The Washington Nationals Should Overpay for a Reliever
The Washington Nationals should overspend on a reliever before the non-waiver trade deadline to complete their roster.
After Brian Cashman managed to pry away two top-five organizational prospects as well as Adam Warren and another mid-level prospect for a rental player in star reliever Aroldis Chapman, the asking price on the remaining top two bullpen arms at the trade deadline is now insurmountable.
Why?
Because unlike Aroldis Chapman who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, Wade Davis comes with one additional year of team control and southpaw Andrew Miller comes with two, and both are under team friendly contracts to boot.
While an asking price higher than what we saw the Yankees get in return for Aroldis Chapman is likely to scare teams away, even if it means pursuing a player who isn’t a two-month rental, one team that should overpay for one of the aforementioned bullpen arms is Mike Rizzo and his Washington Nationals.
The Nationals are in dire need of a closer, and the whole industry knows it.
Following Tuesday night’s walk-off loss and blown ave by Jonathan Papelbon against the Cleveland Indians, the Nationals are left scrambling when it comes to their bullpen.
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Papelbon has inconsistently pitched to a 4.18 ERA with three blown saves in 32.1 innings pitched. Fellow reliever Felipe Rivero has pitched to an even uglier 4.59 ERA in 49.0 innings and Oliver Perez has posted a 4.25 ERA in 29.2 innings pitched.
Clearly the current Nationals bullpen is a recipe for disaster, and historically an incomplete bullpen has always been a thorn in the side of the Washington Nationals, as we’ve seen time and time again, and even in October in 2012 and 2014 when the Nationals were bumped in the first round of the playoffs both times.
It’s actually a shame because the Nationals are built as one of the premier teams in baseball, but as their championship window starts to get smaller and smaller, they’ve never been able to fit that final piece to the puzzle.
The ball is in Mike Rizzo’s court. He was just outbid by rival GM Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs, and after Aroldis Chapman’s electrifying debut last night in Chicago, the Cubs look all but ready to win a World Series.
It’s time for the Nationals’ execs to take a risk and overspend on Andrew Miller or Wade Davis to finally complete the puzzle.
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If they don’t, they’ll be left standing with their hands in their pockets watching the Chicago Cubs or Los Angeles Dodgers march through October once against instead of them as Bryce Harper steps another year closer to free agency.
Do it, Rizzo. Even if it means parting ways with Lucas Giolito.