LaRoche re-signs with Nats, now talking to 5-6 teams about Morse

[Jordan Tuwiner]

https://twitter.com/washingnats/status/ ... 4089841665

By signing LaRoche, the #Nats will most likley trade Michael Morse. The #Nats want pitching prospects for Morse. #MLB

https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/statu ... 4797831171

Source: #Nationals speaking to 5-6 teams about Morse. Earning $7M this season, then eligible for free agency.

[ofahn]

NO....THANK....YOU.

[birdwatcher55]

No Morse, thank you

[A_K]

Though I don't know what the Nats would want in exchange, I think Morse would be a good upgrade at 1B for the O's.

I wouldn't want them to trade Arrieta, Matusz, Tillman or Britton, but if you could make the deal happen with Steve Johnson I'd be ecstatic.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

Though I don't know what the Nats would want in exchange, I think Morse would be a good upgrade at 1B for the O's.

I wouldn't want them to trade Arrieta, Matusz, Tillman or Britton, but if you could make the deal happen with Steve Johnson I'd be ecstatic.

I agree with this. I think Morse would have had the 4th highest wRC+ for the O's had he been on the team last year. He'd be an upgrade for sure.

[ofahn]

Though I don't know what the Nats would want in exchange, I think Morse would be a good upgrade at 1B for the O's.

I wouldn't want them to trade Arrieta, Matusz, Tillman or Britton, but if you could make the deal happen with Steve Johnson I'd be ecstatic.

I understand the concept, but there are several things that concern me about that kind of trade. First, I think that Chris Davis can be an average to above average 1B if he's given the chance. Bringing in Morse and installing him there would only delay the process, and we need to know if 1B is settled for 2014 and beyond.

Second, it appears the Nats are looking for a LH reliever. Are you willing to give up Patton or Matusz for one year of Morse?

If we knew that Michael Belfiore or T J McFarland were ML ready it would be easier to give up Patton.

[A_K]

I understand the concept, but there are several things that concern me about that kind of trade. First, I think that Chris Davis can be an average to above average 1B if he's given the chance. Bringing in Morse and installing him there would only delay the process, and we need to know if 1B is settled for 2014 and beyond.

Second, it appears the Nats are looking for a LH reliever. Are you willing to give up Patton or Matusz for one year of Morse?

If we knew that Michael Belfiore or T J McFarland were ML ready it would be easier to give up Patton.

I'd be willing to give up Patton, but not Matusz. There's no asset in baseball more fungible than a middle reliever. That's less true among lefties, but still relevant here (IMO).

[ofahn]

I'd be willing to give up Patton, but not Matusz. There's no asset in baseball more fungible than a middle reliever. That's less true among lefties, but still relevant here (IMO).

If we were going to allow Davis and Morse to split time at 1B (or Morse full time if Davis is substandard there) and DH with a little Betemit thrown in at DH, too; I'd be OK with trading Patton for Morse. In all honesty, it's not my first, second, or third choice but it may be the best tweak we're going to get this year.

[OriolesRedskins28]

Morse is a bad defender at 1B and LF, would be ANOTHER impatient hitter in the Orioles lineup, is injury prone, and doesn't have a large body of work. He would push Davis to DH which would eliminate the Betemit/Valencia platoon which IMO can be more productive (taking into account Morse's bad defense) at DH than Morse is at 1B.

[rudyrooster]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Trades are exciting in these winter months, but let's not make a trade just for "trades" sake. It has to be the right player and the right deal for us or it's no good at all. Morse may be okay in an O's uniform, but I wouldn't "give up" too much for his services--especially if it could turn out to be a one year and done scenario.

[LA Detective]

I would rather go into ST with CDavis at 1b and Reimold/Betemit vying for DH. I dont want to give Reimold a spot but I dont want to block him either. If he is healthy he could very intriguing at DH...The thought being he has a greater chance of staying healthy but could also do spot duty in the OF.

[OriolesRedskins28]

I would rather go into ST with CDavis at 1b and Reimold/Betemit vying for DH. I dont want to give Reimold a spot but I dont want to block him either. If he is healthy he could very intriguing at DH...The thought being he has a greater chance of staying healthy but could also do spot duty in the OF.

Totally agree. Don't forget Valencia in the mix for platoon DH who kills LHP.

[osforlife]

I'am not totally into Morse. We don't have to make a move just for making a move. We have a platoon at DH(Betemit and Valencia), a platoon in left(McLouth and Reimold), and Chris Davis at first. Then, even some depth at those positions with Jackson, Hoes, Ishikawa, Pearce, etc. If we were to match up a trade, I think a fair deal would be a LH reliever for Morse.
4 years of Patton or Matusz would probably equal about the same value as one year of Mike Morse, right? His defense is bad, and he doesn't want to DH, so maybe there isn't a match. If he is willing to accept mostly DH time, I could easily see him going to the Yankees. Unless I'am missing/forgetting somebody, I'am quite positive the Yankees won't have a quality DH until A-Rod comes back. Canzler, Nunez, one of their three catchers. Boone Logan, Clay Rapada, Cesar Cebral, and of course Pat Venditte are their left handed relievers.!

[birdwatcher55]

I guess Morse is this week's Flavor of the Week. I doubt Duquette is dumb enough to give up young pitching for such mediocrity