Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nationals Rumors

Phillies Have Asked Nationals About Mike Morse

By | at

1:23pm: Heyman says (on Twitter) the Nationals are not inclined to trade Morse to the Phillies, or anywhere else for that matter. They're intrigued by the work he's done with hitting coach Rick Eckstein.

12:29pm: After losing their top right-handed power threat this offseason, the Phillies have asked the Nationals about the availability of outfielder Mike Morse according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Philadelphia's lineup is predominantly left-handed with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Domonic Brown, something that might be exposed with the departure of Jayson Werth.

Morse, 29 next month, hit .289/.352/.519 with 12 doubles and 15 homers in just 293 plate appearances for Washington last year, his first regular playing time in the big leagues since 2005. He crushed lefty pitching, hitting .295/.374/.625 with eight long balls against them in just under a hundred trips to the plate. Although he has experience on the infield, most of Morse's playing time has come in the corner outfield spots in recent years. He'll earn $1.05MM in 2011, the first time he was eligible for arbitration.

The Nationals outfield is pretty crowded right now, with only Werth guaranteed a full-time job. The other two spots will go to some combination of Morse, Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina, and Nyjer Morgan. Jerry Hairston Jr. can also play the outfield, and the Nats have both Matt Stairs and Laynce Nix in camp on minor league contracts.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Dodgers, McDonald, Clippard

By | at

Links for Thursday night..

  • While I wondered if the Braves could be a match for the Cardinals as they look for pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests that the Rockies could be a match.  A major league source told Rosenthal that the Cards will first explore internal options before looking out-of-house.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig has rejected a proposal under which FOX would have loaned about $200MM to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, three people familiar with the talks told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.
  • Ex-Giant Juan Uribe is happy to be aboard with the Dodgers, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Former Dodgers pitcher James McDonald is excited to turn over a new leaf with the Pirates, writes Evan Drellich of MLB.com.  McDonald was shipped to Pittsburgh along with Andrew Lambo for Octavio Dotel last season. 
  • Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard says that he will continue to be represented by agent Casey Close, who is leaving CAA Sports, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • Brewers right-handers Justin James and Shaun Marcum were drafted by Toronto in the same year but took very different paths to wind up in Milwaukee, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  James claimed off waivers by the Brewers from the A's this offseason.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/22/SPUB1HRH67.DTL&feed=rss.giants

Nats Agree To Terms With 14 International Prospects

By | at

In addition to the previously reported Randy Novas and Raudy Reed, the Nationals have agreed to terms with 14 international free agents per a team press release. Here is the list of players, per the release…

Left-handed pitchers Joel Barrientos (17, Dominican Republic), Brian Escolastico (18, Dominican Republic) and Hector Silvestre (18, Dominican Republic); right-handed pitchers Anderson Martinez (18, Venezuela), Gilberto Mendez (18, Dominican Republic) and Felix Moscat (20, Dominican Republic); catchers Pedro Severino (17, Dominican Republic) and Jorge Tillero (17, Venezuela); first baseman Arialdi Peguero (18, Dominican Republic); shortstop Yewri Guillen (18, Dominican Republic); third baseman Diomedes Eusebio (18, Dominican Republic); and outfielders Juan De Los Santos (17, Venezuela), Wilman Rodriguez (19, Dominican Republic) and Dioncio Rosario (17, Dominican Republic).

Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post wrote about the team's efforts to improve its presence in Latin America earlier this month.

Werth Thinks Phillies Could Have Had Him & Lee

By | at

The Phillies added one $100MM player this offseason in Cliff Lee, but they lost another in Jayson Werth. The former Phillies outfielder told Paul Hagen of The Philadephia Daily News that he believes the team could have had both he and Lee if they'd planned things out better…

"I think if they would have played it right they would have had us both," said Werth. "I mean, they traded Cliff away for prospects and then realized that was probably not what they should have done. They ended up paying him a lot more than they would have if they'd signed him the year before. Then we would have had him. Chances are if they had signed him before they traded him, it probably would have made it a little easier to sign me."

Werth said that there are no hard feelings and he understands that the game is a business. Once he learned of Philadelphia's interest in Lee, he concluded that he wasn't coming back. "[It] kind of made it seem like they were playing us against each other a little bit," he added.

The 31-year-old Werth signed with the Nationals about ten days before the Phillies brought Lee back.

NL East Notes: Werth, K-Rod, Phillies, Nationals

By | at

Some notes from the NL East as MLBPA leader Michael Weiner meets with the Mets in Florida…

  • Jayson Werth told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he accepted the Nationals' seven-year, $126MM offer partly because he wanted to help his fellow players. "I think once you get to free agency, you're in a big pool of players and we all really play in one organization and that's MLB," Werth said. "I guess that's how you look at it, so in that respect I was trying to maximize things and also trying to get into a situation I wanted to be in and I think Philly was going in a different direction."
  • Weiner told ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin that he expects the Mets to honor Francisco Rodriguez's contract, which vests at $17.5MM for 2012 if he finishes 55 games in 2011.
  • Bobby Bonilla, who is still on the Mets' payroll is meeting with the team today as an MLBPA representative, according to Newsday's David Lennon (on Twitter).
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post explains that new manager Terry Collins is fiery and ready to get mad. "I give a [expletive] about how this team plays," Collins said.
  • Cliff Lee tells David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News that his side feels fine, though he felt some minor pain earlier.
  • Brookover points out that "guaranteed money does not mean guaranteed success or perfect health," though the Phillies' investment in Lee was understandable.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com that he hopes first overall draft pick Bryce Harper finds out how Spring Training works and learns "what it takes to be a big leaguer" in Nationals camp this year.

Quick Hits: Pelfrey, Pujols, Livan, Benoit, Astros

By | at

The Twins signed Joe Crede two years ago today in the hopes that he could replicate or improve upon the numbers he posted in 2008, when he made the All-Star team. Crede battled injuries and clubbed 15 homers in 90 games for Minnesota that year, but he hasn't played in the majors since. Crede remains a free agent after deciding not to report to Rockies camp. Here are today's links…

  • In a piece for ESPN.com, MLBTR's own Howard Megdal points out that Mets starter Mike Pelfrey has been far more consistent than anyone gives him credit for.
  • MLBPA leader Michael Weiner said the union would be open to a player owning a share of a team, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). The possibility came up when the Cardinals discussed an extension with Albert Pujols.
  • Weiner says he expects to make progress on the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement during Spring Training, according to Tim Reynolds of the AP (via the Miami Herald). Baseball's current agreement expires this offseason. 
  • Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post explains how Livan Hernandez and Nationals GM Mike Rizzo negotiated the right-hander's current contract.
  • Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit told Dick Scanlon of the Detroit Free Press that he signed early because the Tigers made him a strong offer ($16.5MM) and he couldn't justify waiting around. "I didn't want to make a mistake of being too greedy and trying to wait and wait, get myself in a hole and wait to the last minute," Benoit said.
  • Astros GM Ed Wade told Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner that he expects better things from Carlos Lee in 2011 and that last year was an "aberration" for the outfielder.

Rizzo On Roster Holes, Depth, Pitching, Werth

By | at

Both CSNWashington.com's Mark Zuckerman and MLB.com's Bill Ladson conducted Q&A's with Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo on Sunday, so let's round up the news…

  • "[We're] always looking to improve," said Rizzo when asked about specific needs before the season begins. "But we think we're pretty set, we're pretty solid in a lot of aspects of the club."
  • The Nationals have built up some depth, and there's a chance teams will come calling as they look to fill holes on their roster. "From what I've heard and the phone calls I've gotten, I think we're going to be heavily scouted and heavily watched for that reason," said the GM.
  • "Long-term, we want to keep them all in the pipeline," said Rizzo, referring to his catching depth. "We'd have to make a trade that really makes a lot of sense for us and really strengthens us in a position we're weakest at."
  • When asked about the team's pursuit of an ace-caliber pitcher, Rizzo said: "We knew going into the offseason, it was a priority for us to improve our rotation. It was probably not the best move to announce to the world that it was our main goal, but that's me. I made the statement because that was what I thought. It was a need of ours. What I found out was, ace pitchers are very difficult to acquire. It's much better and much easier to develop your own. We are always looking and we are still trying to improve ourselves, but they are very difficult to get."
  • Rizzo believes the Jayson Werth deal is the beginning of an era when really good players start coming to Washington. "What it did prove is, we are here to win games. We have an organization that is willing to spend money to acquire talent. We showed it, not only in the last two drafts, but in the free-agent market."

Rizzo also provided updates on the health of Stephen Strasburg and Chien-Ming Wang, the plan for Bryce Harper, and the expiring contract of manager Jim Riggleman.

Luis Atilano Clears Waivers

By | at

SUNDAY: Atilano has cleared waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Ben Goessling of MASNsports. He will report to Spring Training with the big league camp.

WEDNESDAY: The Nationals announced that they designated right-hander Luis Atilano for assignment to create roster space for Adam LaRoche, whose contract was finally approved (Twitter link).

Atilano started 16 games for the Nationals last year and posted a 5.15 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 85 2/3 innings. The 2003 first rounder has never induced many strikeouts as a pro, but he doesn't walk hitters, either. In 604 1/3 minor league innings, the 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.93 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.

NL East Notes: Chipper, Zimmerman, Lee, Trump

By | at

NL East teams have nearly finished their offseason shopping, but could make a move or two while Spring Training is underway. Here are the details…

  • Chipper Jones was thinking about retirement last year, but tells Scott Miller of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) that he wants to play until the end of his current contract, which is guaranteed through the 2012 season.  The Braves hold a $7MM option on Jones for 2013 which can also vest if Jones plays a certain number of games over the next two seasons.
  • Ryan Zimmerman pushed the Nationals to re-sign his friend Adam Dunn, but Zimmerman said his disappointment over Dunn's depature shouldn't be interpreted as criticism of the the club, writes CSNWashington's Mark Zuckerman.  "I was just expressing more frustrations of losing a teammate and a friend than anything," Zimmerman said.  "I think a lot of people took it as I was taking a stab at [the Nats] or talking bad about them, which was completely the opposite."
  • Michael Weiner said the MLBPA was happy with Cliff Lee's decision to sign with the Phillies, rather than sign for larger contracts in Texas or New York, tweets Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.  "Not only were we not upset Cliff got to go to the Phillies, we applauded him," Weiner said.
  • Donald Trump told Alison Leigh Cowan and Ken Belson of the New York Times that he's interested in buying a majority stake in the Mets. Trump says he called Fred Wilpon about two weeks ago to set up a meeting.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson says it's "unlikely" that the Mets discuss an extension with Jose Reyes before Opening Day, according to ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin. Reyes is set to hit free agency after the season and has said he's open to a long-term deal. The $1 billion lawsuit against the Mets owners won't prevent the Mets from signing Reyes to a multiyear deal, Alderson said.
  • Jason Isringhausen auditioned for the Mets today, according to Newsday's David Lennon (on Twitter). Alderson and two of his assistants, J.P. Ricciardi and Paul DePodesta, are familiar with the longtime closer from his time in Oakland. Isringhausen first appeared in the majors as a starter for the Mets in 1995.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Phillies' starters would rather pitch than talk about their place in baseball history.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Quick Hits: Duchscherer, Ramirez, Marmol, Broxton

By | at

Links for Saturday..

Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top