District On Deck
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Washington Nationals: Robertson, Melancon lead closer shopping list

By Ron Juckett

Apr 24, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Mark Melancon (41) reacts after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park. The Giants won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Mark Melancon (41) reacts after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park. The Giants won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the need for a new closer grows daily for the Washington Nationals, a national website runs the internal list. How much will this cost?

The Washington Nationals are looking for a closer.

Yes, that is the most obvious sentence in the history of blogging, but FanRag’s Jon Heyman has a list of names talked about internally.

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Some, such as Chicago White Sox reliever David Robertson and Kelvin Herrera of the Kansas City Royals are well-known. They looked over the winter at Alex Colome of the Tampa Bay Rays too.

New in Heyman’s piece are Miami Marlins stopper A.J. Ramos, Toronto Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna and San Francisco Giants pitcher Mark Melancon. You remember him; he is the closer the Nats lowballed last year.

If the Nats hope to advance past the National League Divisional Series, they must score a new closer via trade or hope for an in-house miracle. Blake Treinen was the closer Opening Day and pitched himself out of the job. Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover hold the current job, but neither are consistent and both hit the disabled list already.

The bullpen need is greater than one pitcher, but the ninth-inning problem is too big to ignore. Given the offseason to re-sign Melancon or steal Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen, Mike Rizzo and the Washington front office failed to land anybody.

Because they carry a substantial eight-game bulge over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, this team knows they are playoff-bound. Yes, an injury could knock out another big bat or starter, but the division is weak. Washington is a playoff team.

If they are a championship team, then the Nats must make a painful move. How many prospects will they give up to win now?

All the teams listed above will want to restock their farm system. Washington helped with the ChiSox earlier when they packaged Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning for Adam Eaton. Whatever depth they had on the farm went to secure the gaping hole in center.

Because the Nats refused to spend the money, they must make a similar move again. Andrew Stevenson, Victor Robles, Drew Ward and other names will be the subject of endless rumors until a deal finishes. Although Washington wants to hold on to Robles, they are not the only team needing bullpen help.

The price of business is higher than last year’s Felipe Rivero for Melancon deal. Whatever the final deal is, the trade package will look more like the Eaton deal. And, none of you will be happy.

Robertson and Herrera are the two realistic choices. Talks with Chicago go back to last year and Washington is high on him. Colome is under team control for years, his price is high. Same for Toronto’s Osuna. He is 22, but injury prone. Ramos belongs to a division rival and the Giants are not letting Melancon walk easy.

Next: Nats try Fedde as reliever

The choices are stark. Do nothing and watch another season end early or pay dearly to win. Maybe next time, they spend the money.

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