Angels, Cuban Star Morales Strike Deal

The Angels added a wild card to an otherwise orderly deck of players Wednesday, agreeing to terms on an incentive-laden six-year contract with Kendry Morales in hopes that the prized Cuban prospect can blossom into a major league slugger.

If Morales, 21, attains the bulk of the incentives included in his contract, which includes a $3-million signing bonus, he will make around $10 million, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

The agreement is contingent upon the switch-hitter receiving clearance from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, a relatively routine procedure completed by other Cuban defectors who now play in the majors.

Morales, a former cleanup hitter for the Cuban national team who has played the corner infield and outfield positions, will try to win a spot in the Angel lineup in spring training. The Angels appear set at those positions but remain in need of a designated hitter.

“Anything can happen here,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said during a conference call with reporters. “Players who play well, you find spots for.”

David Valdes, one of Morales’ agents, said his client chose the Angels over two other clubs that made similar contract offers because the Angels were giving him an opportunity to make the club immediately.

“Are they guaranteeing anything? No,” Valdes said. “But if they feel he’s ready, they’ll pop him in there.”

Eddie Bane, the Angels’ director of scouting, called the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Morales a power hitter who was “country strong” because he rarely lifted weights. Morales hit .391 with nine home runs and 42 runs batted in for the Cuban team Industriales in 2003. His grand slam lifted the Cuban national team to a 6-3 victory over Taiwan in the 2003 World Cup tournament.

“We’ve chased Kendry since he was 16 because we knew what a good hitter he was,” Bane said. “He made it clear that he wanted to try to play in the major leagues, but unfortunately in Cuba you have to defect to do that.”

After being thrown off the national team in the wake of several foiled attempts to leave his country, Morales successfully defected in June, arriving in Florida on a boat with 18 others. He later traveled to the Dominican Republic, where he was granted residency in a move that allowed him to obtain free-agent status.

“This has been a dream for him,” Valdes said of Morales’ agreeing to terms with the Angels, “because he was blacklisted from playing in Cuba and had no other choice but to leave.”

Stoneman said Morales was expected to play his first game Wednesday with Estrellas Orientales, a Dominican winter league team. Morales has passed a physical conducted by a trainer for the Angels’ triple-A Salt Lake affiliate.

Cuban defectors have a somewhat spotty record of major league success. Right-hander Livan Hernandez won a World Series title with the Florida Marlins in 1997 during his rookie season and has a 95-94 record and 4.13 earned-run average in his career.

The New York Yankees had high hopes for pitcher Jose Contreras when they signed him to a four-year, $32-million contract in 2002, but the right-hander was traded to the Chicago White Sox in July after posting a 5.65 ERA through the first four months of the season. The Yankees considered minor league third baseman Andy Morales such a bust that they tried to void his four-year, $4.5-million deal, claiming he had misrepresented his age.

Stoneman said he was not deterred by all the well-documented flops or the fact that he would have less money available to sign pitcher Jered Weaver, the Angels’ first-round draft pick. Stoneman said Weaver was “still under consideration.”

“It doesn’t matter what country he’s from or what his age is,” Stoneman said. “Every time you sign a player, you take a risk. With what everyone says about [Kendry] Morales ... this is a guy who’s well worth the risk in our opinion.”

That the Angels have a Latin owner, Arte Moreno, and a large contingent of Latin players that includes Vladimir Guerrero, the American League’s most valuable player, helped sway Morales toward Anaheim.

“He knew who was on our club,” Bane said. “He knew about Vladimir, Mr. Moreno, and it wasn’t from his agent and advisor ... it was important to him.”

Said Valdes: “This worked out great for Kendry. He’s going to come up through the Angels’ system at a young age and learn it the right way.... Hopefully, he can have a 15-year career.”