Nyjer Morgan Traded to Milwaukee Brewers by Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals finally had enough of Nyjer Morgan and traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers in a deal that might surprise some Brewers fans. In exchange, the Nationals acquire Minor League infielder Cutter Dykstra and cash considerations from the Brewers.

It seems that by trading for Morgan, the Brewers are going to have to give bad news to either Brandon Boggs or Jeremy Reed. Both players seemed ready to make the Opening Day roster for Milwaukee, but now one of them will have to go to make room for Morgan. Boggs is a switch-hitter already on the 40-man roster and Reed was a non-roster invitee that seemed primed to take on a new job this season.

It will also be interesting to see what the Brewers plan on doing in center field, where Carlos Gomez is currently planted. Both offer similar skill sets, with the difference being that Gomez is right-handed and Morgan is a left-handed hitter. Neither are what you would call stars for the team, but it does provide the Brewers with a lot of speed to play around with in the 2011 MLB season.

Last season, Morgan played 136 games for the Nationals, posting a batting average of .253 with no home runs. He did have 34 stolen bases, showing that he has a lot of speed, but Morgan was among the leaders for getting caught as well. In 2010 Morgan was caught stealing 17 times, a rate of 33% that is not good for someone running the bases so much.

It was definitely a disappointing year for Morgan and the Nationals, especially after he teased them with a .351 batting average of 49 games in the 2009 season. The organization had been hoping he could keep up that pace he had established with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but once he was made a full-time player, the output really declined. The thing that saves him is his speed, and if he could harness that and run the bases better, he could be a valuable asset to the Brewers.

Milwaukee now has a few games to figure out what they are going to do with their outfield situation, and discover if Morgan was what they were really looking for. He has seemed like a player that would not be pleased if the Brewers were to use him as part of a platoon, but he had better be willing to adjust if he wants to make a lot of money in his next contract negotiations.

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