Nats could be center of attention at local Winter Meetings

For the next four days, Washington will be the center of the baseball universe. The question around here is whether the Nationals will be the center of attention at the Winter Meetings being held in their backyard.

Few teams around the sport have the potential to be in the spotlight as much as the Nationals do this week at baseball's annual offseason event, held for the first time at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, a mere seven miles south of Nationals Park.

The hometown team already has been thrust into the middle of major trade rumors, in the mix for both Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen and White Sox ace Chris Sale. Add their continued attempt to re-sign closer Mark Melancon to a record-setting deal, and it seems safe to say the Nats will be among the primary topics of discussion all week.

None of that, of course, guarantees an actual transaction of consequence. General manager Mike Rizzo typically hasn't made major news at the Winter Meetings during his tenure. Aside from the blockbuster Jayson Werth signing in 2010 in Orlando, the only significant free agents Rizzo has signed while at the Winter Meetings were Ivan Rodriguez (2009 in Indianapolis) and Dan Haren (2012 in Nashville).

Rizzo has pulled off trades at each of the last three meetings - he acquired Jerry Blevins in 2013 in Orlando, dealt Ross Detwiler in 2014 in San Diego and dealt Yunel Escobar last winter in Nashville - but none captivated the majority of attendees at the event.

So perhaps the next four days will come and go without much news from the Nationals. But they've certainly positioned themselves to do something big, and maybe more than one thing.

The McCutchen saga continues to drag on, the Pirates still holding onto their five-time outfielder for the moment but still talking to several interested clubs including the Nationals, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Though there seemed to be motivation on the Nats' part to work a deal out before Friday's non-tender deadline, the possibility of a trade didn't die once 8 p.m. EST came and went.

The issue remains just how much the Nationals are willing to give up in exchange for a 30-year-old superstar coming off a very disappointing season who will become a free agent after the 2018 season. The Pirates understandably want a lot - potentially outfield prospect Victor Robles, right-hander Reynaldo Lopez and more - and Rizzo understandably is reluctant to part ways with that much young talent.

There has been less revealed publicly about trade discussions for Sale, but the Nationals remain interested in the left-hander ... again, if the price isn't too exorbitant. The White Sox justifiably can ask for more for Sale, who is 27 and under club control at reasonable salaries until 2020, than the Pirates can ask for McCutchen.

Whether Rizzo is more willing to part with young talent in this case, and thus solidify a dominant rotation that would feature Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Sale, Tanner Roark and either Joe Ross or Gio Gonzalez, remains to be seen.

It also remains to be seen if Rizzo is willing to spend the kind of money it will take to re-sign Melancon. The Nationals loved what the 31-year-old closer did for them after his July acquisition and would happily bring him back.

Melancon, though, is commanding deals in the neighborhood of four years and $60 million, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. That would be a record contract for a reliever, but it still figures to pale in comparison to the contracts fellow free agents Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen will receive this winter.

The Nationals' chief competitor for Melancon right now appears to be the Giants, who attempted to trade for him in July as well but couldn't match Rizzo's offer of Felipe Rivero and prospect Taylor Hearn. It won't require any prospects to acquire Melancon this time around, though, only cash.