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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However that aside I think that Baltimore would be a good fit for Morse, and I think that the Orioles have the piece(s) that Washington wants in return. However could something outside of these negotiations in effect doom the Orioles’ chances of landing Morse on the trade market? The Nationals are currently in a fight with MASN for how much they’ll be paid for their television rights. The team wants in the neighborhood of $100-$120  million, while MASN is apparently willing to give them in the $40-$50 million range. According to the contract, MASN would have to turn around and pay the Orioles whatever they’re paying the Nationals for their TV rights. The majority shares of MASN are of course also owned by Orioles’ owner Peter Angelos.

MASN and the Orioles are two separate entities that are owned by the same person (the Nationals also own a minority share of the network). That being the case, would Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo be petty enough to in effect spite the O’s and not be willing to do business with them? Either that or might Rizzo consider asking for more simply because in his view and that of the Nationals’ fans, the franchise is fighting the Orioles? That’s the rhetorical question at hand…the answer is something that I don’t have. However needless to say, the Nationals have never been happy with the MASN deal and they’d like for their television rights to be on the open market. However MASN (owned by Angelos) was awarded their TV rights in compensation for them coming to the region.

On one hand, I do agree that there’s a bit of a conflict of interest with the owner of one team in effect holding the TV rights to another franchise. Granted Angelos “the owner of the Orioles” doesn’t own the Nationals’ TV rights, but Angelos “the owner of MASN” does. From the standpoint of the Orioles, a deal was made and now the other party doesn’t like the terms and is trying to get out of that deal. From the perspective of Washington, they never liked the deal to begin with and they were forced into it in order to ensure that they had a franchise. But the terms of the MASN deal aren’t the issue at hand…the question is whether or not Mike Rizzo would allow that issue to creep onto the negotiating table when it comes to on-field personnel.

Courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Again, I don’t know the true answer. However my personal opinion is that no, he wouldn’t allow the two deals to affect each other. While the Nationals aren’t happy with the MASN situation and there appears to be no doubt that they’re blaming the Orioles for their discontent, Rizzo is a very good GM. Good GM’s don’t let outside things influence player dealings. If he can improve his team via a trade, he owes it to the franchise and to it’s fans to do that. (The one caveat I would throw in there is trading within your division, which I feel is counterproductive.) The word on the street is that Rizzo wants a southpaw reliever, and that’s something that the Orioles can provide in exchange for Morse. If he was to get greedy and tell the Orioles that they’d have to throw in perhaps two relievers or even a position player (non-prospect), I suspect the O’s would walk away from the negotiations.

I think the Nationals fans would probably be thrilled if Rizzo asked for more than Morse was worth if for no other reason than to spite the O’s. That would certainly be a lose-lose in a way, because either the Orioles wouldn’t get a quality middle-of-the-order bat, or they’d grossly overpay for one. This is kind of a conspiracy theory I suppose, and as I said I think that Rizzo would be foolish to turn down the Orioles or ask for more (simply because it’s the Orioles) if the Orioles offer him the best deal to begin with.

For the record, Buster Olney of ESPN doesn’t feel that Washington will get too much for Morse given the injury concerns and the fact that he’s a free agent after the season. I still say that the Orioles should run the risk of trading a Matusz or a Patton  in order to get that middle-of-the-order bat.

The Orioles threw around the idea back in December of trading for the above-mentioned Porcello, however Detroit’s asking price was Hardy and Duquette wasn’t willing to do that. At the time, my opinion was that perhaps Porcello and the Orioles could be a fit in some manner, however not at the price of J.J. Hardy. I still hold the same opinion on that. However this proposed trade would send Porcello to Chicago, Hardy to Detroit, and presumably something from Chicago (perhaps Matt Garza?) back to the Orioles. I’d still be very wary if I were Dan Duquette, however he owes it to the franchise and the fans to do his due diligence and at least listen to the offer. My prediction is that it’s an offer that he can refuse, and he will.

Courtesy of Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

On another front, the Washington Nationals signed first baseman Adam LaRoche to a new two-year contract yesterday. This makes first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse expendable, and the Orioles are one of the teams that are reportedly interested. Washington supposedly wants some pitching depth, specifically southpaw pitching depth. The Orioles have both Brian Matusz and Troy Patton, both of which might intrigue the Nationals.

Here’s where Dan Duquette has to be careful once again. Michael Morse is a player that could undoubtedly help the Orioles, and Washington GM Mike Rizzo knows that. So while they need some depth in their bullpen and the Orioles are in a position to help out, Rizzo might ask for just a bit more than the Orioles should be willing to give up. If they’re willing to do an even 1-for-1 swap with Morse and Matusz/Patton, I’d take that if I were Duquette. In fact, if they balked on that a bit I might even be willing to throw in a low-level pitching prospect; Washington’s prospects have been depleted a bit since they’re traded so many of them away. But if Rizzo starts asking for more than that (such as both Matusz and Patton, or perhaps a higher level prospect), that’s where Duquette needs to draw the line.

For the record, I’m not accusing Mike Rizzo of squeezing the Orioles before it happens. However based on Duquette’s attempts at wheeling and dealing thus far this off season, it appears that teams seem to feel that the Orioles will or should overpay. Buck Showalter has also said on numerous occasions that the O’s value their talent, and they expect other teams to do the same. Morse would come with two drawbacks that in theory could lower the price a bit; he’s had injury issues, and his contract is up after 2013. Presumably the O’s would look to extend Morse, however whether he would do that right away is another story. Speaking for myself, if I was Duquette I thin that would be a risk I’d be willing to take in terms of giving up either Matusz or Patton (assuming one of them would be involved in the deal).

The rumor is that there are five or six teams (including the Orioles, Tampa, and the NY Yankees) interested in Morse. Apparently Washington is particularly enamoured with some of the pitching prospects that Tampa has. A Morse-for-Matusz trade would hardly be a blockbuster, however it would shore up the Orioles’ first base spot a bit more, and it would provide a power bat in the order that the Orioles could probably use.