Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Ace, shortstop on Nats extension list?
By Jason A. Churchill
Tuesday we discussed the possibility of the Washington Nationals and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann working out a multi-year contract extension, but Wednesday shortstop Ian Desmond was the topic of such an idea. Amanda Comak of the Washington Times asked GM Mike Rizzo if the club might look to extend Desmond before the start of the season and Rizzo's response was that he was "opened minded to it."
We have to wonder if the club might have priorities when it comes to these extensions, however. Ryan Zimmerman is all taken care of, but the club has ace Stephen Strasburg">Stephen Strasburg to think about on top of Zimmermann, the pitcher.
Strasburg's contract expires after 2013, which makes him arbitration eligible for the first of three occasions. The club could go year-to-year, but since that gets costly it behooves them to look to lock up the former Mo. 1 pick. The problem with that notion is that the right-hander is represented by the Scott Boras Corporation, which generally steers its clients toward free agency and away from team-friendly contracts.
The possibility of Strasburg hitting free agency after the 2016 season could prompt the club to be more aggressive in locking up Zimmermann, though there is every reason to believe they'll be willing to pay Strasburg the big dollars it takes to keep such a pitcher in town. They may have to outbid the Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels, Rangers and Yankees to get a deal done.
