Co-Expert Ricky Keeler:
Heading into the Winter Meetings, everyone expected the Washington Nationals to make that splash as their window to win continues to close by the day. It was a stinging blow to not win the Chris Sale sweepstakes, but at the same time, Mike Rizzo did the right thing in not giving up Trea Turner.
The Washington Nationals still have a lot of options and ways they can improve a team that is coming off a 95-win season. The only thing you worry about is whether or not they will overpay in a trade for Andrew McCutchen just to make a move.
With Mike Rizzo bringing up Bryce Harper‘s versatility in his Monday press conferences with the media, it still leaves many outfield options for the Washington Nationals wide open because they could also add a corner outfielder, move Harper to right, and Turner to shortstop.
Even though Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen are elite options, the Washington Nationals probably don’t have the finances to bring them in. If they bring in a David Robertson or even a Greg Holland, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
While the Nats have been runners up before, let’s remember their second option in Daniel Murphy ended up working well for them. Just because you lose the Winter Meetings doesn’t mean your season ends up being a failure. Sometimes, it can be just the opposite.