Is anybody else surprised Justin Morneau hasn't signed with anyone yet? I know he's pretty injury prone at this point, but he still appears to be an .800+ OPS guy. Anybody have any idea what's going on?

Yeah, I'm very surprised he hasn't been able to get into a platoon somewhere - I figured he would fit perfectly with the annual Tampa Bay Rays aging veteran first base platoon but the Rays already have James Loney signed for the rest of the year. It still seems like somebody somewhere might like him in a specific role like that. 

 

Only thing I can think is that he doesn't want to be part of a platoon or is holding out for a bigger salary?

I'm glad the Twins are overloaded with first basemen, I don't want to see him back with the Twins.

Morneau told Berardino back in November that he wasn't interested in retiring yet, although you never know what demands veteran players have to make it worth their while to return (salary, position, city):

 

https://twitter.com/MikeBerardino/status/662339519492915200

I'm surprised he hasn't signed anywhere yet.  It seems like the Astros could have a spot for him, but I haven't heard any rumors of him talking to any club yet.  

 

I'm betting he gets a contract somewhere fairly quickly.

I was surprised the Astros didn't make a play. Anywhere where he could play first base and also be a designated hitter would work well for him, I would imagine. It almost seems too late. Of course, if he lived in Minnesota, the Saints would sign him.

With Greg Bird out for the season he seems like he would be a great depth option for the Yankees. One of A-Rod/Big Tex will certainly miss significant time.

The Astros have a bunch of depth at 1B/DH, though, hence their release of Chris Carter, so I doubt Morneau would have made any sense for them.

 

Yankees do make some sense, as would a return to Colorado, albeit on the cheap.

I cannot believe Morneau is still unsigned. It's crazy. Parmelee is signed, and Morneau is not. Unbelievable. 

 

I cannot believe Morneau is still unsigned. It's crazy. Parmelee is signed, and Morneau is not. Unbelievable. 

 

Parmelee has signed a minor league contract.  Morneau has no incentives to do so, I suspect.  

 

If he is asking $3-4M, he will not be signed...

 

Parmelee has signed a minor league contract.  Morneau has no incentives to do so, I suspect.  

 

If he is asking $3-4M, he will not be signed...

 

True. He'd better drop his demands quickly, unless he wants to not be the next Jermaine Dye.

I was at the Twins caravan at Treasure Island and another fan asked Mauer about Morneau and I recall him saying that Morneau recently had elbow surgery. So back in January Morneau apparently had elbow surgery, though I didn't see any news of it anywhere online and still don't to this day. Obviously Mauer would know better than almost anyone on the subject, was just weird that it wasn't news somewhere.

 

I just tried to find audio for it, since they air caravan visits over the radio...but it appears that KWNG 106 didn't put a recording of it up online like some other radio stations do (found audio for Mason City and St. Cloud, but no one else).

I'm upset that he's not signed yet as a longtime fan, but not surprised.

 

Whether accurate or not, I think his stat sheet over the past 5 years says "limited positional flexibility" + "injury prone." Not a good combo to have. If he's not a starter, he's of limited use to a team.

 

 

With Greg Bird out for the season he seems like he would be a great depth option for the Yankees. One of A-Rod/Big Tex will certainly miss significant time.

 

.... and the right field fence sure has to look good to Morneau.

There's still no word on any team even being interested in Morneau.

Morneau had a 9 million option. Colorado did not think he was worth it.  I would not doubt that Morneau wants to play. I don't think he wants to play for relatively free. Given how long it took last time for him to recover from concussion I would guess the best offer would be minor league with invite.

 

I was at the Twins caravan at Treasure Island and another fan asked Mauer about Morneau and I recall him saying that Morneau recently had elbow surgery.

Morneau was out for much of last season with a neck injury (as well as more concussion symptoms).  It's quite possible someone was referencing that but mis-spoke or mis-heard (not necessarily you, it could have been Mauer or his source of the information too).  Or the "surgery" in question was a very minor procedure?

The Twins have no room for Byung Ho Canada!

It doesn't sound like he's had any real offers at all. Here's the latest news on him, from a couple days ago.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/03/quick-hits-chacin-morneau-wright-fowler-cardinals.html

Looks like I heard Mauer correctly. Glad I'm not crazy. I was starting to think I was. Morneau had elbow surgery in the offseason and can't swing a bat until June.

 

Surgery was in late December, so when Mauer said "recently" he meant about one month prior.

 

http://www.startribune.com/former-twins-star-justin-morneau-facing-another-lengthy-rehab/372399211/

Edited March 17, 201610 yr by Twins33

Hmm, that's too bad for Morneau. The opportunity is certainly there for the taking with the White Sox.

I was surprised the Astros didn't make a play. Anywhere where he could play first base and also be a designated hitter would work well for him, I would imagine. It almost seems too late. Of course, if he lived in Minnesota, the Saints would sign him.

Morneau to the Saints... genius maneuvering. We need to alert someone in Lowertown of this idea. Would love to see that. Justin could stay at the Mauer estate and if Park flops he is already in town. Brilliant!

Thanks for the update.  Weird that it didn't come out before.

 

Morneau to the Saints... genius maneuvering. We need to alert someone in Lowertown of this idea. Would love to see that. Justin could stay at the Mauer estate and if Park flops he is already in town. Brilliant!

If that fails, Morneau to the Wild to replace Devan Dubnyk.

If true about the elbow surgery and a June return date, he'll be back just in time for teams to see if they are contenders and if they have a need for a left handed bat.

 

Silver lining, if he comes back later this summer, he'll be more likely to find a spot with a contender and go after a ring.

 

A-Rod, Teixeira, Beltran? The Yankees are bound to have at least one of those guys on the DL, pinstripes for Morneau.

 

I guess that's not much of a silver lining.