Nationals Rumors

Central Notes: Bourn, Guillen, Soto, Rhodes

By Mark Polishuk | August 2, 2011 at 8:59pm CDT

The latest from the Central divisions….

The Astros wanted Ross Detwiler as part of any package the Nationals offered for Michael Bourn, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Washington didn't want to part with its young southpaw, so the Nats' chance to acquire Bourn the day before the trade deadline evaporated. Bourn instead went to one of Washington's NL East rivals.
In a video interview with Graham Bensinger of Yahoo Sports, Ozzie Guillen says that he recently told White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf that "If you want me to stay, a lot of things [have] got to be better." Guillen also said, however, that he wants to remain in Chicago and is fully committed to his current team, despite some rumors connecting him to the Marlins job in 2012. "It'd be an honor for me to manage the Marlins," Guillen said. "Do I want to manage the Marlins? No, because I'm managing the White Sox now."
Guillen's future is also a topic in Doug Padilla and Bruce Levine's Cubs-and-White Sox chat for ESPN Chicago. Padilla and Levine discuss why both teams kept players like Carlos Quentin and Marlon Byrd at the trade deadline, Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn's potential as a future GM and why Mike Quade is playing so many veterans.
Also of note from the chat is Levine's news that the Pirates were interested in Geovany Soto, but were told by the Cubs that Soto wasn't available.
The Cardinals may have interest in Arthur Rhodes, who was designated for assignment today by the Rangers. MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that the Cards have "held significant interest [in Rhodes] in recent years" and notes that Tony La Russa made some vague quotes both praising Rhodes and saying his team needed another southpaw reliever.
The Royals may have to do some roster juggling in August and September to find playing time for all of their young prospects, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart

By Tim Dierkes | August 1, 2011 at 10:24pm CDT

Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…

Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.

Nationals Release Matt Stairs

By Tim Dierkes | August 1, 2011 at 1:04pm CDT

The Nationals announced today that they have released Matt Stairs. He'd been designated for assignment on Wednesday to open up a spot for Jonny Gomes.

Stairs, 43, hit .154/.257/.169 in 74 plate appearances for the Nationals this year. In his 19-year career he's played for the Expos, Red Sox, Athletics, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates, Royals, Rangers, Tigers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Padres, and Nationals. His body of work may surprise you: .262/.356/.477 in 6023 plate appearances, with 265 home runs and almost $19MM in earnings.

NL East Trades

By Zachary Links | July 31, 2011 at 5:30pm CDT

Here are the trades that took place in the NL East this month..

Braves

Acquired center fielder Michael Bourn and cash from the Astros for center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu.
Acquired catcher Wil Nieves from the Brewers for cash considerations.

Mets

Acquired pitching prospect Zack Wheeler from the Giants for right fielder Carlos Beltran and cash considerations.
Acquired two players to be named later from the Brewers for Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations. The Mets will choose the players from a list of five Brewers minor leaguers by a date in September.

Marlins

Acquired outfielder Mike Cameron from the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Nationals

Acquired shortstop prospect Zach Walters from Arizona in exchange for right-hander Jason Marquis.
Acquired Double-A outfielder Erik Komatsu from the Brewers for infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr..
Acquired Jonny Gomes and cash considerations from the Reds for outfielder Bill Rhinehart and left-hander Chris Manno.

Phillies

Acquired Hunter Pence and $2MM from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid, as well as a player to be named later.

Nationals, Twins Not Close On Span Trade

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2011 at 2:46pm CDT

2:46pm: The teams are not close on a Span trade, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.

12:29pm: The Twins don't currently believe this deal can get done, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. The Nationals so far will not include Storen, tweets Scott Miller.

9:43am: ESPN's Tim Kurkjian tweets that the chances of a Storen/Span deal are less than 50/50. The Nationals are still in the mix for B.J. Upton.

7:59am: Nationals closer Drew Storen is in the Denard Span trade with the Twins, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the hangup is over the other players in the deal. Yesterday we heard names such as Roger Bernadina and Stephen Lombardozzi of the Nationals.

No Todd Coffey Trade Imminent

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2011 at 11:07am CDT

11:07am: Kilgore now says he got bad info and no Coffey deal is imminent.

10:47am: A Todd Coffey trade will be announced soon, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Lefty Atahualpa Severino is on call as his replacement.

Nationals Making Headway On Acquiring Span

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2011 at 10:49pm CDT

10:47pm: The Nationals are more likely to go after Span than Michael Bourn or B.J. Upton at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the sides are in a "staredown" (Twitter link). The Twins want the Nationals to include Storen in their offer.

9:22pm: The deal is "no closer than any other day," an MLB official told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

6:31pm: A deal featuring Span and Storen continues to look close, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

6:08pm: The Twins are insisting on acquiring Storen with Bernadina and minor league infielder Stephen Lombardozzi for Span, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

5:18pm: There are lots of mixed signals about the talks, but no deal is close, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

3:28pm: The Nationals are making headway with the Twins on a deal for Span, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Twins are insisting Storen be included along with a second player.

1:50pm: The Twins want Roger Bernadina along with a reliever in any deal that sends Span to the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

10:45am: The Nationals are pushing setup man Tyler Clippard on the Twins for center fielder Denard Span over closer Drew Storen, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. He says the Twins won't trade Span for a setup man, however.

Aside from saves, Storen comes with one more year of team control than Clippard. Still, we're talking about 2015 and 2016, and there's no telling what can happen with relievers in the course of several years.

Michael Bourn Rumors: Saturday

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2011 at 10:28pm CDT

Astros GM Ed Wade is keeping an open mind on trades, so it's possible outfielder Michael Bourn and others could still go. The latest on Bourn:

The Braves refuse to include both Randall Delgado and Arodys Vizcaino in a deal for Bourn, according to ESPN.com's Jim Bowden (on Twitter).
The Giants do have interest in Bourn, Morosi tweets.
The Reds aren't likely to acquire Bourn, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com; Houston's asking price is too high.
The Giants may have interest in Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
The Braves are getting more involved on Bourn, tweets Rosenthal. ESPN's Buster Olney hears the Braves are working hard on getting the center fielder.
The Astros' efforts to trade Bourn are picking up steam, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, and it appears more likely he'll be dealt by tomorrow's deadline.
The Astros want Major-League ready prospects for Bourn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. It makes sense that Wade would seek certainty here, with his Hunter Pence haul being of the high-risk, high-reward variety.
The Indians and Reds are the main suitors for Bourn right now, tweets Stephen Goff of Examiner.com, but he'd be surprised if the center fielder is traded.
The Braves are not one of the main teams in on Bourn yet, tweets Rosenthal.
"The Nationals, Braves, Indians and Reds are among the clubs with varying levels of interest in Bourn," report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Indians are the new suitor here.

Diamondbacks Acquire Jason Marquis

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2011 at 5:52pm CDT

The Diamondbacks added an innings eater for the stretch drive today, acquiring righty Jason Marquis from the Nationals for shortstop prospect Zach Walters, the teams announced. Marquis returns to the NL West, where he won 15 games in '09 for the Rockies.

Marquis, 32, has a 3.95 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.0% groundball rate in 120 2/3 innings this year. Our projected Elias rankings have him well short of Type B status. Aside from last year, the veteran righty is known for taking the ball every fifth day, and he'll slot in nicely at the back end of Arizona's rotation. The D'Backs take on all of the $2.47MM remaining on Marquis' contract.

The Diamondbacks selected Walters in the ninth round of last year's draft. The 21-year-old has a .302/.377/.485 line with 42 extra base hits in 412 plate appearances at Class A South Bend this season. He has mostly played short, but has also appeared in ten-plus games at second and third.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi broke the story and Jim Bowden added detail. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Diamondbacks Acquire Jason Marquis

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2011 at 2:00pm CDT

4:06pm: The D'Backs take on all of the $2.47MM remaining on Marquis' contract, according to Bowden (on Twitter).

3:58pm: The Nationals will receive shortstop prospect Zach Walters from the D'Backs, tweets ESPN's Jim Bowden.

3:42pm: The trade is agreed upon, tweets Morosi – Marquis will join the Diamondbacks.

3:33pm: The D'Backs are close to acquiring Marquis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi. Marquis is scheduled to take on the Mets less than three hours from now at Nationals Park.

3:27pm: The Diamondbacks are working to acquire righty Jason Marquis from the Nationals, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Marquis, 32, has a 3.95 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.0% groundball rate in 120 2/3 innings this year. Our projected Elias rankings have him well short of Type B status, and he's owed $2.5MM on the season.

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