Nationals fans are accustomed to seeing their team at the bottom of the NL East standings, but a lot has changed since last summer. A year ago, the Nationals were 21-46, their manager was on the hot seat and they had yet to sign Stephen Strasburg. Now, they're still in last place, but the mood is different in D.C. and the 31-36 Nationals aren't about to spoil it by trading their most proven outfielders.
Josh Willingham and Nyjer Morgan do not appear to be available, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Nationals have turned down multiple chances to deal Willingham in the last 15 months and have no intention of moving him, Morosi reports.
The Giants are looking for outfield help, but it doesn't appear that the Nationals will be willing to deal. Morosi mentions one intriguing outfielder clubs could target: Mitch Maier (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has played center field for the Royals and has a .265/.349/.373 line. Those numbers suggest Maier could be useful, though he'd likely be a depth option for a contender.
if the giants are looking for outfield help maybe they shouldn’t have given fred lewis away for 75K
They wanted Fred Lewis to be the LF and gave him every chance. He never stepped up.
Fred Lewis will turn back into a pumpkin soon enough, don’t worry. As far as the Giants outfield goes, Burrell, Torres and Huff are all producing quite nicely as is, so I don’t think they’ll be making any moves anytime soon.
they are playing good. but what about going into the second half of the season. even though they’re playing really good, i think they still need to pick up another player. i think they should let molina go in a trade for a 1st baseman. they can move posey behind the plate full time.
If Posey moves behind the plate full time, the Huff would move back to 1B, and THEN they would need an outfielder.
I doubt there’s much of a market for Molina and I am certain no one is going to give up a useful first baseman in trade for him. The player they should be looking to trade is Renteria, even if they have to eat all of his salary.
Why would the Royals even consider that? Maier is young and cheap. He also still has upside. He’s no world beater, but he’s better than Podsednik, Ankiel, or Guillen in the outfield. He’s younger and cheaper. And really, what would be the return for a guy like Maier? Nothing. So why throw away one of your non-negatives.
I don’t know why the Giants need any position player. They have too many people. The current combination of Burrell, Huff and Torres is pretty good. The infield is also jammed. Now that Renteria is coming back, it’s just going to take time away from Sanchez, Uribe, Panda, Posey, and hopefully Molina. Ideally, Molina would ride the bench and Posey would move behind the plate. Then you move Panda to 1st, Uribe to 3rd, and Renteria to SS. Then our lineup is pretty solid.
C- Posey
1b- Panda
2b- Sanchez
3b- Uribe
SS- Renteria
RF- Huff
CF- Torres
LF- Burrell
Just make sure Renteria is in the 8th spot, and that looks pretty good to me.
Austin Kearns would be a good fit for the Giants. What are some prospects they’re willing to trade?
Not at all an upgrade over what they have now. Josh Willingham type is what they need.
No way they trade Maier. Hes playing solid D and is respectable at the plate this year. I could see the royals trading Pods right now while hes hot tho.