Baltimore Orioles: Deciphering the Morse Code on the Nat’s Trade

When looking at the details of the Washington Nationals trade of Michael Morse this evening, my first reaction was to say, “That’s it? That’s all they got?”  Since this is an Orioles-focused page, I’ll not go into the stats of the players received beyond saying that they are merely “A” level players. Sure, one of them throws upper 90s – a skill that can’t really be taught. But wow, this does not look like much for a guy with the skills and numbers Morse has.

Though I only watch the Nationals play a fraction of the time that I watch the Orioles, I will say that Morse was one of the guys there who has always caught my eye as a heck of a talent. I love the swing and jump of the ball off his bat. It would have been great to have him on the Birds. It now looks like the price for him was not actually that high. So what went wrong?

September 21, 2012; Boston, MA USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Dan Duquette in the dugout prior to a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

We’ll likely never know, but it seems to me it has to be one of two things. Either Duquette was really, really unwilling to part with much, or Mike Rizzo of the Nationals did not value any offer to the extent we on our side of the divide would value our own talent. I suppose that logic would suggest the former possibility over the latter. Though I’m a pretty big Nolan Reimold fan – and not getting a player like Morse gives Reimold more playing time – I would have made a trade of a Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz, or Zach Brittonfor Morse.

Oct 12, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Michael Morse (38) hits a two run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of game five of the 2012 NLDS at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Presuming these speculations have any merit, I suppose it does say of Dan Duquette that he really does want to see the Orioles advance primarily through the developmental system – that he is a believer in our young guys and what they can become, not parting easily with them. I can certainly respect that.

So do any of you readers out there have any other take on this? Like maybe Rizzo wouldn’t want to trade with the poor relatives up the road? Any thoughts??

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