Morse or LaRoche

[welch]

Nooooooo We cant trade Morse! Will A-HA leave with him?!

Serious, LaRoche is much more consistent and makes more sense to keep. As much as we all love Morse hes just not a consistent hitter and not very mobile in the outfield.

Ill still follow the guy wherever he ends up though!

A-Ha will leave, and Nats fans will still cheer for Morse. That's why I hope he goes to the AL. Yankess would be nice, because then a large fan-base would cheer him. He's the exact opposite of ARod, who is hated, and Giambi, who was hated. Unfortunately, the Yankees have nobody they can trade that the Nats would want.

[varoadking]

Unfortunately, the Yankees have nobody they can trade that the Nats would want.

Robbie...

[tomterp]

Nooooooo We cant trade Morse! Will A-HA leave with him?!

Serious, LaRoche is much more consistent and makes more sense to keep. As much as we all love Morse hes just not a consistent hitter and not very mobile in the outfield.

Ill still follow the guy wherever he ends up though!

I've never heard LaRoche described as a consistent hitter before. 

[welch]

Robbie...

Cano even-up...yes. Morse and Lombo for Cano? I would not do that deal, however.

[Ray D]

Cano even-up...yes. 

But that's completely unrealistic.  If we had three Morses the Yankees wouldn't trade Cano for all three. 

I'd offer Morse, Lombardozi, Espinosa, and Moore. 

[rbw5t]

But that's completely unrealistic.  If we had three Morses the Yankees wouldn't trade Cano for all three. 

I'd offer Morse, Lombardozi, Espinosa, and Moore. 

If Cano were under team control for a long time, maybe -- but, he's a free agent after next year, and giving up years of control of Espi, Moore and Lombo would be a terrible deal.

[cmdterps44]

Just thought I'd post this: I like Morse and I feel for him in this situation he is in... but it's baseball. I mean he's been a backup for his entire career until a year or two ago when he got to play everyday with us. And then he has a monster season. And now he's back in the backup role... unless he's traded. But I wouldn't mind keeping him on this team since he's very damn good and would be clutch if one of our guys in the OF or 1b got injured.

[CALSGR8]

http://www.citizensofnatstown.com/home/2013/1/9/michael-morse-this-is-your-nationals-life

[Ray D]

If Cano were under team control for a long time, maybe -- but, he's a free agent after next year, and giving up years of control of Espi, Moore and Lombo would be a terrible deal.

I agree. I was a bit lazy and didn't look up his contract.

[imref]

so if we keep morse, our bench is lombo, morse, bernie, kurt, and one more, correct?

[HalfSmokes]

Tracy

[Ray D]

so if we keep morse, our bench is lombo, morse, bernie, kurt, and one more, correct?

Tracy.

[welch]

But that's completely unrealistic.  If we had three Morses the Yankees wouldn't trade Cano for all three. 

I'd offer Morse, Lombardozi, Espinosa, and Moore. 

Much as I hate Espy's strikeouts and think Lombo might (that's a "might",  as in "maybe") a better choice at 2B, Moore, Espy, and Lombo, plus Morse, is an overpay for the almost-30-year-old Cano. Might be perfect for the Yankees, who will need to replace Jeter soon, and who are using Kevin Youk as a temp until ARod returns...if ARod does return.

The Yankees are pretty old and thin. Cano and Gardner are the youngest, and Gardner was hurt all 2012. Both turn 30 soon. Tex and Granderson are around 33 (without looking that up), they lost Swisher (early 30's). They have no starters after Sabathia, and the relievers will depend on Rivera to return to form. The AAA and AA teams are empty...

NY reporters say that Morse is a good fit because he's inexpensive, and only tied down for one season. The same reporters cannot suggest a player that could be traded for Morse.

[Mr Clean]

Did anyone see Cano in the playoffs last year? Awful.

[Ray D]

Ok, since Cano will be a free agent after 2013, I'll have to revise my offer. Contingent on Cano signing an extension with us, I would offer Morse and Espinosa.   With Cano in our lineup, we might become the prohibitive favorite in the NL.

[Mattionals]

NY reporters say that Morse is a good fit because he's inexpensive, and only tied down for one season. The same reporters cannot suggest a player that could be traded for Morse.

This.  NY would be a great fit for Mikey but they have ZERO to trade back.  There would need to be some sort of three way deal in order to make it work, but that would mean someone like Cano or Granderson would be traded from the Yankees and that definitely hurts the 2013 Yanks.  In short, there is no match with the Bronx Bombers.

Best combos I can think of for Morse would be:

Seattle gets Morse -> Nats get Capps and Luetge
Texas gets Morse -> Nats get Martin Perez
Tampa gets Morse -> Nats get Jake McGee
Baltimore gets Morse -> Nats get Matusz and Steve Johnson

Out of those, I don't see the Rays giving up McGee or Texas giving up Perez.  That goes down to the M's and the O's and I don't really like the return from the O's.

Of course it's all hypothetical anyway, isn't it? 

[imref]

Morse for Banuelos is intriguing.  he was a top prospect who had a bad year, still only 21.  he'll come back from TJ in 2014 and could be in the majors by 2015.  He doesn't fulfill any immediate needs, but he might be a good project.

[Tyler Durden]

Morse for Banuelos is intriguing.  he was a top prospect who had a bad year, still only 21.  he'll come back from TJ in 2014 and could be in the majors by 2015.  He doesn't fulfill any immediate needs, but he might be a good project.

This would definitely be a Rizzo-like move.  We traded for Mattheus right before he had TJ surgery (or amybe it was just after he had it?).

[Mattionals]

This would definitely be a Rizzo-like move.  We traded for Mattheus right before he had TJ surgery (or amybe it was just after he had it?).

After.

[BrandonK]

This.  NY would be a great fit for Mikey but they have ZERO to trade back.  There would need to be some sort of three way deal in order to make it work, but that would mean someone like Cano or Granderson would be traded from the Yankees and that definitely hurts the 2013 Yanks.  In short, there is no match with the Bronx Bombers.

Best combos I can think of for Morse would be:

Seattle gets Morse -> Nats get Capps and Luetge
Texas gets Morse -> Nats get Martin Perez
Tampa gets Morse -> Nats get Jake McGee
Baltimore gets Morse -> Nats get Matusz and Steve Johnson

Out of those, I don't see the Rays giving up McGee or Texas giving up Perez.  That goes down to the M's and the O's and I don't really like the return from the O's.

Of course it's all hypothetical anyway, isn't it? 

Not a fan of a McGee or Perez swap. Imagine Rizzo would be looking for a lower-level guy, not players already in ML. Between those two though, like Perez more.

[imref]

i think that today's move makes it more likely than not that we retain Morse as a bench player and send Moore down to Syracuse.  Just a hunch, but I think Davey will lobby pretty hard for that big bat off the bench/60-80 starts/injury fill-in.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

imref - interesting take.  You may wonder if the Old Men, Johnson and Lerner, are saying to Rizzo, "don't do a Morse move unless it improves this year's product.  You have to be able to tell me that the team would be stronger after a move than it would be with Morse as the top bench bat and Moore playing in Syracuse before going ahead.   That means top tier lefty major league reliever plus a depth piece for the rotation, not one or the other."

[imref]

imref - interesting take.  You may wonder if the Old Men, Johnson and Lerner, are saying to Rizzo, "don't do a Morse move unless it improves this year's product.  You have to be able to tell me that the team would be stronger after a move than it would be with Morse as the top bench bat and Moore playing in Syracuse before going ahead.   That means top tier lefty major league reliever plus a depth piece for the rotation, not one or the other."

yep.  and i don't think you can improve our pen much right now unless Atlanta wants to part with Kimbrel.

[HalfSmokes]

I think it might come down to club house chemistry - right now you're potentially looking at three (Ramos, Morse, and Storen) embittered players who've been bumped from their positions. Maybe they all decide to be good guys about it and maybe chemistry is a load of crap, but neither is certain

[imref]

I think it might come down to club house chemistry - right now you're potentially looking at three (Ramos, Morse, and Storen) embittered players who've been bumped from their positions. Maybe they all decide to be good guys about it and maybe chemistry is a load of crap, but neither is certain

it's a good thing we have Davey.