Nationals Rumors

Yankees, Nationals Scouting Carlos Silva

By Luke Adams 2 | March 12, 2011 at 8:34pm CDT

The Cubs have been watching Carlos Silva's spring starts closely as they decide whether he deserves a spot in their starting rotation, but Chicago hasn't been the only team following Silva's progress. According to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago, the Yankees and Nationals are among the clubs scouting the right-hander.

When the Cubs acquired Silva in exchange for Milton Bradley last winter, the Mariners agreed to send $9MM to Chicago in the deal. Seattle will pay $5.5MM of that money this season, reducing the weight of Silva's $11.5MM salary on the Cubs' payroll. Still, given the presence of younger, cheaper starting options, it makes sense that the Cubs would move Silva for a decent offer.

Levine reported last weekend that scouts were on hand to watch Silva's earlier spring start, in which he allowed six runs in the first inning and had a dugout confrontation with Aramis Ramirez. The scouts who watched Silva pitch today presumably came away a little more impressed, as the 31-year-old turned in his best performance so far this spring.

Quick Hits: Chipper, Nix, Trout, Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2011 at 11:01pm CDT

Here's a potpourri of news items as we head into the weekend…

Chipper Jones talks to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince about his recovery from knee surgery and his future in baseball. Jones was thinking of retirement last summer before, as Castrovince writes, "he started to hit like Chipper Jones again….And where the knee injury might have been the straw that broke the camel's back in June, in August, it served as a motivating factor to keep going."
Laynce Nix has the been the subject of trade rumors, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Nix has a .251/.293/.445 career slash line against right-handed pitching and the Astros are reportedly in the market for a left-handed bench bat. Nix is currently in the Nationals' Spring Training camp on a minor league contract.
Star prospect Mike Trout is turning heads at the Angels' Spring Training camp, reports MLB.com's Lyle Spencer.
The Rockies will look internally to replace the injured Aaron Cook, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Already suffering from shoulder inflammation, Cook will be out until at least May due to a broken finger on his throwing hand.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looks at the Rangers' offseason and how the team had a more-than-adequate "plan B" (Adrian Beltre) in mind when they failed to re-sign Cliff Lee.
Jake Odorizzi might end up being the most important piece of the trade package the Royals received for Zack Greinke, says MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Mariners manager Eric Wedge has brought a number of former Indians coaches and players with him to Seattle, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Brandon Wood has struggled this spring, while Mark Trumbo has had a big camp for the Angels. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com thinks Trumbo's emergence means that the out-of-options Wood's "days in an Angels uniform appear to be numbered."
It was almost a year ago that Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland underwent life-threatening brain surgery. Today, MLB.com's Evan Drellich writes that "doctors have already been amazed at the speed of his recovery" as Westmoreland is trying hard to regain both his basic motor skills and his baseball abilities.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Bumgarner, Crawford, Stanton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 11, 2011 at 3:14pm CDT

Links for Friday, as teams continue trimming their rosters down…

Chuck Greenberg will no longer be part of the Rangers organization, but he leaves with $20-25MM in profit, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter)
The Giants renewed Madison Bumgarner's contract for 2011, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). That means the sides did not agree to terms on a deal, but it doesn't change the timetable for Bumgarner's arbitration or free agency.
As Alex Speier of WEEI.com explains, the only two outfielders ever to sign free agent contracts with an average annual value of $20MM have opposite styles of play. The Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez for his power, and they signed Carl Crawford for his overall offensive output, baserunning and defense.
Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton has a creative approach to addressing weaknesses in his swing, as Yahoo's Steve Henson explains.
Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post offers up a must-read profile of Nationals phenom Bryce Harper.

Nationals Release Cla Meredith

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 11, 2011 at 12:46pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have released Cla Meredith. The Nationals signed the 27-year-old right-hander to a minor league deal in February and he underwent Tommy John surgery last week.

Meredith posted a 5.40 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 21 relief apppearances for Baltimore last year. He was a key member of the Padres' bullpen from 2006-09, when he posted a 3.26 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 237 1/3 total innings.

Meredith, a sixth round selection of Boston's in the 2004 draft, reached the majors the following season when he made a three-appearance cameo with the Red Sox. He has appeared in the big leagues every season since his 2005 debut, averaging 57 outings per year and a 3.43 ERA in that time.

Quick Hits: Maine, Lerner, Foltynewicz

By Dan Mennella | March 10, 2011 at 10:57pm CDT

A few stray items of note coming out of the National League as Thursday winds down …

Rockies right-hander John Maine can opt out of his contract with Colorado if he's not on the 25-man roster on June 1, tweets Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. Maine, who signed a minor league deal with the Rox this offseason, has missed the better part of each of the past two seasons with the Mets due to right arm trouble.
The Nationals grabbed headlines this offseason by signing Jayson Werth to a hefty $126MM contract, and though it was widely regarded as a questionable baseball decision, owner Ted Lerner has no shortage of cash, writes Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo! Sports. Lerner, as Kaduk explains, ranks No. 376 on Forbes' list of wealthiest people in the world, and is presently the wealthiest majority owner in baseball.
Astros pitching prospect Mike Foltynewicz is looking to build upon the strong professional debut he made in 2010, writes Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. Astros assistant GM/director of scouting Bobby Heck said that the right-hander probably has the highest ceiling of any Astros minor leaguer. Interestingly, Foltynewicz told Goff that he probably would have gone to the Red Sox at No. 20 overall in last year's First-Year Player Draft had the Astros not nabbed him at No. 19.

Astros Tempering Pursuit Of Nationals’ Flores

By Dan Mennella | March 10, 2011 at 7:40pm CDT

The Astros are cooling their pursuit of a potential trade for Nationals catcher Jesus Flores, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

Reports of Houston's interest in obtaining Flores surfaced on Monday, but the interest is waning because of concerns over Flores' surgically repaired right shoulder. The Astros were looking at Flores as a project and were not interested in surrendering a lot to get him, according to Ladson.

The Astros are a bit thin at backstop between J.R. Towles, Humberto Quintero and Brian Esposito, while the Nationals are considered pretty deep at the position with Ivan Rodriguez, Wilson Ramos and prospect Derek Norris.

Flores, whom the Nats acquired from the Mets in 2006 as a Rule 5 Draft selection, has missed the majority of the past two seasons due to right shoulder ailments, but he was becoming a solid everyday catcher with Washington prior to the injury.

Minor Deals: Lamb, Hall, Johnson, Baisley

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 10, 2011 at 2:46pm CDT

Today's minor deals include a number of former Major Leaguers…

The Nationals re-signed Ron Villone, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). As Eddy points out, the 18-year veteran has been traded for Greg Vaughn and Andy Benes.
The Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League signed Mike Lamb, Toby Hall and Jason Johnson, according to Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat (on Twitter). Lamb, 35, was a pinch hitter for the Marlins last year after missing the 2009 season; Hall, a nine-year veteran, hasn't spent time in the majors since 2008 and Johnson, a 37-year-old right-hander with 11 years of MLB experience, has been out of the majors for two years as well.
The Dodgers signed right-hander Steven Jackson to a minor league deal, according to Eddy (on Twitter). He appeared in 11 games for the Pirates last year, but got much more exposure in 2009 when he posted a 3.14 ERA in 40 relief appearances despite walking more batters than he struck out.
The Reds signed right-hander Tyree Hayes, the son of former MLB third baseman Charlie Hayes, according to Eddy (on Twitter). Hayes, 22, has yet to advance past Class A in five pro seasons.
The Twins signed former Royals prospect Joe Dickerson, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 2005 fourth rounder didn't play last year.
The Angels signed former A's prospect Jeff Baisley, according to Goldstein (on Twitter). The 28-year-old played in 14 games for the 2008 A's and posted an .845 OPS in the upper minors of their system last year.

Jays, Brewers Head List Of Dominican Signings

By Tim Dierkes | March 8, 2011 at 7:23am CDT

The Dominican Prospect League has announced several more signings:

The Blue Jays signed 17-year-old outfielder Francisco Tejada for $150K. With the move, all 30 teams have signed a player out of the DPL. The press release refers to Tejada's "high athletic ceiling," citing his speed and arm.
The Brewers inked 17-year-old third baseman Estervin Matos for $100K after a strong offensive performance in the DPL.
Additionally, the Mets signed righty Miguel Angel Bautista for $10K, the Nationals signed righty Deury Vazquez for $30K, and the Diamondbacks signed American-born middle infielder Jesse Liriano for $10K.

Astros Interested In Jesus Flores

By Tim Dierkes | March 7, 2011 at 1:00pm CDT

The Astros are looking at the Nationals' Jesus Flores as a possible replacement for Jason Castro, reports Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com. The two teams face off today, so hopefully the Nationals will get Flores into the game for the Astros scouts on hand. The Astros are concerned about the condition of Flores' shoulder, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

Flores, 26, was signed by the Mets out of Venezuela nine years ago. Coming off a solid age 21 season in Low-A ball, Nationals GM Jim Bowden took Flores in the 2006 Rule 5 draft. Flores served his time in the Majors in '07 as Brian Schneider's backup, and by June of '08 he'd won the team's starting catcher job. In May of '09, a foul tip off the bat of Chris Young set in motion a major shoulder problem. The injury went from being labeled a bruise to a stress fracture to a torn labrum, resulting in September '09 surgery.

During Flores' long recovery, the Nationals signed Ivan Rodriguez, traded for Wilson Ramos, and saw major development from prospect Derek Norris. Now expendable for Washington, Flores is a great fit for an Astros club that can give him consistent at-bats with Castro out for the season with a torn ACL.

NL East Notes: Zimmermann, Marlins, Heyward

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 2, 2011 at 10:25am CDT

Players with zero to three years of service time are under team control and don't have the power to negotiate their salaries. Most of these players agree to terms with their clubs on deals worth $400-500K, but some don't agree to terms and their clubs renew their contracts instead (it doesn't affect the player's timeline for arbitration or free agency). Here's the latest on the NL East, including news on some contract renewals:

The Nationals announced that they have renewed the contracts of right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jordan Zimmermann.
The Marlins renewed the contracts of four of their own players, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). The team did not agree to terms with Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, Mike Stanton or Ryan Webb.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan shows that Jason Heyward is uncharacteristically mature for a 21-year-old. The Braves right fielder tells Passan that he can improve upon his standout rookie season, something that would please new manager Fredi Gonzalez.

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