Justin Morneau

Rockies decline option on Justin Morneau

The Colorado Rockies announced Thursday that they have declined their mutual option on first baseman Justin Morneau, making him a free agent.

What It Means:

Injuries limited Morneau to 182 plate appearances in his age-34 season. He has dealt with concussions and a neck injury of late, which may limit Morneau's ability to find a suitor in free agency.

Morneau was still effective in his two seasons with the Rockies. He posted a 122 wRC+ in 2014 followed by a 107 mark in 2015. His hard-hit rates those two years were 31.6 and 35.0 percent respectively. As long as he can stay healthy, Morneau could still serve as a valuable role player off the bench for a big-league team.