Lind to Nationals

[Eye Black]

I am pulling the below comments out of the "Lind to Pirates" trade thread because the idea of the Nationals as a potential trade partner seems to merit its own discussion.

 

Jonah Keri of Grantland suggests Lind could be a good fit for the Nationals.

 

I have no Idea what their farm system looks like ... thoughts?

 

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/mlb-the-30-as-nationals-rays-pirates-disabled-list/?utm_content=buffera1a31&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

The mention of Lind is about halfway down the article. Keri suggests the Nats could resell Lind this winter if necessary.

2 lower rated guys with potential I would target are Drew Ward (3B for now, will be a 1B down the road). Potential 25HR guy and at a position we will likely need some help down the line. He profiles a lot like Denson. Also Jefry Rodriguez. Big projectable right handed pitcher. They both have a high bust probability but also have high ceilings. I would hope those are the types we are targeting.

I do think Adam Lind (plus maybe a bullpen piece) would make sense as a target for the Nationals. My concern with them as a trade partner is they seem to have a lot of prospects with red flags. Their top tier of prospects (Lucas Giolito, Trea Turner, Reynaldo Lopez, Erick Fedde) have huge upsides, but I am not sure if the Nationals would realistically move one of them for Lind. Fedde just recently returned from TJ surgery, and he might be the guy in that top tier they would be most willing to deal.

 

A guy I could see the Brewers possibly asking the Nationals for is "veteran prospect" A.J. Cole. Cole seems to be in that category where a slight amount of his top prospect shine has worn off, but he is still young and talented enough to maintain plenty of attractiveness as a trade chip. Another young Nats arm is Joe Ross, but he seems destined for a permanent spot back in their rotation at some point in the future.

 

If the Nationals aren't willing to entertain the idea of moving any of the players listed above, it starts to get harder to find a good match. Wilmer Difo is a middle infielder which isn't a position of need for the Brewers and just based on his stats I would be concerned that his success last season at age 22 in A ball was aided by being slightly old for the level and a statistical outlier from his previous production.

 

Curious what others think, what could Lind reasonably bring back from the Nationals?

[LouisEly]

The problem with Lind to the Nats is that they have Zimmerman signed for five more years and $73M and they can't use Lind as a DH. They would have to move him (or Zimmerman, but good luck with that) again in the offseason and other teams would have the leverage knowing that the Nats would have to move him because they would have no room for him. That decreases his value to the Nats, and with the Mets fading it may not be an urgent need. Espinosa provides an adequate bat at 1B (.797 OPS) with Rendon at 2B. Good idea in theory, but I just don't know that it is a pressing need for WAS.

[Eye Black]

I agree, Zimmerman's contract and lack of positional flexibility are significant road blocks. I still wonder if acquiring Lind is a risk the Nationals are willing to take since I would assume they have some concern about Zimmerman's chances to both stay healthy and regain his past productivity. I know the financial commitment to Zimmerman is a huge consideration especially since, as you mentioned, there is no DH fallback. From the Nats side of things though I would be concerned about putting too much faith in Zimmerman who has had an awful lot of shoulder issues for a guy that is 30 years old. I also can't imagine they want to use Espinosa at 1B for anything more than an occasional spot start. If they did acquire Lind (although he is not necessarily without his own injury concerns), he would provide a nice security blanket in case Zimmerman continues to struggle with either injuries or declining performance. If Zimmerman does return healthy and regain some of his past production levels, at the very least Lind could provide a valuable platoon partner both late season and into the post-season when expanded rosters would decrease the burden of carrying two first base only players.

 

It does seem the fact that the Nationals are likely to run away with the NL East makes it less probable they will feel the need to make a move like this. Still, I don't think it is completely out of the realm of possibility since I think it would provide a nice boost to their lineup.

[JohnBriggs12]

Lind isn't the kind of guy who's going to bring back any difference makers current or future. His option for 2016 is reasonable and Brewers have no viable alternative at 1B. No Clark and Rogers aren't viable. Brewers may be in a retooling phase but they still have to put a team on the field that is worth paying major league prices to watch. My preference would be to keep him or at least wait until there's two teams desperate for a bat that could bid the price up. Washington's not such a team. Zimmerman's owed a ton of money. They aren't going to relegate him to the right side of a platoon when they are starting to pull away in that division as it is.

[CheezWizHed]

I think Lind could bring back a nice return, but it has to be the right situation. For all the same reasons you mentioned that he should stay with the Brewers. If someone is in that same situation, but contending, he could bring back something worthy.

 

Probably not a AAA MLB ready prospect, but I could see getting an A-ball B level prospect or two. And that wouldn't be a bad thing for the Brewers. That would fit into our "next wave" nicely.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think Lind could bring back a nice return, but it has to be the right situation. For all the same reasons you mentioned that he should stay with the Brewers. If someone is in that same situation, but contending, he could bring back something worthy.

 

Probably not a AAA MLB ready prospect, but I could see getting an A-ball B level prospect or two. And that wouldn't be a bad thing for the Brewers. That would fit into our "next wave" nicely.

 

 

I just don't give up a proven middle of the order major league hitter I control over the next year and a half for B level prospects especially ones that are 3-4 years away from the big leagues. Proven middle of the order major league hitters just are more valuable than that especially ones on relative modest deals in the primes of their careers.

[TheCrew07]

I just don't give up a proven middle of the order major league hitter I control over the next year and a half for B level prospects especially ones that are 3-4 years away from the big leagues. Proven middle of the order major league hitters just are more valuable than that especially ones on relative modest deals in the primes of their careers.

 

Proven platoon bat sure, proven middle order of the hitter hardly.

 

We need to stop latching onto players because we like them or they are productive in the moment. Lind means basically nothing to the Brewers, he's not part of the solution, he's actually part of the problem. He's a short duration player, over the age of 30, with limited skills and injury issues holding down a roster spot. He shouldn't have a long term future in Milwaukee. He has value as a player, but he's too old to be and doesn't have enough time left on his contract to be a factor the next time the Brewers are competitive.

 

I find it completely frustrating that so many people will not get past individual player vs player arguments and take a wider of view of the organization. Holding onto Lind would be as wasteful as singing Lohse and Garza. We need to stop chasing a couple of extra meaningless wins and focus on building something that can stand up for a decade or more. Just because a player is better than your current alternatives does not mean he is the best choice for the organization in the near or long term.

 

Why is perpetually floating around .500 as we have been since 2005 preferable to other alternatives? I think it's simply because many are afraid of returning the to the futility of the past. Fear of the unknown doesn't motivate me, and this roller coaster of mediocrity is as good as it's going to get operating the way the Brewers have been. Operating in the middle with no clear direction except to patch holes each year is what the majority of sports franchises do, and why the majority of them of them continually fail. They may rise up for a brief moment when the stars align perfectly for them, but they won't sustain success of any significant length of time.

 

Finally, it's awful silly to whine about a prospect being ready for 3-4 years when that's actually exactly when we'll be needing that prospect.

 

Organizational depth should be an idea/concept that sells itself but yet hasn't caught hold not just among fans, but across leagues, sports, and franchises world wide. It's always about the "now" unless a team is in the "rebuilding" cycle.

[LouisEly]

TheCrew, I don't think that Briggs is saying not to trade Lind, I'm pretty sure he's saying that the Brewers should be able to get more than a B level A-ball prospect for him. And the way that Lind has been hitting, and that 70% of pitchers are right-handed, I kind of agree with him.

[Mr Southpaw]

I think Ward or Reetz would be reasonable.

[JohnBriggs12]

TheCrew, I don't think that Briggs is saying not to trade Lind, I'm pretty sure he's saying that the Brewers should be able to get more than a B level A-ball prospect for him. And the way that Lind has been hitting, and that 70% of pitchers are right-handed, I kind of agree with him.

 

That's exactly what I'm saying Louis. The Brewers can't settle for a return like what they gave up for Parra to be their 4th OF last. Lind can be a difference maker in a lineup that needs a bat in the middle of it. Lind still has value to the Brewers too. He's got a reasonable team option for 2016 and we're kind of seeing what this team was supposed to look like. I don't know that the Brewers have waved the white flag for 2016 but even if they have they shouldn't be giving that impression to other teams who will then expect to pick over their roster. They need to set a price worthy of a guy who's a 4 WAR player with a 2 WAR contract. That should be a high price.