Meet the new Nats. Same as the old Nats.
That the non-waiver trading deadline came and went without the Nationals’ participation should have been no surprise. There was considerable interest in closer Chad Cordero from several clubs, including Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, and towards the end, Arizona and the Dodgers, but GM Jim Bowden’s asking price was typically inflated. One National League executive I spoke with called dealing with Bowden “about as much fun as a root canal.”
Set-up man Jon Rauch was also highly sought after by contenders. His durability and inexpensive number — somewhat less than a $500,000 — makes him a good fit almost anywhere, but with Bowden asking for blue chip players like Los Angeles’ Matt Kemp and Detroit’s Cameron Maybin, Rauch figures to remain a National for the foreseeable future.
The two players signed last winter with the intention of trading them to contenders — Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard — both recently signed contract extensions. Belliard signed a relatively inexpensive ($3.5 million) two-year deal, a number that shouldn’t lessen his appeal to another club. He’s 32, and if he can get back into the physical shape he was in with Cleveland — and make no mistake about it, he’s lost a lot of weight since spring training — should be a valuable contributor on a building club.
Young’s deal — worth $10 million over the next two years — surprised many inside the game. One industry source told me he was “blown away” by the deal, saying it only made sense to him if you “lump this year’s contract in with it, and look at it as a 3-year, $10.5 million deal,” averaging out to $3.5 million per year. There was serious interest in Young from the Braves (before their trade for Mark Teixeira), Angels and Twins, but the offers were considered too thin for the husky Young. His desire to remain in D.C., along with his history with Bowden in Cincinnati and .330 batting average, sealed the deal. The uncertainty of Nick Johnson’s return was also a major consideration.
The Young contract may also be the first indication that the Washington payroll for 2008 will see a considerable increase. The Nationals have baseball’s third lowest payroll — roughly $37.35 million — and seem to bob among the bottom 10 teams in the game. It’s doubtful they’d rise as high as $90 million in one offseason; even somewhere in the $80 million range seems unlikely, barring a sudden — and unexpected — interest in the club from premier free agents such as Carlos Zambrano and Andruw Jones.
Bowden was praised by some and criticized by many for not dealing Alfonso Soriano last summer. His acquisition of Felipe Lopez and Austin Kearns from the Reds continues to plague Cincy, as their key to that deal, Gary Majewski, has struggled with injuries and has made only 29 appearances since the trade (he’s currently in the minors). Bowden made some August deals last year — Livan Hernandez to Arizona for Matt Chico and minor leaguer Garrett Mock being the most notable — and it’s possible he’ll do the same this month. Still, it can be argued that Bowden does his best work in the offseason.
Expect some turnover when the new park opens, but nothing drastic. The Nats’ plan to contend isn’t designed to produce overnight results. Their inaction this week shouldn’t be chalked up to simple inertia.
Hear Phil Wood Saturdays at 10 a.m. on SportsTalk 980 AM and weekly on Comcast SportsNet’s WPL through the World Series.
