Is Jose Morales On the Trading Block?

After last night's 9-7 victory over the Dodgers, Jim Armstrong had some notes on the game, like Cargo calling the big come-from-behind win and Tulo crushing it out there.

But the most interesting news is that the Rockies have been talking with other clubs about backup catcher Jose Morales.

One of the many concerns entering 2011 was the catching situation: would Chris Iannetta take the reins and hold the catching job, or would Morales become the platoon partner and eventually the starter?

Some may hate the .231 batting average Iannetta has posted thus far, but the 8 bombs, .380 OBP, and .836 OPS are kind of hard to be down on. Oh, and his 2nd-in-the-majors 2.0 fWAR, including positive fielding, batting, and baserunning. The job is his, and he likely won't be losing it any time soon. The days off he's getting are either just normal Rockies Catcher rest or, as in the case of Thursday's game, just a battery matchup. They seem much less "punishment" and more just "take the day off man. You're doing great, let's get Jose another start in here".

What surprises me is that teams are interested in Morales. We haven't seen any problems with Jose's game calling, but his bat is seriously lacking. While Morales may be just a shade below Iannetta's batting average at .226, his .582 OPS leaves a lot to be desired, even as far as a backup catcher goes. We saw flashes of success in Minnesota, but they have yet to translate to the NL West.

Fact is though, if teams are interested in Morales, there's not an awful lot of attachment to him. It's nice to have a switch-hitting catcher, but if the Rockies can get some value in trade out of Morales, I don't doubt that Matt Pagnozzi or Eliezer Alfonzo could come up and fill the role to the same capacity in the meantime.

Pagnozzi hasn't done much to impress in the Springs thus far, sporting a mere .742 OPS. Prospect Jordan Pacheco hasn't really done much of anything, either, batting a measly .270/.339/.338 in an incredibly hitter-friendly environment.

Should the Rockies move Morales for whatever reason, Alfonzo is making a case for himself, batting .319/.360/.766 over 16 games and 50PA in the Springs.

Should this move take place or not, it's not really the most critical thing to worry about in the 2011 season. I haven't HATED Morales this season, but I haven't exactly liked him either. I kind of "nothing" him. He's a competent catcher, we haven't seen any major snafus out of him, and he belongs in the majors, somewhere.

Chris Snyder Could Miss Rest Of Season - Bucs Dugout

Given the fact that the Pirates have lost Chris Snyder for possibly the entire season to surgery on a herniated disc in his back, and Ryan Doumit for at least another month with a fractured ankle, they could be players for Morales.

The Angels have been suffering through Hank Conger (82 wRC+), Bobby Wilson (69 wRC+) and Jeff Mathis (36 wRC+) this season, and might be looking for some fresh blood.

John Jaso (88 wRC+) and Kelly Shoppach (39 wRC+) haven't been doing much for the Rays, either, so they might be part of it as well.

The Astros has been waiting for years for JR Towles (81 wRC+) to really step up and be the catcher he's capable of, and Humbert Quintero (67 wRC+) hasn't done much of anything this season either.

The list goes on, but again, if there's interest in Morales, and decent, useful value coming back to the Rockies, I wouldn't be terribly upset if Morales was moved.