The Seattle Mariners decided Kendrys Morales was the bat they needed for a stretch run in the American League West and sent right-hander Stephen Pryor to the Minnesota Twins to bring the switch hitting Morales back to the Mariners.
Morales became a free agent after rejecting a $14.1 million qualifying offer from Seattle last November.
Unable to get a deal elsewhere, largely because of the draft pick compensation baggage, he signed with Minnesota for $7.4 million on June 8,
“We know what Kendrys is, we know his career as a hitter, we know what he did here and now that he’s in a pennant race … I think we all feel that Kendrys is going to hit his stride and be the Kendrys Morales we all know,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said.
The Mariners were said to be interested in acquiring a bat and had been linked to trade rumors surrounding Philadelphia’s Marlon Byrd and Tampa Bay’s Ben Zobrist.
