The Angels will tender Kendrys Morales a contract prior to Monday's deadline. Morales, a first baseman, hasn't played in the last 1 1/2 seasons, appearing to make him a non-tender candidate, but Los Angeles general manager Jerry DiPoto said the team "absolutely expects to tender Kendrys Morales." After finishing fifth in voting for the American League's Most Valuable Player Award in 2009, Morales missed nearly two full seasons after sustaining a broken lower left leg. The Angels signed Albert Pujols to play first base on Thursday. "The one thing that sets us up really well is if Kendrys Morales is coming back; just his presence, being from the left side," manager Mike Scioscia said this week. "Right now, a player like Albert, there's really only one way to protect him. One is get guys on base in front of him, and the other is have some depth behind him that will take advantage when they walk him, or he gets on base a lot, too. So I think we're going to get guys in front that, hopefully, are not going to set the table, but be able to run and get in scoring position and do things that you want for the middle of your lineup."