Even after the addition of Anibal Sanchez, Washington Nationals rumors are likely to connect them with starting pitchers such as Marcus Stroman.
The Washington Nationals have been particularly active during this offseason in an attempt to fill all their needs. There could be Nationals rumors connecting them to more starting pitching like Marcus Stroman this offseason.
Jon Morosi of MLB.com has recently connected the Toronto Blue Jays starter with the San Diego Padres in a trade. But if the Nationals are wise, they should be looking to see whether a trade for the right-hander would be realistic.
Stroman is coming off of a poor season in which he went 4-9 with a 5.54 ERA for the Blue Jays in 2018. However, there are plenty of reasons to believe that he can bounce back and be a very good starter moving forward.
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For starters, his FIP remained pretty consistent with his career averaged, as in 2018 he posted a 3.91 figure compared to his career level of 3.62. His walks were up a little and strikeouts were down from his great 2017 season, but that can likely be put down to his multiple injuries last season.
Marcus Stroman is certainly worth betting on to return to his previous form, which includes an eighth-place finish in the AL Cy Young voting in 2018. While he shouldn’t be counted on to be an ace of the staff type pitcher, he fits in perfectly as the fourth starter in a rotation that gives his team a chance to win almost every single start.
Even though the Nationals are set to sign Anibal Sanchez in the coming days, the team could certainly do with another reliable arm in the rotation. Joe Ross is set to open the year as the fourth or fifth starter, which is fine, but given the fact he’s coming off of a year where he returned from Tommy John Surgery, the Nats could certainly do with another arm to ensure they don’t push Ross too much.
Stroman is projected to make $7.2 million in arbitration for the 2019 season according to MLBTradeRumors, according to MLBTradeRumors. While that’s over $6 million more than Ross, it would certainly be worth the security that the veteran provides to the team to round out the rotation.
In terms of a trade package, he may cost more than you may expect given that the right-hander still has two seasons of control remaining. Perhaps a package of a big league ready starter such as Erick Fedde as well as Raudy Read and Luis Reyes could be enough for the Nationals to secure Stroman in a trade as a nice balance of talent towards the upper ends of the system.
With the Washington Nationals still looking out for some starting pitching, Marcus Stroman would be an excellent fit. If the price is right, Mike Rizzo should certainly be tempted to pull the trigger on a potential trade.