The Nats said goodbye to one of the bright spots of the rebuild, Lane Thomas. Ryan discusses why Mike Rizzo made the absolute right decision to trade him, and why the Nats did very well with the return. Then, we discuss the return as you should be thrilled with the Nats return highlighted by 19 year old Alex Clemmey who could be a front of the line rotation piece. Ryan also explains why today is the day to sell high on Kyle Finnegan and Dylan Floro.
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It's the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Last night, the Washington Nationals traded away outfielder Lane Thomas and guys, there's a lot of different takeaways here. Number one, Lane Thomas was a turning point of this franchise over the last few years, but I can tell you this, it was time to trade them. Thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first list and every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And of course, I'm your host, Ryan Claire, you can catch me over on Twitter at Ryan clary 11 and as well as our show page at hello underscore nationals for our latest nationals news notes. Make sure to check us out over on Twitter. And of course, while you're at it, make sure to search up lockdown nationals wherever you get your podcasts, including over on YouTube again, search blocked on nationals, hit that subscribe button, share with a friend, do whatever you want, drop a comment, drop a thumbs up or even a drops down. If that makes you happy, that will make me happy. So you do that and I'll sit right here and talk some nationals right here for you. And again, today, it is the MLB trade deadline day that you can look at Kyle Finnegan, could be the next national on the move. And of course, if you're watching of our new tube, you'll see on the rundown, I say trade Kyle Finnegan today. I'll explain that further in the third second, why I do believe that nationals do trade Kyle Finnegan a little bit later on. Second segment will be breaking down the return for Lane Thomas nationals got three very talented prospects from the Cleveland Guardians, Alex Clemby, who just turned 19 years old, a second round pick out of high school in 2023, Raphael Ramirez, Jr, a son of a former big leaguer as well, and Jose Tayda, an infielder who should be up in the majors, maybe right now, maybe in the next few weeks. But we'll have that for you in the second segment and kind of get into some expectations for those guys a little bit later on. But let's start off with discussing why Mike Rizzo, the president of baseball operations for your Washington nationals, take a bow. Going into this season, I always had this thought in the back of my head that Lane Thomas would be traded at this trade deadline. Now as we got closer to it, I think it made even more sense. Now trading away Lane Thomas is not easy, this is not an easy decision by the Washington nationals. And that did not go into the step line saying, we're going to take the best offer for Lane Thomas, that's what I said that they would have done, that's what I said that they should have done, but I don't think that's the way that they thought. They view Lane Thomas as an everyday player, someone who is a leader in the clubhouse, someone who is going to take these younger players, these younger prospects under their wing. Here's the negative of trading away Lane Thomas. You are losing a clubhouse leader, that's not good, that's not good, that's not something you can just kind of have a replacement for waiting in the wings. You've got Patrick Corbin, that's really it, but even then he's not going to be here in this upcoming season, he will be gone. So you lose a clubhouse leader with Lane Thomas, that is the big loss. And also you could say, yeah, you're losing one of your better offensive pieces and even a gold glove finals in right field, even though we kind of know now he's solid out in right field, but he's definitely replaceable. Trading away Lane Thomas was the correct move, don't get that twisted whatsoever. Trading him now, with the next few years under team control, again let's revisit the Juan Soto trade. The reason why the Nationals got so much in that Soto deal is number one, he's going to be a future Hall of Famer, but also number two, you've got two and a half years left of control of Juan Soto. This is in the similar basket as Lane Thomas is in sitting here today. If you were to wait until the off season, you're not going to be getting what you would get right here and right now. Today, yesterday, made the most sense to trade away the Lane trade and it was the absolute correct move. Again, Mike Rizzo in over the years, something that he has done better than a lot of GMs and baseball may be better than all of them is making these trades and facilitating trades in which he collects a ton of prospects for. If you look around the diamond right now, you've got CJ Abrams, one of your premier guys, your all star from this year, acquired via trade. You've got James Wood, acquired via trade. You've got Mackenzie Gore, who's looking like an ace at times, even though he has struggled, he was acquired via trade, all in the same trade by the way, but still, then you look at guys in years past, Lane Thomas, acquired via trade. You'll cross DJ Herbs, who just pitched a very good game over the weekend, acquired via trade. If there is one thing to trust with Mike Rizzo, it is making trades at the deadline. This is his kind of bread and butter. That's what Mike Rizzo does. So take the ball away from Mike Rizzo at this deadline when you do have veteran pieces who are going to be a hot commodity like Lane Thomas, like Kyle Finnegan, like Dylan Flora. Names like that, and to say, let's hang on to it. I think that never had made sense for this team whatsoever. You want to milk this rebuild. Because let's face it, Lane Thomas is a good player, but you got back three legit prospects. And two of those guys may not be all that exciting, but I can tell you this right now. The left-handed pitcher that you got, Alex Clemby. This kid is legit. We'll get into the numbers and why I think I'm the most excited for him, and again, he enters this system as one of the most premier pitching prospects in the farm, including with Travis Secora and Clay Cave Cobali. But still, there is a case to be made that you should be very excited about Alex Clemby. We'll get into that a little bit more later on. But again, where Mike Rizzo does best is making trades. I'm not going to sit here today and say, "Oh, you didn't get enough." No, the national set at price tag. They wanted to trade Lane Thomas thinking that they would get the full value in return. They got the full value in return. You have three pretty solid prospects from a very good farm system with the Cleveland Guardians and a team that, by the way, they push out prospects. That is something that they have always done over the last decade. They've been able to refurbish their farm system. They've been able to develop talent. They develop big league talent and they do it at a pretty consistent rate. Getting three prospects that are really solid, in my opinion, forget the rest of it. You're getting three prospects from a good farm system. You may look at the rankings and say, "Well, these guys are like their seventh and 20th and 28th prospect in their farm. What is that going to do for us?" I can tell you this right now, it's going to work very well down the line because, again, these guys are young, 23 years old, 19 years old and 19 years old. Now looking at the farm as well, you have these waves of prospects that will be coming up now. You've got your Brady House and your Dylan Cruz who should be ready within the next year and Dylan Cruz, by the way, could be ready in the next few weeks. You've got your other wave with Travis Sakura, Alex Klemie, and now you also have Rafael Ramirez, Jr. You've got other guys as well, including Seaver King, who's a part of that younger wave. Things are going to be happening here at the Nationals. I can tell you that right now. But to sit here today, is it upsetting to see Lane Thomas leave? Absolutely. Again, this level of veteran status that he had is not really replaceable, to be a leader in the clubhouse for a pretty bad baseball team here over the last few years is not really replaceable right here and right now. In the Nationals, this second half will probably slip away. But I can tell you this, Mike Rizzo, take a bow. It was an absolute win of a trade, in my opinion, and the reason why I say that is because of the three prospects coming back in the steel, highlighted by a left-handed pitcher who just turned 19 years old. And if you don't get excited for big left-handed pitchers who can pump 99 miles per hour, they can strike out batters, you probably won't want to listen to the second segment because you should be excited. And I'll tell you why you should be excited after we tell you guys about our friends over at Supply House and guys. Get supplies from the site that's made for the skilled trades, supplyhouse.com, supplyhouse.coms or live away to order plumbing, HVAC and electrical products online, they're easy to use website is packed with helpful resources and the latest product info to help you get the job done right. 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Thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first list every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and while we're at it the Nationals they blew in insanely last night with Kyle Finnegan and that does not influence the way that I think about the trade deadline and why I think the Nationals should still continue to try to trade Kyle Finnegan and it may be happening as we speak but the third segment I'm going to tell you why the Nationals will and why they should trade Kyle Finnegan in the third segment so stay tuned for that as he blew a one of the worst-blown saves that you have ever seen from a Washington National in last night's game so we'll discuss that a little bit later on and why Kyle Finnegan should be traded but again I did want to mention that as late night gnats disaster absolute disaster we'll have that for you in the third segment of today's show again gnats trade Kyle Finnegan today I'll explain why they should do that in the third segment but it's time to break down some of these prospects the Nationals got in return and I do want to start off with the most major league ready well we're going to kind of work our way up because I can tell you this right now Alex climbing the second round pick for the Cleveland Guardians back in 2023 he is the one you should be the most excited about and I'll tell you why this guy could be one of if not the best pitching prospects in the gnats farm system right here and right now but first we start off with Jose Tania an infielder 23 years old someone who's been up in the major leagues back in last year and as well as portions of this season but why you should be excited for Jose Tania I think he is probably the second highest impactful prospect in this trade deal here he's got solid production in AAA if you look at his numbers over the last few years the guy has hit at every single level that he has been at and this season has really been his breakout I was reading a guardians kind of fan site that you could say and one of them was actually mentioning why Jose Tania is the most exciting prospect that you may not know in the guardians farm system he mentioned his hard hit percentage which if you look at his hard hit percentage in AAA he is up there with guys like junior Camonara as well as this guy number one prospect in baseball James Wood he hits the ball he has a high exit velocity as well was also up there with guys like James Wood and Camonara from the Tampa Bay Rays I could easily see Tania in the bigs maybe as soon as the next two weeks playing third base every single day and really that's what makes sense at this point he has been more productive than trade lips come over at the hot corner he has been more productive than guys out of the minors including Brady House the Brady House the higher ceiling but still I think at this moment in time getting Tania in the big league level makes all the sense in the world there is nothing to lose at this point in time and I think he will and in fact you know for a hundred percent fact he will be in the big leagues before any of these three guys are the two guys rather in this trade right now and he is someone that you should be excited about he's not the biggest flashes name but he comes from a very good farm system a team that is very analytical with the guardians and again they think highly of him Tania is one of those guys where I think at this moment in time he could be your nationals third baseman/utility guy moving forward that would be the corresponding move I would like to think that they would option trade lips gum but also would not be surprised if they tried to cut bait when seeing new Nunez and it's kind of moved Tania all over the diamond but we'll see what the nats do but this is someone that you should be very excited about again high hard hit percentage high exit velos that doesn't mean everything but still the production is there and you've seen it so far this year in triple A for the guardians I bet you'll see it here soon for the Washington Nationals as well second second second prospect here next will be Alex Clem I'm going to tell you why you should be more excited for him Raphael Ramirez Jr. a 19 year old who hasn't really produced all too much at the plate isn't really the most exciting prospect but here's the thing 19 years old and just turned 19 by the way still very young and he's got some town play up in the middle infield shortstop / third base and as well as second base obviously he's got a 45 hit tool 45 power a 50 grade run 55 arm and a 50 in the field solid prospect but still I don't really think this tells the full story about Raphael Ramirez Jr. because last year he actually did really well down a rookie ball but again this year in low way he has struggled at the plate but you're going to see him move around in a lot of different ways and again I would be really intrigued to see what the nationals do with them which position he plays I would have to think that he's going to be up the middle because again MLB.com cited him as one of the more athletic middle infielders in the guardian system that's one of those things where this kid has a good profile again a son of a major leader he knows what it looks like to be an everyday big leaguer as again his dad was a successful big leaguer Raphael Ramirez back in the day so this is one of those things where he's kind of one of those lottery ticket prospects he's got a pretty decent ceiling he's got a pretty decent frame a solid arm in the field pretty good in the field I think he's got a little bit to work at at the plate and I think the nationals can potentially tap into that now here's the thing with these lottery ticket guys nationals have always been a little bit iffy they've always been that so that's where it kind of gets a little bit concerned because again we've talked about this with Seaver King as well. Seaver King has potential similar to Raphael Ramirez now Seaver King is a lot better and a lot more productive at this point in his career but the nationals have always struggled with player development can you get him to his ceiling that is going to be the main question with Raphael Ramirez Jr. and that will probably be the big question but again he's not the headlining name of this deal in my opinion he's kind of like the third name to really think about and it's he's far away from the majors but the best name and the one that you're going to be seeing at nationals park not in the near future but someone who will make an impact will be the left handed pitcher Alex Clemley this is the guy this is the guy in the trade he is the premier name he is the star of your MOOC Alex Clemley who just turned 19 literally just a handful of weeks ago a second round pick out of the 2023 draft draft at a high school in Rhode Island so far this season look at these numbers even then his numbers don't really indicate how good he has been 12.6 Ks per nine six walks per nine which is wildly high seven hits per nine and a one four four two whip on the season in low way he's got 19 starts a four six seven ARA and 69 left third innings pitch but here's the underlying factor his first eight starts of the season were pretty much a disaster so he's got 19 starts now over his last 11 starts if you look at it he's got a two two eight ERA a one eighty five banning average against 63 strikeouts in 43 and a third innings pitch only 23 walks which is only 23 that's a lot of walks and only two home runs allowed he's got a fastball that rides up in the upper 90s and has touched 99 at points in time he's got very good breaking pitches as well he's got a solid pitch mix again he was pitching most this time he skipped rookie ball entirely didn't pitch last year which shut down came in this year did not go to rookie ball went to low way and it's had a very successful season and again you look at his season statistics and you're going to say he's not all that impressive he's got a four six seven ARA but then you look at the underlying metrics and you say coming from the Cleveland Guardians a team that is very very good at developing pitching one of the better ones in baseball in my opinion and you already start to see kind of him turn that corner over the last handful of months here in baseball over the last two months again 11 starts a two two eight ERA one eighty five batting average against 63 strikeouts in 43 and a third innings pitch this guy has the potential to be a middle rotation and maybe even a two starter down the line in my opinion and even then his floor is probably the more exciting part his floor in my opinion is going to be an all-star leader you heard that right 19 years old just turned 19 by the way someone who you should probably be up in high a maybe in the next month or so get him some work again see if he continues his hot stretch that he's been on over the last few months and move him up the minor league system this is the name that you will remember he's already the number six prospect in this national system today he's a top 10 prospect he is ranked higher than Travis Akora as of right now even though that will change dramatically once MLB.com and baseball America kind of re-up their files and kind of see what Travis Akora has done recently but the excitement around Travis Akora I think it should be reflected with Alex Klemie as well this is an exciting prospect and this is one of those moves where you may not see it right now with Lane Thomas being traded in about three years down the road you will thank him for this move and I think it will be because of the left hand and picture that we just got with Alex Klemie now again the big overwhelming question will be is what can the Nationals do with these big ceiling guys because that's what you're doing right now and again the Nationals they got a ton for Lane Thomas a lot more than I expected so we'll see what Mike Rizzo and the Nationals player development staff can do but right now you got to feel good about what the Nets did so Nationals are not done though no they are not Dylan Flora will definitely be traded in my opinion if not it is absolute malpractice but also closer Kyle Finnegan see ya trade him today I'll tell you why the Nationals will trade him today but before we do that I'm going to tell you guys about some of our very good friends over at prize picks and guys we've talked about prize picks before and you know that prize picks is America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over five million active members prize picks is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports unlike other apps on prize picks it's just you against the numbers all you do is pick more or less on two to six players to have projections and watch the weddings roll it get it on the daily action with your friends and become part of the prize picks community 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deposit match up to a hundred dollars pick more pick less it's that easy delicious means nutritious in the snack that packs a real protein punch wonderful pistachios one the highest protein nuts out there Millitomas of lockdown diebacks here and I love these pistachios because each one ounce serving has six grams of protein giving you over 10% of your daily value so whether your pistachio purist who loves cracking open every night or you prefer the convenience of no show pistachios wonderful pistachios has got you covered grab wonderful pistachios and elevate your snacking game today visit wonderful pistachios dot com to learn more thank you all for making a locked on nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and of course trade deadline is today six p.m. eastern time in the next trade Kyle Finnegan some people may not be happy with this some people may not be happy with kind of the fire sale that's going on right now you're gonna have to rework the back of your bullpen but I'm here to tell you they will do it just fine let's remind you of this when the nationals traded hunter Harvey how was he how did we get him here claimed off a waivers was cut by the Orioles then he turned in the hunter Harvey that we know today so when that got us a top prospect out of the royals farm system it is now interest is the number seven prospect in our system as well as a comp a pick in the first round of this year's draft that turned into Caleb Loma Vita and captured from California you got that going for you then you have Kyle Finnegan was signed out of the minor leagues to a major league deal right before 2020 after the nationals just won the world series and everyone's like who the hell is this guy he turned into an all star closer it took some time but he turned into an all star closer let's relax a little bit the nationals configure ways out to develop bullpen pieces and you've got guys by the way you've got a lot of guys that are going to be coming up here hopefully pretty soon Jose Freire who I've got a ton of faith in I believe will be a back end of the bullpen guy hopefully soon maybe even the second half of the season Zach Brixie someone who is back in the 2020 MLB draft out of Virginia Tech will be in the back end of this bullpen hopefully pretty soon here you can find pieces a lot of them by the way Mark East grism Jr. so it has been wildly impressive in the national system this year could be in the majors as soon as September you have got pieces here already in the house and now you're going to have more money to spend to hopefully add to the back end of the bullpen entering this final offseason here I'm not worried about the nationals replacing guys like Kyle Finnegan who yes was an all star but still is wildly replaceable by the way because let's be honest Kyle Finnegan I think it's one of the best kept secrets he's good but he's not great he's a solid closer but again replaceable some people may not like that but you saw it in last night's game and again maybe it is a little bit of a recency bias here after we watch him just absolutely you know what the bed last night but Kyle Finnegan is replaceable and if you've seen what relievers are going for on this market right now it makes all this sense in the world to trade Kyle Finnegan I think you're going to get a better package than what you got for Lane Thomas yesterday you can continue to stockpile this system and again this will be one of the more impactful trade deadlines since 2022 when the nationals got back CJ Abrams James Wood, Mackenzie Gore, Darlene Susanna, Robert Hassel III and all those guys in the Juan Soto deal the time is now to trade Kyle Finnegan and also Dylan Floro Dylan Floro in my opinion is a lock to be traded I don't think he'll get really that much in a turn but my thought process behind this if I'm Mike Rizzo right now think back to 2018 or 2017 when the nationals acquired Ryan Madsen and Sean Doolittle from the Oakland A's I would be the Oakland A's in that deal this year you package Kyle Finnegan and Dylan Floro and try to get the best prospect out of us they got Blake Trine and Hayes Uselzardo Blake Trine was a very good relief pitcher for a long time for the Oakland A's and as well as bounce around since and Hayes Uselzardo should be an all-star at one point in his career to Miami Marlins he has bounced around but still another very good pitching prospect there if I'm the nationals I am calling teams and saying you get Kyle Finnegan and Dylan Floro you're going to give us a better prospect in return by packaging these two guys and you'll get these two guys for Dylan Floro the next year and of course Kyle Finnegan if you want to use them as a closer go for it but I don't think a team will use them as a closer at this point it's going to be a contender and I'm assuming this contender whoever does go for him whether it's the Red Sox or the Philadelphia Phillies or maybe the New York Yankees they've already got someone in place there that they will use other than Kyle Finnegan but you've got these two pieces here that will be and should be traded package them together and get the best prospect available that is what I want to see from Mike Rizzo today and if there is one guy out there in baseball that I trust to make a deal like that it's going to be Mike Rizzo so we'll see what the nationals do today but ultimately it has been a very successful trade deadline in my opinion so thank you all for making locked on that to your firsts and every single day because we are free and available wherever you get your podcast so we'll catch you on the flip side and will Kyle Finnegan be in national and will Dylan Floro be a national by the end of today's deadline if they are it's going to be a rant tomorrow I'll tell you about that on tomorrow's show but if they aren't the nationals did just right I'll talk to you on the flip side have a good one a prime members you can listen to this locked on podcast add free on Amazon music download the Amazon music app today
