Nationals Rumors

Quick Hits: Leyland, Phillies, Trumbo, Taylor

By Mark Polishuk | August 8, 2011 at 11:49pm CDT

Some notes from around the majors as Casey Kotchman is a walkoff hero for Tampa Bay….

Jim Leyland is fine with his contract being extended for just one year by the Tigers since he isn't sure how long he'll keep managing, reports Chris Iott of MLive.com. "I want to make sure that I'm giving the Tigers everything they're paying for, and when that day comes that I'm not, I'm going home," Leyland said. The manager also said that a year from today, he hopes he'll be signing another one-year extension.
Meanwhile, Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press thinks the Tigers were wise to extend Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski.
The Phillies don't plan to look for outside help at third base if Placido Polanco misses a lot of time with his sports hernia, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Ruben Amaro said that the Phils will use Wilson Valdez and Michael Martinez at third in Polanco's place.
Mark Trumbo was never a highly-regarded prospect, and the Angels first baseman tells Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times that he uses those scouting reports as incentive to prove the critics wrong.
Michael Taylor called the trade deadline "the toughest day of the year for me," reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Athletics' prospect was disappointed that the team didn't move any of their outfielders, thus creating room for him on Oakland's Major League roster.
The Nationals aren't yet sure when Tom Milone and Brad Peacock will be called up from Triple-A but the team definitely wants to give both pitchers some Major League experience, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
The Dodgers are on pace to lose at least $27MM this season and Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times predicts that figure may be a conservative estimate.
Baseball America's Jim Callis answers questions relating to minor league prospects and draft signings in the latest edition of "Ask BA."
The Braves "were heavy in on getting either" Carlos Beltran or Hunter Pence at the trade deadline but their unwillingness to part with top prospects Julio Teheran, Mike Minor or Randall Delgado halted both deals, tweets Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. The fact that Atlanta was able to acquire Michael Bourn without giving up any of those prospects is a nice deadline win for the Braves and GM Frank Wren.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Strasburg, Reyes

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 8, 2011 at 10:15am CDT

Dan Uggla will look to extend his hitting streak to 29 games tonight, when the Braves take on the Marlins, Uggla's former team. Here's the latest on the division, as Florida starter Brad Hand prepares for Uggla and his teammates…

Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News shows that the Phillies have traded prospect after prospect in recent years. But the established big leaguers they've obtained – Brad Lidge, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence – have propelled the Phillies from contender to baseball superpower, Conlin writes.
Stephen Strasburg can mean to the Nationals what Justin Verlander means to the Tigers, Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff wonders how MLB teams including the Mets will value Jose Reyes this offseason, when the shortstop hits free agency. Reyes left yesterday's game with an injury and questions about his health could prevent teams from guaranteeing $142MM, the amount Carl Crawford obtained last winter.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Reyes, Red Sox, Upton

By Zachary Links | August 7, 2011 at 9:57pm CDT

Sunday night linkage..

With the August 15th deadline a week away, the Nationals have yet to make any real progress in reaching agreements with their top four draft picks, GM Mike Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The Nats are satisfied that infielder Anthony Rendon, pitcher Alex Meyer, supplemental round pick outfielder Brian Goodwin and third round pick Matt Purke are all in good health.
One Mets official last week told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) that he expects the Red Sox, Angels, and Nationals to be the top competition for Jose Reyes this winter.
Back in November when the Diamondbacks were shopping Justin Upton, it was rumored that they would likely request Daniel Bard and Jacoby Ellsbury from the Red Sox in a deal. Today, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes that it looks like a good no-deal for Arizona.
It took a little bit of time, but outfielder Kosuke Fukudome appears to be getting used to life with the Indians, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The Tribe acquired Fukudome and roughly $3.9MM from the Cubs for minor leaguer outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith.

Heyman On Nationals, A’s, Reyes, White Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 5, 2011 at 2:02pm CDT

Two of baseball’s interim managers are expected to return in 2012, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports. Here are the details and other notes from around the league…

The Nationals have intended all along for interim manager Davey Johnson to manage the next two seasons, though he’s officially a consultant for 2012-13. Heyman reports that Johnson can have the Nationals’ managing job if he wants it, though Washington will likely conduct an official search.
A’s interim manager Bob Melvin is also expected to return next year, though he doesn’t have a contract for 2012 yet.
Jose Reyes, a free agent, after the season, wants to remain with the Mets, according to Heyman’s sources. The Mets seem to be prepared to offer a five-year deal and might be willing to expand their offer to six years. We heard this morning that the Mets aren’t comfortable with the idea of a Carl Crawford-like seven-year deal.
Highly regarded White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper isn’t under contract for 2012 and Chicago’s other coaches aren’t either.

Stark On Twins, Kuroda, Phillies

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 5, 2011 at 1:15pm CDT

The Twins were willing to listen to offers for Francisco Liriano leading up to the trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. However, Minnesota wanted a massive prospect return for the left-hander and no club met their asking price. Here’s the latest on the Twins with more of Stark’s notes from around MLB…

The chances that the Nationals can restart talks with Minnesota about Denard Span over the winter are not good, Stark reports. Minnesota wanted Drew Storen for their bullpen in an attempt to win now, but the Twins’ sense of urgency figures to disappear this offseason.
Rival teams say the Tigers and Red Sox each believed they were closing in on a deal for Hiroki Kuroda before the right-hander decided not to waive his no-trade clause.
The Red Sox and Rockies discussed an expanded deal that would have sent Josh Reddick to Colorado and Seth Smith to Boston while considering possible moves involving Ubaldo Jimenez. Talks between the 2007 World Series foes had essentially stopped by Saturday, though.
Though GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has publicly said Domonic Brown was not available, Stark hears from three different teams that the Phillies were willing to move the young outfielder in the right deal.
Teams that have spoken with the Phillies don’t expect them to be active on the waiver wire this month, since they want to avoid paying MLB’s luxury tax.

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.

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