Washington Nationals should aim to reunite with Wilson Ramos
By Tim Boyle
The Washington Nationals could use another catcher. What about reuniting with Tampa Bay Rays backstop Wilson Ramos?
If the Washington Nationals are unwilling to pay the price for J.T. Realmuto or Jonathan Lucroy, they could always turn to an old friend to help their catching woes. Veteran backstop Wilson Ramos is part of a rebuilding Tampa Bay Rays franchise. With no end in sight to their firesale, he too could become available.
There hasn’t been any chatter about the Nationals having any interest in Ramos. After all, they still do have Matt Wieters whose own abilities are similar. Ramos is a declining catcher coming off a severe injury suffered in 2016 while with the Nationals. However, his familiarity with the team’s pitchers may make him the most qualified candidate to join them for the 2018 run.
What Wilson Ramos gives the Washington Nationals
The 2016 season redeemed Wilson Ramos’ often lackluster tenure in Washington. For the first time in his career, Ramos earned a trip to the All-Star Game. The honor was well-deserved, his .307/.354/.496 batting line is representing this best. The unexpected triumph helped land Ramos a two-year deal with the Rays in the offseason despite the knowledge that he’d miss about half the year due to injury.
In parts of seven seasons with the Nationals, Ramos offered a .268/.313/.430 slash line. While nothing significant, it’s not half-bad for a catcher who never finished with a negative WAR until he left the Nationals.
Ramos’ numbers are still slightly deceiving. His 2016 campaign is an outlier on an otherwise overlooked career. Several times he failed to reach a .300 OBP. That’s probably because he has never finished a year with more than 38 walks.
As a backup or part-time player, Ramos is an excellent choice for the Nationals to pursue. There’s just one problem. The Rays are paying him $8.5 million this season. The steep price is significant for someone who will at best work in a platoon.
Hypothetical Wilson Ramos trade ideas
A hypothetical trade to acquire Ramos would have to include at least one other piece. Thankfully, the Rays do have other names the Washington Nationals should desire.
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Aside from the prominent notable pitchers like Chris Archer, the Rays employ closer Alex Colome. Adding him to the bullpen would be huge. It gives them one more arm to choose from should Sean Doolittle fail in the ninth inning. A package with both would surely entice the Nationals enough to talk further.
More realistically, Ramos is a better midseason acquisition than he is a backup catcher to begin the year. I don’t see them giving up enough to acquire Colome at this time. Until the bullpen goes up in flames, the Nationals would be wise to wait it out with what they have in stock.
By trading for Ramos in July, the Nationals would benefit greatly. They pay less money, probably surrender less minor league talent, and get to see if he can rebound from a rather unfavorable partial 2017 season.
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Teams like the Rays won’t surprise us with a magical run. The culture is too drained. Instead, expect them to continue selling pieces as the season progresses. With one year remaining on his deal, we could see the Rays ship Ramos back to the Nationals to make sure they get something, anything at all, back in return.