We continued our FanSided GM Simulation by addressing the Washington Nationals gaping rotation need with the huge addition of Dallas Keuchel.
In the FanSided General Manager Simulation that we’re taking part in, we had to find a way to address the Washington Nationals rotation. After Bryce Harper departed, we could afford to pursue the big free agent starters and wound up with Dallas Keuchel.
Once again, we must emphasize that this is not a real signing and is part of our simulation with other Site Expert from around the FanSided MLB community. But this is a signing that seems to make a lot of sense for both sides, and could easily become reality.
Initially, we had hoped for the former Arizona Diamondbacks ace Patrick Corbin, who seems like a safer bet than Keuchel. He had the advantage in strikeouts and batting average against over Keuchel, so he was our top target.
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However, the Philadelphia Phillies were determined to splurge in this sim and took him home for $150 million over five years. $30 million per season was out of our price range. That made Dallas Keuchel virtually a must-have in our fake free agency.
While the left-hander won the American League Cy Young award in 2015, he’s had mixed results in the three seasons since then. His 2016 was a near-disaster as he went 9-12 with a 4.55 ERA, though his 3.87 FIP painted an unlucky picture.
He rebounded in 2017 with a 2.90 ERA and 14-5 record, while going 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 2018, setting up for an interesting free agent case. It would be risky for a team to pay him to be their ace, so thankfully for the Nationals, they only need to pay him to be their third starter.
In the mock bidding, the main competition was from the New York Yankees, who were reeling after missing out on Corbin. The Yankees opening bid was five years and $90 million which we promptly trumped with a five year $100 million offer. We hoped that would get it done.
However, after the Yankees came back with one final push at $105 million, we settled on five years and $110 million. That equates to $22 million annual average, which was an amount that we feel comfortable enough with, giving the fake Nats a fearsome front three starting pitching combination with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.
Keep an eye out on District on Deck as Blake Finney tries to craft his Washington Nationals roster in the fake GM Simulation along with the rest of the MLB FanSided sites.