The Winter Meetings are crazy this year. This is why it’s called the Hot Stove (when it’s not Lukewarm).
I want to be completely transparent up front that this is the kind of thing that is designed far more for the purposes of fun discussion than for the purposes of actual reporting/analyzing/informing. But if we can’t talk about crazy-ass rumors during the Winter Meetings – especially when we’re already riding the high of Jon Lester – then what good is talking about anything? What good is breathing?
So, here you go:
.@Jim_Duquette heard the #Nationals were working on a deal last night that would "blow the roof off this place, something to keep an eye on"
— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 11, 2014
All a person could do is speculate after something like that, particularly knowing that (1) the Nats have had a bit of a spat with start outfielder Bryce Harper; (2) ace Jordan Zimmermann is a year away from free agency, and has been heavily involved in rumors; (3) the Nats might be shopping excellent reliever Tyler Clippard; and (4) the Nats are an exciting team open to many possibilities.
So, have at it. If the Nats did do something crazy and enormous involving some or all of those players, then there are very, very few teams that could actually line up in a trade. The Cubs would be one.
I highly, highly doubt we see a megatrade involving the Nationals (for all we know, the rumor could have been about the Nationals acquiring a couple huge names), much less a megatrade involving the Nationals and the Cubs.
But it sure is fun to think about.