Say hey, baseball: Nationals could trade Ian Desmond now

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The Nationals didn’t get Ben Zobrist like they hoped, but they did end up getting Zobrist’s former teammate, Yunel Escobar, thanks to a Wednesday trade with the A’s. While he’s a shortstop, Escobar could play second base for the Nats, but considering they’re not all that far removed from attempting to ship impending free agent and current shortstop Ian Desmond off to two separate teams, that’s not a guarantee, either. First, the Nats tried to trade both Jordan Zimmermann and Desmond to the Mariners at the winter meetings, and more recently Desmond was part of a three-way discussion involving the Mets and Rays.

Here’s the thing: Desmond is far superior to Escobar in every facet of the game, but he’s also a free agent in a year, and one that will command a massive contract. Hanley Ramirez received four years and $88 million even though he’s an injury risk who will be 31 in 2015. Desmond will be 30 in 2016, has averaged 150 games per season in his career, is a high-quality defender at short, and has batted .275/.326/.462 since breaking out in 2012. Desmond could easily pull in a six-year deal for $120 million, if not more than that, and the Nationals are unlikely to give that to him. If they were going to pay the man, do you think they would be trying to move him, acquiring Escobar, and picking up a shortstop of the (near) future type in Trea Turner? It’s possible, sure, but unlikely that those moves were solely for insurance purposes.

So, the Nationals could play Escobar at second for a year, then switch him to short in 2016 while waiting for Turner to come to the majors at some point after that. They could also add a major prospect, at the least, by dealing Desmond and the rights to negotiate with him away, with the goal of plugging a future hole in mind. The Nationals are in a great place because they don’t have to choose either path. They can let the offers of everyone who craves Desmond make their decision for them.