[BDBohnzie]

They were talking about this for a bit on ESPN 980's The Sports Reporters yesterday. You either trade a franchise player because you need the depth and youth or you keep a franchise player because his contract isn't overbearing and build the team around him. Zimmerman isn't a top 5 3rd baseman in the league, so his demand waivers on whether a team thinks he still has upside, as his contract would be very pleasing to anyone who would take him. If I'm the Nats, I need to continue to build an identity, and it starts with Ryan Zimmerman. While he's not a Top 5 right now, he has the potential to be so.

The Nats need to open the checkbook and start spending money, and it starts with Strasburg. And then Bryce Harper next year. They also need to continue to build their farm system so that they are competitive 3-4 years from now. They need to trade Nick Johnson for a case of Schlitz and some beer nuts, so when he gets hurt, it's on someone else's watch. They also need to make sure they aren't damaging the likes of Detwiler and Zimmermann on the mound for the sake of fielding a rotation.