Nationals Rumors: Nats hold initial talks with DJ LeMahieu

There are more Washington Nationals rumors kicking around as we get deeper into free agency. DJ LeMahieu could be their latest target after initial talks.

Major League Baseball free agency is now nearly a month old and Nationals Rumors are everywhere. The latest has the Washington Nationals linked with second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

Jon Morosi on MLB.com reported that the Nats “have had at least preliminary talks” with the former Colorado Rockies player. Other teams Morosi mentioned included the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins.

LeMahieu is coming off an impressive spell in Colorado where he slashed .299/.352/.408 over his seven seasons there. He was even able to beat ou former National Daniel Murphy for the National League’s batting title in 2016, even though he sat out the last few games to do so.

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There are some concerns as to whether the former Rockie can maintain his production away from the hitter-friendly Coors Field though. Away from the friendly Coors, he has a pretty underwhelming slash line of just .264/.312/.365 which isn’t much better than Wilmer Difo‘s line of .250/.310/.358 in his career.

But regardless of his bat, his glove at second base is excellent as he’s been able to pick up three in his career, including the last two in 2017 and 2018. Unlike some other options the Nats may explore there, he should at least be able to stick at the position long-term and lock it down for years to come.

The move is a little bit peculiar after GM Mike Rizzo openly declared that he was happy with the team’s situation at the keystone. He told Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post that“we like our situation in the middle of the infield with Trea [Turner] and Howie and Difo and [Carter] Kieboom in the wings. We got [Luis] Garcia in the wings that we don’t feel is far away,” which doesn’t sound like a man actively searching for an upgrade there.

In the end, this is likely just due diligence from the Nats’ front office to see how much it will cost if they do decide to pursue help at second base. After all, LeMahieu wasn’t given a qualifying offer by the Rockies, so it won’t require forfeiting a draft pick to sign him to a deal as a free agent.

Whether they go further down the road with LeMaheiu will probably depend on the future of Bryce Harper. if they sign their homegrown superstar to a long-term contract then they likely won’t have the excess funds to try and improve the keystone in their team. But if Harper departs, it opens to door to multiple improvements across the board and LeMahieu could be one of those.

While there are some concerns over how much of an upgrade DJ LeMahieu would provide, it would continue the team’s aggressive start to the offseason. Keep an eye on District on Deck as we keep you on top of all the other Nationals Rumors throughout the winter.