Now that the Marlins have gotten older and worse by signing Garrett Jones, the smarter teams are coming out of the woodwork in pursuit of Logan Morrison. FOXSports.com’s Jon Morosi says both the Pirates and Rays have had conversations regarding the first baseman.
John Perotto of the Beaver County Times reports that the Pirates and Marlins have talked about a 2-for-1 that would send the versatile Josh Harrison and a second player to Miami for Morrison. Ironically, that would essentially make Morrison the replacement for Jones in Pittsburgh.
What’s going on in the Rays’ talks isn’t as clear, though it was reported last week that the Marlins liked infielder-outfielder Sean Rodriguez. Either Harrison or Rodriguez could serve as a starting third baseman for Miami until 2013 first-round pick Colin Moran is ready.
The interesting sidenote here is that both the Pirates and Rays would likely prefer to sign James Loney to play first base than acquire Morrison. Loney, though, is currently asking for a three-year deal in the $20 million range. If Morrison does get traded to one of the teams, it could actually serve to bring down Loney’s price tag for the other.
