Offseason moves?

[imref]

per just about every beat reporter, Rizzo's focus after he hires a manager is on LH relief, and bench as well as extending J-Zimm and Desmond.  No big changes coming.  But then again, Rizzo has a penchant for a bold, surprising move.

[HalfSmokes]

per just about every beat reporter, Rizzo's focus after he hires a manager is on LH relief, and bench as well as extending J-Zimm and Desmond.  No big changes coming.  But then again, Rizzo has a penchant for a bold, surprising move.

none of Rizzo's moves are ever predicted before hand (how he gets the other trading party to not leak is magic)

[PowerBoater69]

Bench depth and relief pitching might be all we need, but they better be good enough to push for playing time, guys who could start on other teams.

Speaking of surprise moves, wasnt it Mark Lerner who pushed the Soriano signing?

[Moore Athletic]

per just about every beat reporter, Rizzo's focus after he hires a manager is on LH relief, and bench

Would've been nice for those deficiencies to have been prioritized last year; guess it's just like the lead off hole that went unfilled for so long despite its being a glaring need. 

[DPMOmaha]

Would've been nice for those deficiencies to have been prioritized last year; guess it's just like the lead off hole that went unfilled for so long despite its being a glaring need. 

I think he tried to with the LHP and it didn't work out how he thought it would.  But as far as the bench goes, we had one of the best benches in baseball last year with largely the same cast.  They didn't perform this year.  Tough to blame Rizzo for that going into the season.  Not making adjustments to it in season?  Different conversation, but the bench coming into the season wasn't a concern, nor should it have been.

[Slateman]

Morales is going to cost a draft pick

Edit - here's the link: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/10/mariners-will-make-qualifying-offer-to-morales.html

[mach1ne]

Morales is going to cost a draft pick

Jose Dariel Abreu doesn't, but he will prob cost $50 Mil.  Which is a huge gamble.

[imref]

Morales is going to cost a draft pick

do not want.

[Mattionals]

Thank you Jack Z for ruining Morales.

[Lintyfresh85]

Morales was a pedestrian option to begin with. Forget the average/HR... His OPS is just ok, and certainly not worth the gamble that he'd hold up in 140 games+ in the NL.

[Mattionals]

Morales was a pedestrian option to begin with. Forget the average/HR... His OPS is just ok, and certainly not worth the gamble that he'd hold up in 140 games+ in the NL.

Yea, he really trailed off wRC+ wise after the ASB.

[Vega]

Seattle is going to give Morales a horrific contract to keep him.

[Mattionals]

Seattle is going to give Morales a horrific contract to keep him.

Isn't that what the Mariners do?

[Vega]

Isn't that what the Mariners do?

Yeah. Jack Z is kind of a dumbass.

[HalfSmokes]

What are the other options at first. I'd like to see Moore in full time at bats, but the time to do that was after this season was lost (thank god davey is gone). Skole may or may not be the answer, but probably not next year. If they stick with ALR, I'll be furious, they are into their window and ALR just isn't reliable.

[Mattionals]

From what we've seen from Moore, he is actually pretty decent at 1B defensively.  He really stretches out and picks it well.  He lacks the quick response time that LaRoche has for those quick liners up the line, but most 1B aren't like LaRoche.  Moore's bat seems to be fine in doses of consistent playing time and he has legit power.  His pitch recognition is just alright and I think at best he could be Pedro Alvarez.  He probably will top out at a. 250 average with 30 legitimate homers each year and an OBP just about. 320.  To me he has middle of the order power, but probably overall is a number seven hitter on the Nats. 

Skole is still intriguing even given his advanced age due to the injuries.  I really liked what I saw of him last fall in the AFL and he might just be able to stick at 1B if he bulks up a bit.  Bad thing is that injuries and time are not on his side, but the Nats STILL after 8 years don't have a clear long term option at 1B.  I'll watch his AFL at bats with high scrutiny this year, even if just to see how he bounces back from injury.

The 1B market has dried up quickly.  Morales was just OK after a bad second half and now with a QO he won't get touched because he isn't worth a draft pick.  Abreu will be a hot target, but its an awful big gamble on an unknown.  Corey Hart is also an option as well.  I'd like to see another lefty added to the team, but splits don't really matter much as I'd rather just see a good hitter play 1B.

I think Zim probably sticks at 3B and has a nice comeback next year, similar batting numbers but much better defensively.  As much as I'd like Cano, I'm not opposed to either Moore or Abreu at 1B.

I think solid targets need to be made this offseason.  Xavier Cedeno probably sticks in the pen and I'd love a trade for Jake McGee but it won't happen because it really doesn't benefit the Rays to trade a young cost controlled hard throwing lefty.  I would rather see Abad and Karol duke it out for a spot, and maybe open it up to trading for Franklin Morales or Brett Cecil.  If the Nats want to trade for a starter, I'd go for David Price but the issue is the Bats probably don't have the bullets.  I doubt even a huge package of Detwiler, Karns, Cole, Goodwin and Espinosa are enough.  If it is though and an extension can be had, that's an awful good pitcher to have along with Stras, Zimm, Gio and Roark or Jordan.  Fernando Rodney is an interesting option as well.

[HalfSmokes]

I'd rather they not focus on the rotation, it's good enough, elite pitching doesn't matter if the offense can't score and the bullpen is a sieve

[DPMOmaha]

Like it or not, the Nats have a 1B.  Unless they go after Abreu, I don't see the expense justifying making a move for a guy on the market to replace ALR when you've got Moore behind him. 

[HalfSmokes]

Like it or not, the Nats have a 1B.  Unless they go after Abreu, I don't see the expense justifying making a move for a guy on the market to replace ALR when you've got Moore behind him. 

Like it or not, the nats are supposed to be in win now mode and ALR is terrible - his numbers would be bad for a catcher and they have him sitting at first

[DPMOmaha]

Like it or not, the nats are supposed to be in win now mode and ALR is terrible - his numbers would be bad for a catcher and they have him sitting at first

If we're talking about getting a guy like Corey Hart to come in, that's just a grass is greener situation.  I'd rather go with Moore than sign any of the FA options out there.  The only move I see them making if they decide to go outside of the organization would be to take the boom/bust gamble on Abreu.

[zimm_da_kid]

So is this going to be the epically massive offseason thread this year or are we going to make an official 2013/2014 offseason thread?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I'd rather they not focus on the rotation, it's good enough, elite pitching doesn't matter if the offense can't score and the bullpen is a sieve

[JCA-CrystalCity]

So is this going to be the epically massive offseason thread this year or are we going to make an official 2013/2014 offseason thread?

Eh, I personally hate the super long consolidated offseason thread, but this is basically a random speculation thread.  If something materializes beyond our dreaming, then we can do a separate thread.  For example, if the FO indicates that we are seriously in on Abreu, then we start that thread.  similar for Ellsbury, Choo, Cano.  Any trades, re-sigingings, etc...  But right now, I/M/O, it is premature for any FA thread (I'm not merging the Cano thread that was started).

[PC]

The Post is going over the team, position by position and yesterday they did the starters.  I see James Wagner is a reader of my posts here. He even mentions Chris Young.

I'm thinking of suing him for plagiarism.

Also, who will round out the starting rotation? The past two offseasons, the Nationals have filled it with one-year deals for pricey starters such as Haren or Jackson. General Manager Mike Rizzo said that the development of the young arms, such as Roark and Jordan, altered some of the team’s thinking. He suggested recently that he didn’t feel a need to sign a free agent pitcher and could see the Nationals using Roark or Jordan in the rotation next season.

Both Roark and Jordan will be in the big league camp next spring competing for the job. But it wouldn’t be all together a bad idea if Rizzo did sign a veteran to another one-year deal. That way Roark and Jordan can develop further in Class AAA Syracuse and can be stashed there as insurance and depth for injuries that can never be predicted. The Nationals’ lack of depth was exposed some this season when potential fill-ins Chris Young and Christian Garcia struggled with injuries in the minors. Or, perhaps, Rizzo could use the rebuilt stock of minor league prospects to trade for a starter with several years of control.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I hate to do too much trade speculation, but with the stories of Price being must trade guy for the Rays (e.g., this, I wonder if we would have the stuff to pull it off?

Looking over their roster, I'll assume Rodney walks and they try Crain at closer if his shoulder is OK, otherwise maybe Peralta or McGee.  Joyce is under team control but is likely to make $4MM+.  They also have a $6.5MM option on DeJesus (are we paying the buy-out).  Let's say left is in flux and, in any case, they could use a righty bat there.  Loney also can walk, and probably did enough to restore his value, so there is a hole at 1st.  Yunel has two relatively cheap options, and Zo is under team control for $4.5MM (Ok, it's $7MM, but with a $2.5MM buy out) and $7MM for 2015 (with a $500K buy out).  My thought is that the biggest every day holes are in left and 1st, with maybe a righty bat preference if they bring back Joyce or DeJesus. 

They may or may not be interested in a rotation backfill for Price.  They have Moore - Cobb - Archer - Hellickson,  Odorizzi, and Alex Colome.  Toss in Niemann if he's healthy and Alex Torres if they want to open a hole in the pen.  Let's say then that they have a 1-2-3, with Hellickson at the back of the rotation and 3 decent arms contending for a slot.  Maybe they would be interested in an MLB level guy who is a bit of a health gamble since they have minor league depth.  Heck, let's say they may be would kick the tires on an MLB level guy who is a bit of a health gamble, who is a lefty, and a hard thrower who could be converted to the pen if depth or health pushes him out of the rotation.

With the roster holes and no obvious prospects off Durham for their biggest needs, maybe they would be as interested in MLB ready talent with some prospects to develop.  To me, that maybe says start with Moore and Detwiler, maybe bullpen help (I'd consider Storen if it meant lower prospects), then add in a prospect or two.  For that, you get two years of Price to go with Stras, Gio, and JZ, the Rays get a huge power bat at a corner spot, a guy who has had some great runs in MLB when healthy the past 3 years, and a quality, cheap closer all for about half of what Price would make next year.