The Nationals began their trade deadline selling a few weeks early, deciding on Saturday to trade Hunter Harvey to the Royals for a prospect and a Competitive Balance pick that they used on Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita.
And as much as it would be great to see the Nationals, 44-53 and six games out of a Wild Card (but 10th in the race overall) as of the break, make the playoffs, Danny thinks this is the right move and the beginning of the right strategy.
“Yes to this, correct, and awesome. He went through a bit of a slump, but threw the ball well the last couple of times out, and this is what you do,” Danny said. “To me, I would be cutthroat – and they’re not gonna be this way, if I had to predict, but I would basically say that if you’re not one of a handful of guys, and you know immediately who they are, you’d get spun by GM Danny Rouhier, even if it means more short-term pain.”
Yes, that’s right: unless you’re a building block, to Danny, you’re a fungible piece right now.
“I’ve already got pain, but I’m always looking towards the future. So I would move Lane Thomas, and I'd move Kyle Finnegan even though he's pretty affordable and a quality closer,” Danny said. “If you look at closers year over year, half the guys that started off last season are not closing or not closing for their respective teams anymore. Guys we thought were guaranteed have been replaced, and it’s a fickle spot. Finnegan has been really good and teams are always desperate for that, and I think you get a really nice haul to put him in a setup role for a good team that's got World Series aspirations.”
Danny wouldn’t trade guys just to trade them, but yes, if you can get good future assets – like the draft pick the Nats got for Harvey – now is the time to cash in.
Especially if, as the Nats did, you’re using your big picks on guys who played at Wake Forest, a school that just so happens to be coached by a guy Danny knows very well from his college ball days…