WASHINGTON — Ian Desmond has not done his free agency value any favors this season.
The Nationals shortstop’s 20 errors are second worst in the majors, though nearly half of those (9) came in the first month of the season.
Months away from hitting free agency, Desmond’s .211 batting average is by far the lowest of his career, and helps paint an ominous trend as his average has steadily plummeted from a career high .292 in 2012.
Mike Rizzo has consistently affirmed his confidence in believing Desmond will turn it around, even as the more time passes, the less likely that seems. The Nats’ GM very recently restated that confidence in Desmond, saying, “I expect him to be Ian Desmond [in the second half]. He’s our shortstop, he’s gonna be our shortstop.”
Bob Nightengale, longtime baseball columnist for USA Today, provided some insight into just how low Desmond’s value possibly has sunk in accordance with his production in a radio interview Thursday with The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan.
“I think you ride him out,” Nightengale said. “You know, I was talking to scouts about him recently – I can’t think of another player in recent history where a guy’s value has plummeted like [his]. I mean here he was looking to get more than $100 million in free agency. That’s over, there’s no way.
“And I don’t think there’s any way in the world the Nationals would even give him a penny contract at the end of the season to get a first-round draft pick. So I wouldn’t be shocked to see them trade him, because they need more defense than anything else, but I think they ride it out and say, ‘You know what? Let’s see if this guy can bounce back in the second half. He’s too good of a talent to be playing this bad.’”
“So let’s talk numbers,” host Jason Bishop said. “He was offered 100 million bucks, correct? Or something like that, and turned it down.”
Desmond was reportedly offered a 7-year, $107 million contract from the Nationals in the winter of 2013 which would have paid him an additional $90 million on top of the money he was already contracted to make. He turned it down, at least partially in the interest of preserving fair market value for Major League shortstops.
“Alright, so how much money do you think he has lost in free agency?” Bishop asked. “Half?”
“Yeah. I would say about half,” Nightengale agreed. “I mean, you’re certainly not going to get that long-term contract. And now, if you’re a team, you don’t know which one to believe, and he may have to go on a one- or two-year contract and reestablish himself. Just to show teams, like, OK, this is an aberration instead of a trend.”
It seems foolish now for Desmond to have turned down the Nats’ offer, just as the Nats now appear to have possibly dodged a five-year-long bullet. And now, with the offseason additions of Yunel Escobar and top shortstop prospect Trea Turner — who, by the way, tore through Double-A and is now sporting a .276/.300/.448 slash line for Triple-A Syracuse — Rizzo, again, appears to have taken another prescient look into his crystal ball.
As Adam Kilgore wrote yesterday, “Appreciate Desmond while he’s still here, and prepare to say farewell without animus. Remember that sometimes both sides are faultless, that goodwill can remain intact and that this is one of those times.”
[Follow: @ChrisLingebach | @1067TheFanDC]
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