Nationals Won't Spend Money On Starters

Andruw Jones seems the least likely choice, but his addition would make them dangerous, and add some needed defense in the outfield. Kearns, Pena, and Church could platoon the corners.

Though it wouldn't be the greatest move defensively, the Nats could sign Sammy Sosa for peanuts. He could be a Tony Clark-type bench player, teaching young Nationals' talent how to effectively strikeout.

The Nationals need to establish an identity. Have that one player, that when mentioned, immediately makes the hearer think of the club. They need to make a big splash.

Dunn carries a big stick but his defense and inability to knock in runners makes it hard to sell him as the face of the franchise.

Jones is another option but he will come only on a one year deal OR you will have to pay crazy money to lock him into a 5 year plan.

I do think Bonds is a very interesting option. While he may not make the team better in an appropriate ratio for what you would have to pay, he makes up for that in other ways. If you could get Barry to commit to 2 years and promise him 120 games max fans would come out to see him. He adds immediate power and on-base credibility. Bonds will continue to be in the limelight, which will draw more and more attention to the Nats.

You would need to look at the deal in two different ways. One, you improve the club. Two, it becomes a PR move to drive more attention to the team.

I think that you can count Rowand out. He's been quoted as saying he doesn't want to play for a fourth or fifth place team. The Nats would probably be in fourth of fifth place for the duration of his contract.

And as for someone like Andruw Jones...I don't think he'd be much better than Dunn, aside from defense. If his average continued to suck, he'd have 30 homers and not that many RBI, because really...who is he going to drive in on the Nationals?

no funny hats, didnt we read a few weeks ago on this site that Rowand was intrigued about possibly playing for the Nats? Also, "And as for someone like Andruw Jones...I don't think he'd be much better than Dunn, aside from defense"

Great defense is an awesome thing to have in centerfield. Andruw is as good as it gets in center and would make the jobs of crummy outfielders like Pena and Kearns a lot easier. Andruw batting behing Zimmerman would be a huge help for zimmerman, which would in turn be a huge boost for Lopez, or whoever bats 2nd next year. There is a ripple effect in these situations. Zimmerman is struggling because he has nobody protecting him. The guys in front of Zimmerman are struggling because Zimmerman isnt a threat. A guy like Andruw could change all that.

And here is the link for that post about Rowand.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/08/rowand-linked-t.html

I think some team is going to give Bradley a big deal if he stays healthy for the rest of the year. He hasnt really gotten into trouble lately ( I think this is the good team thing. When a "troublemaker" plays for a bad team, the bad things seem to come out more. On good teams, either A)these things get kept internal, B) its not as big of a story because the team is winning, or C) the player doesnt have all that frustration built up for playing on a bad team. Bradley has also shown that he is a big time playoff performer, and that he is capable of carrying a team when he gets hot. Besides, wouldnt all of you be angry and frustrated if your name was Milton Bradley?

Even if the Nats sign A-rod there still gunna come in last place so it reely doesnt matter who they sign

I completely forgot about that Rowand post, but remembered it when reading it. While it offers validity, I personally am not buying Rowand to the Nationals.

I didn't intend to undermine Jones' value by saying "aside from his defense", and I know that it's great to have. I also didn't consider a ripple effect, and to watch something like that would be very interesting.