ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian takes a close look at the Nationals in his latest column and concludes that they have good baseball teams to look forward to. Along the way, he turns up some Nats rumors:
- Stephen Strasburg pulled an oblique muscle Wednesday, but acting GM Mike Rizzo says he's not concerned, repeating a line we've heard before: "If the draft was today, we would select Stephen Strasburg."
- Kurkjian hears that it will cost the Nationals between $25-50MM to sign Strasburg for six years.
- Since the Washington 'pen has struggled so much, there's a good chance the Nats will add a reliever or two this offseason.
- As an alternative, they could deal Nick Johnson for pitching; Kurkjian suggests the Mets or Giants could be interested.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com heard from a person connected to the Mets that the Nationals would likely want Bobby Parnell in exchange for Johnson.
