‘How ’bout that John Mayberry,’ ask Phillies in Wake of Michael Morse Trade Rumors

Fresh off announcing they aren’t going to do anything else, the Phillies have a couple reasons to do something.  Else.

The Nationals are making it work with Adam LaRoche, which means they will be ready to deal power-punching outfielder Michael Morse.  Like, REALLY ready to deal, for some reason.

So now that we know what they want, we can still putting together the package that will land this helpful addition.

What?

**Ruben Amaro looks up from smart phone, shakes head, goes back to phone**

Oh, right, I mean… we’re done making moves.  Time to get ready for the season with some double platoons!

**Winks and points at Amaro.  Amaro files restraining order via smart phone.**

“FORGET HIM, HE’S GONE!!” –that baseball’s family, fleeing for their lives Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Starting depth!  We used to have that.  But Joe Blanton and Vance Worley are gone, and we just signed former Nat John Lannan to a deal to potentially replace them, so hopefully there’s a Major League-ready starter in our minor league system.

Well, there isn’t.  Trevor May is gone and nobody’s touching Jesse Biddle, we hope, and even if they were, neither of these guys would have made an opening day roster.  We are rich with pitching in the minors, but none of it is elite, and most of it probably won’t land a starting gig.

Lefty relievers, though–we have those.

Jeremy Horst, Antonio Bastardo, Jake Diekman, Joe Savery, Raul Valdes–southpaws, all of ‘um.  And they’re not all going to make the roster.

None of this seems thick enough to warrant a deal for Morse, given the output the guy is capable of.  But if the Phillies “kicked the tires” on Alfonso Soriano, they better be “checking to see if the doors are unlocked” on Morse.

The Phillies sure want you to get on the John Mayberry train while it’s still moving this slow, and if they truly are ready to face 2013 with two platoons and not even show interest in Morse, then… then I guess we all have to get used to that.

Not that the Nationals would trade in-division, or especially to the Phillies, who they loathe with an almost sociopathic persistence.  But there’s no denying Morse’s appeal in a lineup needing some outfield punch.