As hot stove rumors flied that the Nationals were prepared to throw massive coin at free agent sluggers, I consistently warned fans to believe it when they saw it happen. My belief has always been that the Lerners are cheap as hell [look at the way they are trying to screw the District over the stadium finances] and basically much more interested in the bottom line than in their team’s winning percentage.
Bill Ladson of the Hot Stove Blog at MLB.com reports that, once again, when it comes to the Lerners, the skeptics got it right.
It appears the Nationals will not sign any major free agents this offseason. According to a baseball source, they will concentrate on their Minor League system and try to trade for young players.
Recently, the Nationals were trying to sign free agents Milton Bradley, Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson, but Bradley signed a three-year deal with the Cubs on Thursday and Dunn and Hudson are asking for too much money. Dunn has been linked to the Dodgers, while the Mets are reportedly after Hudson.
No doubt the Lerners will call this “investing in the future” and “building the right way.” Nonsense, of course. Nothing precludes a team from spending a bit of cash on good free agents AND patiently developing their farm system. In fact, that’s generally what the best teams do. The Nats are not one of the best teams, of course, and, if Ladson’s report is correct, they won’t be one of the best for a long, long time.
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