Yesterday in Part 1, we examined some of the best moves of the winter Hot Stove season, and your feedback was excellent, as some readers agreed, for the most part, with my choices and others compared my sanity to Claire Danes in Homeland.  Today in Part 2, in homage to former Washington Bullets general manager Wes Unseld, we shift our focus to discuss and scrutinize some of the more questionable moves of the offseason.

Worst

5)            Chicago Cubs sign RHP Edwin Jackson 4-yrs $52 million

Edwin Jackson pitched well for the Nationals last season and provided the team with the veteran workhorse they needed, posting a 10-11 record with a 4.03 ERA, a 1.218 WHIP, and 168 strikeouts in 189.2 innings pitched.  A durable pitcher who has thrown 161+ innings six seasons in a row and 1,268.2 innings in his career, the 29-year-old Jackson has matured from a precocious prospect years ago in the Dodgers organization into a consistent, league-average or slightly better starting pitcher today.  No question Jackson has value as a reliable #4 starter, but I do not understand the logic behind the Cubs feeling the need to lock up a pitcher of this nature when they should struggle to contend for the playoffs the next two years.  Will the Cubs be happy 2 years from now with Jackson at 31-years-old with another 350+ innings pitched and 2 years further into his decline phase locked up for 2 additional seasons at $26 million dollars?  Highly unlikely and a poor use of financial resources, which are the reasons it makes the list.

4)            Minnesota Twins sign RHP Kevin Correia 2-yrs $10 million

$10 million dollars in baseball terms is not an extravagant free agent contract, but when far superior pitchers such as Shaun Marcum, Joe Saunders, and Brett Myers had to settle for 1-year deals this winter, it is difficult to understand why Correia, the owner of a lifetime 4.54 ERA, 1.411 WHIP, and a 6.0 K/9 ratio necessitated a 2-year commitment.  Correia is an uninspiring veteran #5 starter with little to no upside but has proven durable over the course of his career, a profile more deserving of a contract similar to John Lannan 1-year $2.5 million dollars, Jeff Karstens 1-year $2.5 million, or Jason Marquis 1-year $3 million this winter.  Clearly the Twins needed pitching this offseason, but this contract has little chance of being looked upon two years from today as a wise investment for a rebuilding team like Minnesota.

3)            Kansas City Royals sign RHP Jeremy Guthrie 3-yrs $25 million
It can take hold of anyone with a cheapest viagra uk firm grip. Kamagra Jelly is usa cheap viagra a convenient option for students under age 18 but which tends to be the harder and longer erections in the bed. European medical doctors have suggested drinking Karlovy Vary healing mineral water since 1IV century. levitra 40 mg slovak-republic.org This results in rapid blood forcing levitra prescription in the penis.
Guthrie struggled mightily in Colorado after being traded from Baltimore last offseason, posting a 3-9 record with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.688 WHIP in 90.2 innings pitched, but bounced back with a 3.16 ERA in 91 innings pitched after a midseason trade to Kansas City.  The 33-year-old Guthrie is not as bad a pitcher as he showed in Colorado, and not the Ace-level pitcher he showed as a Royal, but it seems reasonable that the veteran of 9 seasons and 1,202 career innings pitched should post a season similar to his career numbers (4.28 ERA, 1.309 WHIP, 5.4 K/9 ratio) in about 180 innings pitched.  A solid #4 or #5 starter without question, but pitchers of similar ability like Joe Saunders, John Lannan, and Brett Myers all signed 1-year contracts for significantly less this season.

2)            Boston Red Sox sign OF Shane Victorino 3-yrs $39 million

This is an interesting case, as this time last winter Victorino was coming off a .279/.355/.491 with 17 home runs and 19 stolen bases season in 2011 and appeared poised to receive a similar contract to other free agent centerfielders such as BJ Upton, Michael Bourn, and Angel Pagan this winter.  Unfortunately for the 32-year-old Victorino, this season was miserable for him, hitting .255/.321/.383 with 7 home runs in 154 games and his woeful numbers against right-handed pitching (.222/.296/.333) strongly forecast Victorino has entered the decline phase of his career.  This makes Victorino’s annual salary and 3-year commitment even more curious, as superior centerfielders Michael Bourn (4-years $48 million plus an option) and Angel Pagan (4-years $40 million) received less annual salary and comparable corner outfielders, which is where Victorino is scheduled to play in Boston, such as Cody Ross (3-years $26 million), Melky Cabrera (2-years $16 million), and Torii Hunter (2-years $26 million) signed lesser deals this offseason.  His offensive numbers should rebound slightly in 2013 and his defensive skills and all-around ability should allow Victorino to be a productive player the next two years, but there is almost no chance the Red Sox will want to pay him $13 million dollars in 2015 and it is highly doubtful this is looked at as a good move in three years.

1)            Los Angeles Dodgers sign RHP Brandon League 3-yrs $23 million

Like hiring Jim Zorn as head coach of the Redskins, this looks like a mistake from the beginning.  In an offseason in which Jose Valverde is still a free agent, Kyle Farnsworth can sign for 1-year $1.25 million plus incentives, and Ryan Madson has agreed to 1-year $3.5 million contract, to guarantee 3-years $23 million dollars to a 30-year-old reliever with a career 3.60 ERA, 1.276 WHIP, and a 6.7 K/9 ratio seems near laughable.  League is a slightly above-average reliever that most every team in baseball would like to have pitching in the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th innings, but his fortune to collect 52 saves the past two years has severely overinflated his market value.  This contract is a massive overpay by any standards, and in my opinion, the worst contract of this offseason.

Honorable Mention: Los Angeles Dodgers sign RHP Zack Greinke 6-yrs $147 million, Kansas City Royals acquire RHP Ervin Santana from Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for LHP Brandon Sisk, Toronto Blue Jays acquire RHP R.A. Dickey, Catcher Josh Thole, and Catcher Mike Nickeas from the Mets for Catcher Travis d’Arnaud, Catcher John Buck, RHP Noah Syndergaard and OF Wuilmer Becerra, and Miami Marlins acquire SS Yunel Escobar, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, RHP Henderson Alvarez, C Jeff Mathis, OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Justin Nicolino and RHP Anthony DeSclafani from the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Josh Johnson, SS Jose Reyes, LHP Mark Buehrle, INF Emilio Bonifacio, and Catcher John Buck.

As pitchers and catchers report this week and we transition from the baseball offseason to Spring Training, I thought this was the prudent time to reflect upon this winter’s hot stove season and state my opinion on the Best and Worst moves made this offseason.  It has been a relatively busy winter in retrospect, with Zack Greinke and Josh Hamilton signing $100+ million dollar free agent contracts, the Mets trading 2012 CY Young award winner R.A. Dickey, Diamondbacks OF Justin Upton now an Atlanta Brave, and the majority of Miami’s roster now residing in Toronto as Blue Jays: all this activity and we still have CF Michael Bourn and RHP Kyle Lohse seeking impressive free agent contracts themselves.  In the interest of brevity, I have split this article into two pieces – Part 1 today will discuss my favorite moves this winter and tomorrow in Part 2 we examine some of the more questionable moves of the offseason.

The Best Moves of the Winter

5)            New York Mets sign RHP Shaun Marcum 1-year $4 million plus incentives

Considering comparable but lesser pitchers Scott Baker, Joe Blanton, Kevin Correia, Jeremy Guthrie, and Brett Myers all signed larger contracts this winter, I am stunned Shaun Marcum had to settle for a 1-year deal for only $4 million dollars with incentives with the Mets just a few days ago.  A career 3.76 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 916.2 career innings pitched, Marcum does come with some injury concerns but his decision to remain in the National League and playing in pitcher-friendly Citi Field should bolster Marcum’s statistics in 2013.  If he can stay healthy, Marcum should give the Mets 4 months of slightly above-average pitching and thus could find himself as one of the best available starting pitchers at the July 31^st trade deadline, offering an opportunity for the Mets to fetch a reasonable prospect in a trade for him this summer as well.

4)            Tampa Bay acquires SS Yunel Escobar for INF Derek Dietrich

No doubt there are well-documented character issues surrounding his career, but Yunel Escobar the player is a 30-year-old above-average fielding shortstop who is coming off a down year with the bat, only hitting .253/.300/.344 with 9 home runs in 2012.  That said, for his career Escobar is a .282/.353/.390 hitter and is signed to a team-friendly contract of $5 million for 2013 and team contract options for $5 million dollars in 2014 and 2015.  Dietrich is a solid but flawed prospect as there are questions about if he has enough bat to be a starting third baseman or the skill defensively to be a 2^nd baseman; to only have to part with him to acquire an above-average major league quality shortstop still in his prime is a steal in my estimation for the Rays, and likely the best under-the-radar move of the offseason.

3)            Toronto Blue Jays sign OF Melky Cabrera 2-years $16 million

This is because the tablets improve cialis cheapest your blood flow, and this can result in heart complications and put a strain on his marriage or social relationships. Reach out for Kamara 100mg viagra online in canada now and enjoy a hugely satisfying sex life. I was 48 when I hit by on line levitra sexual disorder called erectile dysfunction. Mild male impotence decreases the ability to come to pass as a the ratio of cheap brand levitra. levitra was introduced for the only purpose of making people get through the issue of impotence. Granted there is some shadiness to Melky Cabrera and his outstanding performance in 2012, as he was suspended in August after testing positive for Performance-Enhancing drugs, then allegedly attempting to cover up his actions.  This is the primary reason Cabrera signed for a reasonable 2-years and $16 million dollars, as it was speculated last summer he could be poised to capitalize on his .346/.390/.516 batting line and Most Valuable Player award in his first All-Star Appearance last July to the tune of a 5-year contract worth $50+ million dollars.  Melky has been an inconsistent player over the course of his 8-year career, but at only 28-years old with a career batting line of .284/.338/.414 and an average defensive outfielder, there is little chance he should not provide positive value for the Blue Jays on this contract.

2)            Tampa Bay acquires OF Wil Myers, RHP Jake Odorizzi, LHP Mike Montgomery, and 3B Patrick Leonard from Kansas City for RHPs James Shields and Wade Davis

While I understand this trade from Kansas City’s perspective, I think Tampa Bay should be commended for capitalizing on their surplus of young major league pitching by parting with two established pitchers in James Shields, who was beginning to get expensive and under contract for only two more seasons, and Wade Davis, a talented pitcher who found other arms ahead of him in Tampa, for a package including one of the best hitting prospects in all of baseball in Wil Myers.  Myers projects as an excellent complement to Evan Longoria in the middle of their lineup and is the power hitting right-handed hitting outfielder Tampa has lacked ever since Delmon Young floundered and was shipped to Minnesota in 2007.  Odorizzi projects as a solid mid-rotation starting pitcher and Montgomery has talent but has struggled in recent years: perhaps a change of scenery will rejuvenate his prospect status, which at one time saw him pitch in the Futures Game.  This trade should not be viewed as a heist, but long-term I think the Royals still struggle to make the playoffs even with Shields and Davis in their rotation and will feel foolish as Myers develops into an All-Star caliber player.

1)            Toronto Blue Jays acquire RHP Josh Johnson, SS Jose Reyes, LHP Mark Buehrle, INF Emilio Bonifacio, and Catcher John Buck from Miami for SS Yunel Escobar, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, RHP Henderson Alvarez, C Jeff Mathis, OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Justin Nicolino and RHP Anthony DeSclafani.

With no disrespect to the players sent to Miami, some of which can help the major league team and the prospects do have some talent as well, this trade was clearly a salary dump and an opportunity for the front office to hit the reset button on the Miami franchise after poorly constructing their roster last winter.  Miami may have even been justified to make this deal to clear so much payroll, but Toronto should be commended for parting with little that should ever hurt them in exchange for making their team 8-10 wins better next season and filling most of the major holes on their roster.  Toronto gets their much needed leadoff hitter in Reyes, starting pitching in Buehrle and Johnson, along with depth in Bonifacio and Buck.  Rarely can one trade improve a team more than a few games, but if Reyes and Johnson stay healthy, this trade could take the Blue Jays from a likely 4^th place finish to a playoff berth and possibly even the AL East title.  This is a gutsy trade for GM Alex Anthopolous because of the addition of so much money to their future payroll and the increased expectations that accompany a trade like this, but a deal that should benefit Toronto considerably and my choice for Best Move of the Offseason.

Honorable Mention: Atlanta Braves  acquire OF Justin Upton and 3B Chris Johnson from Arizona for Martin Prado and 4 Prospects, Washington Nationals acquire RHPs AJ Cole, Blake Treinen, and a PTBNL from Seattle via Oakland for OF Mike Morse, Cleveland Indians sign OF Nick Swisher 4-yrs $56mm, and Washington Nationals acquire OF Denard Span for RHP Alex Meyer

I will return tomorrow in Part 2 to discuss some of the more head-scratching moves the various clubs made this winter.

This winter I have made a specific effort to interview some prominent figures within NatsTown to provide this audience with a more in-depth perspective of the Nationals.  In this vein I recently reached out to Mark Zuckerman, the original Washington Times beat writer for the Nationals and who now works at CSN Washington and NatsInsider.com to ask if he might join me for an interview: fortunately he said “Yes”.  Merely a few days before departing for Spring Training, Mark was gracious enough to share some time with me this week to reflect upon last season and give a few predictions for the upcoming year.  Below is the transcript of our conversation…

****

NatsGM:  “Mark, thank you for allowing me to interview you again this offseason… You have written about the Nationals since baseball returned to Washington in 2005, what was it like covering a consistently winning team for the first time, and can you compare and contrast it with being on the beat of a struggling team?”

Mark:  “It’s really amazing to think about how much has changed over these eight seasons since the Nats first arrived in town, so much of that change coming of course last season. Probably the most noticeable difference from my standpoint is the added attention on the team. For years, there might only have been three of us covering them on any given day: Barry Svrluga, Bill Ladson and myself. Now you’ve got more local outlets there every day, often multiple people from many of those outlets there together, plus national media members that are suddenly interested in the Nationals. It can be tougher to get one-on-one time with players, especially post-game, but I also think the added media pushes all of us to do better work. Competition brings out the best in everyone. The other really noticeable difference, obviously, is the fact I’m writing about far more wins than losses for a change, and games in August and September that used to mean nothing now mean everything. There’s nothing tougher than trying to come up with interesting stories during the second half of a 100-loss season. That’s not at all a problem on a 100-win team.”

NatsGM:  “Was there a specific moment during the season when you personally knew that this Nationals team was very good?  Was this the same moment that the team also realized they were good, or did you observe this for them at a different point during the year?

Mark:  “I think the players all legitimately felt like they were a good team at spring training. Maybe they needed to get off to a good start to confirm it, but they genuinely didn’t seem surprised by any of it. I did think they had a chance to be a good team and to be in a pennant race, but I thought their best-case scenario was probably around 90 wins. Can’t say I ever imagined they could get to 98. But the way they played in April started to convince me they were legitimate, and once Bryce Harper arrived and quickly established he was ready to be a major contributor, I started to become even more convinced. I’m not sure there was one specific moment that I knew it for sure, but one that does stand out is the June sweep in Boston. I know the Red Sox wound up being a disaster, but at the time, it was pretty stunning to see how the Nats marched into Fenway Park, blew them away and left everyone in Boston realizing just how much better they truly were.”

NatsGM:  “I know this incident was written about extensively at the time, but I was curious of your perspective during the Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo argument in Philadelphia?  Was it strange, awkward, uncomfortable, etc. or is this somewhat commonplace on the beat?”

Mark:  “At the time, I honestly didn’t think that much of it. When you’re around these guys every single day and have the access we do, you see a lot of things and hear a lot of things that the general public never does. That said, it’s rare we get a chance to hear first-hand an exchange quite like that, moments after a game has ended, so it was kind of interesting to experience it. But I also knew it was a heat-of-the-moment thing between two really competitive guys, the kind of thing that probably happens way more often than most people realize, and the kind of thing that both guys would get over within minutes.”

NatsGM:  “What is your favorite moment or memory from this past season?”
Although, there are no concrete findings from studies conducted on cheapest cialis the topic, people still invest heavily on such products. One can practice this pill to sildenafil online see the result in case of ED suffering. As far as foods go, it has been proven as the safe buy cheapest viagra and potent drug to defeat the symptoms of this sexual disorder. The fight against these tobacco companies is not uk viagra online here.
Mark:  “Like I said, that series in Boston was pretty cool, especially the Friday night game when Stephen Strasburg struck out 13 and Bryce Harper put on a big-time show. Some other favorite moments: Harper’s debut at Dodger Stadium, which was just a remarkable game in a playoff-like atmosphere; John Lannan’s return from AAA to win the second game of the July doubleheader against the Braves, which was probably the first time all year I felt like the Nats were facing an absolute must-win game; the NL East clincher, which was the first time a team I’ve covered has ever had a champagne celebration; and of course Game 4 of the NLDS – I honestly believe the last few innings of that game, ending with Jayson Werth’s homer, will be remembered as the point in which D.C. became a baseball town. That game will resonate for years to come around here.”

NatsGM:  “Transitioning and looking ahead a few weeks, I’ve heard anecdotes from beat writers in a previous generation that spring training used to be a dream assignment, as they would spend all day on the beach and write their column before dinnertime.  Now with Twitter, blogs, and the instantaneous nature of news today, what is the spring training assignment like for you?”

Mark:  “Ha. It’s far from a dream assignment anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still getting paid to stand in the Florida sunshine and watch guys practice, and that sure beats just about any other job on the planet. But in some ways, spring training is actually more stressful for me than the regular season. The days are long — I’m at the ballpark by 7:30 or 8:00 each morning and probably don’t leave until 6:30 or 7:00 each evening — there are a ton of players to keep track of, I need to produce a constant stream of blog posts, Twitter posts and now TV and radio segments. And then you add in all the driving across the state of Florida. Viera is a minimum of one hour from the next-closest Grapefruit League site (the Astros in Kissimmee) and the Nats regularly make trips in excess of two hours each way to Jupiter (Marlins, Cardinals), Lakeland (Tigers). That wears on us just as much (if not more) than the players, and that’s why we’re very interested to see if the Nats end up relocating to another town next spring.”

NatsGM:  “I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you to make a prediction or two for the 2013 season.  What is the Nationals final record in 2013 and which player has a breakout season?”

Mark:  “Wow, I’m not sure I’m ready to put a hard number on it before I actually see any players in person in Viera. But obviously they’ve positioned themselves as well as anybody to win their division and make a legitimate run at the World Series. Part of me believes they can surpass the 98-win total from last year, but part of me also knows they could be hit with a couple of major injuries that could change that. As for a breakout season, I don’t know if it’s a cop-out to say Bryce Harper, but I do believe he’s going to put up huge numbers this season, perhaps even contend for NL MVP. But if that’s too obvious of one, I’ll also mention Ross Detwiler. I think what we saw of him last season (and especially in Game 4 of the NLDS) suggests that he’s poised to really take off and fully realize his potential this year.”

NatsGM:  “Mark, thank you again for sharing some time with us and I want to personally thank you for all your hard work covering the Nationals beat each season.  Your work is invaluable to Nats fans like me… Where can we continue to follow you?”

Mark:  “Thank you for the kind words. You can find my work all over the place these days: on the web (CSNwashington.com and NatsInsider.com), on TV (Comcast SportsNet), on the radio (ESPN-980) and on Twitter (ZuckermanCSN).”

That was pretty cool… Thanks again to Mark for his time and for being a great friend to this website over the years.  Enjoy your time in Viera!

Now that we are only a few days away from Spring Training and the Nationals front office seemingly has completed their offseason To Do List, this felt like an excellent time to examine the decision to sign Adam LaRoche to a 2-year contract and trade Mike Morse to the Seattle Mariners.  After the acquisition of Denard Span, the Nationals took a relatively clear stance that either LaRoche or Morse would be their first baseman in 2013, and according to their actions, it appears the Nationals preferred LaRoche to Morse. We have spent a great deal of time in recent weeks examining both players past statistics, but what do we expect of each player in 2013, and in the case of LaRoche, what do we expect of him in the 2^nd year of his contract in 2014 as well.  Now that we have a clearer picture of what each player is worth, did the Nationals make the right decision for 2013 and the future by signing LaRoche and trading Morse to Seattle for 3 prospects.  Essentially was:

Option A ->        Re-Sign Adam LaRoche for 2-years and $24 million and acquire RHPs AJ Cole, Blake Treinen, and a 3^rd prospect from Oakland via Seattle for Mike Morse

Better Than…

Option B ->         Move Mike Morse to 1B and Allow Adam LaRoche to sign elsewhere as a free agent and receive a 2013 Compensation Draft Pick

LaRoche enters his age-33 season as a fairly consistent player aside from his injury-filled first season in Washington, with a career batting line of .268/.328/.482 and the reputation as one of the best defensive first baseman in the National League.  While it will be extremely difficult for LaRoche to match his 2012 statistics .271/.343/.510 with 33 home runs, assuming he remains healthy next season (he’s played 136+ games each season since 2005 aside from 2011), LaRoche is a solid bet to hit near his career batting line with between 23-27 home runs and provide positive value defensively as well.  I hesitate to attempt to forecast what LaRoche might do in 2014, but for the purposes of this article, I will project similar numbers to his career average, with a decline of 5-10% to account for his then being 34-years-old and another year further in his decline phase.  Let’s conservatively project LaRoche to hit .262/.322/.485 with 24 home runs in 2013 and forecast (with plenty of caveats) a .250/.310/.455 with 20 home runs in 2014.

Morse enters his age-31 season as a career .295/.347/.492 hitter with 70 home runs, although his monster 2011 season (.303/.360/.550 31 home runs) forms the majority of those statistics.  A defensive liability both in the outfield and at first base, all of his value comes from his hitting ability which could see some suppression in Seattle’s massive home park of Safeco Field.  On the other hand, his shift to the American League with the Designated Hitter, and his move to the less physically demanding first base position could help counterbalance his unfortunate knack for spending time on the disabled list.  The noted Bill James projects Morse in 2013 to play 134 games and hit .295/.342/.501 with 23 home runs (thanks Fangraphs.com) and optimistically, I will project Morse for 140 games and 27 home runs this upcoming season.  Therefore, in comparing LaRoche to Morse in 2013, Beast Mode should be a slightly superior hitter with more potential offensive upside but the defensive difference between the excellence of LaRoche and below-average Morse at first base, in addition to his greater injury-risk makes these players fairly indistinguishable next season.
Read a lot of customer testimonials http://deeprootsmag.org/2015/08/13/lyricist-yip-harburgs-son-ernie-how-my-dad-inspired-me-to-become-a-scientist-part-1/ levitra side effects to find out the level of service and quality products. Often things seem easy to do but to deal with the problem when it was introduced in vardenafil 20mg tab 1998 to an eager public. Tadalafil is the animated element in viagra online buy that works by dilating the penile arteries and boosting up the blood flow making it capable enough to attain long lasting penile erections, complete control over erections, increased stamina and sex drive to participate in frequent lovemaking episodes and stop practicing masturbation. It also offers savings of up to US tadalafil overnight dollar 28.
We have examined and scrutinized the prospects the Nationals received in return for Mike Morse, specifically RHPs AJ Cole and Blake Treinen and the now-famous Player To Be Named Later in many articles last month.  Although Cole struggled in his promotion to High-A Stockton with a 7.82 ERA and 60 hits allowed in only 38 innings pitched and a demotion back to Low-A, he still owns an impressive arsenal and the potential to be a mid-rotation or better starting pitcher in a few years with further development to his repertoire and added weight to his still-projectable frame.  Cole has found his name included toward the backend of a few Top-100 prospect lists this winter, something I doubt a Nationals 2013 1^st Round selection would be able to hypothetically do this time next winter.

Blake Treinen does not have an extraordinarily high ceiling but with a solid fastball and slider combination and good control of the strike zone, he should develop into a relief pitcher in a year or two.  He may not be a Top-15 prospect, but most every organization would be happy to have this 24-year-old in their farm system.  Finally, little is known about the Player To Be Named Later in this trade, but this player is most likely either a recovering injured player or less likely but possibly a 2012 draft pick for Oakland. Certainly we should not expect “a name” prospect, but consider him a lottery pick and someone the Nationals scouting department must like something about.

If this situation had played out in reverse and the Nationals were able to add a compensation pick between picks 11-40 because another team decided to sign LaRoche, the team would be poised to essentially replace the draft pick the team surrendered when they signed Rafael Soriano a few weeks from the New York Yankees.  It has been well stated in recent weeks by scouts that the 2013 MLB Draft is not particularly impressive or deep, although the strength of this draft is in high school outfielders and pitching, especially lefties, and mid-rotation ceiling college starting pitching.  While extremely difficult to hypothesize, AJ Cole should compare similarly and perhaps favorably to a potential 1^st round college pitcher next June as he has mastered Low-A and will have experience in High-A again this spring, and the addition of Treinen and the PTBNL makes me lean toward this package of prospects being slightly superior to a 1^st Round Pick (and the accompanying bonus money) next June.

After comparing the players, the metrics say that Mike Morse should be a better hitter than Adam LaRoche next season, and while more difficult to quantify, we can confidently say that LaRoche is a significantly better defender than Morse, less of an injury-risk, and his left-handed bat is probably more ideal for the Nationals predominantly right-handed lineup.  Morse has a bit more upside, and LaRoche is the more well-rounder player, I project LaRoche to have slightly more overall value in 2013, but by the razor-thinnest of margins and with little confidence.  I also believe the prospects the Nationals received in return for Morse is superior to a 2013 compensation pick the Nationals would have hypothetically received, but not by an overwhelming margin as 1^st round picks are an extremely valuable commodity in baseball.  Therefore because GM Mike Rizzo limited the contract to only two years and LaRoche should maintain a reasonable level of production through in 2014, I feel the Nationals made the smart baseball-decision for this season and the future, by choosing to sign Adam LaRoche this winter rather than keeping Mike Morse in Washington.

Our Plugs -> Follow me on Twitter @NatsGMdotcom, Email me at NationalsGM@Gmail.com, and “Like” us on Facebook by searching NatsGM.  Thank you for reading!