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The Nationals wanted Chris Sale and Mark Melancon and got neither
Wednesday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes the Nats missing out on multiple players, the Red Sox deal for Chris Sale, and an odd Jose Bautista rumor.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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Before the 2016 season, the Nationals targeted Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, and Yoenis Cespedes in free agency. They signed exactly zero of them. It ended up working out pretty well for the most part, as the Nats won the NL East with 95 victories in large part due to how well the free agent they did sign, Daniel Murphy, managed to play. That’s a comforting feeling on Wednesday morning, given Washington tried to re-sign Mark Melancon and instead saw him go to the Giants, and lost out on trading for Chris Sale to the Red Sox, who headlined their package with Yoan Moncada to make Chicago forget all about Lucas Giolito and Victor Robles.
The Nats reportedly aren’t interested in pursuing Jose Quintana, even though he’s signed for a year longer than Sale and has arguably been as valuable over the last two years. They still need an outfielder, though, so they can move Trea Turner to his natural position of shortstop, or a shortstop so they can give Turner more time in center field. The former is preferable given Turner’s success in center is based entirely on athleticism — just remember how their season ended if you want a reminder of what a lack of outfield instincts can do.
They need someone, as there are too many question marks in the lineup once more — Jayson Werth hitting in the middle of the order won’t be less of a problem in 2017 than it was in 2016. There’s still plenty of time left to acquire an answer in both the bullpen and the lineup — the rotation is less of a concern given Gio Gonzalez, even with his decline, is only the fifth starter — but once again, the Nats have to deal with an offseason of being told no.
- The Cubs and Royals might have completed a deal to send Jorge Soler to Kansas City in exchange for the last year of Wade Davis, but that’s a "might" because only one national reporter has said as much at the time of this writing.
- The Blue Jays are back in talks with Jose Bautista, so all is not lost on that front, Toronto.
- Speaking of Bautista, the Orioles supposedly told him they couldn’t sign him because their fans just don’t like him. That’s one way to score cheap points with the fan base while avoiding spending money on an aging DH who will also cost you a draft pick.
- The Red Sox rotation is suddenly young and talented, as the AL Cy Young winner is probably the third-best starter on the team.
- Boston has to move a starter now, as there just isn’t roster space for all of their pitchers. In this market, though, that’s not a bad problem to have, as almost everyone else could use an arm and they just aren’t available elsewhere.
- The White Sox shouldn’t stop with the Sale trade, as they have plenty of other pieces to move to make this a full-on rebuild.
- Here’s a look at the prospects the White Sox received for Sale. Love it or hate it, Red Sox fans (and you shouldn’t hate it), Boston made the deal that made the most strategic sense.
- Carlos Gomez will stay with the Rangers after signing a one-year, $11.5 million contract.
- The Nationals are unwilling to include Victor Robles in an Andrew McCutchen trade, so it remains to be seen if there is going to be one between these two clubs.
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