Why would Pirates trade Morgan?

REEEAAAAALY bad idea.

another maybe upside player with a history of issues?

Nyjer is a plus in the clubhouse, and his hitting will come.

c'mon.

of course the Pirates will do it.

In the age of the greedy ball  player Nyjer Morgan is a breath of fresh air.  After reading about him in the PG.  What he was quoted as saying.  What he said being mic'd up the other night on TV.  Even that silly Im a Pirate commercial.  I get the impression that he is honestly just happy to be a major league ball player and would take the same attitude and approach to everything he does.  Concerning his age I thought a players prime was from the the age of 27 to 33.  Wouldn't it then follow that his value would be increased because what ever team has control of his rights has control of his prime?  Something we would not control with Milledge.

Make the trade. Morgan is a singles hitting left fielder who most doubted could even make the team coming out of spring training. Millings was a high level prospect who was untouchable two years ago.

Milledge must be a REAL head case.....cause the Nats are as bad as the Pirates.  One would presume, the Nats would be doing all they could to resurrect young Lastings from his self-obstructive ways.  

Acquire him....why not, could be entertaining in a Milton Bradley train wreck sort of way.

You gotta hit rock bottom before you can recover....and for Milledge this Pirate stop would be the Lastings stop on his train.

According to a few sites, the Pirates have no interest in Milledge. I tried to track down where that all started but couldn't find it.They are trying to get an infielder or pitcher or both.

I would be shocked if they acquired Milledge.

Trading Morgan now is a good idea: he's nearly 30, and he's probably not going to play any better than this in his career.  Acquiring Milledge is a bad idea.  Just what the team needs, another proven knucklehead with enough potential they just can't bring themselves to give up on him until it's too late.  On the other hand, maybe they could room him with Ian Snell in the minors.

This is a no-brainer. Milledge is younger, hits for far more power has a bigger upside. Just Do It.

Morgan has been labeled a hockey player and a one dimensional player for as long as he has been in the organization.  He has consistently exceeded expectations, and has recently fought through a recent slump, his first extended slump in the majors, while most were saying I-told-you-so.  He is a work in progress, and I see growth, if not progress, in many areas.

His defense is remarkably better than last year.  His walk rate is almost twice what it was last year.  He has fewer boneheaded baserunning blunders, though he does continue to get caught stealing too often.

So Milledge is 5 years younger.  That's wonderful and everything, but he also made his debut in May 2006, which means he is into his 4th year of service time.  Morgan first arrived in Sept 2007, which gives Morgan (depending on the calculation, I don't know exactly how it is calculated) almost 2 years more of Pirates control.  Noone can think that Milledge is going to get turned around and become worth anything before his contract is up.

I expect more of the same from Milledge and Morgan.  Milledge will continue to be immature (nice demotion due to attitude and horrendous performance before getting hurt in 2009) and fail to meet expectations.  Morgan will continue to grow and exceed expectations.

That sounds like a no brainer to me.

A Morgan for Millege trade straight up wouldn't be good for the Pirates.  Millege has a lot of potential, but he hasn't shown much maturity so far in NY or Washington.  I live in NY, so I've heard a lot about Millage in the past couple years.  Mets fans were really expecting a lot out of the guy and he was very disappointing.  He's only 23 though, so I wouldn't say that he's a lost cause.  

What Bob didn't mention was that the Pirates might want Craig Stammen included in the deal, which might make the trade worth doing.  Stammen would give the Pirates more depth in the rotation, with Ian Snell down in the minors.  I'd love to see Morgan stick around.  He says all the right things and he seems like a good guy to have in the clubhouse.  But if you could trade him at what might be his peak value for more power in the lineup and a decent starting pitcher, then why not pull the trigger?

Bob,

"Batting second behind Andrew McCutchen, he gives the Pirates the kind of top-of-the-lineup speed it never has had."

I wouldn't say never. Back in the later half of the 70's Frank Taveras and Omar Moreno batted #1 and #2 for a couple of seasons and had similar speed. - In fact they stole significantly more bases than McCutchen and Morgan.

(I had Taveras and Moreno in mind when I wrote that sentence. I covered those guys. Taveras did not have the flat-out speed of McCutchen or Morgan. Moreno might have. True, both were more productive base stealers but I was talking strictly of speed. -- Bob Smizik)

Huntington is out of his mind if he passes up the Morgan for Milledge deal.

It is a case of selling high and buying low.

The two best reasons to cash in on Nyjer are Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones.

Tabata is still a ways off but Jones may be ready.  And then there is the question of Steve Pearce.  All of those young guys may have some advantage over Nyjer Morgan

Can Milledge play 1B  if Adam L gets moved?

(Garrett Jones is 28.  -- Bob Smizik)

Morgan has an important intangible that Milledge doesn't.... Morgan is a positive role model for McCutchen and the chemistry is unmistakeable.  You don't want to rip out Morgan from the equation just as Cutch is getting acclimated (some would argue he is past acclimated).  Sure, Morgan won't be out there forever, but he's not only a tandem with Cutch on the field and in the batting order, but off the field as well.  As key as Cutch is to the Pirates long term, you can't put a value on what Morgan brings for now.

Why does a dog lick its bxxxs?? Because it can. Why trade morgan, cause they can. Maybe he is at his highest value based on current stats. I am not good enough to give a intelligent opinon on suck. Trading McLouth was just stupid and its about 60% agree with me, 40% don't. I am stunned its not 98% agree with me though! I think Nyjer with a proper slap hitting coach, would be just a nightmare for pitchers in the future. Not to many have that Manny Sanguillen skill he has and it just crushes the mental migets of todays pitcher! I say keep him, improve at 1b and starting pitching. Wadda I know LOL!! GO Pirates

Milledge thinks he's Rickey Henderson. And he does have that kind of talent, when he wants to use it. He's a game changer.  Also an attention whore.  Not a good fit for either the Pirates team or the Pittsburgh fan base.

There's a lot to be said for keeping Morgan for another season, especially as it relates to Cutch.  So it's actually a good time to be totally unreasonable with trade demands a la Littlefield.  Go for Ian Desmond or Chris Marrero for Morgan, and throw in Joe Biemel in exchange for Yates or Jackson.  While Neal is at it, tell the Nats we'll gladly take Milledge if they'll take Snell.  At full salary.

Morgan remidns me too much of Willy Tavares. They are both the same type of players. The Pirates must add more power to the outfield, this trade seems like a good chance to do that. Milledge is only 23. Make the trade.

Can Tabata at least prove he can hit double A pitching before we all plant him in the outfield at PNC?  It reminds me of 2 years ago when everyone was saying we should trade Jack Wilson because we have Brian Bixler waiting in the minors.  Tabata has yet to put one good season in above A ball.

Bob,

Thanks for the reply regarding Taveras and Moreno.

Bob: Dont get me wrong I wouldn't mind keeping Nyjer in the fold but even though Garret Jones is 28 he is a 6-4 245 lb left handed hitter with 48 rbis and 12 hr at Indy.  Maybe being 28 can be an advantage  from a maturity aspect. But being 28 may be an even better reason to get him up here now. The big thing the lineup is missing is power. If he is an answer perhaps thye can keep Morgan for awhile.

If Huntington can get quality - real quality, for Morgan, then you have to make the trade. A singles-hitting leftfielder just ain't cuttin it. Perhaps Mccutchen's professionalism and maturity will rub off on Milledge. Please Neil, make the deal.

I think all players should wear stirrups, the rest look like a bunch of kids in their PJs. You are so right Bob, winning breeds chemistry. When you don't win in an entire generation there will be no chemistry or anything else. The Nuttings and MLB have ruined the Pirates. Every once in a while I will peak at what the Bucs are doing only to turn away in horror