Washington Nationals: With Michael Morse Out, Will Bryce Harper Move on Up?

The Washington Nationals got some bad news on Wednesday regarding outfielder Michael Morse. 

Morse—who led the Nats with 31 home runs, 95 RBI and a .970 OPS last year—reaggravated a strained lat muscle in his right side during his rehab assignment with Class A Hagerstown.

As CSN Washington's Mark Zuckerman reports, Morse hurt himself again while making throws from left field on Monday night. As the game progressed, Morse had more difficulty throwing.

Consequently, Nats general manager Mike Rizzo said Morse will be in "total shutdown mode" for six weeks, during which time doctors have instructed him to stay away from baseball activities. Apparently, the strained lat doesn't affect his swing, but it's not going to heal while he keeps trying to throw.

Morse originally suffered the injury during spring training, which caused him to begin the season on the disabled list.

The six-week timetable for Morse doesn't include the rehabilitation process he'll go through once he's deemed healthy enough to resume baseball activities, either. He'll have to get back into playing shape and get the work he needs at the plate and in the field through another minor-league assignment. That means he probably wouldn't be able to return to the Nationals' lineup until mid-to-late June, at best.

So, without their best power hitter for at least the next two months, what will the Nationals do? 

Morse's injury situation has led to speculation that Rizzo might turn to the best prospective power hitter in the Washington organization.

Could this mean the Nats call up Bryce Harper from Triple-A Syracuse?

Not so fast, says Rizzo.

"No. It does not," Rizzo told MASN.com's Dan Kolko. "We've got a plan for (Harper), and when he's ready to come up, we'll certainly think about that. But we've got in-house candidates that we feel comfortable with out there, and it doesn't change where we're at with Bryce's timeline at all."

The Nats aren't sharing their exact plan for Harper, of course. But the most plausible scenario has him being called up in June, which would delay his service time and keep him under club control for one more season, through 2018. If the team sticks to that timeline, Harper obviously wouldn't be replacing Morse. 

Harper, 19, isn't lighting it up with Syracuse right now, either, which probably won't compel the Nationals to accelerate his development with a call-up to the majors. In six games with the Triple-A Chiefs thus far, Harper is batting .261/.320/.391 in 25 plate appearances. That slugging percentage has to be a concern, even if it's a matter of Harper not finding his timing yet. 

But the Nationals may have already found a replacement for Morse's power production, regardless of what they decide to do with Harper.

First baseman Adam LaRoche has been a pleasant surprise for the team, batting .345/.406/.586 with two home runs and eight RBI in the Nats' first seven games. The team is playing pretty well, by the way, racking up a 5-2 record so far.

If LaRoche is back to his 25-homer, 100-RBI form, that would suitably replace Morse's production until the front office decides what to do next.

One would think, however, that getting by with Mark DeRosa and Xavier Nady in left field isn't quite what Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson have in mind for the rest of the season—if it comes to that.