Headlines

  • Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen
  • Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness
  • Mariners Sign Justin Upton
  • Chad Green To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman
  • Luis Gil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Trade Candidate: John Lannan

By Tim Dierkes | March 6, 2012 at 9:29am CDT

John Lannan and Chien-Ming Wang are currently battling for the Nationals' fifth starter job, a competition created by the team's Edwin Jackson signing last month.  Since Wang was re-signed as a free agent in November, Lannan seems more likely to be traded this spring.

Icon_13059093

Lannan, a 27-year-old southpaw, posted a 3.70 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 0.73 HR/9, and 54.1% groundball rate in 184 2/3 innings last year.  Though his career ERA sits at an even 4.00, Lannan's recent SIERA figures suggest he's more of a 4.50-type pitcher.  He's pitched 182 or more innings in each of the last four seasons, including a minor league stint in 2010.  Lannan takes the ball every fifth day, and his groundball rate ranked sixth in the National League in 2011.

With a $5MM salary, Lannan provides a modest amount of surplus value.  He's technically under team control through 2013, but if another typical season pushes him to the $7.5MM salary range for that season, he might be non-tendered this December.  So, Lannan's trade value lies mostly with the 2012 season.

It's difficult to find a team with a big need for $5MM innings guy right now.  The Brewers may have mild concerns over Shaun Marcum's shoulder, but Marco Estrada would be a suitable fill-in.  A.J. Burnett's Pirates debut may be delayed until June due to a broken orbital bone beneath his eye, but would the team be inclined to spend an additional $5MM because of that half-season injury?  The Giants' Ryan Vogelsong is dealing with back pain, but he'll miss less time than Burnett.  The Angels have standard fifth starter uncertainty given Jerome Williams' hamstring injury, but not enough to necessitate an acquisition.

The Orioles' rotation has its share of aches and pains, but plenty of candidates as well.  The Red Sox and Blue Jays could use some depth, but their current candidates are more interesting than Lannan, if less reliable.  The Indians have four pitchers vying for their fifth starter job.

The Tigers seem a bit more open than most to adding a starting pitcher, though presumably not at the cost of $5MM and/or a useful young player.  There's also a case for the Athletics to add someone like Lannan.  Overall, though, it's clearly a buyer's market if the Nationals look to trade the lefty.  Though GM Mike Rizzo has said he's always open-minded to any deal that positively impacts the club, I don't think it'll happen with Lannan this spring unless another club suffers a major loss in its rotation.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Share 0 Retweet 17 Send via email0

Trade Candidate Washington Nationals John Lannan

Latest On Matt Cain
Main
2013 Vesting Options
View Comments (25)

Comments

  1. WolandJR

    10 years ago

    Lannan to the A’s for Brad Peacock, Tom Millone, Derrick Norris and AJ Cole. 

    Reply
    • stl_cards16

      10 years ago

      /sarcasm

      Reply
  2. formerdraftpick

    10 years ago

    Regardless of A.J.’s return, I think it would be fantastic if Lannan was a Pirate.  You would definitely have a contending pitching staff at that point.  As another plus, you would be able to relieve the bullpen who was a bit beleaguered last year toward the second half.  A starter who can go 6-7 innings per game would help a bullpen as opposed to a 5 max inning starter.   

    Reply
    • stl_cards16

      10 years ago

      a contending pitching staff?  I don’t think it’s quite there yet

      Reply
      • formerdraftpick

        10 years ago

        Why?

        Reply
        • stl_cards16

          10 years ago

          Because there would still be three better pitching staffs in a division that everyone considers pretty weak.

    • FS54

      10 years ago

      that just shows how much you don’t know about Lannan. Among Nats fans, he is famous for overusing the bullpen for his starts. Besides he is not considered a part of contending pitching staff, unless as a fourth/fifth starter. Having said that, I think Nationals should not trade Lannan. We have had a bad history with injuries and imploding starters early in the season. He does have an option and I think now is the time to use it. He is a major league pitcher but unless we get a deal that we can’t say no to, I think we should hold on to him because he could be helpful down the road this season.

      Reply
      • formerdraftpick

        10 years ago

        I’m confused.  How much do I not know about Lannan?

        Reply
        • FS54

          10 years ago

          just that your belief of Lannan making Pirates pitching staff a contending pitching staff and that Lannan will be able to help your bullpen save innings. Neither thoughts are true for me and most Nats fans. He averages less than 6 innings per start over his career. None of the Pirates starting pitchers (or potential starters) have cracked 200 IP. They seem to have potential to do that, but we will see if that happens. So yeah, I wouldn’t label them contending just yet even after Lannan’s addition.

        • formerdraftpick

          10 years ago

          Still confused.  What does my belief system have to do with Lannan and knowing him?

          What did I originally say about Lannan being a 1-3 starter in the rotation? So if you took on Lannan, and made him a starter, you would “eventually” force one of their current starters to the bullpen for long relief duty.  This move would create more competition among starters and allow the starter sent to the bullpen to provide more than 30 innings of relief appearances per season. 

          Plus, when AJ comes back, your rotation would look like AJ (unless he practices his bunting again), Bedard, Correia, McDonald and Lannan, maybe Morton.  Not that bad.  Lannan or Morton for long relief in the bullpen….why would that be bad?  Is Brad Lincoln or Hughes a better choice over Lannan? 

          Trust me, I know Lannan and what his capabilities are.  I wouldn’t say 16 innings off from 200 in 2011 is such a bad scenario either.  Plus, I don’t think I can kick a lefthander who can pitch almost 200 innings a season out of consideration.  

          The Pirates have a nice starting rotation this year and with the playoff rules changing, may allow for a chance at contention.

    • melonis_rex

      10 years ago

      why should the pirates give up prospect value for a BOR starter?

      Reply
    • melonis_rex

      10 years ago

      why should the pirates give up prospect value for a BOR starter?

      Reply
  3. ironnat

    10 years ago

    The chances that some team will have a pitcher go down or not perform as expected are remote.  Lannan will get dealt, if not in the spring, later in the season.  With Wang still a question mark in my mind I would hold on to Lannan for the pen.

    Reply
  4. NYBravosFan10

    10 years ago

    Bye John, thanks for always destroying the Braves. There moderators, is that better?

    Reply
    • redsx968

      10 years ago

      No- you are making fun of your own team using a subtle dig, thus it is inappropriate for this site

      Reply
  5. sallen22

    10 years ago

    Even without Jerome Williams the Angels still have Garrett Richards or Brad Mils.  In terms of stuff Richards has 3 plus pitches and an average change up and projects into the middle of a rotation at worst.  Mills is lot like Lannan, just younger, cheaper and left handed.  So really, there’s no reason why the Angels would pursue LAnnan unless they were looking for a #2 starter for their AAA team.

    Reply
  6. jphenix2002

    10 years ago

    Washington would take crisp but would Oakland take Lannan?

    Reply
    • Natsfan89

      10 years ago

      Why would Washington take Crisp? They showed no interest in him during FA and if they had wanted him they would have been able to get him.

      Reply
  7. Leonard Washington

    10 years ago

    Hope the Sox stay away from him.

    Reply
    • Allison

      10 years ago

      He’d still be the 4th best starter on the team. And we can assume Oswalt ain’t showing up for work at Fenway.

      Reply
    • Allison

      10 years ago

      He’d still be the 4th best starter on the team. And we can assume Oswalt ain’t showing up for work at Fenway.

      Reply
  8. Giraffe Monsoon

    10 years ago

    Completely forget the Pittsburgh Pirates. They already had six starters even before Burnett got hurt. Kevin Correia, their sixth starter, can eat just as many innings as Lannan and has better stuff. He’ll probably fill-in for Burnett, unless they decide to go with four starters in April. They really don’t need five starters the first month.

    They also already have Brad Lincoln, Kyle McPherson, Jeff Locke, reliever Chris Leroux, and non-roster invitees Jojo Reyes and Shairon Martis all gunning for starter jobs. I’d rather see Lincoln or McPherson in the rotation before Lannan.

    Reply
  9. JCCfromDC

    10 years ago

    Wang can’t pitch out of the bullpen, can’t be sent to AAA without clearing waivers and can’t be traded until May.  If he’s not hurt, he’s the #5 starter.  Detwiler has no options, but as a power arm can be the long lefty/emergency starter in the bullpen.  Lannan still has an option left, so unless Wang is hurt Lannan is off to Syracuse.

    And for all the teams that have little motivation to pick up Lannan, the Nationals have little motivation to trade him.  Their rotation includes one guy coming off of TJ surgery, one guy coming off of shoulder surgery, and one guy who has never pitched 200 innings in a season.  Another guy is on a one year contract.  And they traded their rotation depth to Oakland for the fifth guy!  They don’t care about paying him $5 million to pitch in Syracuse, they need the insurance.

    Oh, the Nationals will say all the right things. “We regard him as a major league pitcher” and “it’s a tough break for him, it’s just a numbers game” – that sort of thing. But all other things being equal Lannan will be with the Nationals … but not in DC.

    Reply
    • daveineg

      10 years ago

       Don’t be so sure.  It’s a long way from now until the end of ST, and guys teams are counting on could go down with injury too.  Besides, they could still trade him and get another arm back that’s more suitable to be in AAA than Lannan.  As a Brewer fan, I’ve always liked Lannan.  But at $5 million, unless one of the Brewer starters goes down, I can’t see a deal.  The other issue is that Washington needs a CF but there’s just ashes left from a burned out bridge preventing a deal with the Brewers for a guy who might be available.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

    Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness

    Mariners Sign Justin Upton

    Chad Green To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman

    Luis Gil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Carter Kieboom To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL

    Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain

    Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

    Brandon Lowe Diagnosed With Stress Reaction, Shut Down For At Least Three Weeks

    DeGrom MRI Reveals “Continued Healing”; Still No Clear Timetable For Return

    Boras: Michael Conforto Not Ruling Out Late-Season Return

    Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson

    Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats

    Recent

    Padres Place Mike Clevinger On 15-Day IL With Triceps Strain

    Mariners Sign Andrew Knapp To Minors Contract

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Pirates To Select Yerry De Los Santos, Promote Roansy Contreras

    Injury Notes: Matz, Chisholm, Cruz, Watkins

    Giants Place Brandon Belt On 10-Day Injured List

    Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

    Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness

    Mariners Sign Justin Upton

    A’s Reinstate Cole Irvin

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Story Rumors
    • Frankie Montas Rumors
    • Michael Conforto Rumors
    • Arbitration Tracker
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version