FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal noted on Tuesday that the Texas Rangers were one of several clubs to call the Washington Nationals in the offseason. The talks reportedly covered a wide array of players, including current Tampa Bay Ray Steven Souza and Texas infielder Jurickson Profar.
Talks apparently never got to the point where a deal seemed close, per Rosenthal, but the significant interest in Strasburg could set the Nationals up to move the right-hander this offseason. While he’s coming off a down season, the chances that Washington retains their former top pick in free agency next offseason are slim, and Mike Rizzo could opt to try and get some value for him now rather than later.
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Seeing as Souza, who was traded on December 19 of last year, was involved, the talks took place at least a month before the Rangers ultimately acquired Yovani Gallardo from the Brewers. The Nationals also went on to flip reliever Tyler Clippard for Yunel Escobar, so both parties ultimately added the respective parts they were eyeballing in trade discussions. However, Gallardo is set to likely depart from Texas in free agency this winter, as is infielder Ian Desmond from Washington, so interest could still be there on both sides. But that’s just my own speculation.
Regardless, the Nationals could very well elect to flip Strasburg and move the savings along with some extra dollars towards adding a David Price or Zack Greinke to pair with Max Scherzer atop the rotation. With the likes of Joe Ross, Lucas Giolito, AJ Cole, Austin Voth and Taylor Jordan (who has already seen big-league time) all knocking on the door to the majors, the club has plenty of pitching depth in addition to Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark, and could use Strasburg to bring in help elsewhere.
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