Jon Heyman, MLB insider at MLB Network, tweeted that the Washington Nationals have had talks with the Cincinnati Reds about trading for their third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Heyman reported that the “Nats talked to Reds about 3B Eugenio Suarez but Washington has made top RHP prospects Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli unavailable, making a deal pretty unlikely. Reds aren’t anxious to trade their top position player, though none of their players are off limits.”
Jon’s tweet got me thinking about the top two RHP prospects’ trade value, Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli. Does it even make sense to think about trading them for a proven MLB player such as third baseman Eugenio Suarez?
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While I do believe that the Nationals have to figure out what they need to do at the third baseman position, and maybe Carter Kieboom isn’t the answer at the hot corner, but making a trade for two pitching prospects that will have long term success wouldn’t make sense and here is my reasoning.
At first glance, trade for an excellent third baseman makes sense right now; hey, I have even made the argument that this is a position at need; however, after stepping back a bit, it might not make sense to go through with a trade. While GM Mike Rizzo has made the case that the Nationals are focused on now, I am glad that this is the case; however, with a pitching rotation getting a bit older, the Nationals must maintain prospects future pitching aces of the rotation.
Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli are the future of the Washington Nationals pitching rotation. The two pitching prospects should be off-limits in any trade talks, especially with Max Scherzer entering his last contracted year with the Nationals. I would like to see either prospect enter the Major Leagues this season to see at least one of them facing MLB level hitting, even during September call ups and for only a month. Getting these prospects valuable playing time could be useful for their development.
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In this episode Richard discusses the Washington Nationals and thier latest moves with Al Galdi from Team 980 right here in Washington D.C. During the conversation, Al wonders why the Washington Nationals haven’t been involved in talks to acquire free agent George Springer.
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Free Agents in 2022 Season
Another reason that the Washington Nationals should possibly wait for trade for another year is that two third basemen will be a bunch of the free-agent third baseman next year in Kris Bryant and others.
Additionally, if you wait one more year to see what you truly have with the current third baseman, Rizzo and Co will have more data to make an informed decision. Patience might be the key to this situation.