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Off-Topic: The WORLD CHAMPION Washington Nationals Thread


turtle28

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On 9/27/2018 at 7:48 PM, lavar703 said:

You can re-sign Harper and have a Robles, Soto, Harper outfield and then deal away Eaton and Taylor (who sucks by the way) and get a good pitcher in return. 

You can, but the likelihood of this team being competitive is greatly diminished by doing so. Eaton and Taylor won't get you much in return. Maybe a decent number 4 starter. The problem is that the Nationals have no one after Scherzer they can rely on. Strasburg seems to always have an extensive DL stint and he's now facing a drop  in velocity that my be permanent. Roark is done. Ross doesn't look like a decent starting pitcher, given that he can't seem to get through a lineup more than once. Neither Fedde nor Rodriguez have shown the ability to be a quality starter.

So you're looking at getting at least two starting pitchers this offseason. One of them need to be a good number 3 and maybe even capable of taking over Strasburg's role as the number 2 in the rotation. Keuchle, Corbin, Happ ... maybe Bauer or Bucholz if you believe in their transformation. Then you need to get at least one more pitcher, a solid 4, who can eat some innings and maintain a steady 3.50-3.70 ERA.

Then the bullpen needs some upgrading, particularly since Doolittle always seems to end up in the DL. The Nats need to get someone who can take over the closer's role in a pinch if needed.

And that's just the pitching. THere's a hole a second base and catcher that will need to be filled. Even if you brought Harper back, Soto plays like this season, and Robles turns into a star, you're going to struggle with a third of your lineup being <.230 hitters.

 

Right now, the Nats probably have about 55 million is payroll until they hit the luxury tax threshold. Given the team's gaps, that is not a lot of money. Happ/Bauer/Corbin/Bucholz/Keuchel are going to run you at least 18 million AAV. . A Lucroy/Grandal/Wieters is gong to run 6-8. Any second baseman that's an upgrade on Difo will be 6+ million. So, conservatively, that's 30 million, and this team still needs at least one more starter and a quality reliever. If you ink Harper to a deal that's 25 milllion AAV, you're now getting close to the luxury tax and I don't think the Nats are willing to go over.

I also don't think Eaton and/or Taylor get you a whole lot. I mean, ideally, Taylor gets you a Will Smith from San Fran. Eaton's health issues don't get you much more. So yeah, I don't really see how you can make a competitive team in 2019 and still keep Harper without paying the luxury tax again, or dealing a top prospect (Robles or Keiboom).

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On 4/12/2018 at 8:23 PM, Jeezy Fanatic said:

I know small sample size and everything, but I’m concerned by the back of end of rotation and Eaton’s health

You and me both. I’m more concerned about the back end of the rotation and Adam Eaton actually staying healthy than even if Bryce will stay or go.

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Taylor has gotten better while Espinosa got worse. Taylor just needs to be an everyday player. He struggles off the bench.

I'm ready to let Harper go. I'm treating this season like the Caps 2016-2017 season, where they were loaded and couldn't get it done. Re-group, get scrappers, and suddenly be an underdog in 2019.

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25 minutes ago, Slateman said:

Taylor has gotten better while Espinosa got worse. Taylor just needs to be an everyday player. He struggles off the bench.

I'm ready to let Harper go. I'm treating this season like the Caps 2016-2017 season, where they were loaded and couldn't get it done. Re-group, get scrappers, and suddenly be an underdog in 2019.

I’m with you on this. When Taylor plays every day he gets in a groove and gets more consistent but when he’s a bench player he struggles because he never gets in a groove.

I remember you wanting to trade Harper a few months ago, as well as Daniel Murphy for something meaningful and that was the right call.

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On 9/30/2018 at 8:32 PM, turtle28 said:

I’m with you on this. When Taylor plays every day he gets in a groove and gets more consistent but when he’s a bench player he struggles because he never gets in a groove.

I remember you wanting to trade Harper a few months ago, as well as Daniel Murphy for something meaningful and that was the right call.

I wanted to trade Harper years ago. I got laughed at in 2014 for suggesting sending Harper to the Red Sox for Betts, Bogaerts, and Craig

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  • 2 months later...

One interesting question that a colleague of mine brought up:

If you were manager, would you make Corbin the #2? That way, the top of the lineup becomes righty-lefty-righty.

In theory, you could even re-sign Gio as the #4 with Ross as the #5.

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18 hours ago, Woz said:

One interesting question that a colleague of mine brought up:

If you were manager, would you make Corbin the #2? That way, the top of the lineup becomes righty-lefty-righty.

In theory, you could even re-sign Gio as the #4 with Ross as the #5.

Maybe in the playoffs, but when healthy, Strasburg is better.

We don't need to re-sign Gio. We're already paying Roark 10 million. If anything, I'd rather see them move Roark for salary relief and sign someone like Hellickson for cheaper.

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