Well, the weird often happens in August in DC, and this latest news certainly fits that category. The Nats have placed Soriano on waivers today, making it likely that he could be involved in a waiver-wire trade. The whole thing is a perfect example about how the Major League Baseball trading system is one of the most bizarre and complex systems known to humankind, and certainly makes for late summer drama in the cities involved.
Chris Needham at Capitol Punishment suggests that this might be part of a bigger deal with potentially Armas and Astacio involved as well:
Rosenthal buries the lede, though. Soriano gets the flashy name in lights, but it’s the idea that Bowden threw Astacio and Armas (or anyone else) on waivers at the same time. Claiming teams would have a choice. They realistically can’t claim all three because of the damage it could do to their active roster if the Nats just gave the players up. This could allow Bowden to slip those guys through, allowing Bowden to pull off a trade with another team with no strings attached.
Either way, the Nats are in rough shape, still well below .500 and not likely to make it to even keel this season. It’d be nice to see the Nats pull of a nice trade late in the season for heavy prospects, or perhaps get Soriano signed for another year of his contract. Time will tell, but something’s brewing.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
