{"id":458,"date":"2010-12-13T12:27:24","date_gmt":"2010-12-13T17:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=458"},"modified":"2013-07-01T12:46:56","modified_gmt":"2013-07-01T16:46:56","slug":"rizzos-off-season-todo-list-where-do-we-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=458","title":{"rendered":"Rizzo&#8217;s off-season todo list: where do we stand?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_465\" style=\"width: 226px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/rizzo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-465\" class=\"size-full wp-image-465\" title=\"rizzo\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/rizzo.jpg\" width=\"216\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-465\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Rizzo answering the latest question about where the money is coming from for the Werth contract. Photo: centerfieldgate.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Each year heading into the off-season, I make up a transactional &#8220;to-do&#8221; list for the team (as if I were the GM).\u00a0 Essentially you look at the roster and kind of work backwards.\u00a0 Based on the way things looked at the end of 2010, the Nationals seemed set on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>C (<strong>Pudge<\/strong>, <strong>Ramos<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>most of the infield: 2b (<strong>Espinosa<\/strong>), SS (<strong>Desmond<\/strong>), 3B (<strong>Zimmerman<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>LF (<strong>Willingham<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>3-4 starters (<strong>Lannan, Marquis, LHernandez, Zimmermann<\/strong>), and<\/li>\n<li>several relievers (<strong>Clippard, Burnett, Storen<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, given this, here&#8217;s what I listed as off season priorities and where we stand post the Winter Meetings (and counting all the rumors and scuttlebutt we&#8217;ve been hearing):<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Fantasy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Power hitting reliable RF<\/li>\n<li>Top-of-the-rotation Starting Pitcher<\/li>\n<li>Better Centerfielder\/Leadoff Hitter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>1. In what was easily the most surprising move this team has done since relocating from Montreal, we acquired a front-line marquee FA in <strong>Jayson Werth<\/strong>, satisfying the &#8220;power hitting RF&#8221; fantasy requirement.\u00a0 Yes there are concerns about the contract&#8217;s length and value, but hey, we&#8217;re a better team for getting him.<\/p>\n<p>2. Rizzo has definitely made mention of wanting to acquire a &#8220;top of the rotation&#8221; starter but they are hard to come by this off season.\u00a0 <strong>Cliff Lee<\/strong> is the target, and from there the list dwindled quickly to include guys who were middle of the road veterans with question marks (<strong>Vazquez, Pavano<\/strong>), FA starters that weren&#8217;t exactly planning on going anywhere (<strong>Lilly, Kuroda, de La Rosa, Arroyo, Garland, Padilla<\/strong>) and incredibly risky alternatives (<strong>Webb, Darvish, Francis)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>3. Lastly, despite my desire to upgrade from <strong>Nyjer Morgan<\/strong> in center and leadoff (for reasons that include discipline, chemistry and performance), Rizzo seems set on the guy for the time being.\u00a0 I would not be surprised to see no more movement in this area.\u00a0 I advocated trading Willingham to Boston for possible spare-part outfielder <strong>Jacoby Ellsbury <\/strong>in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=455\">previous post<\/a>, but despite Willingham&#8217;s offensive capabilities Boston may also value defense and may not really be interested in acquiring more bats this off season.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Reality<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First Baseman<\/li>\n<li>1-2 Veteran FA pitchers<\/li>\n<li>Utility Middle Infielder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>1. Acquiring a first baseman included the possibility of re-signing <strong>Adam Dunn<\/strong>, despite all indications that it was never to happen.\u00a0 Rizzo clearly will take less power for more defense at first, and we seem destined to sign <strong>Adam LaRoche<\/strong> (after missing out on <strong>Carlos Pena<\/strong>, the player I was absolutely sure we&#8217;d get).\u00a0 Frankly, for my money I&#8217;d rather have LaRoche.\u00a0 He&#8217;ll sign a 2 year deal for less than any of Dunn, <strong>Pena<\/strong>, <strong>Konerko <\/strong>or <strong>Huff <\/strong>would have signed for, he hits for power and he is a plus defender.\u00a0 I think he&#8217;s perfect until we figure out if <strong>Chris Marrero<\/strong> or someone even more remote (like high-A stud hitter and Nats minor leaguer of the year in 2010 <strong>Tyler Moore<\/strong>) becomes a possibility.\u00a0 A final thought; I do NOT want to be left with <strong>Derrek Lee<\/strong> as the solution.\u00a0 He&#8217;s a right handed hitter on a team that is now full of them.\u00a0 Zimmerman, Willingham, Werth all righties; we need a lefty slugger to break up the middle of our batting order.<\/p>\n<p>2. I still see the acquisition of one or two veteran FA pitchers on the horizon.\u00a0 I can see us (unless someone foolishly offers him $10M) signing <strong>Brandon Webb<\/strong> on a one year flier.\u00a0 I can see us re-signing <strong>Wang<\/strong> to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.<\/p>\n<p>3. The backup middle infielder is a lower priority but still important.\u00a0 If Desmond\/Espinosa are holding down the starting spots and <strong>Alberto Gonzalez<\/strong> is begrudingly serving as the primary glove-man backup, we still need a second player that can do middle infield.\u00a0 <strong>Willie Harris<\/strong> has been that player but he really tailed off last season.\u00a0 <strong>Adam Kennedy<\/strong> served as the backup for the right side of the infield but he clearly wants to start.\u00a0 I was lobbying for <strong>Pete Orr<\/strong> as a nice cheap candidate; he had always produced for us when called up, could play 2nd, 3rd or even outfield.\u00a0 But he signed elsewhere as a minor league FA.\u00a0 Perhaps the answer is a prospect to be named (<strong>Lombardozzi<\/strong>?) or a FA signing.\u00a0 I like <strong>David Eckstein<\/strong> to team him up with his hitting-coach brother but he probably wants a starting job too.\u00a0 And Eckstein wouldn&#8217;t make sense unless we traded one of Desmond\/Espinosa (still a possibility; see later).<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Less Likely<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>FA Closer<\/li>\n<li>Trade for a Veteran pitcher<\/li>\n<li>1 veteran bullpen presence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>1. There are a couple closer-types on the FA market and I can now see the Nats picking one up ala their deal with <strong>Matt Capps<\/strong> to cover for Storen as he grows into the spot.\u00a0 <strong>Jenks, Dotel,Gregg, Hoffman, Soriano, Wood <\/strong>all available (Soriano a type-A though, so we wont&#8217; get him).\u00a0 I think this would make for a good piece of business and could serve as a useful trade chip mid season.<\/p>\n<p>2. I can see us working out a trade with Tampa Bay to acquire <strong>Matt Garza<\/strong>.\u00a0 Tampa wants to get rid of payroll, not add it, but perhaps we can pre-arrange a one-year deal with Willingham and flip him to Tampa.\u00a0 Washington could eat some of the salary and Willingham would slot nicely into the left field spot recently vacated by <strong>Carl Crawford<\/strong>.\u00a0 Tampa may like this deal since Willingham projects to be a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mlbtraderumors.com\/2010\/10\/2009-10-elias-rankings.html\">type-A free agent<\/a> and would net them 2 picks when he leaves (you have to think Willingham wants to get at least a 3-year deal when he hits the FA market based on his age and his proclivities for injuries).\u00a0 Of course, getting rid of Willingham also puts a hole into OUR lineup, one that looks pretty promising when we get a power hitting lefty first baseman.\u00a0 And we certainly would like to get some compensation picks to continue to rebuild the farm system.\u00a0 More likely Tampa would ask for someone like <strong>Desmond<\/strong>, which would be a tough trade to swallow for a team that hasn&#8217;t really developed that many marquee players in the last 5 years.\u00a0 We could trade Desmond, acquire Garza, move Espinosa to short (where he&#8217;s a better fielder anyway) then sign a short term 2nd baseman like David Eckstein or <strong>Orlando Hudson<\/strong> until one of our high-end 2nd base prospects (Lobardozzi, <strong>Rick Hague <\/strong>or <strong>Jeff Kobernus<\/strong>) is ready to go.<\/p>\n<p>3. Lastly, with not one but TWO arms picked up in the rule5 draft, the likelihood of us acquiring any veteran bullpen arms seems nil.\u00a0 Perhaps we re-sign <strong>Peralta <\/strong>as a long man, but we have plenty of cover there in <strong>Balester <\/strong>and <strong>Stammen<\/strong>.\u00a0 We have all the arms we could want coming up (<strong>Kimball, Carr, Wilkie <\/strong>all project as mid-bullpen arms, and the AA team is filled with good arms with no place to move up to with so many AAA starters on the 40-man) and we have three great live arms in <strong>Storen, Clippard <\/strong>and <strong>Burnett <\/strong>already in place.<\/p>\n<p>It has been a pretty fun offseason to track thus far for Nats fans.\u00a0 I can&#8217;t wait to see what happens next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each year heading into the off-season, I make up a transactional &#8220;to-do&#8221; list for the team (as if I were the GM).\u00a0 Essentially you look at the roster and kind of work backwards.\u00a0 Based on the way things looked at the end of 2010, the Nationals seemed set on: C (Pudge, Ramos) most of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[106,139,1585,184,909,1049,1864,353,891,251,1452,362,37,124,246,100,101,98,135,1863,1862,52,340,114,146,1735,42,341,115,1861,392,39,350,43,729,102,580,515,1865,41,434,131,129,122,541,1866,676,1206,1398,476,36,108,142,567,563,128,235,1466,987,147,1867,300],"class_list":["post-458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natsgeneral","tag-adam-carr","tag-adam-dunn","tag-adam-kennedy","tag-adam-laroche","tag-alberto-gonzalez","tag-aubrey-huff","tag-bobby-jenks","tag-brandon-webb","tag-bronson-arroyo","tag-carl-crawford","tag-carl-pavano","tag-carlos-pena","tag-chien-ming-wang","tag-chris-marrero","tag-cliff-lee","tag-cole-kimball","tag-collin-balester","tag-craig-stammen","tag-danny-espinosa","tag-david-eckstein","tag-derrek-lee","tag-drew-storen","tag-hiroki-kuroda","tag-ian-desmond","tag-ivan-rodriguez","tag-jacoby-ellisbury","tag-jason-marquis","tag-javier-vazquez","tag-jayson-werth","tag-jeff-francis","tag-jeff-kobernus","tag-john-lannan","tag-jon-garland","tag-jordan-zimmermann","tag-jorge-de-la-rosa","tag-josh-wilkie","tag-josh-willingham","tag-kerry-wood","tag-kevin-gregg","tag-livan-hernandez","tag-matt-capps","tag-matt-garza","tag-mike-rizzo","tag-nyjer-morgan","tag-octavio-dotel","tag-orlando-hudson","tag-paul-konerko","tag-pete-orr","tag-rafael-soriano","tag-rick-hague","tag-ryan-zimmerman","tag-sean-burnett","tag-steve-lombardozzi","tag-ted-lilly","tag-trevor-hoffman","tag-tyler-clippard","tag-tyler-moore","tag-vicente-padilla","tag-willie-harris","tag-wilson-ramos","tag-wily-peralta","tag-yu-darvish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=458"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458\/revisions\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}