On this date in 2009, the Nationals fired manager Manny Acta and replaced him with Jim Riggleman. A lot has changed in two years – Riggleman resigned as the Nationals' skipper over a contract dispute last month and Acta, now the Indians' manager, is a leading candidate for AL Manager of the Year. Here's the latest from around MLB…
- The Rays, Indians, Astros and Angels scouted Hisashi Iwakuma's recent rehab start, according to a Sponichi report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The 30-year-old right-hander posted a 2.72 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 from 2007-10 in Japan.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America explains the give and take between the commissioner's office and the players' union when it comes to the double standard between draft-eligible amateurs and international free agents.
- One NL executive told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that we should expect an intense week leading up to the trade deadline, since teams will wait until the last possible moment before becoming ‘sellers.’
- GM Jack Zduriencik told Greg Johns of MLB.com that he has discussed possible moves, but doesn’t want to get caught up in whether the Mariners will be buyers or a sellers this summer.
