Five Offseason Moves The Blue Jays Should Make

2. Trade Kendrys Morales

Kendrys Morales is not a bad player. With 28 home runs and 85 RBIs in 2017, he was the player who the Blue Jays expected him to be – a slugger in the middle of the lineup who drives in runs.

Yet any fan who followed the Blue Jays in 2017 knows Morales is a liability. He’s a streaky hitter, slow runner, grounds into far too many double plays, and clogs the DH spot in the lineup. Arguably the exact opposite player that the Blue Jays currently need.

The biggest concern with Kendrys Morales is that his primary position is the designated hitter spot in the lineup. It’s no secret that the Blue Jays have an older and more injury prone roster with the likes of Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, Devon Travis, and Josh Donaldson playing everyday. In 2016, John Gibbons was able to give his players “half days off”, which kept the team fresh and limited injuries. However, with the addition of a full-time DH in 2017, the Blue Jays saw a noticeable uptick in both declining performance and number of injuries.

Even if the Blue Jays have to absorb part of Morales’ salary, it is in their best interests to trade him away. He doesn’t fit the bill of a young or athletic player, and his performance does not merit enough value to cover up for the rest of the roster’s downfalls. In this situation, addition by subtraction would significantly improve the Blue Jays as a whole in 2018 and beyond.