District Daily: What’s next for the Washington Nationals?
By Pablo Roa
Oct 3, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals third base coach
Bob Henley(14) congratulates second baseman
Asdrubal Cabrera(3) after Cabrera hit a solo home run in the seventh inning during game one of the 2014 NLDS playoff baseball game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning DoD readers! Start off your day with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web in our District Daily:
Nationals’ second base options: Asdrubal Cabrera, Danny Espinosa or trade?
(Patrick Reddington, Federal Baseball)
Ryan Zimmerman went down with a Grade 3 hamstring strain on July 22nd in Colorado. With the non-waiver trade deadline approaching, the Washington Nationals were faced with a decision: Stick with what they had, and send infielder Danny Espinosa out at second base, or make a deal for another infielder since there was no one in the organization they deemed ready to step in on an everyday basis?
Espinosa, 27, saw significant time in the Nats’ infield with Zimmerman on the shelf with a fractured thumb that kept the third baseman out of the lineup from mid-April through the beginning of June, and filled in again when the veteran infielder went down with the hamstring injury. Read full article here.
What’s next for the Washington Nationals?
Regardless of what happens in the National League East this offseason, the Washington Nationals will be heavy favorites to repeat as NL East champions again in 2015. But that doesn’t mean they’ll have a quiet offseason.
The Nats have decisions to make on three significant free agents: first baseman Adam LaRoche, second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera and reliever Rafael Soriano. They also must address their next free-agent class (following the 2015 season), which includes Jordan Zimmermann, Ian Desmond, Tyler Clippard, Doug Fister, Denard Span and Matt Thornton. Do they extend them? Do they trade them now while they have strong value? Or do they just prepare to let them depart via free agency next offseason, in which they may or may not get draft pick compensation for them?
Other areas the Nats will need to tend to include what to do with Ryan Zimmerman and how to improve the team’s bench and bullpen depth. Read full article here.