 27, 2008
I Don't Get It
I really don’t think Morales is the Answer, but certainly give him some time to play and see how it goes, maybe in RF/LF.
Kernel - October 27, 2008
Yeah
I like Morales in LF, though that won’t happen because the Angels are most likely going to buy out GA and re-sign him for less. I guess he can play RF if Vlad becomes the primary DH which seems likely.
Chzburger Jones - October 27, 2008
oops
I meant if we are UN-ABLE to re-sign Tex.
Chzburger Jones - October 27, 2008
Re-sign Tex
but K-Mo is your starting RF/DH with Vlad next year. This guy, like Mike Napoli, will put up some awesome numbers, if he’s given everyday playing time.
howiestheman - October 27, 2008
agreed
k-mo and naps were the only ones to hit extra base hits when they counted in the alds.
lilbobdog - October 27, 2008
Panther
acuda27 - October 27, 2008
I wouldn't trade him
I’m not sure 25 year olds who haven’t stuck in the majors yet can really be considered prospects with a glow. It’s not like he was blocked by a super stud – he had the opportunity to outplay Kotchman and didn’t.
I do think he can be good, and either be our first basemen if Tex doesn’t re-sign, or a corner outfielder if we do re-sign him. I just don’t see getting much in trade, certainly something much less than the D-Backs got for Quentin last year in a similar situation (older prospect who hadn’t done much at the majors and didn’t really have a spot with the major league club).
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
yeah, and look what happened with Quentin
i’m just saying…
howiestheman - October 27, 2008
Quentin was injured and was much better in the minor leagues.
hauldog - October 27, 2008
That's my point...
Based on what Quentin produced, the D-Backs got way less value in a trade because he hadn’t done much at the major league level when they traded him. Morales isn’t nearly as good as Quentin, but the Ducks would take a similar hit in any trade returns.
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
Not *Ducks* silly
Been thinking hockey all morning. I meant Angels. Duh.
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
What? He flied out to center?
red floyd - October 27, 2008
He was our STARTING DH until "non super stud" Tim Salmon decided to come back.
after that he was not blocked by a super stud but by Soth’s Man Crush on OTHER PLAYERS.
I mean Napoli Sucks Too right? He is not blocked by a Super Stud and he still cant manage to get 50% of the playing time.
acuda27 - October 27, 2008
Probably because he wasn't good enough to start?
Scioscia has a blind spot for some guys, but if Morales was clearly the better player, he would have played more than he did. Napoli didn’t play as much as he should have this year because 1) he was hurt and 2) he wasn’t nearly as good for most of his career as he was in September. The only reason Scioscia sat him in September was because there was no need to tire him out. I fully expect Napoli to play at least 4 out of every 5 games next season.
Morales has finally shown he’s good enough to get a shot to start. But he’s 25, it’s not like he’s a kid. It’s just not that appealing to other teams.
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
no
Napoli didn’t play as much as he should have because Scioscia has a blind spot for Mathis. Look at his quotes concerning Mathis… look at the situation surrounding the catchers.
howiestheman - October 27, 2008
But not the fact
that Napoli has been on the DL at least 1x a season
Seik1177 - October 27, 2008
no doubt that played some part
but him only playing half a season can’t be completely attributed to a few weeks on the DL
howiestheman - October 28, 2008
It all depends
I think he has a lot of unrealized value. Along with Rev’s litmus test of “would he be a starter on other teams”, I would say he definitely would start at 1B on at least a handful. Also, along with what howiestheman says, if he gets everyday at bats, something is going to spark.
If we re-sign Tex: obviously, I say we bait him as part of a deal for another quality SP. We’ve got backup at 1B and 3B with Quinlan.
If we don’t re-sign Tex: Give him the job at 1B. If he doesn’t shine through June 09, then it may require some rethinking.
tdischino - October 27, 2008
K-Mo is not blocked if we sign Tex, he's blocked if we re-sign GA or refuse to make Vlad DH.
There’s definitely room on this team for K-Mo and Tex. The real choice is between K-Mo, GA and JR for the corner outfield spots. Tex at 1B, Vlad to DH, K-Mo & JR in the corners makes sense to me. Apoligies to GA, but it’s time to move on.
snowhor - October 27, 2008
that would be an awful defensive outfield
but a good hitting one, hopefully the defense would step up eventually
linkbruin - October 27, 2008
meh
it’s not THAT bad… probably league average.
howiestheman - October 27, 2008
that would be torii bringing it up to league average
im not advocating not going with JR and KMo, just saying they would not be very good defensively right off the bat
linkbruin - October 27, 2008
So, K-Mo is worse than GA and JR is worse than Vlad?
I don’t see a net loss here on defense.
snowhor - October 27, 2008
agreed
NoDakHalo - October 27, 2008
K-Mo would be learning on the job
JR still doesnt take all the right angles. I think right now it would be worse, but both these guys have room to grow whereas GA and Vlad do not
linkbruin - October 27, 2008
K-Mo played RF in Cuba
He still doesn’t have great range, but he’s familiar with the position. I think he played OF a little in AAA this year too.
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
I'd still rather have GA than JR
But you all know that already.
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
K-Mo
its weird, before the Angels were bought by Arte the Angels definitely would be given the chance because the Angels payroll was low and their wasn’t high expectations. now that we have a good owner who spends some money we expect more and we’re(fans) afraid to give our young guys a chance to prove themselves. i know prospects are just that prospects, but man we have 1 of the best farm systems we have to give faith to our player development director and use some of them even though it will be tough to go through a learning curve with some of the young talent. not everyone is going to be like Evan Longoria, some players take time. does management and fans have the patience for our young guys. i would love to give him chance only if Tex is unsignable. i would rather give him a chance and if it doesn’t pan out make a trade at the deadline in 09. luckily we’re in horrible div. that doesn’t look like its going to improve. so i think we can take the risk if Tex is unsignable
HALO_86 - October 27, 2008
keep him at all costs
and get him in the lineup everyday, somehow, someway.
between LF, RF, 1B, and DH he should be able to play everday.
NoDakHalo - October 27, 2008
Depends..
No not the adult diapers… Depends if we sign Tex.
Dono Romantico - October 27, 2008
with teix on board
package him with Mathis
Chris Knapp's Sac - October 27, 2008
And hope someone gives us a couple of baseballs?
Kendry would raise the value of that package, but I just don’t see us getting much back for two guys who have largely struggled at the major league level. Yeah, they project out to be better (Morales does, anyway), but teams will be hesitant to give up anything of value for these guys.
Gorbachav5 - October 27, 2008
Kendry sucks. DFA him!
(acuda clock) 3….2….1….
The Clyde - October 27, 2008
BOOOOM BEATCH........LOL
acuda27 - October 27, 2008
Hahahahaah!!!
It only took a couple of minutes to shake you out of the bushes!
The Clyde - October 27, 2008
LOL
I would have been the first poster on this story, but my internet is down at home so I have to wait till im at school to surf the web.
acuda27 - October 27, 2008
PLAY HIM, DONT GET SCIOSCIAS
Ninja knows how good he is, so I’m sure he’ll get a good chance.
acuda27 - October 27, 2008
should say Scioscias Input
acuda27 - October 27, 2008
Right now we have a great squad
and if re-signing Tex or getting a key pitcher like Peavy means trading or getting rid of Morales then I say we do it. Strike the iron while its hot. Torii, Vlad, Lackey…none of them are getting any younger. And I see that this following year is either going to be a now or never year or a year where we hope our relatively untested prospects can pull through and maintain a winning team. As it stands…I have more faith in the veterans. I’m willing to sacrifice a few killer prospects to win a world series next year.
Think about… all our stars are nearing their peak of their prime or just over it. I don’t see Vlad…or even Torii getting any better next year. In fact, I unfortunately see them getting worse. If its not next year, I have a feeling its going to be a few years of rebuilding and growing before we see a real contender like we did this year.
Then again, we still lost this year. And on paper, this team was WAY better than ’02. So in the end…who knows? But if I had to put my money on it…I go with my trust in veterans over prospects for a winning season next year.
BryanHarvey'sMoustache - October 27, 2008
He got some crucial pinch hits in the postseason. He's worth keeping around.
250/20/75 ? based on his cumulative career #’s, this could be a reasonable expectation for his first full season. Maybe a better BA/OBP.
Wha do ya think?
Big Bad , "VLAD"! - October 27, 2008
Definate Higher BA......he batted .294 when he played ALOT in '07
and was only behind GA, and Vlad on SLUGGING.
acuda27 - October 30, 2008
money or prospects
it depends on whether you want the money from not signing texeira or the prospects from signing him and trading morales. i you sign texeira because you never know what can happen with injuries and trade morales for the right deal.
kstanz41 - October 28, 2008
Absolutely not blocked
If Teix signs, Kendry shuttles between DH and the corner OF slots.
mattwelch - October 28, 2008
Not on this team........HGH and Willits will get 90% of the playing time leaving K-Mo with 10%
acuda27 - October 30, 2008
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