This is the year for the Washington Nationals. They have come back from a dust-up between closer Jonathan Papelbon and superstar Bryce Harper to be the strong favorites to win the NL East. If it weren’t for the Chicago Cubs, the Nationals would be the favorites to win the World Series.

The Nationals have one large issue blocking them from contending for the World Series. Their center field situation is still a mess after letting Denard Span leave via free agency. They replaced him with Ben Revere, but he only played one game before being placed on the disabled list.

The Nationals need to find someone who can play center field and stay healthy. They also need to get this player without losing someone who is in their future plans. There’s one player the Nationals can count on to get this mission completed, and that guy is pitcher A.J. Cole.

Cole is a second-tier starting pitcher prospect who made his debut last season. He pitches five innings consistently and rarely more than that. More importantly, however, he has been a National twice in his career, as well as being on the Oakland Athletics.

That’s the key to using Cole. The Athletics think highly of him and the Nationals know this. Cole is not in the Nationals’ future rotation plans as they have three starting pitchers more highly rated in the minors than Cole. That makes Cole the ideal candidate to trade.

The Athletics have some outfielders who can be moved, in free agent-to-be Josh Reddick and former center field starter Coco Crisp. Either of these outfielders would place the Nationals on the same level as the Cubs going forward in 2016. They could also ask for a young infielder back in this deal. In any case, the Nationals need an outfielder to make a run at the World Series. They need to turn Cole into an outfielder before they miss their window.