On Tuesday night, Dad and I were watching the Toronto Blue Jays play the Milwaukee Brewers in their final spring training game at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. With the Jays emphasizing young players like Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette, Dad predicted that both Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar would be wearing different uniforms in short order.
In Morales' case this would happen yesterday when the Jays traded him to the Oakland A's for minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and international pool money. The Cuban born Morales had spent the past two seasons with the Jays and in 130 games in 2018 hit .249 with 21 HR and 57 RBI. Morales, 35, has seen his offensive numbers decline over the past several seasons. Nevertheless, he does have some power and certainly would have been a nice pennant race pickup. But instead he is dealt the day before Opening Day.
So how far behind is Pillar? I suspect the Jays will wait until they bring up Vlad, Jr. who will begin the season at Triple-AAA Buffalo as he recovers from an oblique injury he sustained during spring training.
Although Morales was primarily a DH with the Jays, he can play first base and is expected to fill in for an injured Matt Olson. When Olson returns and assuming the A's are the playoff team they were a year ago, Morales can DH and be a valuable figure on the bench and in the clubhouse. Morales will be a free agent at the end of the season.
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