Blue Jays: Why they haven’t cut Kendrys Morales just yet

Waiting on the kid

If you type “Blue Jays” into any search engine, or on Twitter, you’re going to find a lot of people talking about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Understandably, the majority of folks would like to see him called up to the big leagues right this minute, and his production would justify that at pretty much any time. He’s a mutant, and I say that in the most respectful way I can possibly muster.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

There are several arguments against calling him up right now, the most obvious of which is finding him a spot in the lineup. As a third baseman, he’s currently blocked by the Blue Jays’ best player in Josh Donaldson, and the “Bringer of Rain” isn’t going to be moved this season. That’s also assuming that Guerrero’s glove is major league ready, and by nearly all reports it’s not quite there. That means the obvious spot to put him is DH, which is where Morales comes in again.

I don’t think the Blue Jays are going to call up Guerrero right now, even with the daily calls from baseball writers and fans alike. However, when they do make the move it’ll almost assuredly come at the expense of Morales’ playing time, assuming he’s still around by then. The DH spot could also be shared among a group of others veterans like Tulowitzki, Donaldson, Pearce, Granderson and more, so there’s no guarantee that the Blue Jays bring up the young phenom, even if he continues to rake.

However, it is possible that the timing of a Vlad Jr. call-up ultimately coincides with dropping Morales later in the year. If that were to happen in the summer, it would give baseball’s top prospect some time to keep working on his defence, while also giving him a chance to experience Triple-A before reaching the highest level. It would also give the Blue Jays a few more months to decide if Morales is a completely dead cost, something that I think most of us would agree on as being the case right now.

It’s possible I haven’t covered all of the reasons to keep Morales around, but it’s not as simple as just cutting someone who is underperforming. It may feel like a no brainer at this stage to many of us, but it’s a difficult decision for a wide variety of reasons. Unless Morales get start performing at the plate though, it’ll eventually become a decision like the one they’re facing with Vladimir Guerrero Jr, when the player doesn’t give the organization a choice anymore.

Next: Troy Tulowitzki making progress toward a return