While the Washington Nationals had a weekend filled with drama as the team's losing streak extended to 8 games, capped off by a sweep at the hand of the Miami Marlins, it was the Boston Red Sox who stole the show this weekend. On Sunday afternoon, following Boston's sweep of the arch rival New York Yankees, the team sent star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a package that included lefty pitcher Kyle Harrison, among others.
Although it has been reported that the Red Sox did not shop Devers around the league, what if they had? It appears that the reason the return was so light is because the Giants are taking on the remainder of the contract, which still has over $250M remaining on it. The relationship between the Red Sox and Devers had soured over the last few months, and the team chose to ship him out west.
So what if they had called the Washington Nationals? While it's tough to say the Nationals would have been willing to pay the remainder of Devers' contract, it's pretty difficult to say that the team couldn't have beaten the package that they received from the Giants.
If we are looking at the framework that the Red Sox were coveting a young pitcher with upside, perhaps the Nationals could have included one of their top prospects in Jarlin Susana, who is currently injured, but is ranked as a Top 100 prospect in the sport and has arguably the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the minor leagues.
We can assume that top prospect Travis Sykora would be deemed untouchable by the Nationals, so perhaps they would be willing to part with Susana in a potential deal. If they wanted a big league caliber pitcher instead, the Nationals could have easily parted with a guy like Jake Irvin or Mitchell Parker, although their underlying numbers and overall stuff are not nearly as promising as the ones of Harrison.
By continuing to follow the framework of the deal, the Red Sox deal, the Nationals could have included a top hitting prospect such as Seaver King, the team's 1st round selection last year, or Luke Dickerson, the team's 2nd-rounder from last season who has looked great recently as he gets his big league career underway. Both of these players have the upside to be Top 100 prospects in the future, similar to what they received in outfielder James Tibbs, who went just a few picks after King did last season. If Devers would have been open to playing third base, perhaps the Nationals would have even sent top hitting prospect Brady House, who could have been deemed expendable.
The Nationals could have also included a young flamethrower similar to what the Red Sox received in Jordan Hicks from the Giants in the form of lefty Jose A. Ferrer, who might have been coveted by the Red Sox as they continue to look for pitching help. Additionally, as the Giants dealt away pitching prospect Jose Bello, who is in rookie ball, the Nationals could have also included an unproven pitching prospect like Jake Bennett, or even a guy closer to the big leagues like Tyler Stuart.
Red Sox receive: INF Brady House (MLB #91/WSH #3), LHP Jose A. Ferrer, LHP Jake Bennett (WSH #17), RHP Tyler Stuart (WSH #14)
- or -
Red Sox receive: RHP Jarlin Susana (WSH #2), LHP Jose A. Ferrer, INF Seaver King (WSH #4) , RHP Tyler Stuart (WSH #17)
Nationals receive: 3B/DH Rafael Devers
Overall, I believe the Nationals would have had multiple options to beat the package of the Giants, and could have brought Devers to DC. Obviously, there would have been a lot of hurdles to jump over in order to make it happen, as again, it doesn't seem as if the rest of the league anticipated Devers being available. The Nationals definitely have the farm system available to make the potential trade happen, and it would've been interesting to see what could have happened if it had been known he could be had by other teams.
Do you think the Nationals could have landed Rafael Devers? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.