UPDATE: According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, the idea is to put Dmitri in left field next year. Should be wild. This might put Ryan Church’s future in jeopardy; the Cubs have some interest.
According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Nationals are close to inking Dmitri Young to a two-year, $10MM contract extension. That’s right around what I thought he’d ask for, and I think it’s a bad idea for Washington.
While it’s true that Young wouldn’t fetch much in trade or draft picks, locking him up for his age 34-35 seasons just isn’t wise for this team. He’s having a career year, but can you really count on him for even an .800 OPS? Even if he can provide league average 1B production, why lock yourself into that?
Furthermore, Nick Johnson is already tied up at $5.5MM annually through 2009. He should be healthy next year; what then? Do you really want one of these guys lumbering around left field? Or a $5MM bench player?
The justification for this deal is going to be the intangibles Young brings, and I can’t speak to that. But from where I’m sitting it does not make sense.
