Brewers claim Justin Morneau on waivers from Rockies, can’t make trade
By Dan Zinski
In an attempted move to bolster their lineup for the stretch run and playoffs, the Milwaukee Brewers put in and won a waiver claim on Colorado Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau.
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The Brewers and Rockies talked trade according to Jon Heyman, but the two teams were unable to work out a deal and the Rockies pulled Morneau back.
Morneau currently leads the National League with a .317 batting average, while the Brewers’ first base platoon of Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds are hitting .247 and .201 respectively. So you can see why the Brewers would try to make a deal for Morneau, a power hitting first baseman with a good glove.
There’s no real pressure for Colorado to trade Morneau, who is set to make a very manageable $6.75 million in 2015. The Rockies clearly needed to be blown away by a trade offer before they would deal the first baseman, and the Brewers failed to blow them away.
Adding Morneau would have been a major move for Milwaukee as they seek to make the postseason. They are currently 1.5 games up on St. Louis in the NL Central, and 4 up on third place Pittsburgh.
The Brewers have been aggressive in the past in picking up players for the stretch run, most notably when they acquired CC Sabathia, but they needed to be even more aggressive if they wanted to land Morneau.
Rockies fans should be encouraged to know that their front office isn’t willing to just give away good players with reasonable contracts. That’s something, I guess.