The Nationals have needs; who doesn’t. But surprisingly, their needs are kind of all over the place.

Last year, Dusty Baker was desperate for relief pitching. Despite being one of the best teams in baseball, the Nats had a very obvious, major weakness in their bullpen. They made the necessary trades for Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, and were rewarded with Doolittle being named to the NL All Star team this season, although he’ll miss the game (they would have preferred to get rewarded in the 2017 postseason, but that was hardly Doolittle’s fault).

Now, the Nats need a few things as desperately as they needed relievers a season ago:

• At least one more quality starting pitcher
• A catcher who can at least flirt with a .300 BA
• Perhaps another bat to help Harper get right

⇒Read: Jayson Werth Bids Farewell to Baseball

Michael A. Taylor Says “What? Me get traded? Unpossible!”

Do the Nats really want to make a Michael A. Taylor Trade?

Obviously, a Michael A. Taylor trade isn’t a panacea to all that ails the Nats.

But there is no question that he has value, which makes you wonder: should the Nats trade him at all? Why give up one of your best defensive outfielders who can get streaky behind the plate?

Michael A. Taylor’s 2018 and career stats

Taylor is a very likeable player as well. He keeps his head down, doesn’t cause any drama, and does his job. It stands to reason that trading him away will leave a hole in the clubhouse that might not be so easy to fill.

The Nationals could stay put because “We like the depth down in the minor leagues” – Nats GM Mike Rizzo

Who Might Be Out There on the Nats Radar

There is no shortage of mediocre-to-bad baseball teams out there who have at least one good player to use as a bargaining chip. Baseball trades rarely are a 1-for-1 deal, so Taylor could simply be part of a dynamic package that Rizzo The Wizard could put together.

That said, here’s a brief wish list.

A Return of The Buffalo

Wilson Ramos, oh how do we miss ye? Yes, The Buffalo could make a reappearance in Nats Town. Ramos made the AL All Star team after going 291/.340/.479 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs for the Rays. The Astros apparently have interest too, so we’ll see.

Chris Archer says Johnny Bench Called

Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer is getting interest as well from multiple teams. At 16.5 games behind Boston in the impossible-to-crack AL East, Tampa Bay might have plenty of interest in dealing him as well.

Real Possibility for Realmuto

It might cost more that just a Michael A. Taylor Trade, but JT Realmuto is a spicy meat-a-ball. The Marlins are on record as saying that they’ll need to be “blown away” by an offer for Realmuto.

Whatever possibilities are out there, the Nationals must make a move of some kind, or they’ll be on the outside looking in come October.