Who cares? It's just money.
You and I are on the same wavelength man, lol.
Span is good enough, and his hitting improved through the season. Fielding? I've seen few better, and I remember CFs back to Jim Busby. Essence of Span's fielding: I don't remember many acrobatic plays, and he made no errors, suggesting Span was in the right place nearly every time.
No reason to "fix" CF or 2B, since neither position is broken.
I do agree welch as neither position needs to be "fixed", but CF could be upgraded. Span is a complimentary player. His skills are probably best suited to bat 7th or 8th on a contending team. He does have outstanding defense in CF and has played the best CF since the team moved to DC. He is a good player, but his mediocre OBP and mediocre baserunning acumen don't make him a valuable leadoff hitter. Yes, he got better as the year went on, but he still doesn't profile as a leadoff hitter.
If the Nats keep him as the everyday CF, I doubt that it will cost them another season, but I think adding Ellsbury would add another dimension to the offense entirely. Ellsbury is a true leadoff guy and will be for at least three more years. Yes, the length of the contract is an issue and I'm not keen on losing a 1st round pick, but I think Ellsbury puts the offense over the top just like Matt Carpenter did for the Cardinals. I'm also not saying that Ellsbury guarantees a WS victory either, as it is entirely a team effort with luck sprinkled in here and there.
