Yankees interested in OF/1B Mike Morse

With Adam LaRoche signed in Washington, it's assumed Mike Morse is on his way out. The Yankees want in.

By Jack Moore

Jan 8, 2013 at 2:49 pm ET • 1 min read

The Yankees are interested in trading for Nationals outfielder/first baseman Mike Morse, CBSSports.com insider Jon Heyman reported Tuesday.

With 1B Adam LaRoche returning to the Nationals on a two-year contract, Washington has five players for four positions (first base and the outfield) between Morse, Laroche and OFs Bryce Harper, Denard Span and Jayson Werth. Harper is entrenched as the franchise's future, the $103 million remaining on Werth's contract makes him all but untradeable and Span is the best center fielder of the bunch, leaving Morse as the odd man out and "very likely" to be traded, according to Heyman.

The Yankees are without a sure DH for 2013 (waiver claim Russ Canzler leads the depth chart) and the outfield badly needs a right-handed option to offset lefties Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Ichiro Suzuki. Morse makes $6.75 million this season and is a free agent after the year. The lack of a long-term commitment makes Morse ideal for the club's quest to get below the $189-million luxury tax line for 2014.

However, Morse is opposed to playing DH, according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, which could make certain teams a little more hesitant to complete a trade.

A robust market could spring up around Morse with several teams looking for a hitter, including Cleveland, Texas, Seattle, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and the Mets, although it's unlikely the Nationals will deal Morse within the National League East.

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