Washington Nationals: ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian talks bullpen and Nats
By Ron Juckett
The veteran ESPN reporter talks about the Washington Nationals struggle to find a closer and a host of topics for our podcast.
District on Deck, FanSided’s Washington Nationals blog, had the privilege of speaking to ESPN reporter Tim Kurkjian Friday.
Kurkjian, part of the Baseball Tonight crew, will be at the table with Karl Ravech and Mark Teixeira for The Esurance All-Star Selection Show before the Nats take on the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday Night Baseball.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Kurkjian shared his thoughts on several topics from Trea Turner, the bullpen and how far the Nats can go this fall.
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Regarding Turner, not expected back until late-August at the earliest, he feels the Stephen Drew and Wilmer Difo combo is the best they can do:
"“Well, I think with the other issues they have in their bullpen, I think they will have to keep every trade chip available to go get a closer.”"
He says unless they find someone cheap, they cannot afford to make a move. Kurkjian is impressed with Turner on both sides of the ball, calling him “dynamic.”
We then move on to the bullpen where he explains there are no easy answers and no top closers on the market. When asked where they go to find one he laughs and says, “Well, that’s a good question.”
He continues:
"“Maybe they go to Cincinnati and ask for closer Raisel Iglesias instead of shortstop Zach Cozart.”"
Kelvin Herrea and David Robertson come up in conversation but, as Kurkjian points out when asked about Tampa Bay’s Alex Colome, the American League is so tight that there are no sellers.
"“This is the problem in the American League right now. It’s so ordinary, that you have teams around .500 or slightly below who feel that they have a chance.”"
Kurkjian feels, they end up going with an eighth inning guy to convert into a closer as there is not one available. He mentions last winter and Mike Rizzo’s fruitless search to land one:
"“They worked so hard at getting one in the offseason. Kenley Jansen took less money to go back to the Dodgers. Mark Melancon took similar money to go with the Giants. Because the way the contract was structured, it made much more sense for Melancon to sign there. So, the Nationals have tried at this but, trying isn’t good enough. Not when you’ve been stung by bullpen issues in the postseason.”"
When asked if he felt the Lerner family would go over the competitive balance tax, he thinks they would not prefer to do it but understands what winning a World Series would do to the franchise.
Moving on to the All-Star Team, Kurkjian thinks Anthony Rendon will make Joe Maddon’s club but a limited roster space will keep Gio Gonzalez off the team. There is no shortage of excellent starting pitching in the National League.
We then move on to Ryan Zimmerman. Kurkjian not only talks about Zimmerman’s good health, but advice Dusty Baker gave about hitting at pitches in the strike zone.
That story, along with the whole interview, are here:
Regarding Bryce Harper, Kurkjian says it is too early to know for sure where he is headed. Kurkjian thinks if the Nats can win a World Series, Harper will give consideration to where he fits in the history of Washington baseball.
Asked how for the Nats can go this fall, Kurkjian wants to see first how they fix the pen. Winning the division is one thing, beating the Dodgers is another.
A huge thanks to ESPN and Kurkjian for their time. You can catch Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown at 6 ET, followed by The Esurance All-Star Selection Show at 7 then Sunday Night Baseball at 8 ET.