We are so starved for information these days on our Washington Nationals that we have latched onto those who are getting clicks via suggestions of hypothetical trades with the Nationals like Tom Verducci’s of Chris Sale and Anthony Castrovince’s of Wade Davis.
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Last night Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe had some rumors that he wrote about regarding the Nationals:
5. Stephen Drew, 2B/SS, free agent — It seems Drew has nine lives. He reinvented himself last season with the Nationals as a part-time player (.266 average, .864 OPS). There are teams, however, such as the Angels and the Dodgers, looking for a full-time second baseman and Drew could be a good fit at either spot.
6. Aroldis Chapman, LHP, free agent — The Nationals, Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers are emerging as possible destinations for Chapman. We’re not completely sure whether the Cubs are out of the picture.
9. Mark Melancon, RHP, free agent — Expected to be hot commodity in free agency, Melancon said he had “no preference” as to where he ends up. Melancon has pitched for the Yankees, Astros, Red Sox, Pirates, and Nationals, and they may be interested again. The Dodgers, Giants, and Rangers are also potential landing spots.
The only actual personnel movement this week was the Nationals acquisition of Jimmy Cordero from the Philadelphia Phillies for either cash or a PTBNL (player to be named later). PJ Hyduke who writes about the Phillies threw some cold water on the fireballer who Hyduke claims:
“It was a windy road for Cordero, who used to be able to hit 104 mph on the gun. He injured his shoulder, which caused him to miss most of 2016. When he returned, his velocity was sapped.”
When Jimmy Cordero was added to the 40-man roster, it only leaves two remaining spots leading up to the non-tender/tender contract deadline as the current 40-man roster is now at thirty-eight.
Chelsea Janes writes in the Washington Post this statement:
“…given the fact that Rizzo has said definitively that Zimmerman will start the season at first baseman.”
We could not find anything that said “Zimmerman will start the season at first baseman” except from Chelsea Janes. Of course it is probable given the history of the Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman that Zimmerman would be the Opening Day starter at first base.
That is big news, if accurate, that there was a definitive statement by Mike Rizzo as we wonder if something changed from Rizzo’s previous remarks where he commented on Zimmerman as the first baseman for only the off-season and Spring Training:
“Zim’s our first baseman going into this off-season and Spring Training,” General Manager Mike Rizzo said earlier this month.