4 Players the Washington Nationals Should Consider Dealing at the Deadline

This season, you've been assaulted by the phrase "the Washington Nationals are the best team on paper" enough to make you choose plastic at the grocery store just so you don't have to say that other word. And it's still true, but the trade deadline is approaching fast, and the best team on paper might have to rewrite a few lines before the final push for the pennant. 

Expiring contracts attached to star players make up a huge concern for Washington's front office. The deadline could be the perfect time to extract some value from the likes of Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Ian Desmond or Denard Span before they walk for free in the offseason. 

The Nationals also have a loaded stable of young arms in their farm system. For a team that needs depth at the major league level right now as badly as Washington does, parting ways with a pitching prospect could be the right move. 

Washington doesn't have a Cole Hamels or Johnny Cueto who's had his bags packed to move for months now. But there is some boom-or-bust potential in Washington at the deadline. 

Here, we'll count down the top four Nats who should be shown the door this July, ranked in order of likelihood as things stand in early June.

4. RHP Jordan Zimmermann

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Jordan Zimmermann is one of several Nats stars with an expiring contract.

A trade involving Zimmermann would be far more practical if Washington weren't calling up a new pitcher from the minors every week to hemorrhage the bleeding rotation.

Fister and Stephen Strasburg are both on what they hope is the tail end of DL stints. But in their absence, the Nationals have gone 2-8 in their last 10 games thanks in part to short-notice appearances from Joe Ross, Taylor Jordan and Taylor Hill.

Fister and Zimmermann are both slated to enter free agency following this season, but the latter would be infinitely more expensive for Washington to keep around.

The Boston Red Sox have been ogling Zimmermann for a while now, and a team like Boston with a surplus of hitters could make sense as a trade partner for the Nationals. 

But with the rotation currently in a state of utter disrepair, Washington can't afford to give up one of its healthy starters.

3. RHP A.J. Cole

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A.J. Cole is back in Triple-A following his third stint in the majors.

The beginning of A.J. Cole's major league career wasn't a fairy tale. But he did manage to turn the 18.00 ERA he earned in his debut into a tolerable 5.79. He's also Washington's No. 2 prospect within a top five comprised only of pitchers, per MLB.com. 

His recovery and promise make him attractive to other teams, while his company on the farm makes him expendable for the Nationals. 

A deal involving Washington's No. 1 prospect and the top-overall pitching prospect in baseball, Lucas Giolito, is out of the question. So sacrificing the next-best thing is an option.

2. RHP Reynaldo Lopez

Reynaldo Lopez is in the same boat as Cole. It's a boat filled with four other pitchers of similar caliber, and there might not be enough seats for all of them. 

The one thing Lopez has that Cole doesn't is an element of mystery. While Cole has already played in three major league games with mixed results, the highest level Lopez has reached is his current station in Single-A Potomac. 

It's unclear how his 3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 25 strikeouts over 31.2 innings this season project to the big league level. 

If the Nationals find a team that's looking for upside over experience, Lopez could fetch Washington a higher return than Cole.

1. SS Ian Desmond

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Anthony Rendon's return makes Ian Desmond more expendable.

Whenever the time inevitably comes, the end of the Ian Desmond era will be a tearjerker for Nationals fans. But the deadline is Washington's last chance to trade the shortstop before he enters free agency, so it's time to rip off he Band-Aid. 

With Anthony Rendon on the DL for the first three months of the season, the Nationals were handcuffed to Desmond because of a lack of infield depth. 

Now, with Rendon back and healthy, he can man third base while Yunel Escobar slides over to his natural position at short. The head-to-head comparison between Washington's lineup with and without Desmond boils down to your thoughts on Danny Espinosa, who would end up as the permanent second baseman upon Desmond's departure. But Espinosa is outperforming Desmond in batting average, OBP, slugging and OPS, and the two are tied in RBI with Espinosa playing nine fewer games. 

At the beginning of the season, with Desmond making more errors than the new guy operating the drive-thru window (13 through 57 games), fans' calls for his banishment were vociferous and reactionary. But Desmond has been destined for the trade market since before the season started, and it's due to his expiring contract and the lack of progress made on an extension. 

In January, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported on a proposed trade that would've seen Desmond join the New York Mets. Don't rule out a similar deal this July.

All stats courtesy of MLB.com.

Danny Garrison is a Washington Nationals Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report. He's on Twitter @DannyLGarrison and he's going to miss Ian Desmond. 

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