5 players the Washington Nationals could trade away
1. 3B Anthony Rendon
Rendon is set to become a free agent after the season, and he’s got a .329/.423/.678 slash-line with 10 home runs, 18 doubles and 31 RBI over 39 games entering Monday. He picked up right where he left off upon returning from a left elbow contusion early this month, with an OPS north of 1.000 since May 7 and hits in 11 of his last 13 games (12 RBI, 1.274 OPS over that span).
The Nationals and Rendon don’t appear close on the terms of a possible contract extension, and if that doesn’t change in the coming weeks dealing him will have to be considered. Somehow he has has yet to earn an All-Star selection, but Rendon has been a top-tier player, as measured by WAR, in all of baseball since his first full Major League season in 2014.
If the Nationals follow through with a plan not to surpass the luxury tax threshold, doing what it will take to keep Rendon beyond this season simply won’t be palatable. For his agent Scott Boras, negotiations surely start somewhere around the $18.8 million Rendon is making this year in his final year of team control. Washington can’t get there, but the aforementioned common organizational practice of deferred money might be a factor in negotiations.
Rendon has become strictly a third baseman in recent years, but his experience playing second base adds to his utility and widens a potential trade market.
Next. 5 prospects who can help the Atlanta Braves this year. dark
Other Nationals who could be traded: IF Howie Kendrick, RP Kyle Barraclough, RP Tony Sipp, OF Adam Eaton