8 Most Realistic Trade Options to Improve Washington Nationals' Offense

The Washington Nationals are in the thick of the playoff hunt, and a few moves before the trade deadline may be just what they need to separate themselves from the rest of the NL East.

Even with Tuesday night's 21-hit performance, the Nationals are in desperate need of some offense.

Washington has a pretty deep farm system and some valuable, young major leaguers, so putting together a deal for some offense shouldn't be all that difficult.

Rumors have been spreading for months about who might be available, but there are only so many players that are actually realistic options for the Nationals.

Michael Bourn

Michael Bourn could be the jump start that the Nationals so desperately need at the top of their lineup.

Steve Lombardozzi has gotten the majority of time in the leadoff spot recently, but there's no doubting the fact that Bourn can bring a completely different element to the table—speed.

With Bourn on the team, first baseman Adam LaRoche becomes expendable. If LaRoche stays with the team, Michael Morse cannot move to first base, and this would give them too many starting outfielders (Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, Bourn and Morse).

While Werth is injured, there wouldn't be a problem. When he returns, somebody would have to move. Trading LaRoche and moving Morse to first would be best for the team and the offense.

It would likely take a decent amount to acquire Bourn. The Nationals may have to be willing to part with Lombardozzi, or a couple of mid-level prospects in the minors.

Either way, if the Nationals have an opportunity to snag Bourn, they should jump on it.

Francisco Cervelli

Francisco Cervelli has yet to get the call from the New York Yankees this season, even though he was the consensus choice for the backup catcher's role entering spring training.

The acquisition of Chris Stewart took the job away from him on the final day of spring training, making Cervelli no more than an insurance policy in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

There have been no reports regarding his availability, but I'm sure that he could be had for the right price.

The Nationals should be interested. Their catching situation has been in a state of flux ever since Wilson Ramos went down for the season. Cervelli could step in and be a quality backup to Jesus Flores and would occasionally get the spot start a few times per week.

He is a career .272/.338/.354 hitter with five home runs and 71 RBI, so it's clear that he is not an automatic out at the plate.

Is he a great hitter? No.

Is an upgrade over their current backup, Jhonatan Solano? Yes.

Cervelli's hustle and clutch attitude would be a welcome addition to the Nationals' lineup.

Alfonso Soriano

Please, just here me out.

While Washington fans could not wait to get Alfonso Soriano out of D.C. in his first go around with the team, he has been surprisingly productive this season and could be had for the right price.

In 256 at-bats, he is hitting .273/.326/.492 with 14 home runs and 44 RBI.

A similar defensive scenario to the Bourn trade would have to occur to make room for another outfielder, but the defense you lose by throwing Soriano in left field would be greatly outweighed by the offense gained.

Look at it this way: only Adam LaRoche has more home runs (15) and RBI (47) than Soriano on the Nationals' roster.

The only issue with this deal is that Soriano is under contract through 2015. He may be producing this season, but there's zero guarantee that he can do it again for two more seasons.

Gerardo Parra

An acquisition of Gerardo Parra would not do anything to the starting lineup; he would simply take the place of the inconsistent Roger Bernadina as the team's fourth outfielder.

Parra would be a significant upgrade over Bernadina. While the current Nationals utility outfielder is hitting just .229, Parra sports a .268 mark.

Also, Parra can drive the ball. In his 190 at-bats, Parra has 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 22 RBI. Throw in his 10 stolen bases and you have a perfect utility outfielder.

The addition of Jason Kubel seems to have put Parra on the outs in Arizona, so the Nationals could likely have him for the right price. A mid-level prospect and a low-level prospect should be enough to entice the Diamondbacks.

If the Nationals don't want to give up two prospects, they can simply do a swap of Bernadina-for-Parra with cash considerations going the Diamondbacks' direction.

Jeff Francoeur

The Nationals could easily improve both the offense and the defense by acquiring Jeff Francoeur from the Kansas City Royals.

He had a great bounce-back season in 2011, reaching 20-20 status, but has gotten off to a semi-slow start this season, hitting just .264.

Regardless, he absolutely mashes lefties (.297/.345/.450 in his career). This would make him very useful in the NL East, as Johan Santana, Cole Hamels, Mark Buehrle and Cliff Lee are some of the game's best left-handed starters.

Francoeur becomes a free agent after the 2014 season, so the Nationals may have to give up a bit more because of that extra year of control.

The Royals would likely be interested in Lombardozzi in return. A deal involving both players and possibly some cash going the Royals' way could work out for both teams in the future.

Kelly Johnson

Kelly Johnson is a powerful bat from the second base position, and would represent a vast upgrade over the offensively hapless Danny Espinosa.

Espinosa has already struck out 84 times this season, and he owns a line of .224/.308/.363 through 71 games.

While Johnson has struck out 87 times in 68 games, his offensive production is better. He sports a line of .246/.329/.375 with nine home runs and 33 RBI.

Johnson always seems to turn it on during the second half, though, especially after being traded. He hit just .209 in Arizona for the first half of the 2011 season, then hit .270 after being sent to Toronto.

He could add some nice left-handed pop to the bottom of the Nationals' order, and would not demand that big of a return.

The value of Johnson depends on how much of the remaining salary on his $6.38 million contract for 2011 that the Nationals ask the Blue Jays to absorb. It likely won't be a lot, so Johnson could probably be had for a few prospects.

J.P. Arencibia

The Toronto Blue Jays have Travis d'Arnaud waiting in the wings at Triple-A Las Vegas for J.P. Arencibia to be shipped out and, although he hasn't been made available, the sentiment around the league is that he could be had at the right price.

Many teams would likely be in the hunt for his services, one of which could be the Tampa Bay Rays, but there's no doubt that the Nationals have the prospects to get a deal done.

He may not sport the highest batting average (.226) or on-base percentage (.264), but he has some legitimate power. He mashed 23 home runs in his rookie season in 2011, and is on his way to matching that number in 2012.

So far he has 10, but he is just one hot streak away from surpassing his career mark.

Arencibia could cost the Nationals some valuable prospects. Outfielder Eury Perez may have to be included in the deal, but I say do it if Arencibia is the guy that they're getting in return.

Geovany Soto

The Chicago Cubs are entering a rebuilding phase, and Geovany Soto has been underachieving ever since the start of the 2011 season. That formula leads me to believe that he can be had for very cheap.

It's hard to predict which Soto the Nationals will be getting.

Will it be the 2010 Soto that hit .280/.393/.497 or the 2011 Soto that hit .228/.310/.411?

Soto could either back up Jesus Flores or become the starting catcher if he hits well enough.

A healthy and productive Soto could be a potent addition to the Nationals' lineup, but only if he could indeed be had on the cheap.

Wasting anything more than one or two low-level prospects would be vastly overpaying for Soto's services.

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