Mariners pull back Kendrys Morales after waiver claim

The Seattle Mariners have pulled back Kendrys Morales off of revocable waivers after he was claimed by an unidentified team, according to a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. As Heyman notes, the M's did not trade Morales within the 48-hour timeframe after the claim was awarded, meaning that he will be with the team for the rest of the season.

Although the claiming team is unknown, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles "may have been" the team who tried to acquire the 30-year old. Baltimore has been extremely active in their search of a bat on the waiver wire, and have already placed claims on Morales' teammate Mike Morse and Twins' outfielder Josh Willingham in addition to reportedly having interest in Jason Kubel, who was recently designated for assignment.

Morales, who was acquired last winter from the Angels in exchange for Jason Vargas, has hit .281 with 17 HR and 68 RBI in his first season as a Mariner. He drew interest from many teams including the Rangers and Rays in advance of the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, but Seattle held onto him due to their hopes of re-signing him this offseason. Morales is a free agent following the season, and the Mariners hope to be able to lock him up for a few terms to provide a veteran presence on a rebuilding team. As the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo said last week, the Angels are also expected to make a run at Morales this winter, but a qualifying offer from the Mariners may keep the slugger in Seattle.