The general consensus all season was that the Washington Nationals were experiencing their last moments with Bryce Harper in 2018. After making some overtures about bringing him back, could they be better served to let him walk?
The Washington Nationals certainly could have moved Bryce Harper this season if they wanted to make a big move. Plenty of teams were interested, and his value was still plenty high among teams assuming that he could go on a second-half tear and lead their respective teams to the playoffs.
Instead, the Nationals held onto Harper through the end of the season. To his credit, he did go on a very strong run to end the season, one that was overshadowed because the Washington Nationals were out of contention at the time, but Harper did hit .300/.434/.538 in the second half of the season, including an impressive .270/.464/.494 in September as the Nationals surged past the Phillies to second place in the NL East.
This offseason, Harper stands to make $35 million or more per season. While they wouldn’t be long-term fixes, for 2019-2020, the Washington Nationals may be better off spending that money elsewhere.
Both Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer will be making significant raises in 2019, adding $20 million apiece to their 2018 salaries. That takes a big chunk of the available funds for the Nationals, which really means that there’s enough room for re-signing Harper and perhaps another single $10-15 million piece, or that money could be spent across the entire roster.
Instead of Harper, the Nationals could make a move for catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins, sign one of Brian Dozier or DJ LeMahieu to play second base, and then add in some pitching (an inning-eater starter, an upside signing for the rotation, and a reliever or two).
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Figuring on the $50 million available or so for the Washington Nationals, they could have a roster that looks something like this:
C – JT Realmuto (projected $6.1 million arbitration)
1B – Ryan Zimmerman
2B – Brian Dozier/DJ LeMahieu ($12 million)
3B – Anthony Rendon
SS – Trea Turner
LF – Juan Soto
CF – Victor Robles
RF – Adam Eaton
Bench – Howie Kendrick, Wilmer Difo, Michael A. Taylor, Spencer Kieboom/Pedro Severino
SP – Max Scherzer
SP – Stephen Strasburg
SP – Tanner Roark
SP – Ervin Santana/James Shields/Marco Estrada ($10 million)
SP – Hyun-Jin Ryu/Drew Pomeranz ($7-10 million)
CL – Sean Doolittle
bullpen – Kyle Barraclough, Sammy Solis, Matt Grace, Justin Miller, Tony Sipp ($5 million), Joe Kelly ($8 million), Joe Ross/Erick Fedde/Austin Voth
While that may not be a club with a superstar left-handed slugger in the lineup, there is a very underrated right-handed superstar in the lineup in Rendon that could finally take his rightful place as the leader of the team alongside the elite young outfielders. It’s a lineup that could have the Washington Nationals primed for the playoffs again in 2019.