Mets should take advantage of Nationals self-destruction

The Mets season might be over but next season they might be able to capitalize on the weird moves made by the Nationals these past few weeks

What did the Nationals do? They gave up on their season. However, the way That they did this looks like they gave up on their next couple seasons as well.

If this is true, it’s time for the New York Mets to take advantage of the Nationals self-destruction.
The Mets didn’t give up on their season until after they encountered a dozen roadblocks. The Nationals were heading towards their first and threw in the towel.

Here’s the thing. If the Nationals were really ready to give up, they would have begun the process before the trade deadline a few weeks ago.

Think back to July 31st. During the final hours before the deadline, there was chatter that the Nationals were at least entertaining the idea of trading Bryce Harper.

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A lot of fans were laughing at the idea, but then three weeks later the Nationals trade Daniel Murphy and dump Matt Adams. In July idea going through the Nationals must have been we’re going to win and we need Harper for it.

Then they go and trade one of their best hitters and then some. Only three weeks passed. Somebody on the Nationals must be kicking themselves right now for not trading Harper. It has nothing to do with offering Harper a contract to keep him for 20 years.

They could have traded him, got a lot in return, and then could have made an offer for him in a few months. What made things even more curious is that Harper was actually claimed but the nationals declined the offer.

Which means they’d rather keep Harper for 6 more weeks in a losing season and then possibly have him walk away, instead of getting something back.

Mets fans are always looking back at transactions and complaining about them. They will say Jason Vargas was a waste of a contract and Dominic Smith was a waste of a draft pick.

In a couple of weeks, every Nationals fan will be talking about how the team was a fool for not trading Harper. Not only did the Nationals entirely self-destruct in a matter of weeks, but they had the chance to begin an insane rebuild and didn’t.

People say Callaway and Sandy didn’t do great this year, but I’m going to assume nobody in the Nationals organization knows what they’re doing anymore.

In a way, the Nationals were already in a hole starting next season because of what they owe. They’re going to start paying guys like Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and others a ton of money. That already made it a bit improbable that they would be able to sign Harper or even Murphy, but this just adds so many more questions.

Did they trade Murphy because they won’t sign him and put his salary towards Harper? Did they trade him so they get something in return and then they sign him again? Regardless of whether they sign Harper or not, why not get a lot back for him.

Are the Nationals even capable of spending this off-season? Are they going to be forced to live off of prospects for a while? It would have made sense if they kept going through the season and tried to win. It would have made sense if they traded everybody at the Trade deadline. What they did does not make sense.

It looks like the Phillies and Braves are the clear powerhouses in the division but when it comes to the rivalry between the Mets and Nationals, it’s a clear path for the Mets to take to be ten steps ahead of them as early as next season.

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Even if the Mets don’t sign any big players, if they can keep their own core four intact, that should be more than enough to be better than what the Nationals become. A few small signings that fill in some areas would be all we need.

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