The Washington Nationals appear to have ongoing interest in making a trade before the deadline. First, rumors indicated they contacted the Oakland Athletics about Ben Zobrist and then the Cincinnati Reds about closer Aroldis Chapman. Now they've reached out to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
FOX Sports' Jon Morosi reported yesterday that the Nationals "have expressed interest" in Diamondbacks' middle infielders Chris Owings, Aaron Hill, Nick Ahmed and Cliff Pennington. This perhaps indicates Washington is further preparing for life without shortstop Ian Desmond.
"Desmond was at one point offered a deal believed to include $90 million in new money (and maybe over $100 million including an existing year), and despite a terrible start to this season he's still expected to beat that on the free agent market," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "Desmond has historically been a slow starter, and scouts love him."
The Nats finally received shortstop prospect Trea Turner last week from the San Diego Padres and he's perhaps viewed as Desmond's successor, but it's unclear how the team plans to develop the youngster. Their latest interest in the D-Backs' cast of middle infielders may indicate trading Desmond before July 31 is a possibility.
"There was at least some talk of Washington trading Desmond, a free-agent-to-be, this past offseason, so it stands to reason that the notion isn't completely off the table for the Nationals as the trade deadline approaches," writes Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com. "The team may feel that Desmond can be traded for more than a qualifying offer would return, though his .222/.266/.341 batting line hardly helps his trade value."
Arizona's willingness to part ways with at least one of these names is pretty clear. They said earlier this year they were willing to deal Hill, and considering they drafted Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson No. 1 overall earlier this month they might be open to moving Ahmed or Owings. The two youngsters have had poor offensive campaigns this season and have not lived up to the hype thus far.
Ahmed and Owings are known for their gloves and the Nationals' defense at shortstop is among the worst in the MLB (25th in "Def" and 21st in "DRS"). Their defense at second base is better (eighth in "Def" and 16th in "DRS"), but their long-term solution at the position seems unclear (they've been using Danny Espinosa, Anthony Rendon and Dan Uggla at second this season).
If the Nats are simply looking for more depth to last them the season, Pennington would be the best option because he'll be a free agent after 2015 and does not carry an onerous salary.
Those are just some things to think about given the Nats' interest in the Diamondbacks' middle infielders. We'll see if anything comes out of this.
