The Washington Nationals have acquired 28-year old lefty swinging OF Nyjer Morgan and 26-year old lefty reliever Sean Burnett from the Pirates in return for 27-year old righty reliever Joel Hanrahan and 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Lastings Milledge. Morgan will immediately be the starting CF for the Nationals. He played in 71 games for the Pirates this season and he was 77 for 278 (.277 avg, .707 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 2 homers, 27 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Morgan has now played in 157 games in his major league career in which he is 156 for 545 (.286 avg, .727 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 3 homers, 41 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Morgan should add speed to the lineup and good defense in CF which is one thing the Nationals have lacked so far this season. Burnett has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he is 1-2 with 1 save, a 3.06 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has now pitched in 109 games (13 starts) in his major league career in which he is 7-8 with 1 save, a 4.54 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Joe Beimel and Ron Villone now will become trade bait for the Nationals with Burnett aboard the pitching staff.

Joel Hanrahan lost the closer’s job for the Nationals this season. He pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he was 0-3 with 5 saves, a 7.71 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. Milledge played in only 7 games this season for the Nationals and he was 4 for 24 (.167 avg, .398 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Milledge was a head case for the Nationals but he’s still a talented player who could eventually tilt this trade into the Pirates favor.

The Nationals have acquired 27-year old righty swinging IF/OF Mike Morse from the Mariners for 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ryan Langerhans. Morse has played in 66 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 81 for 260 (.312 avg, .851 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 10 homers and 52 RBIs. He has now played in 107 games in his major league career and he is 90 for 300 (.300 avg, .762 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 3 homers, 37 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Morse could use a fresh start in Washington. Langerhans played in 64 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 57 for 205 (.278 avg, .859 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 9 homers, 40 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. This is a good trade for both teams who filled needs with players that needed fresh starts.

The Nationals have traded 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Mike O’Connor to the Padres for a player to be named later. O’Connor has pitched in 16 games (11 starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 2-6 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. O’Connor pitched in 26 games (21 starts) in his career with the Nationals and he was 4-9 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. With the Nationals’ need for pitching they much not have much faith in O’Connor ever producing so they shouldn’t miss him.

The Nationals have designated righty reliever Kip Wells for assignment. Wells pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he was 0-2 with 2 saves, a 6.49 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Wells’ biggest problem with the Nationals was his control as he walked 18 batters in only 26 1/3 innings this year and it cost him his job.

It’s getting close to the time where the Nationals should just get rid of Austin Kearns. He has played in 57 games this season for the Nationals and he is 29 for 148 (.196 avg, .655 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers and 15 RBIs. Since arriving in Washington 4 years ago, Kearns has played in 367 games in which he is 306 for 1,260 (.243 avg) with 174 runs scored, 34 homers and 157 RBIs. Kearns was one of Jim Bowden’s boys from there days together in Cincinnati and it’s time for the Nationals to cut ties with the injury prone outfielder.