The Rockies announced that they have declined their half of Justin Morneau’s $9MM mutual option. The first baseman and Relativity Sports client will instead be paid a $750K buyout and hit the open market in search of a new team.
Morneau, 34, signed a two-year, $12.5MM contract with the Rockies prior to the 2014 season after concussion and neck injuries nearly forced him into retirement late in his Twins tenure. The 2006 American League MVP enjoyed an outstanding rebound campaign in Colorado last year, hitting .319/.364/.496 with 17 homers. While it was low relative to previous league leaders, that .319 batting average earned Morneau the 2014 National League batting title.
The 2015 season, though, told a markedly different tale for Morneau. The Canadian-born slugger played in just 49 games total, as he missed most of the season with yet another concussion and further neck problems. Morneau was sidelined from May 13 until Sept. 4, although it is certainly worth noting that upon activation from the disabled list, he looked to have something left in the tank. Morneau hit .338/.423/.471 in 22 games down the stretch, although he failed to homer and was undoubtedly aided by a .434 BABIP in that time. Nevertheless, he drew 10 walks and struck out just 15 times in 78 plate appearances, suggesting that his strike zone knowledge and pitch recognition were still intact.
Morneau will enter a free-agent market that is headlined by Chris Davis and Korean star Byung-ho Park but offers little else in the way of full-time options. Even Morneau himself probably shouldn’t be considered a full-time player at this stage of his career, despite the fact that he batted .342/.375/.474 against southpaws this season. Those numbers look impressive, but they came in a sample of just 40 plate appearances, which is far less telling than the .224/.263/.307 batting line he’s compiled in 666 PAs versus lefties dating back to the 2011 season.
While Morneau’s injury shortened season was a disappointment for a player who looked to be on his way to rebuilding a significant portion of his stock with a nice 2014 season, I’d imagine the fact that he not only showed he was healthy enough to take the field but was also productive in the season’s final month will earn him an incentive-laden one-year contract this offseason, assuming he wants to continue playing after once again enduring the rigors of recovering from a severe concussion.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Morneau would be great as a fill-in for Chris Davis in Baltimore.
Maybe a return to Pittsburgh as a placeholder for Josh Bell? Assuming Alvarez is traded away.
No thanks. He wasn’t good the last time. Sure, he then had a good season in 2014, but who knows how much that was an outlier, or whether or not playing in Colorado materially helped his numbers? He will cost too much to be a placeholder.
he wasn’t that bad a .370 OBP and .260 AVG wasn’t horrible. the power wasn’t there but the rest of his game was fair over a very short sample size of 25 games and under 100 PAs.
what we really need is a solid fielder who can at least get on base… If healthy, he fits the bill. If they could get him for cheap with games played or PA incentives then it might be worth looking into.
But you are probably right, with the lack of first basemen on the market his salary will probably be inflated. I would rather they take a risk on Park than Justin as i’m not convinced Bell is the answer to our first base woes defensively anyway.
We’ve already got Morse under contract, right? As a placeholder, I think he’s good enough, and I don’t see much gain in adding Morneau to the mix.
He would make the ideal stop-gap solutions for the Bucs already questionable firstbase potentials at this point. It makes perfect sense, considering he was already with us as recently as 2013. Far more easy to get acclimated to the club house when you’re a veteran who’s already played there, even if it was only for a brief stint. Justin would never no problem returning to play for a contending ball club. It’s just the fiscal matters that are concerning.
If he should decide to hang up his spikes because of his concussion issues, as he’s indicated in the past, I hope this move opens up the possibility for Mr. Morneau to come home to Minnesota with one of those ceremonial one-day contracts and retire as a member of the Minnesota Twins.
Good thought!
Would love to see him return to Pittsburgh to platoon with Mike Morse.
Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Orioles, maybe Seattle and Anaheim are possible
He’s a Red Sox next year. Veteran back up for Travis Shaw.
yes, this. smart veteran hitter to help the young players
Why would he sign with Boston when there are about 5 teams he could be a starter on?
Do the Rockies have any bad expiring contracts where a 1-for-1 swap makes sense for LaRoche? If they can save money by declining Morneau’s option and moving other money for another bad contract, it could make sense.
One of the best! It’s not quite expiring (2 years to go) but hey, he’s a great guy and used to be a great player! And you kind of need an infielder right?
Jose Reyes, welcome to the White Sox!
Rockies throw in a bunch of money or a prospect and I’m down.
Brewers after Lind is traded?
Morneau might be a better option at DH than Gattis for the Astros.