Perhaps it’d be better to keep Young around

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Last year at this time we tuned in the All-Star Game to check out Nationals’ representative Alfonso Soriano, wondering all the while whose uniform he’d be wearing after the trading deadline. It turned out he’d stay in a Washington uniform all year, en route to a memorable 40-40 season.

Soriano was never not available in a mid-season trade, but GM Jim Bowden wasn’t going to give him away, either. But think back: Did you ever hear any specific player’s names that would’ve ended up here in exchange for the Fonz? None ever really appeared in print, and the reasons why are simple: none of the names offered were genuine prospects and the veterans who might’ve been throw-ins weren’t worthy of consideration.

Nats’ management was excoriated for not trading Soriano knowing he’d likely leave as a free agent, but the brickbats that would’ve come their way for trading him for a bag of baseballs would have surely been worse. A classic case of a no-win situation.

The local representative in tonight’s All-Star Game is the very-deserving Dmitri Young. The number three hitter in the National League at .339, Dmitri’s bat has been money all season. A bargain at $500,000, Young has far exceeded expectations.

He was signed for two reasons: to fill in for the injured Nick Johnson at first base and to hopefully show enough offense to be attractive to another club for the stretch drive. I doubt they thought he’d do much more than Daryle Ward a year ago — a solid bat off the bench and a part-time defensive player — but so far they’ve received far more than that.

I admit I’ve advocated using Young as trade bait between now and the deadline at month’s end. But the recent setback in the recovery of Nick Johnson has given me some pause, to the point that I now believe Dmitri should not only stick around all year, but be re-signed for a couple of seasons.

Why not? At 33 — he turns 34 in October — he should still have a productive year or two left. Who knows if Nick will be back in the lineup at all this season? Even if he’s 100% by spring training, there should still be a significant role for Dmitri.

It’s perfectly clear that Dmitri is the people’s choice in D.C. He’s personable, productive and a solid candidate for comeback player-of-the-year honors.

We’ve all heard what a positive influence he’s been on the club’s younger players, and his joy in simply playing the game is palpable. At his age, he’s not likely to command an arm and a leg as a free agent. In the short term, Dmitri Young in a Nats’ uniform makes a lot of sense.

Having said all that, I should add that if an offer does come Jim Bowden’s way for Dmitri that includes a significant return for Washington, by all means let Young enjoy the excitement of being in the playoff hunt.

In that scenario, however, make sure he knows that he’s welcome back in Viera next March and at the new ballpark in April.

Hear Phil Wood Saturdays at 10 a.m. on SportsTalk 980 AM and weekly on Comcast SportsNet’s WPL through the World Series.

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