Monday Quickie - Int'l Signing Day

Here's a quick primer on International Signing Day, or at least my take on it. It boils down to are you signing one of the top 5ish prospects? Good! Might not work out but you are trying. Are you not? Bad! But maybe you'll be the one of two/three teams that gets lucky this year and finds a diamond in the rough. 

Did the Nats sing a top name? Nope. Not particularly close either. Top 25 sounds good but feel free to peruse old Top international lists. It really isn't. FWIW people do like Victor Hurtado in the "really young but really could be something" way so I'm not saying the Nats did the absolute minimum. But much like one would think looking at the major league team, there could be more done here.

So the Nats are one of 27 or so teams hoping to get lucky. I wish them well. 

What else is there to talk about?  NOTHING.  The FA list has shifted a little in two weeks

1B/DH : Carlos Santana, JD Martinez, Brandon Belt, Jorge Soler, Donovan Solano, Garrett Cooper

Others with DH potential :  Justin Turner, Tommy Pham, Adam Duvall, Aaron Hicks

Starters : Lorenzen, Clevinger, Kluber, Carrasco,Wood

The starters have been cut in half but the bats are close to the same. If you are worried about the Nats missing out on the chance for a bat that can help, that's probably only going to happen if they don't want to sign something like that. Martinez has interest and likely won't be a Nat but it's pretty quiet on the others. 

Of course most would argue they need a dependable starter more, especially to bridge into 2025 when no-good innings eaters Corbin and Williams will go. So focus on those names I guess. This market might remain set until Montgomery and Snell go and trigger teams moving to back-up plans. But guys seem pretty eager at this point considering they keep signing. These types aren't waiting around to be the guy without a chair. The Nats could get them if they wanted to, but it doesn't appear to be a priority. 

Of course, of course, I'm still just speculating and I'd tell you if you said the above to wait until mid Feburary or so. It FEELS like the Nats are just floating along and not trying, but we don't know and we won't know for sure until guys start heading to Florida. It's boring right now, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just boring and we make it out to be bad.

Still , if more doesn't happen soon I'll have to write about something else here.  The weather? It's cold and rainy here. I hear DC is getting snow. I like snow.