Kuzul

After insisting on a three year deal but ultimately failing to land one, first baseman Adam LaRoche agreed to resign with the Washington Nationals for a two year deal with a mutual third year option.

Now that the Nats have a permanent solution at first base and a full outfield after trading for Denard Span, it appears Washington is ready to field offers for Michael Morse.

Morse enjoyed a solid 2012 season, batting .291/.321/.470 with 18 home runs. Hitting at least .289 in each of the last three seasons, Morse could certainly add a middle of the order bat to a team seeking an offensive upgrade.

For a team like the Tampa Bay Rays that struggled offensively while third baseman Evan Longoria dealt with a hamstring injury for most of the season, Morse could help in this area.

The Rays ranked just 27th in the MLB in batting average. While the Rays did acquire some decent players via trade and free agency, a combination of Yunel Escobar, James Loney and eventually Wil Myers won’t propel their offense to the top of the league this coming season, especially given the departures of B.J. Upton and Jeff Keppinger.

Tampa Bay also lacks a true power bat in their lineup. Last season, first baseman Carlos Pena and Luke Scott failed to fill this clear void, and the need still exists. While Morse’s 18 home runs last season are solid, he is only one year removed from hitting 31 homers. If he can return to form at Tropicana Field, the Rays would be a considerably improved team.

Therefore, it makes sense to add another bat. With a free agent market largely picked over at this point, Tampa Bay may look into upgrading their lineup through a trade, and Morse would certainly be on their radar.

Defensively, Morse is capable of playing several positions. While he is considered a poor defensive outfielder, he could fill in from time to time when necessary. He could also play first base, especially against left handed pitching, as Loney hit just .217 against left-handers last season and .218 for his career. Against right handers, Morse could act as a designated hitter given the fact that Loney hits a career .287 against right handers.

The Rays truly value this type of versatility. Looking at their roster, players like Ben Zobrist and Ryan Roberts who are capable of playing several positions fit well in Tampa Bay, as manager Joe Maddon routinely tweaks his lineups for each situation.

The only drawback to acquiring a talent like Morse is his contract. He makes $7 million next season, which is considered costly for a team like the Rays. Because he only has one year left on his deal, he would likely depart after the season.

Morse would be a great fit, but because he only has one year left, it is vital that the Rays don’t overpay to acquire his services. Given the fact that Tampa Bay just dealt James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals, the Rays have to be careful about trading too much pitching, especially with Cy Young winner David Price likely leaving sooner rather than later. The Rays would be smart to acquire Morse, but only at the right price to ensure that a strength doesn’t become a need.

General manager Andrew Friedman has already made a few trades this offseason and is always looking to improve his ball-club. At the right price, Morse would be a great short-term addition to a squad desperate for a power hitter.

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The American League East is the most competitive division in baseball. From this division, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs last October. The Tampa Bay Rays came up just short in their playoff push, but have competed for the division crown in each of the past five seasons. With the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox improving their rosters dramatically this offseason, there’s an argument that any of these five teams can win the division this season. 

The Yankees enter the 2013 MLB season with a bunch of question marks. Amazingly, it’s not just their pitching that should make them worried. It’s the bottom of the lineup. Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson taking up the first five spots in the lineup is still an elite top of the order. After that, it gets ugly rather quickly. 

Their biggest offseason acquisition, Kevin Youkilis, is expected to bat sixth. Sure, everyone remembers Youk’s abysmal start to last season with the Red Sox that got him traded. However, people don’t realize that he wasn’t much better with the Chicago White Sox. His batting average improved by three points (.236 from .233 as a member of the Red Sox) during his time in Chicago. His on-base percentage last season was .336 (.346 with the White Sox), which was by far Youk’s worst output in his career. Let’s also not forget that he hasn’t played more than 125 games in a season since 2009. 

Infielder Eduardo Nunez, rookie catcher Austin Romine and left fielder Brett Gardner are the final three spots in the lineup. Nunez and Gardner are good for steals, but those three guys will not intimidate pitchers at all. And Nunez is the Yankees designated hitter! I don’t think the Yanks will be able to win the AL East this season with a bottom of the lineup as inexperienced and offensively limited as this one. 

So what should the Yankees do? The smart and obvious answer is to acquire Michael Morse from the Washington Nationals.

After signing Adam LaRoche to a two-year deal, the Nationals have a logjam of position players. They have LaRoche as their starting first baseman, along with Bryce Harper, Denard Span and Jason Werth roaming the outfield. This means that they have no room for Morse in the lineup. 

Morse is a great fit for the Yankees for several reasons. One of them is because of his weak glove. Teams love Morse’s bat, but they will shy away because of his fielding. Morse is not a strong outfielder, as proven by his advanced defensive stats. 

However, he would be a huge improvement over Nunez as the Yankees designated hitter. The past three seasons, Morse has accumulated 1,194 at-bats for the Nationals. His .296 batting average, .516 slugging percentage and .861 on-base plus slugging percentage would give the Yankees a huge boost in their lineup. This guy has a plethora of natural power, and he would give the Yankees another offensive threat that they really could use. 

Another reason why Morse makes sense for the Yankees is his contract. As evidenced by their lack of spending this offseason, the Yankees have made it a priority to be under the luxury tax by the start of next season. Morse is a free agent after the 2013 season, so he would actually would not hurt the Yankees’ monetary restrictions.

Now, how can the Yankees acquire Morse? The Nationals lineup and starting rotation is loaded, so they won’t have any interest there. But, their bullpen is lacking left-handed relievers. The Nationals lost three of them this offseason, including late-inning lefty Sean Burnett and long reliever Tom Gorzelanny. In fact, the only lefty reliever they currently have on their roster is Zach Duke. Not the guy I would want to face left-handed batters in tight situations.

The Yankees have two lefties in their bullpen, Boone Logan and Clay Rapada. Now, I doubt the Nationals would accept either of these guys straight up for Morse in a trade. But, if the Yankees add a middle-tier prospect, I think the Nationals pull the trigger. Washington will not re-sign Morse after this season, so why not get value for him that will help the team in the short-term and long-term? 

Trading for Morse is the type of move that could enhance the Yankees’ playoff hopes significantly. It helps the bottom of the Yankees order and it gives them a legitimate designated hitter. He can even play first base whenever Mark Teixeira needs a day off. All I know is, Morse is probably the lowest valued impact bat that the Yankees can acquire. But that bat would make the Yankees the favorites in the AL East again. 

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As of now, the bulk of the MLB offseason activity is complete. The majority of the major free agents have signed. And if a blockbuster trade was going to take place, chances are it would have happened by now.

Five weeks remain between now and some of the most optimistic words in baseball:

“Pitchers and catchers report.”

Before then, there are some things that still need to sort themselves out. While most of the MLB offseason is over, these storylines still need some sort of resolution.

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The 2012-13 MLB offseason has had its share of surprises.

One of the biggest surprises this offseason was the Los Angeles Angels signing of Josh Hamilton to a five-year, $125 million contract.

Surprising because, it seemed the Angels were relegated to bystander status after spending a combined $317 million on the Albert Pujois and C.J. Wilson contracts during the 2011 offseason.

Surprising because, the Texas Rangers allowed Hamilton to leave the club and join an AL West rival.

That wasn’t the only surprising move this offseason.

Who could have expected that teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals would become key players in the postseason transaction market?

What about the New York Yankees? Where have they been this offseason?

Who would you add to or take off this list?

Here are the 10 biggest surprises of the MLB offseason.

Let the debate begin!

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The Philadelphia Phillies have an outfield full of talented yet inexperienced players, and many fans want to see the club sign or trade for a proven veteran in order to balance the roster.

But would this be a smart move?

First, let’s look at the talent still available in the market. According to MLBtraderumors, there are still a decent number of outfielders unsigned, but only a few could offer value to the Phillies.

Scott Hairston, Austin Kearns, Delmon Young and Kosuke Fukudome are left in the free-agent pool and might offer the team some limited help. But with this group of available talent, the Phillies should slowly tiptoe away from any deals.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported Ruben Amaro Jr. is looking for a potential outfielder to sign in order to stir competition among players, much like restaurant owners who overstaff servers.  The better server earns more shifts.

Now this is not a bad theory, but it is an unnecessary one. Philadelphia has a nice foundation of young players in the outfield, who may be successful for many seasons.

The Phils should also stay away from trades before the season begins. Yes, there are big names  mentioned like Justin Upton, but the club would have to give up a lot of talent for a player of his caliber—talent the team cannot afford to lose.

The club could potentially look at another reliever, but overall, the roster should be set for spring training. It’s time to let the kids run out and enjoy a major league season at full speed. With the youth in the outfield and aging veterans manning the infield, the Phillies have a nice balance in the lineup.

Darin Ruf, Domonic Brown and newcomer Ben Revere all have potential to be big players in the league, but need to take their games to the next level and own their positions.

Now, if at midseason the Phillies are terrible, mediocre or pushing for the playoffs, that would be the time for a trade.  Under those circumstances, at least the youngsters would be given a chance to prove their abilities—and the club would be able to properly evaluate their talents. 

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Could the Mariners be making a play towards Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton?

Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports recently tweeted that Seattle has contacted Miami about Stanton’s availability. However, Morosi also stated that sources doubted anything would occur.

Mariners have contacted Marlins about Giancarlo Stanton, but one source I talked with doubts a trade will occur.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 1, 2013

The uber-talented 23-year-old has been the subject of many rumors this offseason ever since Miami Marlins general manager Jeffrey Loria traded most of his major league talent to Toronto in order to dump salary.

The move left the Marlins with very little MLB-ready talent on the current roster and an infuriated young star:

Alright, I’m pissed off!!! Plain & Simple

— Giancarlo Stanton (@Giancarlo818) November 13, 2012

After the trade in November, Marlins ownership made it clear that Stanton would not be going anywhere, as reported by Jon Heyman at CBS Sports. However, ESPN’s Jim Bowden recently reported that Assistant General Manager Dan Jennings stated the Marlins would listen to any offer for Stanton, but were not looking to deal him away:

Dan Jennings Marlins AGM told us they will listen to all offers on Giancarlo Stanton but they’re not shopping him and don’t want to move him

— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) December 30, 2012

Now there is a big difference between listening to offers and considering offers, but this does show that general manager Jack Zduriencik is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to improving Seattle’s anemic offense.

It also shows that no prospect in the Marinerss farm system is untouchable, as a trade for Stanton would almost certainly have to start with highly-rated prospects such as catcher Mike Zunino and pitcher Taijuan Walker.

Even that may not be nearly enough. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reported that almost every other team in the MLB has contacted the Marlins about Stanton’s availability, with one source stating that it would be “easier to list who hasn’t called.”

It would be hard for any team not to be interested in Stanton. He’s one of the top young hitters in the game and already has 93 homers in his first two-and-a-half seasons in the big leagues. Along with that, Stanton has four more years before he hits free agency and is very disgruntled with the direction the Marlins are going in.

If the Mariners are really serious about Stanton, it will probably take a package of prospects that would dwarf the talent sent to Baltimore for Erik Bedard back in 2008, and even that may not convince the Marlins to move Stanton.

At the very least, it shows again that ownership remains aggressive in trying to upgrade Seattle’s offense. But talk is cheap, and Mariners fans will not be happy until they start seeing deals, not rumors.

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MLB fans have seen a slew of free-agent acquisitions this offseason, but there are still a handful of potential trades that could happen before spring training starts.

MLB trade rumors are about as common as Mark Sanchez turnovers, but the following five players and their rumored deals have some weight to them.

As always, you’ll want to stay up-to-date with Bleacher Report’s MLB page to follow the potential moves, but here are five players who have great chances of being traded this offseason.

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The New Year is underway, and the baseball hot stove is still going strong. There are plenty of rumors going around to quench your hot-stove thirst.

With all the rumors out there, it can be hard to identify which ones are legit and which ones have no chance of happening.

We simplify things for you and tell you which of the latest trade rumors you should buy and which ones you shouldn’t. 

Jason Kubel for Alexei Ramirez

Will the D-Backs look to trade some of their outfield surplus for infield help? The idea has been bandied about. Danny Knobler of CBS reported the following:

White Sox have talked about Kubel. Also had talks about Upton earlier in winter, when Diamondbacks asked about Alexei Ramirez.

— DKnobler (@DKnobler) December 22, 2012

Now that Cody Ross is in the fold, the Diamondbacks have a bunch of outfielders. Getting rid of one of them, whether it’s Kubel or Upton, would make sense, especially if it’s going to upgrade their infield.

Ramirez batted .265 last season, with nine home runs and 73 RBI. He would present a major upgrade at either shortstop or third base and trading for him would be a wise move.

Kubel had a terrific year last season, batting .253 but knocking 30 home runs and 93 RBI, and would fit in nicely with Alex Rios and Dayan Viciedo. 

You should buy this rumor. It makes too much sense, especially now that the Diamondbacks are overflowing with outfielders.

This deal could get done relatively soon.

Rick Porcello to Baltimore or Seattle

Tigers starter Rick Porcello is on the trading block, and there are a bunch of teams interested.

In particular, the Orioles and Mariners (per Jon Morosi of Fox Sports):

Sources: #Tigers have spoken with multiple teams about Rick Porcello. #Orioles and #Mariners among those involved. @mlbonfox

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 20, 2012

The Tigers have a surplus of pitching and recently signed Anibal Sanchez to a five-year, $80 million deal, and it may be difficult to keep Porcello long term.

The Mariners have seemingly kicked the tires on everybody, and Porcello, despite his 4.59 ERA, would represent an upgrade.

The Orioles, on the other hand, have J.J. Hardy to dangle in return, according to MLive.com, especially with the emergence of Manny Machado. The Tigers could trade Porcello and Jhonny Peralta for Hardy (via Lynn G. Henning of The Detroit News):

Mulling possibilities for Tigers: Porcello/Peralta to O’s: Peralta goes to 3B, Machado moves to SS. Orioles kill 2 birds. Tigers get a SS.

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) December 21, 2012

Again, nothing is imminent, but this rumor has legs. It makes sense, especially if the deal is with the Orioles.

Vernon Wells to Yankees?

The Yankees need outfield bats, and they could look to the Angels for help. Vernon Wells is redundant, now that Josh Hamilton is in the fold.

Thus, he’s on the block.

The Angels and Yankees talked about a deal for Wells at the winter meetings, according to Fox Sports.

Wells is due to make $21 million this year and next, so the Angels would likely have to take on a major part of the contract.

Wells is a righty bat, which is needed in New York to balance the all-lefty outfield the Yanks currently employ. Wells has been a disappointment for the Angels, and last season he batted .230 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI. 

Should you buy this rumor?

No.

The Yankees signed Matt Diaz to a minor league deal yesterday. The right-handed outfielder batted .222 with two home runs and 11 RBI in part-time duty for the Braves.

Unless the Angels take on all of Wells’ burdensome contract, then the Yankees will most likely stick with Diaz off the bench. 

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With fewer than 100 days remaining until opening day 2013, the Seattle Mariners still seem to be looking for ways to improve their team.

After trading for Kendrys Morales just before Christmas, rumors began swirling about whether the Mariners would deal their young first baseman Justin Smoak.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe mentions the Balitmore Orioles as one team interested in Smoak‘s services, while Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun opines that a Smoak-for-Brian Matusz swap could work out well for both teams.

Would it be worth it for Seattle, though?

On a positive note, Matusz would fill one of the open spots in the starting rotation, and he is a southpaw, which would help replace the void left by trading Jason Vargas.

Matusz, however, has struggled his entire career at the major league level and hasn’t really shown any signs of turning the corner.

Only once has Matusz managed to pitch 100 innings in the last three years and has never posted an ERA below 4.30 in his career.

Last season saw the 25-year-old register an ERA of 4.87 and WHIP of 1.56 in just 98 innings pitched in what was his fourth year playing major league baaseball.

Smoak has been disappointing up to this point as well, but after being sent down to work on his swing, Smoak was able to return and hit more effectively for the M’s.

Furthermore, the premise that he is expendable thanks to the acquisition of Kendrys Morales is a risky notion.

Morales, after all, will be a free agent at the conclusion of the 2013 season and could walk, which would leave the Mariners without either player.

Consider the fact that Smoak still has minor league options left as well. It would be a wise move for the Mariners to send him down for the season and use one of his options, as opposed to trading him away as an insurance policy to Morales’ potential departure.

Trading Smoak before he has a chance to prove that his bounce back at the end of last year wasn’t a fluke could really come back to haunt the Mariners.

At this point, trading Smoak for Matusz straight up seems to present more risk to Seattle than reward.

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With an offseason that has already rocketed the Toronto Blue Jays to the top of the baseball world, would anyone really be surprised if general manager Alex Anthopoulos was to pull off another move?

According to Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Atlanta Braves are interested in recently-acquired Blue Jays second baseman/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio:

#Braves are still involved in multiple trade talks, two of their targets believed to be Bonifacio and Fowler

— David O’Brien (@ajcbraves) December 12, 2012

While this news broke before the acquisition of Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, that trade should not really impact the moving of Bonifacio is both the Braves and Jays are still interested in striking a deal.

But would moving the 27-year-old speedster be the right move for Toronto?

Absolutely not.

Despite the fact that some believe he is only a bench player, with Maicer Izturis being the lead candidate to start at second base, I am not so sure.

In fact, other than his injury-plagued 2012 season, Bonifacio had been a player improving year-to-year in south Florida.

From 2007, when he made his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks, right up to 2011, Bonifacio had never seen his batting average decrease.

In 2011, the native of the Dominican Republic  hit .293, with an OBP of .360, and proceeded to swipe 40 bases.

While he may not hit for power, plugging him into the two-hole behind Jose Reyes could give opposing pitchers major headaches.

In 2012, Bonifacio actually stole 30 bases in just 64 games, a stat, that extrapolated over 162 games, would come out to a mind-blowing 76 stolen bases.

What’s even more impressive is that Bonifacio was only caught three times.

Yet because of his season-ending injury and his lack-luster performance in 2012, many Jays fans seem ambivalent towards his arrival.

Make no mistake, Emilio Bonifacio is a very talented player who had one down year. All other evidence over the course of his five full seasons (from 2008 to 2012) points to him being a player who is still getting better and just hitting his prime.

Considering him an expendable piece for the Toronto Blue Jays would be a big mistake.

At the very least, he’s a better player than Maicer Izturis, who has not done anything that has stood out over the last three years.

Since it was reported that the Braves have interest in Bonifacio, nothing has come to fruition. Jays fans should hope it stays that way.

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