{"id":15636,"date":"2019-01-27T14:25:45","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T19:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=15636"},"modified":"2019-01-27T14:27:38","modified_gmt":"2019-01-27T19:27:38","slug":"ask-collier-12819","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=15636","title":{"rendered":"Ask Collier 1\/28\/19"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"it<\/a>

it was all downhill from here for Martinez. Photo via Geoff Burke\/USA today<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ll admit, I’m struggling for content this off-season.\u00a0 I love nearly all the moves the Nats have made, as one of (arguably) only about 6 teams that actually seem to be trying to improve themselves in the FA market this off-season.\u00a0 Thank gosh for these Inbox\/mailbags to give me a chance to opine on the state of the Nationals.<\/p>\n

Latest one from MLB.com beat reporter\u00a0Jamal Collier<\/strong> dated 1\/25\/19<\/a>.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0With all the additions they have made, can that help in keeping Harper in Washington or is that a negative factor?<\/b><\/p>\n

A: I can’t imagine how these moves have been a negative for anyone, Team, Fans or Harper<\/strong>.\u00a0 If Harper was re-signed, and the team made the decision to go well over the luxury tax to do so, then the team is going to be better for it.\u00a0 Lets be honest with ourselves; if there was no ridiculous luxury tax, would we even be debating this?\u00a0 Yes, there’s a clear debate on value versus pay, given his injury history and general inability to stay healthy.\u00a0 But we’re still talking about one of the most marketable players in the game, a guy who you build around, not try to repel away.\u00a0 If the going rate is $9M\/WAR … then a 4 win season (his average since arriving in the league) will make a $35M\/year AAV contract “worth it.”<\/p>\n

After watching all the other moves the team has made this off-season, which have essentially filled every hole we had, and then adding Harper back to the mix?\u00a0 Yeah that’d be a hard team to beat.<\/p>\n

I’m of the opinion (a difficult to quantify one of course), that Harper played it very conservatively in 2018 knowing he was going into a FA year.\u00a0 I also wonder about his relationship with the new manager (we’ll get into that more later).\u00a0 If he comes back, knowing he had security and his big pay check … wouldn’t you be betting on a massive 2019 for him?\u00a0 Like another 8-10 win season?\u00a0 I mean, I’d like him to do that for us and not for the Phillies.<\/p>\n

Its just money right?\u00a0 And, its not our money.\u00a0 The Nats can’t draft past the 1st round anyway (quick; tell me the last time a 2nd round pick worked out for this team?), so who cares if we forgo a few draft picks.<\/p>\n

Collier thinks signing Harper would be a positive.\u00a0 duh.<\/em><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0What does Davey have to do in Spring Training \/ the early season to prove himself after last season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0 Is he really called “Davey?”\u00a0 What is he, 12?\u00a0 \u00a0I’m not sure I particularly care about what he does in the Spring (with the exception of #1 below).\u00a0 His regular season performance is what is going to matter obviously.\u00a0 What mistakes do we think rookie manager\u00a0Dave Martinez<\/strong> made in 2018?\u00a0 For me:<\/p>\n