FanPost

Is Ben Revere the new Denard Span?

In yet another attempt to do more than disappoint the Washington Nationals have traded Drew Storen and cash to the Toronto Blue Jays for Ben Revere and a player to be named later. Revere joins former Phillies players Jonathan Papelbon and Jayson "we're the team to beat" Werth on the win now 2016 Nats.

While always a Revere fan, and wishing Ben well against all teams but the Phillies next season, it seems surprising that the Nationals would consider his well-below average arm, nonexistent power at the plate, and poor plate discipline a viable solution to replace Denard Span who recently signed a three year deal with the San Francisco Giants.

There is also some personal irony in yet another former Phillie playing in our nation's capital, and in Revere's case it's extra biting given that both he and Span were traded to the Phillies and Nationals respectively ahead of the 2013 season. Phillies general manager at the time, Ruben Amaro, was occasionally mocked for his failure to get the better player, Span (or a different player), instead of his understudy from the Minnesota Twins.

Revere's subsequent performance compared against Span's makes it pretty easy to see which team got the better player. It also makes it easier to predict what Revere will contribute in 2016. He'll hit a lot of singles, steal a lot of bases, and track down a lot of balls in the outfield, but his offensive value will be tied very closely to his batting average and effectiveness as an everyday, run-preventing center fielder greatly reduced by his weak arm. His career -2.5 dWAR tells a story as does Span's career 3.9 dWAR, nor is Revere's career 9.7 oWAR in 6 seasons in the same category as Span’s 21.2 oWAR in 8 seasons.

Without meaning to denigrate Revere, to put the differences in their offensive/defensive games simply - Span drives the ball, Revere does not, Span is a more complete center fielder. Still, at this point in the offseason, this trade solves multiple problems for the Nationals and Blue Jays, and on the strength of that alone, helps improve both clubs in 2016 despite Revere’s perceived shortcomings.

Being is in his prime, Revere does have upside and may surprise next season if he adds a little more punch, hits in April, and shows just a little more patience at the plate. Maybe good pitching prevents more base runners to run on Revere's arm. Bunch of maybe but I would probably make this trade if I were Mike Rizzo, but only because the Nationals aren't willing to overspend on Yoenis Cespedes (as they once did on Jayson Werth) in lieu of snagging Jason Heyward.

Ultimately, Revere seems to represent a small consolation prize in the Nationals efforts to move Drew Storen so they can say they got value in return for moving their former closer. My opinion is that Revere would be an excellent fourth outfielder on a Nationals team that included one more elite outfielder – even the questionable Span – and Nats fans would be dreaming on a playoff bound team in 2016 if this was the case.

Sorry Ben, love your smile, attitude, hit tool, versatility and professionalism, but you're not Heyward, Cespedes or Span. Six weeks before pitchers and catchers report, this trade gives rise to dreams of a Phillies outfield that will be better, at least defensively, than the Nationals outfield. It’s a start.