The Nats have said they want to sign a frontline pitcher this offseason.
They seem to prefer to talk about that rather than a new contract for Adam Dunn. While we hope Big Donkey is back in a Nats uniform next season, the talk about a pitcher is intriguing.
The guy the Nats should sign is someone the franchise had once upon a time.
Rangers ace Cliff Lee was part of the Expos organization until he was traded in 2002 with Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens to the Indians for Bartolo Colon.
Um, yeah, not so good.
What would be worse is not signing Lee during the free agency period.
Of course, the money would be in the neighborhood of the top pitchers, and signing him also likely would cost the Nats their second-round pick for adding a Type A free agent.
A steep price, absolutely. But as we’ve seen with Stephen Strasburg, making the correct pick doesn’t guarantee the player will make it to the majors unscathed.
Even with the progress the team has made in promoting position players and pitchers to the big leagues, it has a few holes to fill.
Are the Nats ready next season? No. Are they likely to make a World Series run in 2012? A stretch, for sure, but with a rotation that would be fronted by Lee, Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann, it’s not out of the question.
