Among their needs are center fielder, starting pitcher Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has known what he wants since summer, when he repeatedly tried to fill a massive hole in his lineup via trade. It did not happen then. But there is another, better chance coming soon as baseball’s chaotic offseason begins in earnest this week.
So far, there have been a few minor deals signed. Relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon inked the one high-profile contract when he agreed to a four-year, $50 million contract with Philadelphia. Even Rizzo made a quick move after the World Series by re-signing right-hander Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year, $4 million deal, thereby maintaining the starting rotation depth Washington built by the end of its season. But that project is far from finished, and there are other obvious needs the front office must address before the Nats head to spring training in mid-February.
“We’re certainly not satisfied ever, because you can never have enough quality starting pitching,” Rizzo said. “It hasn’t changed our long-term offseason outlook that we’d like to improve our starting rotation and the other things that we’ve always talked about that we need to do: center field, on-base percentage guy, improve the bench and do everything we can to keep a strong bullpen.”
That’s a definitive, if lengthy, list. Rizzo began the process at the general managers’ meetings in Milwaukee earlier this month. That event is where clubs hold preliminary negotiations with representatives for top free agents and discuss potential trades with rival teams in person. But the heavy lifting is still to come.
On Dec. 5, executives, general managers and lower-level front office personnel from all 30 big league teams will convene in Dallas for the frenzy that is baseball’s Winter Meetings. Millions of dollars will be awarded to top players over those four days. And even if the elite free agents — St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes — don’t sign during that window, the talks that occur that week will narrow the interested parties and set the stage for their expected megadeals.
Unfortunately for Washington, there are no elite center fielders on the open market — and certainly none that get on base at the high clip Rizzo is looking for. Oakland’s Coco Crisp is an above-average defensive player, but at age 32 he can be expected to decline there soon. And his bat won’t help much (.314 on-base percentage). Center fielder Grady Sizemore was an intriguing buy-low target given his issues staying healthy, but he re-signed with the Cleveland Indians last week.
Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes is another option. The 26-year-old center fielder is more a power hitter than a leadoff batter. But Washington would have to wade into a bidding war that could top the $30?million Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman received two years ago.
That leaves the trade market. The Nats had serious discussions with the Minnesota Twins on outfielder Denard Span during the summer. He battled concussion-related symptoms in 2011 and played in just 70 games but has a team-friendly contract and gets on base (career .361 OBP). There is always the chance the Tampa Bay Rays move center fielder B.J. Upton after he is awarded a raise in arbitration.
The starting pitching problem is more easily solved. The Nats already have met with Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, a 32-year-old veteran who would fit perfectly behind Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann in the rotation.
“The type of pitcher we’re looking for is a good leader type of guy that throws a lot of innings that has shown he can win in the big leagues and really lead our staff,” Rizzo said. “If not by having the best stuff on the staff then by showing how to be a professional and how to be a winner and how to pitch 200 innings in a season many, many times in your career.”
That describes Buehrle exactly. But if he goes elsewhere, Roy Oswalt, another veteran at 34, could fill that role. The issue there is Oswalt’s balky back. But he will not cost a first-round draft pick. And there is always Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, a highly regarded 25-year-old.
Washington scouted Darvish in person multiple times over the past two seasons and is high on him. But it remains unclear whether his Japanese team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, will post Darvish. If that happens, any big league team that wants him will have to pay the club just for the right to negotiate a contract with Darvish. It’s another option among many for Rizzo and the Nats as the hot stove season begins.
