Speculating

Nats320
The San Diego Padres traded one of their, supposed, cornerstone young players, 2nd baseman--Josh Barfield, to the Cleveland Indians for young 3rd Baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown. Padres GM, Kevin Towers, stated that he feels Kouzmanoff (the only player in MLB History to hit a Grand Slam on the very first pitch to him in the majors) could be The Friars starting cornerman for years to come.

What's interesting from a Nationals standpoint is that the Padres no longer have a second basemen on their 40 man roster. And, I would not consider San Diego a "REBUILDING" team. They are quite competitive--and flat have kicked our butts the past 2 seasons. Towers also said (the most intriguing part)--its far easier to find a second baseman.

Well, who has a plethora of middle infielders?--especially one they are looking to move--Our Washington Nationals. The Nats tried to trade Jose Vidro before last season's trading deadline, but his constant injuries and mediocre play at the time--found no takers. But,he's healthy now. For a younger, contending team, like the Padres, Number 3 might well be a good fit, providing veteran leadership. The returning Cristian Guzman, will, in all likihood, start at short, with Felipe Lopez moving to second. If Jose is traded, and Guzman is terrible again--FLOP moves back to short--opening up a roster spot for Bernie Castro. Its a no lose situation, for a rebuilding Washington team.

Of course, Alfonso Soriano is also available to San Diego, as a free agent pick up--as well as, Marcus Giles, Adam Kennedy and Mark Loretta, among others.

I am not overly familiar with San Diego's Minor Leaguers, but if there is a possible fit--even if Washington pays some of the freight on Vidro's contract--Jimbo better be looking at the Padres, right now. Our Washington Nationals have their new, revamped, Scouting Department in place. Lets put them to work and find a deal.

PS-The Detroit Free Press is speculating that Tigers GM, Dave Dombrowski, is looking to trade their Number 1 Starter, Jeremy Bonderman, for a power hitting first baseman over the winter meetings. Dombrowski is focusing on Rangers First Baseman--Mark Teixeira. Now, I am not sure if Washington has ANYTHING comparable to trade for Bonderman. But, this harding throwing, young, right hander would look great at the front of our rotation. I could only wish.