Ian Desmond Is Big Steal Waiting to Be Had on MLB Trade Market

For all that's been made about a possible trade of pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg, it's another Washington Nationals player that has a chance to be the steal of the offseason.

That man is All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond.

The 29-year-old is entering his final year of team control, and despite their best efforts, the Nationals have been unable to come to terms on an extension with him so far this offseason.

Efforts to retain Desmond began last winter, when the team reportedly made a seven-year, $107 million offer, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

Desmond rebuffed that offer, and the two sides eventually wound up settling on a two-year, $17.5 million deal to buy out his final two years of arbitration.

Extension efforts have been ongoing this offseason, but it appears that the two sides have made no headway toward a new deal, and Desmond didn't sound overly optimistic about his chances of staying in Washington when asked back in December.

"Do I want to be a National (beyond 2015)? Yes. Do I think, at this particular moment, I will be? I don't know," Desmond told Bill Ladson of MLB.com. "I cannot give you an answer on that. We'll see. I know 2015 is coming fast."

As a result of their failed efforts to lock Desmond up long-term, the Nationals have understandably been entertaining offers for him this winter, but to this point, nothing significant has come together.

So what exactly is it that makes Ian Desmond such an attractive target, and someone we should be talking a lot more about this offseason?

To put it simply, his production relative to the rest of the players who call shortstop home.

The shortstop position has fallen a long way from the glory days of Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter and Miguel Tejada.

In fact, looking around the league right now, there are probably three shortstops in the prime of their careers that can legitimately be called stars now that Hanley Ramirez has moved to the outfield.

Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies, Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs and Desmond.

David Seelig/Getty Images

There are the still productive stars who are past their primes (Rollins, Peralta, Hardy, Reyes, A. Ramirez), the second-tier guys that aren't quite stars (Aybar, Andrus, Escobar) and the defense-only star (Simmons), but as far as all-around game goes, that trio looks to be the top tier.

When you consider how injury prone Tulowitzki is, and the defensive shortcomings of Castro, a legitimate argument can be made for Desmond being the best all-around shortstop in baseball heading into the 2015 season.

Let's take a look at how his numbers stack up to the rest of the position over the last three seasons.

Category	Desmond	SS Rank
Games	442	8th
AB	1,706	7th
OPS	.788	3rd
OPS+	113	3rd
H	469	6th
2B	97	4th
HR	69	1st
RBI	244	1st
R	222	4th
SB	66	8th
WAR	10.7	3rd

Those are solid numbers across the board, and they boil down to a three-year average line of .275/.326/.462 with 32 doubles, 23 home runs, 81 RBI and 22 stolen bases. Good production from any position, but phenomenal production from a shortstop.

With a string of three-straight 20/20 seasons, he's claimed Silver Slugger honors in the NL three years running, and entering his age-29 season, there's no reason to think he'll slow down.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

That begs the question, what exactly is Desmond worth?

If he hits the open market next winter, which seems likely, it's conceivable to think he can eclipse that seven-year, $107 million total he turned down, at least in annual salary, if not in years.

But what is his value on the trade market as an impending free agent?

With the overall weakness at the shortstop position, and the general assumption that young shortstops are supreme athletes and capable of playing other positions, shortstop prospects have become something of a currency around the league in recent years.

Just take a look at all the shortstop prospects that have been moved in high-profile trades since the 2014 trade deadline:

Date	SS Prospect	Headline Player in Trade
July 5, 2014	Addison Russell (CHC)	Jeff Samardzija (OAK)
July 19, 2014	Jose Rondon (SD)	Huston Street (LAA)
July 31, 2014	Willy Adames (TB)	David Price (DET)
July 31, 2014	Zach Walters (CLE)	Asdrubal Cabrera (WAS)
Nov. 13, 2014	Andrew Velazquez (TB)	Jeremy Hellickson (ARI)
Nov. 28, 2014	Franklin Barreto (OAK)	Josh Donaldson (TOR)
Dec. 5, 2014	Domingo Leyba (ARI)	Didi Gregorius (NYY)
Dec. 9, 2014	Marcus Semien (OAK)	Jeff Samardzija (CWS)
Dec. 11, 2014	Eugenio Suarez (CIN)	Alfredo Simon (DET)
Dec. 12, 2014	Raymel Flores (ARI)	Wade Miley (BOS)
Dec. 19, 2014	Jace Peterson (ATL)	Justin Upton (SD)
Dec. 19, 2014	Trea Turner (WAS)	Wil Myers (SD)
Jan. 10, 2015	Daniel Robertson (TB)	Ben Zobrist (OAK)
Jan. 19, 2015	Luis Sardinas (MIL)	Yovani Gallardo (TEX)

From that group, Addison Russell (5), Daniel Robertson (85) and Trea Turner (96) currently rank among the top 100 prospects in baseball, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com's Prospect Watch.

Beyond those three, it would not be the least bit surprising to see Franklin Barreto and Willy Adames, both still short of their 20th birthdays, also crack the top 100 after both guys held their own against much older competition.

The point here is that shortstop talent—even unproven, young shortstop talent—has become an asset that teams are willing to pay a hefty price to acquire.

However, in Desmond you're not dreaming on a player's potential or waiting on him to develop into a big league player. Instead, you're getting someone capable of stepping in and making a significant impact, even if it is for one year.

The Seattle Mariners appeared to be fairly serious in their pursuit of Desmond during the winter meetings, though an unwillingness to include prized arms James Paxton or Taijuan Walker eventually put an end to trade talks.

USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have also been a popular hypothetical landing spot for Desmond, and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports wrote about how he thinks the team should go all-in to acquire the star shortstop.

It's hard to imagine the Nationals saying no to a package of Daniel Murphy and Noah Syndergaard, but to this point, it appears that's more than the Mets are willing to part with.

In the grand scheme of things, though, it might be worth it for both teams to mortgage the young arm they're unwilling to move in exchange for a significant upgrade at the shortstop position.

Both teams look like fringe contenders at this point, and adding a bat like Desmond to either lineup could be enough to push them over the top.

There are other teams that would make sense as well, but those have been the two most talked about landing spots, and it's at least worth mentioning the merits of him going to either team.

The Washington Nationals have a clear contingency plan in place should they find someone willing to meet their asking price on Desmond, having acquired shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Oakland A's and prospect Trea Turner from the San Diego Padres.

For the time being, Escobar is penciled in as the everyday second baseman and Turner is still with the Padres organization as he is ineligible to be traded until he's been with the organization for a year.

However, they could easily step into the role of short-term and long-term replacement for Desmond if he heads elsewhere, whether it's via trade this winter, in a deadline deal or in free agency next offseason.

So at this point, it's simply a matter of how steep a price teams are willing to pay for the services of Desmond.

For my money, he's worth every bit of what the Nationals are asking, and has a chance to be the steal of the offseason if someone swoops in and acquires him.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise noted.

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