5 players the Washington Nationals could trade away

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 24: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals celebrates after hitting the game winning three-run home run against the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning at Nationals Park on May 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

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4. SP Max Scherzer

Entering his start against the Marlins on Monday, Scherzer is 2-5 with a 3.41 ERA (2.35 FIP) over 11 starts (71.1 innings) with typical sparkling K/9 (12.1) and BB/9 (2.0) rates. For teams that may be looking for a top of the rotation workhorse, the three-time Cy Young Award winner fits that bill practically better than anyone that might be out there (over 200 innings in six straight full seasons, with more than 220 innings four times in that span).

But age (35 on July 27), and salary are the depreciating factors attached to Scherzer. He is owed over $100 million over the next two-plus seasons, with deferred money beyond the end of his contract as part of the typical way Washington has structured big contracts.

The Nationals will probably have to pay a big chunk of Scherzer’s remaining money if moving him winds up being on the table. But a significant return could be had, even with a narrow market of teams that could take on the contract and embrace some (however minimal it seems right now) age-related risk.

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