Ever since the Washington Nationals agreed to a seven-year, $210 million deal with Max Scherzer, it was speculated the team was going to trade others in the starting rotation. The same thing occurred regarding their shortstop when they acquired infielder Yunel Escobar from the Oakland Athletics earlier in the month.
Sure, it's only been a couple days since Scherzer joined the Nats, but the rumors have been swirling ever since there was speculation of contract talks on Sunday night. Because Scherzer is joining an already stacked rotation that consists of Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark, many originally believed the team would look to trade Zimmermann and/or Fister because they'll be free agents after the 2015 season.
Somehow Strasburg was thrown into the mix when a report surfaced about how the two sides believed it was time to move on. Strasburg was said to be a fallback option for a trade possibility if the team was unable to deal Zimmermann, but then it was said Washington plans to keep everyone and go all-in for 2015 with a super rotation. Since initial reports came out about the team trading/keeping Zimmermann, Strasburg and/or Fister, there hasn't been much clarity on the issue.
The same goes for shortstop Ian Desmond. General manager Mike Rizzo traded reliever Tyler Clippard to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for shortstop/second baseman Yunel Escobar a couple of weeks ago. Rizzo said the addition was for "protection" and "depth in the infield beyond 2015." Desmond is scheduled to hit free agency after this season and will earn $11 million in 2015. He turned down a lucrative extension last offseason that was said to be for six years and between $80 million - $90 million because it's believed he'll be able to land a $150 million deal in free agency.
Additionally, the team tried to trade him twice this offseason as they were in discussions with the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets. The talks with the Mariners stalled and the trade with the Mets fell through because New York didn't want to give up top prospects in such a deal. Earlier this week, a baseball executive said the Nationals were contacted about Desmond's availability and Rizzo said the team was not planning on trading him despite all the rumors.
But it seems as if things were cleared up today at Scherzer's introductory news conference. According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, Rizzo said the Nationals are "willing to trade Desmond or Zimmermann if it makes baseball sense," which was a widely believed notion throughout the offseason. This pretty much means the Nats would be willing to part with either of these players if they received a generous prospect package in return, because that's what many believe will take to land either of these stars.
Nonetheless, at least there's some clarity regarding Zimmermann and Desmond. We'll have to wait and see if anything is said or done with Strasburg and Fister.
