The Nationals have problems. One of them is good—I’ll get to it in a minute—but only because it provides insurance for another potential problem.
To begin: in a rotation that was supposed to rival the 1971 Orioles, three starting pitchers (Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman) have ERAs over 5.00 and WHIPs over 1.35; shortstop Ian Desmond is struggling doing pretty much everything a shortstop is supposed to do, most notably playing good defense; two starting outfielders in Jayson Werth and Denard Span began the season on the 15-day disabled list; a key reliever in Craig Stammen might be out for the year; and the franchise is being sued by two former ushers for alleged religious discrimination.
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The good problem involves Werth, Span and rookie outfielder Michael Taylor. Taylor has been manning center field in Span’s absence, and is doing so at a more than adequate level. He’s hit .279 with two home runs and slugged .535 entering play Saturday. In Thursday’s win, Taylor showed his maturity by hitting the game-winning home run after committing an error.
The problem is that Werth has returned from the DL and Span is soon to follow. Bryce Harper is playing right field, so where is Taylor to go? There are too many outfielders and not enough spots, especially when adding in Reed Johnson, Tyler Moore and Nate McLouth, who is also on the DL, into the mix.
This is similar to what the Dodgers have experienced the past few seasons. Based on their production in 2014, Harper, Span and Werth are everyday players. That leaves Moore, McLouth, Johnson and Taylor fighting for one outfield spot.
Taylor is the most talent player of the four and deserves the role based on his production. He is a better outfielder than Moore, McLouth has hit above .250 once since 2009 and Taylor would provide insurance for the (high) likelihood that Harper, Werth or Span get injured—Harper’s games played has decreased each of the past three seasons and Werth, 36, and Span, 31, are becoming more of an injury risk as they age.
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There is one caveat. It is unknown how Taylor, who has taken great strides offensively the past three seasons as an everyday player in the minors, would respond to inconsistent playing time as a fourth outfielder. Nationals Manager Matt Williams could employ a rotation where Span, Harper, Werth and Taylor get an off-day every fourth game, reducing the wear on Harper and Werth. In that arrangement, Taylor would get lots of at bats and it would also allow Werth to DH against American League teams.
If that isn’t what the Nationals decide, they would be wasting Taylor’s talent. Yes, he does strike out often–he has a 25.1 K% in five minor league season–but he has shown thus far he can play in the majors. If they decide not to utilize a rotation, then Johnson or McLouth would be a better fit. Johnson hasn’t had more than 300 at bats in a season since 2008 and McLouth has played in more than 90 games just once since 2009, when he played in 146 for Baltimore in 2013. Taylor would be sent to Triple-A, where he would continue to develop and challenge for a starting role in 2016—Span and McLouth are free agents after this season. The only thing keeping Taylor out of the majors in 2016 will be Taylor himself.