Scherzer on the verge of a 7 year deal...

[Hornsby]

Looks like the Nats, and maybe one other team, per Jon Heyman...

[Vecmizer]

It may have Heyman's name attached to it but that is all Boras.

[Bodhizefa]

Washington would be a fun location for Scherzer to land. He'd get the benefit of the league switch, and he'd go to another good team with playoff aspirations for the foreseeable future (and a weak division). I've wondered for a while when the Nats would pony up the money I'm 100% positive they have, and this would certainly make some sense. They've got a lot of players coming off the books after 2015 (Desmond, Fister, J.Zimmerman, etc.), and locking in a grade A pitcher to move forward into that void is a solid move. I think it will hurt them in the long run (as all longterm pitcher deals do), but they've got some money available and Scherzer is a badass. If you're going to spend some money, Scherzer's as solid a choice as any.

[Bodhizefa]

Kilgore (Washington Post) says Scherzer to the Nats is close. Wow.

[Erik]

Washington would be a fun location for Scherzer to land. He'd get the benefit of the league switch, and he'd go to another good team with playoff aspirations for the foreseeable future (and a weak division). I've wondered for a while when the Nats would pony up the money I'm 100% positive they have, and this would certainly make some sense. They've got a lot of players coming off the books after 2015 (Desmond, Fister, J.Zimmerman, etc.), and locking in a grade A pitcher to move forward into that void is a solid move. I think it will hurt them in the long run (as all longterm pitcher deals do), but they've got some money available and Scherzer is a badass. If you're going to spend some money, Scherzer's as solid a choice as any.

The rest of the division is rebuilding or not a shoo-in to contend. They need to strike while the iron's hot, so this makes perfect sense.

[Judge Jude]

agreed, although the Mets appear to be on the upswing.
I don't believe they'll spend money in spite of being in the biggest market, beyond the great pitching depth, due to the ineptness/financial situation of the owners. If that's true, the Nats can pencil in multiple more divisional titles for the next few years.

ace in hole for the Nats is that the Mets' owner is old but his son is middle-aged and fancies himself a "baseball man", so not much hope of a sale.

[Bodhizefa]

The rest of the division is rebuilding or not a shoo-in to contend. They need to strike while the iron's hot, so this makes perfect sense.

Yup. They've got a 3-4 year window at this stage, and Scherzer's a perfect fit. If they've got the money, I'd say do it.

[Hornsby]

Unbelievable...they either trade Zimmerman for a haul, or have a 6th starter (Roark) who won 15 games with an ERA under 3...

I really like what the Nats are doing...managing to come out on top (IMO) in most of the off-season deals and signing the big dog of free agency.

[willthethrill]

Seems to me that they could use another arm or two in the 'pen. Someone like Tyler Clippard would be a great fit.

[joncarlos]

I bet they can replace Clippard for less than 9mil. Or just put Roark there. This late in the off-season I'm not sure how many teams will blow things up to trade for Zimmerman.

[BigJonEmpire]

I bet they can replace Clippard for less than 9mil. Or just put Roark there. This late in the off-season I'm not sure how many teams will blow things up to trade for Zimmerman.

I'm sure there are a few, especially if prospects are in the mix. Red Sox, Toronto, Detroit maybe, Texas for sure, I could see the Cards and Cubs making the move, The Giants have been searching...

[Bob Kohm]

If they trade Zimmerman at all (and looking at the roster, I'm not sure how much they'd benefit... need are a temp right fielder and maybe a bullpen arm with a healthy farm system already in place) Ruben Amaro is going to look like an even bigger dolt than he generally does for not moving Hamels when he had a clear field to move him. With a year of Zimmerman potentially on the market and all of the guy available in free agency coming up he now has serious competition as contending teams can opt for a lower cost Zimmerman for this year with the hope of extending him over the huge pricetag he's placed on Hamels.

[BigJonEmpire]

If they trade Zimmerman at all (and looking at the roster, I'm not sure how much they'd benefit... need are a temp right fielder and maybe a bullpen arm with a healthy farm system already in place) Ruben Amaro is going to look like an even bigger dolt than he generally does for not moving Hamels when he had a clear field to move him. With a year of Zimmerman potentially on the market and all of the guy available in free agency coming up he now has serious competition as contending teams can opt for a lower cost Zimmerman for this year with the hope of extending him over the huge pricetag he's placed on Hamels.

Agreed, though I bet the Nationals would still take a longer term upgrade at second base.

[revo]

What??

USA Today's John Perrotto said that he's hearing that Stephen Strasburg is "very much available" following the Nationals' reported deal with Max Scherzer.
According to Perrotto's sources, both Strasburg and the Nationals think that it might be "time to move on." While Scherzer's signing probably requires a secondary rotation trade by the Nationals, the idea of them trading away one of the faces of the franchise is surprising to say the least. Strasburg went 14-11 with a 3.14 ERA last season to go with a career-high 242 strikeouts over 215 innings. Jordan Zimmerman seems a more logical trade piece, but it's possible that the Nationals are looking to make a bigger move.

[BigJonEmpire]

This seems really odd to me, it seems clear we're missing some information here. Either an attempt to extend Strasburg was rejected or some personal issue or both. Some facts are missing to make trading Strasburg seem logical at this point.