It has been rumored in recent weeks that left-hander John Lannan may be on his way out of Washington.
Ever since the Edwin Jackson signing on February 2nd, the Nationals have had one too many starting pitchers. Generally, this is not a bad thing. The Nationals can address other needs with their excess pitching though, with Lannan generating the biggest return.
If Lannan is traded, Chien-Ming Wang or Ross Detwiler would take over the No. 5 spot in the rotation, with the other becoming the long man out of the bullpen.
The Nationals are in need of bench depth, as well as a capable center fielder. They could also choose to just trade him away for a few mid-level prospects.
Lannan has been an effective starter over the course of his career, garnering a 4.00 ERA and a 38-51 record. He has been better in recent years, becoming a guy capable of pitching 180+ innings.
As a No. 5 starter, that’s pretty valuable.
The Nationals seem to have a win-win scenario with Lannan. If they trade him, they can potentially fill a need. If they keep him, they have another guy who can give them close to 200 innings.
Whether he’s traded or not remains to be seen, but here are five potential destinations.