Washington Nationals: Center Fielder And Pitcher Away? Or Already There?

this year.
Another season of a SPAD-only team does not inspire. It puts an unreasonable burden on the pitchers with almost no margin for error (cough-Lannan-cough).

Hey, Rizzo… I’ll take O, O, O instead of Ho, Ho, Ho for my holiday cheer!

I won’t mind Werth in center, they have to make room for Prince and the Cyborg.

with Rizzo pulling a tiger out of the hat in addition to the collection of ratty rabbits he’s already produced!

I like the thoughts.

Plus you have to look at the angels and the cluster they now have. They may have a high price for bourjous now, but they have a cluster over there with Trumbo, Morales, Pujols, Hunter, Vernon wells, Bobby abreu… All really lined up for three positions. Four if you count the DH. But they have bourjous and trout as well. Only one of those guys can play center, because he can’t play right or left. And you may just want to keep one and mix in wells and hunter.

They’ll need to make a move and the price will have to come down until they meet demand.

is that they will not have anywhere near the options for first base next year. They may end up getting stuck with yet another year of LaRoche, which is not a situation I relish. Next year they will have good options for CF, so: 1B this offseason, CF next.

You have to think that the lineup will be stronger in 2012 for a handful of reasons:

1) Zimm only played in 101 games, and still didn’t look like he was fully healthy for a number of them
2) We can look forward to a full season of Morse playing every day
3) Though Werth is probably going to start hitting his decline soon, he should be better than he was early last season
4) Espinosa and Ramos now have full seasons under their belt

It still doesn’t excuse the fact that they totally lack a leadoff man and a true CF. Fielder would be a great addition if the price and length of a deal becomes more realistic. What irritates me about the Aoki thing is that the posting fee was so ridiculously cheap that it would appear that they were asleep at the wheel in terms of going after him. He has the range to cover CF (something I don’t really trust Cespedes to have), though most reports say he has a noodle arm. His average-hitting ability and his superior (for NPB, at least) plate discipline profile him perfectly as a leadoff man. These are the two areas that Rizzo has been preaching are the biggest needs all offseason (and during 2011). It just seems like someone was asleep at the wheel.

Of course, both will be pursuing multi-year deals. Beltran is easily the more preferable option of the two, despite his recent injury history. His injury history means he definitely isn’t a CF anymore, which means Werth would have to play CF. Still, I’d certainly trust his glove in RF and he’s more than capable of repeating his .300/.385/.525 line from last season. Kubel, coming off of an injury-prone .273/.332/.434 season, may be more likely to sign a one year deal to prove that he can stay healthy and bring the power back to his 2009 level.

A one year deal makes sense because the Nats should be looking for a stopgap solution to give Harper just a little more time in the minors. With the changes to the CBA, Kubel will net the Twins a draft pick but won’t cost the team that signs him a pick. I’m not sure about Beltran, but I’m fairly certain that he’s a Modified A at best (wouldn’t cost the Nats a pick, but the Giants would get compensation with a created pick).

Of course, the Nats haven’t been mentioned as a team that’s in on either player. Kubel’s market doesn’t seem to have developed much at all, but Beltran certainly has his fair share of suitors. Beltran just had a heck of a contract year after injury troubles had sapped his production for a few years, so I assume he’s going to cash in.

Damon, Yertl, and (to some degree) Drew are in steep decline. Johnson is injury prone and meh offensively. Scott is injured, a bad OF, and bat-s*** crazy. Ross and Crisp are possibilities, but Ross really has just the 2010 playoffs as a positive on his recent resume, and I’m not particularly impressed by Crisp. Beltran and Kubel both probably want multi-year contracts.

Besides, do you really want to see an OF of Werth flanked by Morse and Damon/Ibanez/Scott/Kubel? Werth would probably fall apart by July.

He could at least play CF and be a leadoff type. Probably won’t cost an arm and a leg either, and a short-term deal wouldn’t be out of the question.

LaRoche isn’t going anywhere if he proves he truly has recovered. Rizzo won’t trade him before the trade deadline. Not if Johnson nixes it and HE WILL under those circumstances.

Morse is in left-field for 2012.

And his name is Corey Brown … they have another great fielder and left-handed hitter in Curran.

Many evaluators do not believe that Hood, Perez, and Goodwin can play CF …. so …

How is Rizzo fixing that? He let Nix go

They offered him the same deal … he chose the Phillies.
Not much you can do about that.

and that is why we did not keep him. to be a bench player you have to be able to PH, Nix couldnt so he was very valuble to the team

But I suspect Boras wants to place Fielder with the Nats.

The contract is a tough nut they will have to crack … the length more than the $$$.Then, there’s the problem of LaRoche … he isn’t going to be easy to trade.

LaRoche is only owed 8 million this year and 2013 is an option year that was never likely to be picked up. Marrero even healthy shows very little power, so his trade value would probably never be very high unless teams want a bench bat who can play shaky D but can hit singles off the bench. Morse has shown that he can play the OF, and Harper is a RF, not going to LF so Morse isn’t pushed out until we have a CF come up through the system that would move Werth to LF which is where he will end up as he ages anyway.

Point being here, signing Fielder will not cripple the team financially and physically as you say. What signing Fielder will do will extend this team into playoff contention due to the consistent offense and high OBP that Fielder brings to the table. He is the biggest thing that the Nationals can do to improve an anemic offense from last year. I think our pitching will take care of itself and I have some hope that we can make a leadoff hitter out of Desmond or Lombardozzi, and for one I’d rather have a bunch of power hitters from 3-6 then trying to shoe Desmond or Espinosa in there when they play positions where D is first.

Rizzo has his eye on Sept 2012, into 2013, and beyond. As well he might. Morse will move to 1B and the outfield will consist of Harper in left, Werth in right, and a young fella named Eury Perez in center. Just you wait, that kid’s a comer.

And one more thing about Fielder: mighty lefty that he is, he would absolutely poison our clubhouse. Spend the money on Zimm. Make him a Nat for life, and do it in 2012.

If we are already at the ceiling and the Lerners really are that cheap, then kiss all of the young talent goodbye and forget trying to contend. We are close but really need one or two extra pieces to go for a WS, and everyone knows that.

If the rumors of the Lerners forcefully wanting a WS winning and perennial contending team are true then fans could see them being alright sitting on salary sitting in the 125-150 Mil range, putting us right up against some top contending teams with high salary contracts. I just do’t make that call saying that the nats don’t sign Fielder because of money constraints concerning other players just yet. New ground with owners who pull in close to the top in revenue each year and spending more could also mean more profits if the team continues to win.

I remember (during my 15-year fling as an Orioles fan) when Vidro was a rookie, and completely torched Baltimore (as a DH) during spring training. By the time the Expos became the Nats, his knees were shot, and the LD% was in serious decline.