There is no reason to give away either Candelario or Smith, or Thomas and Meneses, for inferior players. It is nonsense to trade OK major leaguers for nobodies, for the next Jordan Barley. None of those four are great major leaguers, so the return cannot be like what Rizzo got for Scherzer, Turner, and Soto. The other players they flipped got the Nats Mason Thompson, Drew Millas, and a sore-armed pitcher who has been rehabbing since the trade.
Candelario and Smith make very little, and if Candelario wants a big contract, then maybe it is time to consider Alu. Maybe. Other than Alu, there is nobody but Brady House, down at Fredericksburg. Somebody has to play for the Nats until the superstar prospects actually star in the majors.
Why should the Nats try to play their worst team until, miraculously, they have a team to roll into the playoffs? Should the organization continue to field a team like that of 2022? Year after year?
