Standing pat for the Nationals puts the winning by design theory in question and forces us more into the winning by accident realm. Moving a player to this position and backfilling those other positions and picking up some random #5 starter and a scrap lefty reliever is not a way to win by design.
I'd counter with the notion that this is exactly how Rizzo designed it. Draft, develop and fill in the gaps. He's got a very talented roster, even without LaRoche. Perhaps it developed a little earlier than expected.
A #5 starter and lefty reliever are complementary pieces, not foundational ones. This seems much more similar to what the Braves did last off season than what the A's or O's might have stumbled into.
