The third baseman for the Seattle Mariners last season posted 20 homers, and led the Mariners team. Thanks to the moves made by the Mariners front office, that number will not get the job done this season. Specifically, the additions of Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse improved the Mariners power potential exponentially.
The signing of former Los Angeles Angels first baseman / designated hitter Morales was huge. Though he hasn’t put up many numbers lately, Morales brings large number of homers with him. He suffered a broken ankle in 2010, and missed the remainder of that season and all of 2011. In 2009 however, a healthy Morales hit for a .306 average and .924 OPS with 34 homers and 108 RBI. That’s a pretty good poke to the line-up.
Morse came over in a trade with the Washington Nationals. His last fully healthy and full time season was 2011. In that year, he came in with a .303 average and .910 OPS, with 31 big flies and 95 RBI. Basically with these two additions, if they stay healthy, the Mariners have added around 65 home-runs and 205 runs batted in.
I’d say, as long as everything returns to form, these two guys might be the biggest two off-season moves in the American League, even with Josh Hamilton’s signing by the Angels.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.