Jim Gardner is on vacation, so this is your daily dose of Halo Speculation!
Post any cool baseball news stories in the comment section if you want to talk about stuff.
Here is a starter for you though - the Washington Nationals, having signed Max Scherzer to a ginormous contract, are rumored to be ready to shop Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg was the number one pick in the 2009 draft (Mike Trout went 25th). He is a top talent heading into his prime. Tommy John surgery showed little to no effect as he has posted three full seasons of great pitching.
Of the 868 batters he faced in 2014, he struck out 242 of them. that is just one of many impressive stats he has accumulated. Why list them all - he is an elite pitcher who turns 27 on July 20 and has two seasons of arbitration before free agency. His agent is Scott Boras so you know he cannot be bought off with an extension.
What would it take to get Strasburg? If I am negotiating hard, I point out to the DC-Braintrust that all I am really getting is 66 starts out of the kid before he heads off to BorasLand.
What do the Angels have that could pry that out of the hands of the EagleNats?
I think Kole Calhoun straight up for Strasburg would be irresistible to the Nationals. What do you think? Do that Nats bite at that and if you are Dipoto, do you pursue this pitching at all costs?