The Rays just got James Loney, but ESPN’s Jim Bowden reports that the team is talking to the Nationals about a trade for Mike Morse and Danny Espinosa in exchange for pitching.
Just because Loney is in the fold doesn’t mean this makes zero sense — after all, Loney is actually a downgrade from Carlos Pena if that’s possible, and Morse can play a corner — but Bowden’s ESPN colleague Jayson Stark says that while talks are happening a deal “is not very likely.”
But even if it isn’t it reinforces a couple of notions that will inform other deals at the Winter Meetings: (1) that the Rays are willing to deal starting pitching to fill holes; and (2) that the Nationals are leaning toward dealing Morse and re-signing Adam LaRoche to cover first base rather than merely handing the position to Morse.
