With the trade deadline only a couple weeks away, I wanted to take a look at some teams the Nats could be doing business with. There are four teams that stand out to me right now. Three of them would be if the Nats sell and one would be a team the Nats could buy from. The four teams are the Angels, the Red Sox, the Guardians and the Cubs.
Let’s start things on a happy note and talk about a team we could target if the Nats decide to buy. As every Nats fan knows, this team needs pitching. One place they could look for that is the Angels. Even though the Angels are in the midst of a miserable season, they have plenty of interesting pitchers they could make available.
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If the Nats truly wanted to go big game hunting, they could go after Jose Soriano or Reid Detmers. A report came out that the Angels are expected to make both available at this year’s deadline. That is a big change of tune from the past, where they shot down trade interest. Both Soriano and Detmers have two years of control after this, lining up perfectly with CJ Abrams.
Should the Nats decide to keep Abrams long term, they will need to get serious about building a team around him and the rest of this young offensive core. Soriano is a hard throwing righty who has tailed off since a phenomenal start to the season. However, he still has a 3.49 ERA in 111 innings with 115 strikeouts. I also think there is still plenty of untapped potential with the 27 year old.
While Detmers has an ERA of 4.16, his FIP is almost a full run lower than that. The southpaw has swing and miss stuff, and would be highly coveted as well. Either of those guys would cost the Nats at least one of their top 100 prospects plus additional capital.
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The starters are not the only intriguing pieces from the Angels though. There are four relievers I could see as fits for the Nats. If Paul Toboni wanted a cheap, short term fix, Kirby Yates could be a good option. The 39 year old has a 3.74 ERA and a 3.24 FIP this season thanks to his elite fastball, splitter combination. He also has plenty of closing experience with over 100 career saves. Yates would be a good option if Toboni just wanted to show the clubhouse he is invested without actually giving up a ton.
Sam Bachman, Chase Silseth and Ryan Zeferjahn are younger, controllable arms who the Nats could also go after. All three have electric stuff, but pretty shaky command. However, they would all be upgrades to the Nats pen and bring much needed swing and miss stuff. You would have to give up some prospect capital for those guys, but it would not need to be any of the Nats top 5-7 prospects.
Now that we have gone over a buying option, I am going to shift my attention to the selling side of things. Over the past few days, a lot of rumors have been swirling around Luis Garcia. One team that has been brought up a lot is Paul Toboni’s old club, the Red Sox.
Toboni has already made one trade with his old team, the Luis Perales for Jake Bennett swap, which has not aged well so far. Maybe that would scare him off, but I wouldn’t think so. Our guy Paul Cubbage made a mock trade that sent Garcia to the Red Sox and two young arms to the Nats.
I could certainly see the Nats targeting former first rounder Kyson Witherspoon. He has not had a great first year in pro ball, but his stuff is loud and he was Toboni’s last first round pick in Boston. Witherspoon has a fastball in the mid to upper 90’s with the ability to throw a lot of different pitches. Rivera is also very intriguing as a relief arm.
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A CJ Abrams trade at this deadline would surprise me, but Boston is a team that would make a lot of sense for him as well. The Red Sox have a need in the middle infield, and Abrams would be a good fit for them either at shortstop or at second base. That is something to watch more in the offseason though. The Red Sox farm system is stacked and they have several young major league pitchers they could offer the Nats.
Speaking of pitching, that seems to be what the Cubs will be after this deadline. If the Nats decide to move Foster Griffin, the Cubs would be a great fit. The last time the Nats traded a rental starting pitcher to the Cubs, it worked out pretty well for them.
Of course, the trade I am referring to is the Michael Soroka deal, where the Nats landed Ronny Cruz, who has really made a name for himself this year. Griffin is a much more valuable asset than Soroka, so the asking price will be high. Some prospects I could see the Nats targeting are pitchers Jaxon Wiggins, Kaleb Wing, Brooks Caple and Mason McGuire, as well as catcher Owen Ayers. Some combination of those guys could make for a compelling package.
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I could also see the Cubs having some interest in Luis Garcia Jr. to fill the DH spot. Right now they have a rotating cast of characters in that position after Moises Ballesteros did not lock down that position. There is a chance they stick with the likes of veteran Michael Conforto and promising youngster Pedro Ramirez. However, that is a fit that could make some sense.
However, an even better fit for Garcia would be the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have gotten next to nothing from the first base and DH spots. Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins both have negative WAR. Hoskins walks a lot, but is hitting just .177. Meanwhile, Manzardo is hitting just .208 with an OPS below .650.
That is just not going to cut it for a team with playoff ambitions. Enter Luis Garcia Jr., who would solve their first base woes. As always, the Guardians have a stockpile of pitching they could give to the Nats. A starting pitching prospect like Braylon Doughty could make sense as a headliner. The Guardians also have a plethora of interesting young relievers such as Daniel Espino, Franco Aleman and Andrew Walters.
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The Guardians are my ideal trade partner for Garcia, given their need and what they have to provide. Overall, this should be an exciting deadline. Keep an eye on those four teams though. I have a feeling the Nats will make a move with at least one of the Guardians, Red Sox, Cubs or Angels.
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