Originally Posted by
JBDuke
As one of the resident Nats fans, I like the trade. Meyer was a good prospect - tall, strong, big arm - very good fastball, a couple of other decent pitches - but probably two years away from contributing at the Major League level. I think he projects as anything from a #2/#3 starter to a bullpen asset. But getting a top notch leadoff man/defensive center fielder with a WAR potential of 2-4 right now and who is also on a nice contract for 2-3 years and puts a lefty at the top of the order seems like a smart move by Rizzo. Plus, the Nats have several other pitching prospects that look just as promising as Meyer and are on about the same timeline, if not ahead of it.
I wasn't sold on either Upton or Bourn, and I wasn't thrilled about having to shell out a huge contract for either. Span seems to exactly fit the Nats' needs, and he's apparently a high character guy and a great teammate as well. The Nats have a couple of years of Span now to determine if Perez and/or Goodwin are going to grow up into a starting CF. If not, and if Span produces like I expect he will, they have the option of resigning him in a couple of years.
I agree this probably means LaRoche is gone. I was prepared for this anyway, as I hear Boston and/or Texas are pretty interested, and they're going to throw more money at Adam than the Nats want to or should, IMO. LaRoche was great for the Nats this year, and I will miss his defense and his steady left-handed power bat, but with Morse able to produce similar power numbers, play adequate 1B defense, and under club control for another year, I don't see LaRoche in our future.