Nats facing plenty of competition for frontline starters

The Nationals have been aggressive in addressing some of their needs early this offseason, more aggressive than most teams. They acquired two relievers (Kyle Barraclough and Trevor Rosenthal) before the calendar even reached November. They signed a catcher (Kurt Suzuki) before any of the other top free agents at the position found a new home.

Those were important moves, and all should help the Nationals in areas where they clearly needed help. But let's not kid ourselves here, because the club's biggest area of need this winter - and it's not even close - remains unaddressed to date: a frontline starting pitcher.

There's no move the Nats will make this offseason - yeah, arguably not even the Bryce Harper decision - that will have a more significant impact on the club's fortunes in 2019 than the acquisition of at least one more starter. And they can't really afford to go cheap on this one. While there is some need for a back-of-the-rotation arm, that's secondary to the need for a frontline starter who can join Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg and lead the staff.

Here's the biggest impediment: A bunch of teams find themselves in the exact same boat, making for some serious hot stove competition.

Take Patrick Corbin, the top free-agent starter on the market. The 29-year-old is a perfect fit for the Nationals, a workhorse lefty with high strikeout numbers who appears to be realizing his full potential after six seasons in the majors.

Trouble is, Corbin also is a perfect fit for the Phillies (whom he reportedly visited Tuesday), the Yankees (who reportedly still are interested even after trading for James Paxton last week) and pretty much every other contender out there.

Are the Nationals ready to make the kind of commitment - quite possibly $120 million over six years - needed to convince Corbin to come to D.C. over those other towns? Would that even be a smart move on their part, giving out another nine-figure contract to bolster a rotation that already has two such pitchers on the roster?

If not Corbin, the Nats could go after Dallas Keuchel, who might be slightly more affordable, though probably not by a large amount. Keuchel has more of a track record than Corbin, though he relies more on weak contact than strikeouts, he's two years older and the fear would be that his best days are behind him. Even with all that in mind, he would be an upgrade for a Nationals rotation that needs an upgrade.

What about the trade market? A big name came off the board when the Mariners dealt Paxton to the Yankees, but there are a couple of even bigger names possibly out there: Zack Greinke and Madison Bumgarner.

The Diamondbacks have dropped more than a couple of hints they're prepared to make major changes, and that would start with a trade of Greinke, who accounted for a whopping 25.8 percent of their opening day payroll this year. The Nationals aren't exactly in position to take on all of Greinke's remaining contract ($103.5 million over three years) but say Arizona was willing to eat one-third of the money. That might be doable for one of the best pitchers in the game.

Bumgarner, meanwhile, is quite affordable at $12 million for one season. But he's only available for one season, set to hit free agency at long last next winter. And it's unclear how motivated the Giants are to move a guy who truly is a franchise icon. If new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi decides it's time to part ways with the lefty as part of a broader rebuild, though, you better believe Mike Rizzo would be interested in him.

Because Rizzo knows what we all know: The Nationals really need to emerge from this offseason with another frontline starter. It's just a matter now of identifying who that starter will be. And how he'll be acquired.