Jim Bowden, of The Athletic, posted a “holiday matchmaking for remaining top free agents” piece, and paired reliever Blake Treinan with the Washington Nationals.
With the acquisition of Josh Bell, the Washington Nationals 2021 lineup comes a little more into focus. There are still questions out there. Will they sign a big bat at a corner outfield position? Who will they sign to pitch at the back of the rotation? Will they give Yadier Molina the money he wants? Are the Nationals done making trades? Will Carter Kieboom be traded or trusted at third base? One question they are not asking themselves is, should we bring back Blake Treinan for a reunion tour?
Jim Bowden, of The Athletic ($), has paired up the remaining top free agents with whom he thinks their best suitor is. The only player he had going to the Nationals was Blake Treinan.
"In July 2017, the Nationals traded him along with Jesús Luzardo and Sheldon Neuse to the Oakland Athletics for relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madsen. Three and a half years later, a return to the Nationals bullpen makes sense for both parties."
Does this move make sense for the Nationals? I do not believe so. When MLB Trade Rumors profiled their top 50 free agents earlier in the offseason, they predicted Treinan would sign for 2 YRS/$14M. Bowden also put out a similar piece and had Treinan getting a two year deal at $12M.
With Will Harris and Daniel Hudson both making at least $6M this year, are the Nats going to throw a third guy into the mix at that salary figure? The Nationals have signed Sam Clay to a major league deal, have Wander Suero, Kyle Finnegan, Tanner Rainey, Austin Voth, and Erick Fedde waiting in the wings as well, while making peanuts. I just don’t think the Nationals are interested in spending money to add to the bullpen.
They will do their due diligence on several arms, as they should. If Treinan were to come cheaper than the aforementioned contracts, yeah, he might be a fit. Other than that, general manager Mike Rizzo is going to bring in a lot of Javy Guerra types (including Javy Guerra) on minor league contracts and have them battle it out for the final spots in the bullpen.
At this point, money is not going to be allocated to the bullpen. A corner outfielder and starting pitcher are going to get the contracts here. Sorry Jim Bowden, I disagree with your assessment on Blake Treinan and the Washington Nationals being a good fit.