Washington Nationals: Recapping the FanSided GM Simulation

Grading the moves that were made

With the fake Washington Nationals team now complete, it’s time to analyze what happened and give out grades for each transaction individually. Sadly, each of these moves doesn’t get an A+ as there are some occasions that we had to settle a little bit.

Ian Happ Trade, B-

Trading for Ian Happ was the first move we made, despite several other attempts to get in on the trade action earlier. This move only gets a B- grade because second base was such a low priority need and the fact we did have to give up Seth Romero and Israel Pineda to acquire the slugger. Those are two prospects with high upside value, but Happ’s upside was worth the risk in this instance.

Zack Britton Signing, A-

I was a huge fan of this signing in the end, despite the fact that he wasn’t the first choice for a left-handed reliever. We wanted Andrew Miller to be the final lefty in our bullpen, but we wound up with Zach Britton who is younger and a longer deal, so he could, in theory, take over as closer if Sean Doolittle left at the end of his contract. A very good signing.

Anthony Rendon Extension, A+

Given that we lost Bryce Harper, the Anthony Rendon became the top priority. To sign him for the very fair price of $25 million a year for the next six years deserves top marks and means that we don’t lose two stars in one go.

Dallas Keuchel Signing, B+

While signing Dallas Keuchel filled arguably our biggest need in finding a number three starter, the cost it came at gives the grade a knock. $22 million per year is a little steep, when we were hoping to get him for a bit less, but when Patrick Corbin went for $30 million per season, we were fine coughing up for Keuchel.

Michael Taylor and Tanner Roark Trade, A+

Of all the moves that were made during the simulation, this is probably the best of all of them, even though it was selling two players. Michael Taylor wasn’t playing the role of anything more than a fourth outfielder, and we were able to upgrade on Tanner Roark, so it was a glorified salary dump. Picking up four good prospects in this deal was a huge win.

Lance Lynn Signing, B-

Speaking of our Roark upgrade, that ended up being Lance Lynn. Admittedly, it’s not a huge upgrade, as we preferred the likes of Robbie Ray or Sonny Gray as the upgrade. However, we did get him for $3 million less, and for an extra year.

Logan Morrison Signing, C+

A bit like Lynn, we were hopeful of getting a better backup first baseman, but that doesn’t mean that we did badly here. Logan Morrison will be a solid option off the bench and be a solid fill-in for Ryan Zimmerman if needed, but don’t expect an Adam Lind or a Matt Adams level production.

Matt Wieters Signing, D

As will be constantly reinforced throughout this piece, not upgrading at catcher will be the biggest regret of this whole simulation. Matt Wieters was solid at the end of the year in 2018, which spares this from being an F, but it’s still not a high grade because we should’ve done better.

Jonathan Schoop Trade, A-

After a few sub-par signings, we get back to the positives with our trade for Jonathan Schoop. Given that we only gave up a mid-tier prospect in Nick Raquet and managed to have the Milwaukee Brewers eat some salary too, it’s a fantastic deal and gives us a lot of flexibility.