BREAK UP THE F-ING NATIONALS

[vansmack]

looks like the nats got laroche for 2 years. not sure how much money.

$10m year one.
$12m year two.

Mutual buy out year 3 for $2m.

Considering they offered him a $13.3m qualifying offer, this is great for the Nats.  Probably gives them a top 5 infield.  I just hope the player is happy with it.

[vansmack]

but im sad to see morse go.

If you can move him for a quality lefty reliever to replace Burnett, you can keep the nucleus of last years squad with a healthy Strasburg and having added a true lead-off hitter as a defensive center fielder, then I think it's a no brainer to deal Morse.

[atomicfront]

but im sad to see morse go.

If you can move him for a quality lefty reliever to replace Burnett, you can keep the nucleus of last years squad with a healthy Strasburg and having added a true lead-off hitter as a defensive center fielder, then I think it's a no brainer to deal Morse.

I was thinking morse could be a good platoon with betemit at dh but evdidently he hits right handers better than left handers.  So I don't think he is a good fit with the orioles.

[HoyaSaxa03]

the only way to evaluate the LaRoche deal is along with the eventual Morse trade and Spann signing:

Spann v. Morse:  much better OF defense, fills offensive hole (pure leadoff/OB guy), better contract given developmental plan
LaRoche v. Morse:  much better 1B defense, more of an offensive wash: LaRoche gives more balance to the lineup with a lefty power bat, but Morse has a bigger overall upside

I think this is generally the right direction, buuuuut I could also see LaRoche bottoming out and Morse stringing together a few monster years given regular PT ... even if that came to pass I probably wouldn't second guess this.

[vansmack]

the only way to evaluate the LaRoche deal is along with the eventual Morse trade and Spann signing:

No matter what happens with Morse, I think the Nats have to like the LaRoche deal.  Remember, it was a mutual option for a $10m one year deal for 2013 that the Nats exercised - they were already planning on spending the $10m on LaRoche for 2013.  To counter, they did a tender offer of $13.3 that LaRoche turned down.  They're not paying that now either for 2013.

All they really did this morning was extend his contract by one year for $12m and added a cheap option year.

Even if he's not the player in 2013 that he was in 2012 - that contract is tradeable midseason in 2013 and 2014.  There is so little risk in this deal that the Nats have to be VERY happy with the way this all played out. 

All the Nats fans need to worry about is that the player is happy with what happened.

[gaaaaaaaaah]

yeah thats a much cheaper deal than i expected for laroche. not much to dislike on that front.

i just worry about morse's trade value with his one year remaining, especially now that it's obvious the nats dont have a position for him. like i said, im sad to see him go, so i hope they get a good bullpen arm or two for him.

[DeathFromAbove1979]

Morse to the Yanks possibly? Bye bye hair.

[vansmack]

FROM BUSTER:

Nationals making moves

With the signing of Adam LaRoche to a two-year deal, the Nationals' lineup could look like this:

CF Denard Span
RF Jayson Werth
LF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
C Kurt Suzuki/Wilson Ramos

Plus, they should have a really deep bench, regardless of whether they trade Michael Morse -- and it appears they will deal Morse, who has had three good offensive seasons: .871 OPS in 2010, .910 OPS in 2011 and .791 last year.

What can they expect for Morse? Probably not a lot. He is eligible for free agency next fall, which essentially makes him a one-year rental in 2013, and GMs don't have a lot of enthusiasm for giving up good prospects for a player in that situation. Some GMs say privately that while they like Morse, they can't see surrendering much, given his lack of a natural position and his lengthy injury history. And the Nationals will be hurt by the fact that there are similar players on the market, most notably Jason Kubel.

If some team was interested in an outfielder-DH type of player and the Nationals ask for a lot, the team might simply turn to Arizona to talk about Justin Upton.

The stalemate is over, writes Adam Kilgore. Michael Morse will almost certainly be traded by the Nationals.

The Yankees are interested in Morse, writes Andrew Marchand.

[hutch]

why trade him unless you're going to get something?

the odds of laroche playing every game or even close are small in my opinion... he's fairly injury prone i thought?

[DeathFromAbove1979]

Pretty sure he played almost every game last year.

I'm more worried about him not being able to top of even reach his offensive output from last year. I don't see a repeat golden glove/silver slugger year. Maybe just the glove though...

[vansmack]

why trade him unless you're going to get something?

the odds of laroche playing every game or even close are small in my opinion... he's fairly injury prone i thought?

To fill a whole - like a left handed reliever.

He's also an expensive backup for being not a natural first baseman at $6.75m.

Add to that the fact that with a two year deal for LaRoche, the Nats aren't likely to resign Morse after this season, they might as well try to get something for him while they can. 

[gaaaaaaaaah]

i dont see werth hitting second, but it doesnt seem like a terrible idea either.

is suzuki/ramos really a debate? i thought it was pretty clear that kurt would be the starter next year.

keeping morse as a bench hitter wouldn't be fair to him. not that its out of the question, but id be very surprised if thats what happens

laroche has actually been fairly consistently healthy over his career, with the one season in dc an obvious exception. whether he can keep producing at last years level is another issue

[hutch]

they should absolutely keep him unless they're going to get something

do we want to win or not?

he can also play outfield i thought?


do not trade him for 2 middling prospects.. if they can get something good they need i'm all for a trade..but these "we're going to lose him anyways, lets trade him for a guy in double a" type trades are ridiculous.


and 6.75 million nowadays seems to get you nothing anyways.

[atomicfront]

I see Morse as DH only so the market is american league teams.  he is a free agent after this year.  So you have that going against you.  His OBP was average last year.  He gets paid quite a bit for his value.  I don't see a team giving up much for him. 

[DeathFromAbove1979]

i dont see werth hitting second, but it doesnt seem like a terrible idea either.

is suzuki/ramos really a debate? i thought it was pretty clear that kurt would be the starter next year.

keeping morse as a bench hitter wouldn't be fair to him. not that its out of the question, but id be very surprised if thats what happens

laroche has actually been fairly consistently healthy over his career, with the one season in dc an obvious exception. whether he can keep producing at last years level is another issue

Wasn't Ramos drafted to be the catcher here? Zuke was brought in to help Jesus from getting beaten down for the rest of the season. He was AWESOME in relief and not bad at batting, but I always thought it was Ramos job to keep...

Yanks are lining Boone Logan for Michael Morse. I think the Nats would want more than that for Morse...