Predictions for Each Top Offseason Acquisition's Career with the Nationals
The Washington Nationals' moves this offseason have them poised to challenge for a World Series title immediately, but life goes on beyond 2015, and so do the careers of the team's latest acquisitions.
The Nationals were a sleeping giant all winter. They picked up some options at second base with a trade for Yunel Escobar and the signing of Dan Uggla, but Washington stayed away from major headlines.
Until Sunday night.
That's when Washington blasted an air horn into its silent offseason and signed free-agent starter Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million contract.
After the Nationals' blockbuster signing, the baseball world is on high alert regarding who Washington will trade away. With that much money committed to Scherzer, it looks like someone—maybe someone named Jordan Zimmermann or Stephen Strasburg—has to go.
But this list focuses on Washington's latest arrivals rather than its potential departures.
The Nats' new acquisitions now find themselves playing for the latest World Series favorites, according to Odds Shark, and are looking to carve out a place in baseball history during in Washington.
Max Scherzer
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It's Mike Rizzo's world—we're all just living in it.
The Nationals general manager caught virtually everyone off guard when he pulled the trigger on Max Scherzer's humongous contract.
The deal keeps the 30-year-old righty under Washington's control for the next seven years. According to Baseball Prospectus, Scherzer will be the 10th-highest-paid player in MLB history.
That list of mega-contracts is as terrifying as it is prestigious.
The second-largest deal belongs to Alex Rodriquez, the New York Yankees' optimistic-bordering-on-delusional third baseman who is owed the rest of his $275 million contract through 2017. That situation is chock full of extenuating circumstances, but the statistical decline of Albert Pujols also coincides with his $240 million deal with the Angels, the fifth-largest in history.
Whether or not the contract and the struggles are causal or correlative is debatable, but the attitude toward long-term deals for players 30 and older is getting more and more sour.
But Scherzer has been extremely durable and is just one year removed from his 2013 American League Cy Young Award. He's also been in the top 10 in innings pitched for the last two seasons and has won double-digit games every year since 2010.
Scherzer has shown no signs of regression in his career so far. He registered the third-most strikeouts in the majors last season, but he's also the oldest pitcher in the top 10 of that category.
If Washington didn't give Scherzer his seven years, someone else would have. Rizzo almost certainly would've preferred a safer contract, but as was suggested by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Nationals are "all-in" for 2015.
There will be some politics involved when the Nationals pick their starter for Opening Day, but statistically and historically it should be Scherzer.
When he puts on the cap with the curly "W," Scherzer will be the first Cy Young winner to ever wear a Nationals uniform. And if Clayton Kershaw allows it, it's well within the realm of possibility that Scherzer can win a National League Cy Young during his time in Washington.
Yunel Escobar
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The Nationals needed to get a second baseman this offseason. In terms of adding new players, that's about all they needed to do.
It took a few months, but Washington finally brought in a new everyday second baseman when it traded Tyler Clippard to Oakland in exchange for Yunel Escobar.
Escobar's future with the Nationals will have two distinct chapters: Before and after Ian Desmond leaves Washington. Whether Desmond departs in free agency after 2015 or the Nationals trade him this offseason, the end looks near for Washington's homegrown shortstop.
With Desmond on the team, Escobar is the starting second baseman. There's no need for a competition with Danny Espinosa, according to Rizzo. And on a team without Desmond, Escobar inherits the shortstop position.
"We got ourselves a really good everyday baseball player that can play shortstop on a regular basis, has done it on a championship-caliber club, and this year fulfills as an upgrade at second base," Rizzo said via The Washington Post's Chelsea Janes. "We have protection and depth in the infield beyond 2015."
While Escobar is no power hitter, he's been solid at the plate throughout his entire eight-year career in the bigs. He's never hit less than .250 in a season.
It's worth noting that Escobar isn't exactly a youngster. At 32, he has three years on Desmond and five on Espinosa.
But Escobar isn't here for a long time; he's here for a good time.
The Cuban fits Washington's win-now mindset as a veteran who shores up the only real weakness the Nationals had.
Dan Uggla
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The acquisition of Yunel Escobar was bad news for Dan Uggla, who had a very distant shot at the starting second baseman job after signing with Washington in December.
But with Uggla's career trajectory, priority No. 1 this offseason is simply earning a spot on the Nats' major league roster.
Washington brought him in on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training after he spent parts of last season with the Braves and the Giants. Don't expect Uggla to spend any time in the minors, though. He's already pulled the veteran card once and refused a minor league assignment from San Francisco back in August.
After an alarmingly bad 2013 season and even worse 2014, Uggla recently found an explanation for his struggles when he was diagnosed with concussion-related vision problems.
He sought and received treatment for the issue this fall and should be cautiously optimistic about his chances at a spot on the Nats' Opening Day roster.
If Uggla regains a fraction of his best form, he could be deadly as a pinch hitter for Washington.
At 34 years old, Uggla is done as an everyday second baseman. But don't be surprised at all if his batting average creeps back over .200 for the first time since 2012 in the sporadic role he'll play with the Nationals.
Heath Bell
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Once upon a time in 2010, Heath Bell registered the second-most saves in baseball as a closer for the San Diego Padres.
Now, after plummeting save numbers and a skyrocketting ERA from 2012 through 2014, Bell is looking to revive his career with the Nationals.
Like Uggla, Washington gave Bell a minor league deal with a spring training invite. Unlike Uggla, Bell doesn't have injury to blame for his decline.
"I think the last three years I've had really bad luck," he said via The Washington Post's James Wagner. "And I haven't been hitting my spots. I take ownership for what I've done. I feel like I've done an okay job but I haven't in other aspects and need to be a lot better."
The 37-year-old won't be Washington's closer; that's Drew Storen's job for the foreseeable future. But the Nats did just have a spot in the bullpen open up with the departure of Tyler Clippard.
According to Wagner's report, Bell signed similar minor league deals with the Yankees and the Orioles. Neither team offered him a big league call-up, so he terminated both contracts.
The Nationals should give Bell the benefit of the doubt if his arm looks serviceable in spring training. But his real value could come as a veteran presence in Washington's relatively young bullpen for what's left of his career.
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