Quote:
Originally Posted by jenroypa
There are those that would argue Ed Wade is the biggest problem in Houston, although they love him now on WIP. 
Lee is using the Nats to get the 7th yr he wants from Texas or NY. Texteira did the same last yr. So they have to overpay. In this case it was length of service as the Phils supposedly offered just as much per yr for shorter period. Did I think it was a great signing- no. But lets look at it this way. Nats have what they believe are their top 3 rotation guys in Strassburg, J. Zimmerman and Storen. Zimmerman is 2nd yr of TJ surgery, Strassberg will be another yr. Their defense was one of the worst. LaRoche and Werth give them huge boosts defensively- which will lead to less unearned runs, lower pitch counts, and more importantly allow this young staff to have the confidence that they dont have to throw the perfect pitch, that the defense will make the play behind them.
This move is about preparing this team for 3 yrs when the Phils run ends. And if they are really throwing the $$ that everyone is reporting at Lee, then Lerner doesnt seem to be cash strapped at this time. |
The problem is that three years from now Werth and Lee will be 35 going on 36 and slowing down.
Washington has virtually no staff to speak of. They have Zimmerman who should (needs to be) better, Hernandez who is a longshot to repeat his year, Lannan who has a 75 mph fastball and no one else who threw 90 innings.
Offensively they are offensive. The starting SS and CF barely break .300 in OBP with little power. The get zero from 2nd base. La Roche is one of the lower ranked 1st baseman offensively. Who knows what they will get from left field. Flores and Ramos may be able to provide some hitting from behind the plate but are still question marks. They have nothing off the bench to even platoon.
Lee and Werth are fine as pieces of a rich contender. Washington is neither though suddenly are trying to spend like drunk sailors.
Of course it is hard to sign guys when you arent a contender but they should be targeting cheaper options or guys still in their 20's. Try to put something together for Zack Grienke. Make a huge play with the Lee money for Felix Hernandez next season. Sign a few stop gap vets to 1 or 2 year deals like Derrick Lee or Pena and flip them at the deadline if they are producing.