The Nationals are willing to boost payroll midseason if the right opportunity emerges, principal owner Mark Lerner told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. “We’ve never let dollars get in the way of us making decisions that will help this organization,” Lerner said. “That will always be our philosophy.” Here’s more from Morosi, starting in Washington:
- Lerner said the Nationals “don’t want to get somebody who’s a rental player,” Morosi reports. The Nationals have a club-record payroll in the $90MM range for 2012.
- The Royals are now asking for a Major League piece in return for Jonathan Broxton, Morosi tweets. The Royals are open to moving Broxton, Morosi and Ken Rosenthal reported last night. The 28-year-old right-hander has a 1.99 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 21 saves this year.
- Marco Scutaro is available, but the Rockies’ asking price remains high, Morosi tweets. Scutaro would prefer to stay in Colorado, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported today.
