IF THE NATS HAVE A FIRE SALE, THE YANKS SHOULD GO SHOPPING

It's only May, so to hear talk of a potential fire sale seems premature. There's a lot of baseball left but I guess if the Washington Nationals continue to struggle it could happen. If they don;t rebound Joe Sherman seems to think it could possibly happen, read more HERE.

It's been an odd start this season. We saw the Mets come strong out the gate and now they are struggling. No, maybe tripping and faltering miserably is more like it. They did just get swept by Derek Jeter's Marlins. The Marlin's for crying out loud! It's rumored Mickey Callaway's job may be in jeopardy.

Then you have teams like the Red Sox who crashed and burned also until recently. The Rays have been overachieving all season thus far and the Yankees have been winning despite all of the injuries. Oh and the Twins look crazy strong while the Cleveland Indians look deflated. It's been a weird season so far.

So here are the Yankees, winning despite all of their own challenges. If the Yankees continue to stay within AL East contention could Brian Cashman look at a team like the Nationals to reinforce the team? Maybe.

The Nationals may be in fourth place in the NL East, but they are only 7.5 games out of first place, which is nothing to worry about right now. But if they don't work their way up names like Anthony Rendon and Max Scherzer could become available. Could....maybe.....big maybe.

The Nationals had their best chances for a championship with both Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper years ago. Now they are trying to change their identity. The Nats have talked to Rendon about an extension but if they doesn't work out maybe they would trade him.

Rendon would be a nice pickup for a team but Scherzer would be harder to trade. He's been everything that the Nats had hoped for even though they have never won a championship with him. He's finished in the top five for Cy Young in the last four seasons. The Nats love them as much as I do.

If the Yankees cold get Scherzer that would be a dream. A very expensive dream though. Sherman's article quoted an NL scout saying "If you ever took him to market, you would get an unholy haul for him." The prospects demand would be crazy and so would the cash that the Yankees would have to take on. The Yankees would pick up the remainder of his salary this year of about $14 million plus whatever portion of the $84.3M that is owed and can negotiate down through 2028. High dollars and prospects....that's an expensive firesale.

It's just a rumor, but a fascinating rumor. Who doesn't at least dream about Scherzer? It may only just be a dream, but if the Nats continue to under perform it's worth a call....even if it is a very short one.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj