Elijah Dukes Is a National, Dawg

Elijah Dukes is officially no longer Tampa Bay's problem: the oft-troubled outfielder was dealt today to the Washington Nationals for an unspecified minor leaguer. According to the Washington Post, the player the Rays are receiving isn't expected to have significant value, as the team was more interested in giving Dukes his much-needed change of scenery than anything else.

Are the Nats worried about Dukes' history of getting in trouble? Perhaps, but Jim Bowden has never shied away from giving players a second chance. In fact, he had one of his latest reclamation projects meet with Dukes soon after the trade was completed. From TampaBay.com:

After the teams agreed to the trade, Nationals officials met this morning with Dukes at a hotel neat the airport here in Nashville, site of the winter meetings. According to the Washington Post, Nats veteran Dmitri Young - the older brother of former Rays OF Delmon Young - was also at the meeting and he is expected to serve as a mentor to Dukes.

(How was Dukes able to make the meeting when he's supposed to be playing winter ball in the Dominican? He's apparently returned for good after missing his family.)

Here's to hoping that works out. While Dukes, 23, is going from one rebuilding club to another, he'll still have to earn his at-bats: the Nats have a suddenly crowded outfield that also features the likes of Austin Kearns (27 years old), Wily Mo Pena (25) and Lastings Milledge (22). That's an awfully intriguing mix of players -- they were all hailed as top prospects in their own time, but with the exception of Kearns, we've yet to discover what their true ceiling is. Considering how Bowden fleeced the Mets in getting Milledge and apparently picked up Dukes for nothing, the Nats fans have to be happy with the offseason so far.