Decision Time On Dmitri Young

The time has come for the Nationals to decide whether to trade their All-Star first baseman, Dmitri Young.  He's arguably their best player this year, but he's a free agent after the season and might yield a solid prospect.

Phil Wood would like to retain Young, and even sign him to a multiyear free agent contract.  He extols Young's virtues as a "personable, productive, and solid candidate for comeback-player-of-the-year honors." 

Young's 180 in public perception comes as quite a surprise to me.  In April of '06 he choked a 21 year-old woman and faced a domestic violence charge.  An arrest warrant was issued in June when he failed to show up for court.  He later pleaded no contest to the charge.  Young's had other problems as well, and I wouldn't criticize those.  I'm glad he's recovered.  But he still did something disgusting, far worse than anything Alex Rodriguez has ever done.  Leave him alone, let him play baseball, give him a second chance, sure.  But let's not give the man a medal.  Save the adoration for an actual role model.  I know you may not agree, but I had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, Mark Zuckerman and Rick Snider think trading Young is a no-brainer.  The alternative would be letting him leave via free agency and taking the draft pick.  I talked to ESPN's Keith Law to learn exactly what kind of pick the Nats should expect for Young:

"I'd say there's a decent chance he's a no-compensation guy, probably an equal chance he's a B (one sandwich pick), and a slight chance he's an A (one sandwich pick plus a pick from the signing team)."

Over the 2006-07 seasons, Young really hasn't amassed the kind of stats that vault a player up in the Elias rankings.  The Nats wouldn't get much if any compensation for him.  As far as published reports, only the Braves have shown interest so far.

   

Comments

[Chipper]

Who said we had to platoon? Salty's a switch hitter. Besides, why give something up for a guy, who may be doing well this season, but would be a bad club house guy?

[achilles17]

Well I think the entire point is that this year he hasn't been a bad clubhouse guy.

[spieldogg]

Young could be a valuable asset for a team in the playoff hunt. A hot switch hitter who can be used as a platoon 1b/ph/dh type. Could even play the outfield for a desperate team. Someone will anty up a respectable young player for him, in which the Nats should jump on it. Washington is still a few years away from being a factor so unless they feel Young is good for mentoring rookie players(which I doubt) then they should cash in while they can.

[Yars]

Atlanta would be the perfect place for Young. They are in desperate need of a 1B. Even if Young were to be in a platoon role with the Braves at 1B with Salty, he's definitely an upgrade over Scott Thorman. Plus, when he's not starting, he would be good to use as a pinch hitter because the Braves have an awful bench.

[Chipper]

We're not that desperate for a 1B. Like I said, we don't need the platoon and Salty is more than capable of taking over first base. The only reason I see the Braves making this move, is so they can send Salty down to work at first and Dmitri Young could take over while Thorman sits on the Bench.

[was385]

Problem is, Salty hasn't been able to hit righties well this year and even with that, this would help the bench by putting a power threat there with Salty and Dimitri like the Ward acquisition last year.

This would be the first time I would have ever seen a platoon of two switch-hitters though.

[Chipper]

That's why I said if we did do this, send Salty down to hit righties and get more practice at 1B.

[was385]

but then we weaken the team.

[Chipper]

The point is Salty needs more practice at first.

[was385]

Salty is going through trial by fire at first and doing pretty well. His defense would be on par with Young's and he is getting better and better at first. This isn't like going back to make a Kelly Johnson switch from LF to 2B. Salty is just moving to first after having taken groundballs and infield there for quite some time.

[worldcupfever]

The Cubs are currently platooning switchhitters at catcher. Not that it's producing, but.

[Chipper]

Then why trade for Dmitri, was385? Bat off the Bench is all I figure.

[HAMELS35]

Thorman is good at 1B for now. Moving Salty there for a couple games here and there would be good too. He just needs to get more experience playing there.

[was385]

no, we get production at first against righties and every day there is a power bat off the bench.

[Chipper]

Good point. Know what his salary is like?

[Chipper]

Wow! I found it. He's only being paid $500,000 this year. I'd do it.

[thecubsdontcatchtheball]

Problem is, the way Bowden trades, Young may not even be dealt. All reports say the asking price is too high.

While all of us seem to agree that Young could net a decent prospect in return, Bowden is going to ask for a lot more than one solid prospect.

I have a question though, who decides what type a free agent is? In 2006, the Cubs didnt have a 2-4 draft choice because of their signings in the offseason (Eyre and Howry)

[RotoAuthority]

Elias Sports Bureau decides free agent type based on a two year window looking at counting stats (HRs, RBIs, etc.)

[darkstar1661]

“Young's 180 in public perception comes as quite a surprise to me. In April of '06 he choked a 21 year-old woman and faced a domestic violence charge...”

HAHAHA…

I think its more that specific organization and their spin, they did the same “we love him, we want to keep him, we wont trade him unless we are offered 4X his value” thing with Soriano last year…

[RotoAuthority]

Well...in that case all the beat writers have bought it hook, line, and sinker. Actually I heard Dave Otto on Cubs radio lavishing Dmitri with character-related praise too.

[Aduncaroo]

I think they just keep remembering that commercial where he was showing kids how to jump the wall to make a catch....when exactly has he ever done that anyway?

[braves#1]

Well if the Braves trade for Young, then Bowden will have to lower his demand from wanting BOTH Escobar AND Salty. I say Prado would be More than Fair for Young.

[braves#1]

We dont need Young though, mainly because Thorman is out of options, and we dont need to send Salty back down to the minors, keep him up.

What we really need is Scott Downs from Toronto. He is a Good Lefty reliever. And if we add a starter, maybe a guy like Odalis Perez. He is a Former Brave and I know he has a high ERA, but I think coming back here he would do very good. Get the Royals to pay off most of his contract and trade Larew and Prado for him would be good. We really dont need Young.

[Chipper]

Yeah, we kinda do need Young. Our bench is horrible and we would end up with him at first and Salty as the back up. Second, I wouldn't trade for Odalis. I would trade Yunel and someone else to get Noah Lowry if the Giants decide to sell.

[bluesilv]

I know people that are good friends with Dimitri and have hung out with the guy. He is friendly as hell and probably one of the nicest ball players you'd meet. From what I heard he was fooling around with an old girlfriend while on the DL. She claimed he roughed her up to cash in on some $$$. He pleaded no contest because if he was found guilty the verdict could be used against him in a civil matter. These guys pay a big price for being successful. She's out for the $$$. Overall he's a good guy and I think most people in baseball (outside of Detroit) would tell you that.

[braves#1]

Chipper,

What do you do with Thorman. He is out of options, so you cant send him down. The only thing to do is trade Thorman, and basically get nothing in return, because his value is way down. I sure as hell would not trade Thorman for Young.

[Chipper]

Didn't say that. You trade Lerew for Young and your bench looks like this:
Yunel
Salty
Thorman
Harris/Diaz
Pete Orr/Infielder

[elars]

I would be more apt to read through your page if it wasn't so hard to read. It is easier for people to read black print on a white background. I know that this may seem like altering your entire site, but I was talking with a bunch of guys who are avid baseball fanatics and they said the same thing. You have a great site but it just does a doozie on my eyes. I hope you take this comment seriously. Thanks.

[Chipper]

Don't worry elars. I said the same thing in a survey. It kills my eyes and I often have to strain them. Ben Stein: "For Clear Dry eyes"... Change the Background please!!!!!

[darkstar1661]

"Well...in that case all the beat writers have bought it hook, line, and sinker. Actually I heard Dave Otto on Cubs radio lavishing Dmitri with character-related praise too"

... HAHAHA, dont know what to tell you then...

Although I do agree he is probably a nice guy most of the time (he does seem to have that "what the heck is he smiling about" look to him so often), I have heard as much bad as good about him as far as things he's done ~ and when youre not really a superstar but you are having random negative written about you often enough for people on another coast to catch it, you know it must be pretty bad (see Hillenbrand).

Maybe its just people who have met him without having a clash that are signing his praises to make up for some of the perception out there? Ahh, who really cares anyway, it’s a chance I wouldn’t take ~ for both the on and off the field possibilities…

[baseballfiles]

After last night's clutch hit, there's no better time for Bowden to find a suitor for Young. But please Jim, don't ask for the moon!

Dmitri's current success is undeniable, but I'm uncertain that he'll maintain this streak beyond this season--in fact, we may see a decline in the second half. He's a valuable bench player, and having a good bench is a key to getting to (and through) the post season.

Despite the nature of Dmitri's troubled past, I definitely see him as a strong candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, as I wrote here a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.baseballfiles.com/trade-rumors/nationals-young-leads-the-pack-for-comeback-player-of-the-year/