MLB Trade Deadline: 5 moves Rays should make

5. Trade Logan Morrison to the Washington Nationals

First baseman Logan Morrison will be a free agent after the 2016 MLB season. It would be wise for Tampa Bay to get something for him rather than risk losing him for nothing. Here’s the tricky part. Morrison hasn’t done much to help his value. His fWAR of -0.1 and his 88 wRC+ as of July 23 both rank 23rd out of the 26 qualified first basemen in the majors. Even if you put him in the designated hitter category, he’d rank 13th out of 15 in fWAR and 14th out of 15 in OPS+.

The only team that would make any sense to trade Morrison to is the Washington Nationals. They are one of the very few teams that have a worse first baseman (Ryan Zimmerman) than Morrison in both categories. The first base market is rather weak this season. Morrison is one of the best trade candidate at first base.

It’s debatable if Morrison would be a relevant upgrade. However, that is a risk that the Nationals should be willing to make. They are a team that can challenge the Chicago Cubs. In order to beat them in the playoffs, they need to improve as much as possible. Morrison helps them do that. He’s more reliable than Zimmerman at this point. Zimmerman could move to an ideal bench role, serving as a still dangerous pinch hitter.

Next: 4. Logan Forsythe to Pittsburgh Pirates