Milledge and Dukes

While most of the local baseball talk so far this offseason is about the probable trades the Orioles will make with Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada, the only real action has come from the Nationals. The Nationals haven't made any blockbuster moves, but they did make two that will draw a lot of attention to the team.

The first trade was with the Mets, with Lastings Milledge coming to DC and Brian Schneider and Ryan Church heading to NY. Milledge might be considered a bit of a gamble, but a pretty safe one in my opinion. He has gotten a bad rep so far for trying to play himself off as a rapper, before he even establishes himself as a baseball player. He was the youngest player to reach the majors in 2006, and only played sparingly in 2007 with the Mets as well. He will turn 23 right about the time the season starts this year, so the Nats did get younger with this move. He hasn't particularly wowed people with his play, but he did improve from an average of .241 to .272, and an OBP of .310 to .341. That is only a one year trend, but I figure it is a good sign. He is still extremely young, and with some maturing I think he should be a great player in a few years.
Losing Brian Schneider in the deal might hurt some in the short term. He appeared to be a likable guy and a capable defensive catcher, but he is getting up there in terms of catcher age. Replacing his production shouldn't be too hard. Church is a good player, who probably won't max out his stats far beyond where they are now. He will probably have a good career in the Majors, but he isn't a potential star.


The other big name the Nats picked up was Elijah Dukes. This kid is another young guy(23 on opening day) with amazing potential. However, the baggage he brings is more severe than Milledge. He didn't play most of last season because of a domestic incident with his wife, that led the Devil Rays to inactivate him. Demonstrating physically aggressive behavior is certainly a warning sign, but the Nationals seem willing to give him a shot. He did hit 10 homeruns in just 180 at bats for the Rays last season, but his average was below .200. If he can get his head on straight, in terms of his personal life and baseball, than he may be a huge steal for the Nats. They only had to give up one minor leaguer in this deal, a player who hasn't yet gone above A ball. So even with the risk of Dukes self destructing, there doesn't seem to be much loss here.

There seems to be some cultural awareness with these moves that the Nationals have made. The team has brought in two young African American players to introduce at their new stadium that is mostly surrounded by African American neighborhoods. In addition to making baseball sense, the club seems to be considering the demographics of their locale, and are making an attempt to connect with local residents. Dmitri Young has already gained some popularity in the city for his recent performance, and with his publicized personal struggles and journey to overcome them, I think he will be looked upon by others to be a guide for Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes. Time will tell how these two moves pan out for Washington, but I admire the team for taking some good chances. This might not be the big name offseason move that people are used to in Boston or NY, but its a pleasant thing to see for a team that is reintroducing itself to the city this season.