Okay, so maybe I didn't take this thing seriously the first time I tried to do it. But after much consideration, I think I am back to give my Nationals thoughts and observations (not that anyone reads this anyway).
Let me start this post by saying one thing: I am an unabashed Colby Rasmus fan. I think he is a terrific young ballplayer, and it is downright shocking to me how the Rasmus-Cardinals situation has played out. (That's not entirely true, because when an ego-maniacal fool such as Tony LaRussa is involved, I believe anything is possible.) When I heard he was potentially on the trade block, it was an unbelievable development. Really? Colby Rasmus is available for pennies on the dollar? He put up a 4.3 WAR as a 23 year old in CF! He has tremendous offensive potential at a premium defensive position and makes the league minimum. If I'm Mike Rizzo, I would have really gone after this kid. I do partially understand the Upton love-fest, but Rasmus is younger, cheaper, and profiles as a better ballplayer. Needless to say, I had my fingers crossed that we could somehow land this kid. Then, the asking price kept going down and down. Edwin Jackson and a prospect could get the deal done? I didn't believe the Cardinals were actually that stupid. Then, the news broke today: Colby Rasmus went to the Blue Jays for Edwin Jackson, a solid prospect (around 7th best in the Blue Jays system which is one of the best in the game) and the poo-poo platter.
I think this was way more upsetting to me than the albatross contract Rizzo gave Werth. Didn't we match up perfectly with the Cardinals? Their big weaknesses are SS, SP depth, and the bullpen. We couldn't have given them Desmond, Marquis/Livo (both are not as good as Edwin Jackson, but both are way better than McClellan), Coffey/Clippard (Not lefties, but still effective relievers), and ANY prospect from the system not named Harper or Cole? So worst case scenario, we trade Desmond, Marquis, Clippard, and Norris/Peacock for Rasmus. I'd say that's a sizeable return, and a much better one than what the Blue Jays gave up. Whenever a rare rare opportunity to acquire such a young, premium talent comes along like this, the Nats need to take advantage. Rizzo did it to last season with the Capps-Ramos deal, and the Nats somehow had the chance to do it again this season. A core of the two Zimms, Stras, Espinosa, Harper, Rasmus, Ramos, and Storen (hopefully Rendon too) is incredibly tantalizing.
However, that fantasy is over. So now the question remains, what will the Nats do about the CF situation? There are quite a few options out there, but I think with Rasmus off the market the best one at this point would be B.J. Upton, at the right price. Apparently the Rays balked at Desmond straight up for Upton, and I don't think Rizzo should offer too much more than that. But something like Des, Peacock and some C Grade fringe prospect for Upton has to be strongly considered. By this point we have all seen Upton's declining numbers and heard that he is arbitration eligible. But here's why to pull the trigger:
1) Espinosa is a better option at SS than Desmond, and Desmond still has some value right now
2) The switch from the AL East to the NL should certainly help his numbers
3) Young-ish CF with speed, power, and defense
4) Better than the other CF's thrown out in trade rumors (Bourn-nice defensive value/OBP numbers, but playing in the NL Central and more expensive to acquire in a trade/Bourjos-Terrific defense in CF, but shades of Carlos Gomez with good field, no hit)
5) Bernie is better suited to be a 4th OF, and Ankiel is better suited to be somewhere else (still better than Gomes)
That being sad, Rasmus would have looked really nice in a Nationals uniform the next 4 years.
