Another Intelligence-Insulting Inbox

I'm a little late to the party this week, but here is your Inbox!

What are the chances of Cristian Guzman being traded this offseason?
-- Ross B., Washington

I was surprised when they didn't trade him at the deadline. The emergence of Ian Desmond makes it likely that they will try to move him, but will anyone actually want to take on that salary?

If you were in general manager Mike Rizzo's shoes, what you would do to make the Nationals better?

-- Ron J., Washington

"I would trade Dunn, Guzman or Josh Willingham to get more pitching and speed. You may have to trade two of the three to get what you want. Nyjer Morgan's absence has proven that they are too slow on the bases."-Ladson

Bill, you're wrong. You need to trade all 3 of them, plus Slothburg (0 career stolen bases) and Zimmerman (only 2 stolen bases this year).

In all seriousness, the Nats need to add 2 starting pitchers, 3 relief pitchers (one being a closer), a catcher and a second baseman to be competitive. A little too long of a list for me to predict a huge improvement next year.

You said that next year's rotation is still unknown except for John Lannan. What about Stephen Strasburg?
-- Alex C., Montreal

Ummm...really? He hasn't thrown a single pitch in the Nationals organization. Tony Gwynn said he was not ready for the big leagues. He might not be worse than what we've got, but we're not exactly in a "win now" mode.

Right-hander Shairon Martis has more wins in a short period of time than all the other Nationals' starters. He should have been called up to the big leagues this month.
-- Stan C., New York

Have you even been to Nationals.com in the last month? There was an article about Martis being shut down and it was mentioned in the last Inbox. And unfortunately, you're not the only person in the world who uses wins as the primary rating for pitchers. Ugh.

I really liked the competitive spirit of Jamey Carroll when he played with the Nationals. Pete Orr reminds me of Jamey in that way. What do you think?
-- Jim T., Beaufort, S.C.

Competitive spirit, yes. Talent, no. Pete Orr is miles away from Jamey Carroll talent-wise, and that's saying something.

I've heard lots of talk about the Nats going after second baseman Orlando Hudson. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Hudson in a Nationals uniform. But what do you think the chances are they will really signing him?
-- Matt H., Tallahassee, Fla.

5%. The Nats may throw a lot of money at him, but so are 29 other teams.