That’s obvious.

Beyond that, I’d like to see Julian Tavarez dumped in favor of getting Garrett Mock major league time. Jason Bergmann’s also looked good at AAA, so he deserves another shot over keeping a second lefty like Wil Ledezma. After all, you’re not trying to win this year. Jordan Zimmermann shouldn’t be rushed, but I’d say you want him up after 10-12 AAA starts. That’s late May, early June. They need to be playing Jesus Flores every day, and they should cut Wil Nieves, who as the third catcher will do absolutely nothing in the long-term for the team.

Guys like Dunn, Nick Johnson, and Austin Kearns should at least be offered as trade chips, hoping for salary flexibility and middling prospects. I’d keep Willingham, as his bat is so much better with regular playing time, and have Milledge and Dukes get regular ABs. Milledge does deserve to be in AAA from what I’ve read though, so make sure you follow through with punishments.

Finally, Joel Guzman should be the guy to take Wil Nieves’ spot. He might not have any strike zone discipline whatsoever, but he’s still a guy who can play first, short, third, and left, while not really taking away ABs from anyone in particular. He had an IsoP of .190 last year in the Int’l League, so that talent is still in there somewhere. He’s still only 24, and you’ve got nothing to lose as the worst team in the league, so why do you need him in AAA?

And draft Strasburg. Draft Strasburg. Also, go college pitching/hitting in this draft in the 10-15 round range and pay the ones who’ve fallen well.

1. Draft Stephen Strasbourg. Then, draft the BPA regardless of agent or cost. Sink a lot of money into the draft.
2. Work to trade Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Nick Johnson and maybe Josh Willingham at the deadline for prospects. Maybe see if you can use someone like Johnson or Kearns to acquire Jeff Niemann (depending on how the Rays look) or another out of option pitcher or pitcher with potential but that have seen a stock drop.
3. Have Manny Acta sit down and have a heart to heart with Lastings Milledge about his behavior issues, and if he works on them, start him in RF or CF.
4. Elijah Dukes starts every day.
5. I do my best to lock up Ryan Zimmerman relatively long term and then start an ad blitz that paints him, Strasburg and maybe Dukes as the players that will lead Washington baseball to the promised land.
6. Lock up Manny Acta for a couple more years.
7. Sit down with Dimitri Young, explain to him that his career is over, but that you want to find a job with him (maybe hitting coach) so he can work with Dukes and Milledge as well as the rest of the young bats you can find.
8. Go back to Latin America. This time, though, use a transparent system so nobody accuses you of skimming money. Also stop skimming money.

- I would trade everyone that has any kind of value that is in Arbitration.
- Trade for players that are premium defenders
- Put all my saved money in my scouting department
- Start scraping the bin and trading for AAAA players with unfilled upside. Hope you find the next Ryan Ludwick

prank call the reds offering austin kerns for darnell mcdonald.

The biggest problem this franchise has right now is a lack of payroll flexibility due to a bunch of $5-7mil commitments to part-timers, bench guys, and mediocre starters. Luckily, a lot of those (Kearns, Johnson, Dmitri Young, Belliard) are coming off the books after this season, which should leave them with some money to play with. A low-revenue team (not really a small market) like the Nats can’t afford to pay $5mil for production they can get for league minimum.

Starting pitching obviously needs to be addressed. Bringing in 7 #4 starters does not magically give you a #1.

Also, this team needs a true defensive CF. That’s a big outfield to ask a converted corner OF to cover, especially if you have Dunn in LF (more on that later). To that end, here’s a couple moves I think they could make to fill some needs.

Draft Strasburg. Pay the man.

Draft Crow again. This time, pay the man.

I like the idea suggested above to sign Bedard. Between him and the 2 draft picks, you should be able to get a #1 and 2 out of that arrangement. It seems like a lot of money, but with the $20mil coming off the books from the deals referenced above, plus a few other cost saving moves below, the payroll will be close.

Non-tender Josh Willingham. This team needs to move Milledge to LF, and you can’t pay $3-5mil. for a bench guy who’s limited to LF defensively. Dunn needs to move to 1B after Johnson walks.

Try to steal Drew Stubbs from the Reds. After all, they have Willy Taveras locked up for 2 years. Enjoy the defense, and hope the bat is serviceable.

Scott Olsen to the Phillies for Jason Donald. The Phils are hurting in the back end of the rotation. They clearly have no room for Donald.

So, for 2010, your lineup and rotation is:

Guzman SS
Milledge LF
Zimmerman 3B
Dunn 1B
Dukes RF
Donald 2B
Flores C
Stubbs CF
Bedard, Zimmermann, Lannan, Martis, Whatever.

Younger, cheaper, and better than ’09’s version, IMO. Especially on defense.

Now, in 2011, you can let Dunn walk if Marrero develops, keeping essentially the same lineup, and your rotation is Strasburg, Bedard, Crow, Zimmerman, and either Martis or Lannan. There’s obviously some risk with Strasburg (TINSTAAPP), Bedard (injury), and Crow (TINSTAAPP), but if you hit on 2 of the 3, you’re a serious playoff contender. If you hit on all 3, you’re a World Series contender.

1. Obviously, draft and sign Stephen Strasburg. Pay him whatever he wants.
 
2. With the second first rounder, draft whoever the best pitcher not named Crow is in the draft. Pay him whatever he wants.

3. Be willing to pay above slot with the second round pick.

4. Pick up any and every pitcher with upside that lands on the waiver wire (guys like Baek and Campillo last year). Try them out to see if they stick.

5. When someone gets desperate for pitching, try to force/trade Scott Olsen on them. Yes, I know Olsen is a pitcher’s who’s “success” has been purely flukish; that’s why I’m trying to trade him for whatever I can get for him.

6. Try to reestablish a positive vibe in the Latin American market.

7. Balester in the rotation NOW, same with Zimmermann. Go with a rotation of Lannan-Olsen-Balester-Martis-Zimmermann. Cabrera replaces Olsen if he’s traded.

8. 1B/OF needs to be Dunn, Dukes, Milledge, and Willingham. Willingham is the most tradeable guy midseason. Focus should be on getting his trade value as high as possible. Johnson should get some ABs in there once in a while (at the expense of Willingham, NOT Dukes or Milledge unless someone needs a rest) but I strongly doubt he’s going to get enough to increase his trade value enough to get something of value.
 
9. Entertain trade offers for Kearns (dump), Johnson (probably going to end up a dump), Guzman, WIllingham, and Dunn. The more guys can be moved midseason and the more prospects reaped, the better. Guzman could be interesting because of that flukish 2008 season offensively. If someone falls for it, trade trade trade!