Federal Baseball had a good post today on some of the Washington Nationals trade deadline options.  Since the post was titled with a question mark, I figured I’d add my own two cents…  First, to answer the question in the title of the post:  “Should The Washington Nationals Trade Cristian Guzman? Adam Dunn? Matt Capps?”

My opinion:  Guzman – yes.  Dunn – no.  Capps – yes.

The longer answer follows:

Should be traded, even if they can only get a bag of baseballs in return. I’ll be disappointed to see anyone on this list here on August 1.

  • Guzman
  • Kennedy
  • Willie Harris, though with his .155 BA, it might be hard to get even a bag of baseballs, so guessing he’ll be here on 8/1.

Not traded regardless of offer It should pretty much take gaining an entire World Series starting rotation in return for these guys…

  • Zimmerman – Duh
  • Strasburg – Duh
  • Storen – Given his performance and time under club control, he’s got to be a keeper.

Trade at a very high price Trading anyone on this list would likely create a serious uproar from the fans.  However, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be traded.

  • Capps – Capps is having a banner year, however we also have Clippard and Storen in the ‘pen.  Given this, Capps could be used to fill other roles needed on the team.
  • Willingham – also under club control, and part of the 3-4-5 team that has produced well.  Given his age, the Nats need to decide to make a long term investment in Josh or trade him now.  I think if the right deal shows up, Willingham is gone.
  • Dunn – Also part of the 3-4-5, and the only branded slugger on the team (which lets be honest puts butts in seats…)  I think the only way that Dunn gets moved is if (as Federal Baseball points out) Capps is traded for a rock star slugger and/or first baseman. Anything else risks fan revolt…  I’d personally like to see Dunn signed to an extension, but I’d understand if  signed someone else with serious slugging potential.  I think either Willingham or Dunn ends up being traded, and given the lack of Bigs-ready 1B in the Nats farm system, I think Dunn is the less likely of the two to be dealt.
  • Desmond, Morgan & Bernadina – Grouping these together , as I’m really not that attached to any of them and I think their situation is the same.  They seem to have a lot of potential and hopefully long and successful MLB careers ahead of them. However, I also don’t seem them making serious runs on an all-star ballot any time soon, so I don’t see them as untradeable as some others do.  I think the reality is they are going to be around, because I don’t see much demand for them given their current performance.  I think Morgan is the one that is the one the organization would let go of the easiest…
  • Pudge – With his performance in year one of the two year deal the Nats signed, Pudge is clearly worth keeping.  However, if a team making a run for the World Series has their primary catcher go down, this could be a great way to get prospects IF you assume that Rizzo is right about Flores return.  I’d miss him, but I’d understand.
  • Clippard – Need to keep two of the three of Capps, Storen and Clippard…  So if Capps goes, Clippard ends up on my can’t trade list.  I think Clippard is probably around for a while.

Trade for anything reasonable

  • Any pitcher in the majors (starting or bullpen) not previously listed.  Keep in mind, we have Wang, Detwiler, Olsen, Marquis, Martis, Wilke, Bergmann, Zinicola, Chico, etc.  While I like some of these pitchers, I’d chose many others across the Majors if I was building my fantasy team.  Guessing Livan is the most likely to go (and maybe we resign him again in 2011…, followed by Batista and Slaten.
  • Gonzalez – solid, but just doesn’t seem part of the long term “Plan”…
  • Morse – 4th and 5th outfields are a dime a dozen.

What should the Nationals be after?

  1. Backfill for Dunn at 1B if he is traded.
  2. Starting pitching, starting pitching, starting pitching…  With hopefully many years of Strasmania, and maybe another year or two of Livan (if he isn’t dealt), this is clearly the biggest need.  The team has used ten starting pitchers this year and ranks #22 in MLB in ERA from starting pitchers with a 4.46 ERA.  There is obviously a lot of potential in the folks on the DL and in the minors, but no one ever has enough starting pitching.  If a team could actually pull off having too much starting pitching, it would be easier to trade for other needs anyway.
  3. 2B.  Assuming we are invested long term in Desmond at SS, we need a serious solution to 2B.  I’m tired of seeing a platoon of errors in the middle infield.
  4. Sluggers.  The Nats are ranked #19 in both batting average and home runs, and #21 in slugging percentage.   While the 3-4-5 guys are all in the 14-17 HR range, the rest of the team only has 23 combined.  We don’t necessarily need HR guys, but some extra base threats are needed throughout the lineup.
  5. Center and Right Field prospects.  The organization seems happy with T. Plush and Bernadina for the time being, though they aren’t shoe-ins for the position for life…  Maxwell, Burgess and Hood all have potential too, but this area still seems high risk.
  6. Prospects, prospects, prospects…