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After these relatively pedestrian moves, the Nationals pulled a rabbit out of a hat with a blockbuster move that would have consequences for a decade to come. Livan Hernandez, Endy Chavez, and Justin Echols were sent to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for BJ Upton and Scott Kazmir. Apparently eager to shed their reputation as the league's most thrifty franchise, the Rays gladly took on the contract of Hernandez with the promise of adding a proven starter to their rotation. The team's fans were livid however, as they had been looking forward to seeing Upton's promise pay off for years and last year's teaser performance from Kazmir had left them wanting for more. The Nationals on the other hand shed $8m in payroll and added two of baseball's most intriguing young players. Gavin Campbell took the lead at the press conference, noting that "Upton and Kazmir would both be good players in the majors right now. Two years from now, they'll be among the best. Ten years from now I hope it'll be a foregone conclusion that they'll go to the Hall of Fame wearing Washington Nationals hats. Not that there will be any pressure on them or anything."
That final move ended the Nationals initial purge of players who didn't fit the franchise's new vision. With nearly $15 million in salary off the books and numerous outstanding high-level prospects reeled in, the first phase of the Washington Nationals new lease on life appeared complete. All that remained was to play some baseball!
Manager Frank Robinson and GM David Forst sat down today at the conclusion of spring training to decide what players were ready to be a part of a major league squad and who needed to get a bit more TLC in the minors. There were some players like Jose Vidro and Nick Johnson who were obvious locks to play this year at RFK, but many more like Gobble and Zach Day who were on the bubble. At the end of the day, the roster looked like this:
Rotation:
Loaiza
Armas Jr.
Ohka
Vargas
Gobble
Let's hope Kazmir and Everts develop quickly! No one in this rotation has the skills to win 15 games without the Yankees lineup behind them. Except perhaps Loaiza, but we all know how that worked out. Fans across the DC area are likely to soon find a new religion, viewing both Clint Everts and Scott Kazmir as saviors.
Relief:
Horgan
Nen
Patterson
Tucker
Ayala
Eischen
A more stable crew than the starters. Horgan will start the season as the closer, but as a lefty he's going to have to work hard to keep it. There's some thought that he may end up being the left-handed setup man for Nen, with Patterson working as the right-handed setup guy. Horgan will have to lose his job on the mound though.
Lineup:
Termel Sledge, CF
Jose Vidro, 2b
Nick Johnson, 1b
Brad Wilkerson, RF
Jared Sandberg, 3b
Brian Schneider, C
Ryan Church, LF
BJ Upton, SS
Eight guys who do a lot of things well but very few things great. A mix of contact, patience, power, and speed. The team is banking a bit on Nick Johnson making good on his potential and having a breakout year. Campbell reportedly told Johnson that if he had an OPS over 1.000 with 500 PA Campbell would allow Johnson to view the secret tape he made while on vacation with Dr. Ruth. The offer apparently didn't have the intended effect as Johnson was hospitalized for the last 3 days of spring training with spells of violent vomitting. When reached for comment, Campbell stated, "I don't know. He must have gotten a stomach bug somewhere along the line. I'm going to have the water at our hotel tested for bacteria."
Reserves:
Ben Petrick, C
Jeromy Burnitz, OF
Jeff Cirrillo, IF
Val Pascucci, OF
John Labandeira, IF
Burnitz and Petrick are no surprise. Each probably hits better than the starter in front of him. But Burnitz is much older than the starting outfielders and Petrick's defensive skills put him on par with Mike "Perttyboy" Piazza. Cirillo and Pascucci made the squad off their minor league contracts and should contribute. Labandeira may get an at bat or two per week. At some point, the Nationals may look to add a 12th pitcher and Labandeira would be the likely casualty.
With Robinson's major league roster settled a new problem arose. Nearly 50 players who didn't make the major league squad had enough ability to play at the AAA level. Clearly some tough choices would have to made with regard to who the players most likely to be an asset down the road would be. The rest would have to find another club to try and hang on with. Priority for roster spots and playing time would go to the most promising prospects, while the grizzled veterans like Wil Cordero and Jeffrey Hammonds will probably be released. The talent depth at A and AA is not nearly as remarkable, perhaps it will be possible to deal some of the unneeded high level players for projects that may help out down the road. Even before any trade talks regarding the spare parts began, 14 players were given their unconditional release to help clear up the playing time for those more likely to make contributions at the major league level. A total of 13 players were dealt in 3 packages for 18-22 year-old prospects that should fill out our A and AA teams.
The only "name" propsect in the group was Oakland closer Huston Street who will start the season at AAA. Forst winced visibly during the press conference as Campbell repeatedly referred to the prospect as "Hutson" and hoped his owner didn't believe they had acquired Tim Hudson. Campbell wasn't that dumb of course, but he did think they had acquired Octavio Dotel. Street looked a lot more pale than what Campbell thought he looked like after the Beltran trade last year. The only rationale he could come up with is that perhaps Street/Dotel had the Michael Jackson skin disease. In case the symptoms were related, he made a note to keep children away from the locker room.
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