Washington Nationals: Replacing Adam Lind a tall task

After the Washington Nationals turned down Adam Lind’s second year option, who might they sign this offseason to fill his vacated role?

The Washington Nationals had arguably the best bench bat in the league in Adam Lind in 2017, but he is now a free agent.

People are rarely sad and scared about losing a bench player, but that is the case with Lind, a man Nats fans barely knew of a year ago. While they had, of course, heard his name in passing, he had never played in any proximity to the NL East.

Nine years in Toronto, one in Milwaukee, and one in Seattle. He was, to Nats fans, essentially an afterthought signing. But, fans are not in Rizzo’s shoes for a reason. Rizzo saw as, FP Santangelo says, “a pure hitter”.

The Lind signing provided the Nationals two things, first a proven backup to Ryan Zimmerman and, second a consistent bat off the bench. Luckily Zimmerman put together his best season in years and, due to a number of outfield injuries, Lind was able to make spot starts elsewhere.

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When it was all said and done Lind provided the Nationals with piece of mind and a .303/.362/.513 slash line. The Nationals then chose to not pick up his option.

Without Lind there is no longer protection behind Zimmerman. Yes, we’d all like to think that he doesn’t need it but, Zimmerman is 33. He’s not guaranteed to stay healthy and, even if he does, it’s not guaranteed he’ll be able to reproduce last year’s numbers.

There is always a chance that Lind re-signs, but there’s a higher possibility he answers his true calling and finds a place in the AL alternating between DH and spot starts. Essentially, the Nationals need to take stock of the free agent market for first basement. A trade seems unlikely, as they will probably have to burn more prospects to shore up the rotation.

So, who’s out there? Well, the big name is Eric Hosmer and the Nationals aren’t getting him. They don’t need someone of his caliber and, even if they did, they don’t have the salary available. Carlos Santana and Logan Morrison will likely also look for a starting jobs, eliminating them from any consideration. For me, aside from the hope I’m still holding out for Adam Lind’s return, there are two top candidates, Mark Reynolds and Mitch Moreland.

Both are guys with upsides, who, at their age may be willing to sign a contract similar to the one Lind signed in nature. According to Baseball Reference, in the 2018 season, Moreland is projected to hit .247/.317/.440. Reynolds, on the other hand, is projected to hit .258/.338/.451. Those are very similar projected slash lines, with Reynolds coming out slightly ahead.

Both come from teams that contended this year, Moreland from Boston and Reynolds from Colorado and, their former teams may try and re-sign them. However, both teams have in house options.

The Red Sox have Hanley Ramirez and Brock Holt, and the Rockies have the versatile former National Ian Desmond, as well as 25 year old Pat Valaika. The Red Sox seem more likely to try and keep Moreland, as he’s more reliable in the field than Ramirez and better at the plate than Holt, while the Rockies could afford to let the 34 year old Reynolds go, in favor of younger talent.

Simply put, Mark Reynolds is likely the best option on the free agent market, aside from any men with bleach blonde hair. He’s seemingly still able to produce, 2017 being one of his best years, and, at 34, will likely be looking for a one to two year deal.

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Either way, after the year he put up, it’s a crime the Nationals didn’t pick up Lind’s option. Sometimes it seems the team’s biggest obstacle is itself.

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