Might the Washington Nationals be better off dealing Gio Gonzalez to the Yankees, who are looking for starting pitching?
This week, the Washington Nationals decided to pick up the $12 million option on Gio Gonzalez’s contract for the 2017 season. Even though the Nats picked up the option, that doesn’t guarantee he will be in the starting rotation next year, especially with the lack of great starting pitching on the free agent market.
One team that needs some starting pitching is the New York Yankees, who don’t have many veteran pitchers under team control after 2017 (Masahiro Tanaka can opt-out after next year). As Wallace Matthews from New York Sports Day wrote on Thursday, the Nats could work out a deal involving Gio to fill their need at catcher. Here’s what Matthews said:
"“It is not outside the realm of possibility the Yankees could pry loose Gio Gonzales from the Nationals or Robertson from the White Sox in exchange for McCann, if he could be persuaded to waive his no-trade clause.” (h/t Matthews, NY Sports Day)"
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Going into next season, the Yankees only have one left-handed starter in their rotation (C.C. Sabathia). With Sabathia only under contract for one more season, the Yankees could use a veteran left-hander in their rotation for possibly the next two years. If Gonzalez throws over 180 innings next season, his contract automatically gets picked up for 2018.
As for the Washington Nationals, they are in need of a starting catcher and McCann would get the opportunity to be the everyday catcher in D.C as opposed to New York, where Gary Sanchez is the catcher of the future. McCann has two more years on his deal worth $34 million with a $15 million team option for 2019.
Last month, I wrote about McCann as a possible trade option for the Washington Nationals. With Wilson Ramos likely not coming back, the best free agent catchers available are Matt Wieters and Jason Castro. Plus, while I think Pedro Severino has a lot of potential, I don’t think he’s ready to be the everyday catcher on a team trying to win a World Series.
If the Washington Nationals were to trade for McCann without giving up any of their top prospects, it would be a win for the organization. Gonzalez is a good piece to have, but with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez emerging as back-end rotation candidates for 2017, Gonzalez doesn’t seem to fit as the fourth or fifth starter in the rotation.
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If this kind of trade were to happen, the Yankees would get a veteran to plug into their rotation for at least 2017 while the Nats would have a catcher who can hit home run and add depth to their lineup.