{"id":5477,"date":"2012-12-12T11:01:27","date_gmt":"2012-12-12T16:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=5477"},"modified":"2012-12-12T11:01:27","modified_gmt":"2012-12-12T16:01:27","slug":"ladsons-inbox-121112","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=5477","title":{"rendered":"Ladson’s inbox 12\/11\/12"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

LaRoche; Staying or going? Photo Rob Carr\/Getty Images via bleacherreport.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Hey, everybody’s doing inbox responses this week. \u00a0Here’s Bill Ladson<\/strong>‘s latest inbox column, dated 12\/11\/12<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As always, I write the response here before reading his, and sometimes edit questions for clarity.<\/p>\n

Q: Are you pleased with the Denard Span trade? Or do you think the Nats should have tried to sign Michael Bourn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: My thoughts are pretty clear<\/a> on the Denard Span<\/strong> trade; in a sentence, I didn’t think we needed to make the trade, but the deal we struck was fair. \u00a0If it comes down to Span versus Michael Bourn<\/strong>, there’s no question in my mind you go with Span; Bourn wants too much money, is older, they’re roughly equivalent in terms of UZR\/150, and Bourn has lesser career batting stats (104 OPS+ career for Span versus 90 for Bourn). \u00a0I think there’s a reason that BJ Upton<\/strong> signed and most teams with CF needs\/wants have solved them (Phillies and Ben Revere<\/strong>, Giants and re-signing Angel Pagan<\/strong>, Braves and Upton, Nats and Span, etc)\u00a0and Bourn still sits unsigned; he and his super-agent Scott Boras<\/strong> are over-valuing his services. \u00a0Ladson says he likes Span for his contract and his age versus Bourn<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Why are the Nats thinking about getting rid of a 30-homer, 100-RBI guy in Adam LaRoche?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: First, lets be fair; the Nats are “not getting rid” of the Free Agent Adam LaRoche<\/strong>; he’s a free agent and can sign anywhere he chooses. \u00a0Maybe LaRoche is tired of the humidity in Washington and wants to find a team closer to home. \u00a0Maybe his wife really likes the Pacific Northwest and he’s looking to move to Seattle. \u00a0Ok seriously; the problem with LaRoche is simply his age; yes he was 30\/100 THIS year; what will he do next year? \u00a0More importantly, what would he do 3 years from now when he’s 35 and earning $15M\/year or so? \u00a0That’s the risk in any FA contract for someone in his 30s, and these types of contracts have a tendency to add up and really hamstring your budgets. \u00a0Just look at the Yankees and Phillies right now; think the Phillies wish they had about $50M in payroll flexibility to improve their .500 team? \u00a0The team really doesn’t want to commit more than a couple years, but at LaRoche’s age this is really his last shot at a big-time, life altering guaranteed contract. \u00a0He really needs to get as much guaranteed money as he can. \u00a0If the Red Sox give him a 3year guaranteed contract, he really needs to take it. \u00a0Ladson states the obvious; Nats offering 2 years, LaRoche wants 3.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Who will be the Nats’ second baseman in 2013 — Danny Espinosa or Steve Lombardozzi? <\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Danny Espinosa<\/strong>. \u00a0The team showed patience waiting for Ian Desmond<\/strong> to turn it around and seem likely to do the same with Espinosa. \u00a0Now, if it were me, I wouldn’t mind cashing in Espinosa’s defensive stature and 20-home run prowness and shed his 190Ks\/season to obtain some farm system depth and just live with Steve Lombardozzi<\/strong> playing 2nd and batting 8th, but there’s really no reason to do that right now. \u00a0Espinosa is at MLB minimum and may make the leap; and Lombardozzi may really just be a utility\/backup infielder type. \u00a0Ladson predicts a gold glove and an All-Star appearance for Espinosa. \u00a0That made me chuckle. \u00a0He’s very optimistic.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: What does the Span trade mean for the future of Tyler Moore? Moore has good pop and belongs in the everyday lineup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Well, clearly the Span acquisition means that Tyler Moore<\/strong> is at best looking at another season of backup at-bats. \u00a0What is more important to Moore is what happens with LaRoche\/Michael Morse<\/strong>. \u00a0Because those are the blockers to Moore getting actual playing time right now. \u00a0Moore’s production last season was great for a first \u00a0year guy; .840 OPS, 124 OPS+, a 22 home run full season pace. \u00a0He hit righties better than lefties, which fares well for his maturation as a hitter. \u00a0But there’s just no room for him right now. \u00a0I suspect he may be trade bait if the team signs LaRoche to a 3year deal, just as Morse will be. \u00a0Ladson states the obvious; Moore will come off the bench this year. <\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Who will be the Nationals’ starting catcher on Opening Day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Great question. \u00a0I’d go with Kurt Suzuki<\/strong> for now, until hearing how Wilson Ramos<\/strong>‘ recovery is going. \u00a0Remember, Ramos had to have two knee surgeries<\/a> last summer; I don’t think its a guarantee that he’s ready opening day. \u00a0Ladson agrees, saying the team is taking it slow w\/ Ramos<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you think Michael Morse is a defensive liability in the outfield? If LaRoche signs with the Nats, what impact will that have on Morse?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Yes he’s a defensive liability in LF. \u00a0But I don’t mind having a 30 homer defensive liability in left. \u00a0But I’m not the GM of the Nationals who seems dead set on replacing all sub-par defenders on his roster. \u00a0If LaRoche signs, it pretty clearly means an imminent trade of Morse, since it makes little sense to have his bat sitting in a backup capacity. \u00a0 Ladson doesn’t think he’s as big of a liability in LF as I do, pointing out that Morse seemed like he was playing hurt at the end of the season<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: What will the Nats do with Chien-Ming Wang?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Nothing. \u00a0Chien-Ming Wang<\/strong> is a free agent and can sign anywhere he wants. \u00a0If the Nats give him another dollar of guaranteed money I’ll be furious. \u00a0Ladson says he’s not coming back and may not sign til mid-season, ala Roy Oswalt<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey, everybody’s doing inbox responses this week. \u00a0Here’s Bill Ladson‘s latest inbox column, dated 12\/11\/12. As always, I write the response here before reading his, and sometimes edit questions for clarity. Q: Are you pleased with the Denard Span trade? Or do you think the Nats should have tried to sign Michael Bourn? A: My […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,5],"tags":[184,262,484,498,182,188,37,135,482,1033,175,136,297,180,142,235,147],"class_list":["post-5477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chatmailbag-responses","category-natsgeneral","tag-adam-laroche","tag-alex-meyer","tag-angel-pagan","tag-ben-revere","tag-bill-ladson","tag-bj-upton","tag-chien-ming-wang","tag-danny-espinosa","tag-denard-span","tag-kurt-suzuki","tag-michael-bourn","tag-michael-morse","tag-roy-oswalt","tag-scott-boras","tag-steve-lombardozzi","tag-tyler-moore","tag-wilson-ramos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5477","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=5477"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5480,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5477\/revisions\/5480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}