The Nationals have had recent discussions with the Dodgers and Rockies about pitcher John Lannan, but no trade is close, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Sources say that the Nats want a club to pay the rest of his remaining salary and give up at least one legitimate player.
Talks between the Dodgers and Nationals have been only preliminary, according to sources, while the Rockies kicked the tires on the pitcher before being turned off by the price. For the Dodgers, Lannan would be an alternative to left-hander Ted Lilly while he is sidelined with a shoulder issue.
Lannan, 27, is now owed less than $3.5MM of his $5MM total salary. The left-hander will be arbitration eligible this offseason and is in line for free agency the year after. Lannan has been less-than-stellar through ten starts with Triple-A Syracuse, posting an ERA of 5.62 with 4.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.
They must have been passing something funky around the draft room in DC… ridiculous asking price for a 5th starter at best.
Chavez Ravine.. Only stadium (other than Petco) where Lannan has a even remote chance of pitching better than a emergency starter and I wouldn’t want him at those places unless the Nats paid his entire salary and took nothing in exchange.
att park says hola
did the Dodgers and Rockies actually talk back to the Nationals about Lannan?
Washington has nothing to lose by asking for the moon for Lannan. If they don’t get they want, the worst that happens in they have a fifth starter stashed in the minors. They are on the hook for his salary anyway
Did Stan Kasten consult with Stan Kasten about John Lannan?
Considering that Lannan was the centerpiece of Kasten’s “plan” while he was in DC, I can’t believe he hasn’t already offered the moon for him.
Seriously, Lannan was lucky to come up when he did as it allowed him to accumulate enough service time at a young age to be awarded a big salary. That salary, however, is now an anchor preventing him from being traded. No matter what happens, nobody is going to offer him arbitration again this off season and he’ll likely be competing for a 5th starter job somewhere else next spring at about 1/5th of his current salary.
How about the Dodgers take Lannan and pick up the salary if the Nats get legitimate players Kennedy and Uribe?
Knowing Rizzo, he’s not interested in vets. He’s likely asking for youth.
Best comment
Guthrie and cash for Lannan, straight up.
That’s a good way to keep a job… It’s not like this is the NFL or NBA.
I’d bet that’s the problem. The Nats probably would take a bag of balls but teams are asking for them to pick up some of the salary, which they don’t want to do.