We knew that there would be a ripple effect when Max Scherzer finally signed, but most baseball fans and pundits alike didn't expect those ripples to stay within the confines of his new clubhouse.
Yet that's exactly what's happened in Washington.
Some, like Joel Sherman of the New York Post, say that the Nationals are going for it all in 2015 and will keep their current roster—specifically, its rotation—intact. With a substantial chunk of salary coming off the team's books after the season when Ian Desmond, Doug Fister, Denard Span and Jordan Zimmermann become free agents, that's not a ridiculous premise.
Others, like Fox Sports' Jon Morosi, have tweeted that the club will continue to listen to offers for the likes of Desmond, Zimmermann and, yes, even Stephen Strasburg.
Whatever the Nationals ultimately decide to do, they're our main focus in this week's exercise of building trades based on the latest buzz. I suppose we could call this the All-Star edition, as all four players we're about to look at partook in the Midsummer Classic last season.
Keep in mind that these deals are independent of each other and are pure speculation—for the most part, there's no indication that any of them have actually been discussed between the teams involved.
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