Nationals Rumors

Nationals Designate Justin Maxwell For Assignment

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 27, 2011 at 12:42pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they designated Justin Maxwell for assignment (Twitter link). The 27-year-old outfielder has showed promise throughout his pro career, but has yet to enjoy sustained success in the major leagues. Back in September, Nats manager Jim Riggleman told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he still had high hopes for Maxwell.

"Hopefully, it all comes together and he has a good spring for us and he's part of the ballclub next year," Riggleman said. "There's no reason to give up on him. I think it's all going to click. There's no last-chance situation."

Maxwell has a .201/.319/.379 line in 260 big league plate appearances and a .261/.357/.442 line in 1778 minor league plate appearances. He has shown speed on the basepaths and the ability to play all three outfield positions.

Nationals Interested In Carmona, Sizemore

By Mark Polishuk | January 26, 2011 at 8:59pm CDT

WEDNESDAY, 8:59pm: Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says "there's not much meat" to the rumor about Carmona and Sizemore potentially going to the Nationals. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says he's heard the same (Twitter links).

TUESDAY, 7:52pm: The Nationals have had "conversations" with the Indians about Fausto Carmona and Grady Sizemore, reports Phil Wood of MASNsports.com. Another source tells Wood the Nats "are working on 'a number' of other trades," as well.

Nats GM Mike Rizzo has been open about his frustration at not being able to acquire a top-flight starting pitcher this winter, but acquiring Tom Gorzelanny and adding Carmona would certainly ease that disappointment. Washington could well have been one of the several teams that were interested in Carmona in December, but the Indians are in no hurry to trade the right-hander given that he's on an affordable, option-heavy contract through 2014.

Sizemore is set to earn $7.5MM this season and the Tribe have an $8.5MM option on him for 2012 (with a $500K buyout). Cleveland would like to unload that contract, but after two injury-plagued years, Sizemore's trade value is at its lowest point. If the Indians accepted a buy-low offer and then saw Sizemore regain his All-Star form elsewhere, that lack of maximum return for Sizemore would be a damaging move to the rebuilding Tribe.

From the Nationals' perspective, they clearly have money to spend and can afford a $7.5MM risk to see if Sizemore returns to form. Carmona is obviously the safer and probably preferable option due to his team-friendly contract and the fact that he could post even better numbers in the NL. The question is whether the Nats have the prospects that Cleveland would want for either player, since Washington's farm system isn't known to be very deep.

In other Nats news, Wood predicts Alberto Gonzalez may be designated for assignment to make room for the newly-signed Alex Cora. Gonzalez, a utility infielder, posted a .578 OPS in 198 plate appearances with Washington last season.

Nationals To Sign Todd Coffey

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 3:19pm CDT

The Nationals have agreed to sign Todd Coffey, the team announced. MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter) first reported the agreement and Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported that the team was closing in on a deal with the BHSC client. Heyman reports that the deal guarantees Coffey $1.35MM (Twitter link).

Coffey posted a 4.76 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 for the Brewers last year before they non-tendered him. He has appeared in at least 69 games in 2009 and '10, so the Nationals are adding a durable piece to Jim Riggleman's bullpen. The 30-year-old right-hander boasts a 52.1 % career ground ball rate and an average fastball velocity of 93.2 mph.

Click here for more analysis of the Beverly Hills Sports Council's work with relievers this winter.

Nationals Designate Martis For Assignment

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 12:31pm CDT

The Nationals announced (on Twitter) that they have designated right-hander Shairon Martis for assignment. The team had to create roster space for Jerry Hairston Jr., whose contract was approved by the league today.

Martis debuted for the Nationals in 2008 and started 15 games for the club a year later. In 106 1/3 innings compiled in 2008-09, the 23-year-old Curacao native has a 5.33 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. He spent the 2010 season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he posted a 4.09 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 152 innings of work.

Cafardo On Loney, Papelbon, Pavano, Feliz

By Luke Adams 2 | January 23, 2011 at 8:58am CDT

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tackles the subject of arbitration hearings in his latest column, pointing out that teams are far more willing to settle on salaries with their players than they used to be. After speaking to Astros president Tal Smith, who says hearings don't involve as much "mud-slinging" as you'd think, Cafardo wonders why more clubs aren't inclined to fight to keep their payroll down. Here are the rest of his notes:

James Loney won't be traded for now, but the Nationals made a "good push" for him earlier this winter, before they signed Adam LaRoche.
According to one of Cafardo's Red Sox sources, Jonathan Papelbon will be available throughout the season, regardless of where the Sox are in the standings.
Cafardo indicates that before Carl Pavano agreed to a two-year deal with the Twins, the Yankees offered the right-hander a one-year pact worth $7MM.
Ron Washington offers the latest on the Rangers' plan for Neftali Feliz, who could get a chance to start this year after winning Rookie of the Year honors as a closer: "We’re going to bring [Feliz] into camp and give him an opportunity to stretch himself out. And if he shows us he’s better fitted with our ball club to start, then we’ll go in that direction. If not, we know he can close ballgames and we’re very happy with that."
Joaquin Benoit discussed former teammates Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano with Cafardo, opining that Red Sox pitchers will love having Crawford behind them, and expressing some surprise that Soriano won't be closing in 2011. He also told Cafardo that he was "getting a lot of phone calls" this winter from fellow relievers who felt Benoit helped them by signing early to his three-year deal.

East Notes: Jones, Buchholz, Papelbon, Rizzo, Jays

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2011 at 9:27pm CDT

Some news about the various beasts of the eastern baseball world…

Adam Jones doesn't believe the Orioles discussed a multi-year extension with his CAA representation before the two sides agreed to a 2011 contract, the outfielder tells MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.
The Red Sox haven't discussed a long-term extension with Clay Buchholz this offseason, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Last September, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith explored what a Buchholz extension might cost Boston.
Also from MacPherson, he points out that the Red Sox could wind up letting Jonathan Papelbon leave for nothing next winter. Papelbon would have to turn down an arbitration offer from Boston in order for the Sox to receive compensatory draft picks if he signed elsewhere as a free agent. However, by offering arbitration, the Red Sox would be making "a $14-$15MM gamble" that Papelbon wouldn't accept, since he's unlikely to find that much salary elsewhere.
GM Mike Rizzo discussed several Nationals-related topics during a conference call with reporters today. Mark Zuckerman of the Nats Insider blog has a partial transcript.
Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm his philosophy about not publicly disclosing whether or not the Jays are negotiating multi-year contracts, be they with Jose Bautista or any player.
Brett Lawrie tells MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Robert Emrich that he has been working out at third base and believes he will play the position during Spring Training. When Toronto acquired Lawrie in the Shaun Marcum deal, there was speculation to whether Lawrie would stay at second base or be moved to third or even a corner outfield spot. The Jays are, obviously, set at second (at least in the short term) with Aaron Hill.
In an interview with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link), Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock says his club does not have to deal Joe Blanton or Kyle Kendrick. Proefrock also said the Phillies will look within the organization for right-handed hitting help.
The Orioles are lacking in Major League third base depth, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Nationals Release J.D. Martin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2011 at 3:11pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have given right-hander J.D. Martin his unconditional release to create roster space (Twitter link).

Martin, 28, has made 24 starts for the Nationals over the last two seasons, most of which came in 2009. He has pitched to a respectable 4.32 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 125 innings. Martin has spent most of the last three seasons in Triple-A, posting an excellent 3.21 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 144 innings at the level.

Earlier this afternoon, MLB.com's Bill Ladson predicted that the Nationals would cut ties with the pitcher.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

J.D. Martin Expected To Be Taken Off 40-Man Roster

By Mike Axisa | January 19, 2011 at 2:48pm CDT

Now that the Jerry Hairston Jr. contract is official, the Nationals are expected to take J.D. Martin off their 40-man roster according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter). The move will create room for their new utility player.

Martin, 28, has made 24 starts for the Nationals over the last two seasons, most of which came in 2009. He's pitched to a respectable 4.32 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 125 innings. Martin has spent most of the last three seasons in Triple-A, posting an excellent 3.21 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 144 innings at the level.

Nationals Sign Jerry Hairston Jr.

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2011 at 2:34pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have officially signed Jerry Hairston Jr. to a one-year contract with a $2MM base salary. Hairston, a CAA client, can earn another $1MM in incentives.

Hairston hit .244/.299/.353 in 476 plate appearances for the Padres last year, playing all over the diamond, as usual. The 34-year-old appeared at short, second, third and in both corner outfield positions in 2010. Hairston hasn't shown much of a platoon split throughout his career; the right-handed batter has an OPS of about .700 against right-handers and left-handers.

The Nationals have been in the midst of a back-and-forth with the Mets this week. First, the Mets signed longtime Nats utlity player Willie Harris. Then the Nats signed former Mets utility player Alex Cora. We heard yesterday that the Mets are likely to sign Scott Hairston and the Nats responded by agreeing to terms with his brother today.

MLB.com's Bill Ladson first reported the deal, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added details (Twitter links).

Nationals Acquire Tom Gorzelanny

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 19, 2011 at 1:50pm CDT

Tom Gorzelanny is heading to Washington for three prospects, the Cubs and Nationals announced today. Lefty Graham Hicks, right-hander A.J. Morris and outfielder Michael Burgess are going to Chicago in the trade.

The Nationals have been looking to bolster their rotation all offseason long. Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke spurned the Nationals, but GM Mike Rizzo continued his pursuit of arms. Once the Cubs acquired Matt Garza from the Rays, Chicago had a starter to spare and the team seriously considered moving Gorzelanny.

Gorzelanny posted a 4.09 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 126 1/3 innings for the Cubs last year. The left-hander started 23 games, after spending most of the 2009 season as a reliever. Though Gorzelanny faded as the 2010 season progressed, he has logged over 200 innings before. The 28-year-old's best season may have come in 2007, when he posted a 3.88 ERA in 201 2/3 innings for the Pirates.

Morris, 24, posted a 3.77 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 86 innings as a swingman at Rookie ball and Class A last year. The 2009 fourth rounder has yet to pitch in the upper minors. Neither Morris nor Burgess appeared on Baseball America's list of top ten Nationals prospects.

Burgess, 22, posted a .265/.357/.465 line in 529 plate appearances at Class A and Double-A last year. The 2007 supplementary first rounder has hit at least 18 homers in eacch of the past three seasons.

A super two player, Gorzelanny is on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season. He agreed to terms on a $2.1MM deal for 2011 yesterday.

Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com first reported the trade and MLB.com's Bill Ladson and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported on the deal as the story broke.

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