Washington Nationals should make a play for Todd Frazier

Despite an array of injuries, the Washington Nationals sit atop of the National League East coming out of the All-Star Break. They enter the final few weeks before the trade deadline with speculation running rampant about who they may go after. Our own Jordan Wevers suggested yesterday that Washington should add a bat, and Aroldis Chapman has been the popular name amongst fans as a potential trade target. But the Nationals might be better off looking at another member of the Reds.

Todd Frazier.

Will his price tag be higher than the home runs he hit during the Home Run Derby? Perhaps. But if the Nationals are set on a deep postseason run in 2015, it’ll be well worth it.

The only member of the Nationals’ infield that has both remained healthy and provided steady production this season is Yunel Escobar. Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman have both missed significant time, and Ian Desmond has had the worst season of his career.

Plug in a healthy Frazier at third, and that allows Rendon to man second when he gets healthy, Escobar to become the team’s everyday shortstop, and Desmond’s struggling bat and glove (he’s hitting .209 and has 21 errors on the year) to find a seat on the bench. Frazier indirectly replaces Desmond, which gives the lineup a serious boost and the team defense a much-needed lift.

With so many injuries to impact bats, Washington has been forced to lean on surprise production from Tyler Moore, Clint Robinson, Danny Espinosa and Michael Taylor to keep the offense going. And even prior to the injuries, the lineup lacked a true power bat behind Harper even on Opening Day. Put Frazier behind Harper for some insurance, and a healthy Nationals team suddenly has the deepest lineup in baseball.

The Nats have several key pieces set to hit the free agent market in the winter, which likely makes them more hesitant to acquire expiring contracts at the expense of controllable prospects. With Frazier, the team gets a star bat that’s controllable through 2016. That gives them the option to either trade him this offseason, attempt to extend him long-term or at least get a compensation pick back next offseason.

Should the team decide to keep Frazier next season, they’d also have their full infield for the year in place immediately instead of entering the winter worrying about finding a replacement for Desmond.

Harper is as good as ever, but currently has no consistent supporting cast to help shoulder the load of the offense. And with Washington’s pitching not fully living up to its history-making expectations this season (with Max Scherzer being the exception to that, of course), ensuring that there will be enough bats in the lineup to make some noise in the postseason.

If that means giving up Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Jakson Reetz and Wilmer Difo to do so, it will hurt Washington a lot less watching them thrive in Cincinnati if the Nationals can call themselves 2015 World Series Champions. Frazier may not do it on his own, but getting him would be a big step for D.C.

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