The Nationals have signed outfielder Michael Morse to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced on Friday.
Term and a dollar figure were not immediately available. Morse, 29, batted .303 with 31 home runs and 95 RBI in 2011. Over the last two seasons he has been Washington’s top power hitter with a .539 slugging percentage. That ranks 14th over that stretch among all Major League Baseball players.
Morse was under team control for the next two seasons. It was expected that he was one of two Nats players headed to salary arbitration next month – pitcher John Lannan was the other – after the deadline for agreeing to a contract passed at noon on Wednesday. The two sides even exchanged arbitration figures with Morse asking for $5 million and Washington countering with $3.5 million. But a deal actually had been reached even before that process. It was just contingent on Morse passing a physical, which he finally did late this week.
Depending on the term, this could open a window into the Nats’ thinking as they continue to build their roster for 2012. Right now, the team has Adam LaRoche at first base, but also remains in the mix for star free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder. The presence of either pushes Morse to left field, where he finished 2011 after a nice stint at first following LaRoche’s shoulder surgery in May.
But that’s also the likely landing spot for phenom Bryce Harper, who enters his second full pro season with at least a shot at making the Opening Day roster. Does that mean the team plans on moving Jayson Werth to center field from his spot in right? That remains a gaping hole on this roster and Werth is an option.
Lots of moving parts here. You could argue this signals the end to the Fielder sweepstakes. Maybe it does. You could also argue they plan on keeping Harper in the minors for a few more months. Until we know the exact contract details it’s difficult to draw a logical conclusion. But at the very least this locks up a power bat for a team that ranked 22nd in slugging percentage last season.
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