A's Surprisingly DFA Kendrys Morales

The Oakland Athletics are a middle-of-the-pack offensive team in baseball, and so it might be time for them to make some changes to light a fire.

A's manager Bob Melvin made an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM on Monday, and surprisingly announced that the team had just designated veteran slugger Kendrys Morales for assignment. They activated Mark Canha from the injured list, and he was placed on the active roster to replace Morales.

“Unfortunately, we had to let him go,” Melvin said. “I’ll tell you what, this guy, maybe he didn’t put up great numbers, but this is a terrific teammate. Yesterday, he didn’t play, and there’s a lot of speculation about him going away, and all he’s doing is rooting for every guy we have on every pitch. … Unfortunately, we don’t have room for him right now, and somebody’s going to pick him up. I know that, but boy, we really enjoyed our time with him. He’s a real pro.”

Morales hadn't produced much for this Oakland team. In 34 games (108 at-bats), the 35-year-old slashed .204/.310/.259 with just one home run and seven RBI.

The team acquired Morales from the Toronto Blue Jays in late March to cover up for the loss of first baseman Matt Olson. But now he's back in the fold and Morales wasn't going to get much playing time, especially since he hadn't hit all season.

Canha, who can play the outfield and first base, has only appeared in 18 games (40 at-bats) where he's slashed .200/.377/.375 with two home runs and four RBI. He provides more power than Morales at this stage of his career, and he's shown in a small sample size this year that he can get on base at a good clip.