Rosenthal's Latest: Nats After Dunn

Ken Rosenthal's got a new column up; let's dive in.

• Fun new rumor: the Nationals are pursuing Adam Dunn.  Huh?  Makes no sense on the surface.  Jim Bowden's possible motivation would be to sign Dunn long-term and make him the cornerstone of the franchise.  If he fails at that, all would not be lost given the draft pick compensation.  Rosenthal says the market for Dunn beyond Washington is a bit foggy - the Twins, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and Padres could all get involved but none stand out.
• Rosenthal adds some color to my recent Nationals post.  He mentions that Ron Belliard is a name that might interest the Mets, an idea that has come up before.  Rosenthal says the Mets will not do a Lastings Milledge for Chad Cordero trade.
• The Dodgers have jumped to the forefront on Octavio Dotel, with Takashi Saito ailing.  According to Rosenthal, the Royals aren't demanding the very specific bounty Joel Sherman claimed.  Instead, they just want a near MLB-ready player.  Rosenthal says Tony Abreu is out of reach but Chin-Lung Hu might not be.  He suggests moving Hu to second base to accomodate Tony Pena Jr., which should probably be reversed.   It appears the Indians wouldn't surrender Franklin Gutierrez or Ben Francisco for Dotel.  I'd give one up, personally.
• I didn't know this: Jermaine Dye can veto a deal to four clubs.  With his solid play, interest is picking up.  As are Kenny Williams' demands; he wants an elite prospect.  The Indians and Red Sox have inquired; the Cubs might make sense too.  I thought we had ruled out the Red Sox earlier though.
• The Padres are looking for bench help, perhaps in the name of Ryan Klesko, Mike Piazza, Mark Loretta, or Mike Lamb.  Couple of prodigal sons there.  Would Piazza be happy as a pricey bench player?  Rosenthal says Matt Stairs isn't available.  Why not?

Comments

[Muggerd]

Wayne Krivsky can kiss his ass goodbye if he deals anyone to the nationals. They traded all thier good players away in the late 90s.

[LosYankees]

I dont see the Nats and Reds dealing after their last deal and how upset the Reds GM was about getting Gary ''Damaged Goods'' Majewski.

[johnflaherty]

Not saying he's gonna be a savior, but I just read Giambi is on track for an early August return which would eliminate the immediate need for a power lefty like Dunn. Of course, coming off the injury, who knows how he'll hit, but I don't see the Yankees giving up a lot for Dunn(which is the only way they'll get him) with Giambi looming.

[Teetz]

Adam Dunn and Dmitri Young would be the best 1,2 punch in all of baseball. Can you say Ruth, Gehrig part deux?

[ArodSucksAtLife]

HAH HAH HAH

[bsox1838]

I dont understand the Red Sox interest in Adam Dunn. He is left-handed Wily Mo with mabey a higher BA, barely. As for Dye, Wily Mo has more upside.

[JitteryMcFrog]

bsox1838,

Adam Dunn is a lot better than Wily Mo right now. A lot. Dunn actually gets on base, for example. Wily Mo doesn't. He is awful right now and needs to get a lot better before he's useful to a playoff-caliber team like the Red Sox. Sorry.

I'm not sure where Dunn would play for the Sox, though, unless perhaps they're concerned about Big Papi's health. Maybe they stick him at first and move Youks to third, but whenever I've seen Dunn at first he looked pretty bad. A piece of a Manny trade? I doubt it. So I don't really get the Dunn to the BoSox rumors either, but it's not because of Wily Mo.

[wihargo]

Matt Stairs is probably unavailable because he wants to be.
He may be retire after this year, and he might want to go out on a Canadian team. in with the expos and out with the jays.
Perhaps he told JP that he would just retire if he was traded.