Nationals Rumors

Carl Pavano Rumors: Thursday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 6, 2011 at 12:41pm CDT

We heard yesterday that the Nationals last spoke to Carl Pavano’s agent at the Winter Meetings and that the right-hander is talking a lot with the Twins about a potential deal. The Pirates and Royals are also options for Pavano. Here’s the latest:

The Nationals are not actively pursuing Pavano, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. Washington isn’t having serious internal discussions about the pitcher and the team isn’t likely to sign him unless his asking price drops.
The Pirates have mild interest in Pavano, but will not set the price for him, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter).

NL East Notes: Uggla, Mets, Nationals, Marrero

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 9:41pm CDT

Here are a few items from what's been arguably the most newsworthy division of the winter thus far…

There's no shortage of reaction to Dan Uggla's contract extension with Atlanta. Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs likes the deal for the Braves, arguing that Uggla's power might be helped by hitting at Turner Field and saying that Uggla's "bat will still play well" if he has to move to left field or third base a few years down the line.
Speaking of an Uggla position switch, MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that Uggla wants to remain playing second base and would've probably not signed the extension had the Braves insisted he move elsewhere on the diamond. Bowman also compares Uggla's contract to Jayson Werth's deal in Washington, and notes that some Braves players and coaches weren't pleased that the Braves didn't do more to keep other big-name acquisitions (i.e. J.D. Drew, Gary Sheffield, Mark Teixeira) in Atlanta.
If the Mets add a left-handed reliever, it will probably have to be someone willing to take a minor league contract, writes Metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone.
The Nationals aren't expected to pursue the "file-and-trial" arbitration strategy this winter, reports The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore. You can keep track of the Nats' three arb-eligible players (John Lannan, Mike Morse and Doug Slaten) and all of the arbitration dealings with MLBTR's Arb Tracker feature.
With Adam LaRoche locked up for at least two years in Washington, MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling looks at how the Nats' long-term plans at first base are affected by the signing, with a particular focus on prospect Chris Marrero.

Pavano “Talking A Lot” With Twins; Pirates, Royals Are Options

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 6:15pm CDT

Carl Pavano is "talking a lot" with the Twins about re-signing with the club, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Most of the Pavano rumors this winter have centered around the Nationals showing interest in the veteran starter, but given Pavano's stated desire to return to Minnesota, it's possible the Twins were just biding their time to gauge the market for the free agent. In an MLBTR poll taken last month, close to 46% of respondents predicted Pavano would re-sign with the Twins, and it's safe to say Minnesota is still the front-runner.

Between Milwaukee acquiring Zack Greinke, Texas turning their attention to the lineup by signing Adrian Beltre, and Detroit's lack of interest, it seemed like the Pavano market had shrunk to just Minnesota and Washington. Heyman's tweet, however, lists the Pirates and Royals as "other options" for the right-hander. This isn't the first we've heard of Pittsburgh possibly being interested in Pavano, but the Royals are a new suitor, though they're known to be looking for pitching to replace Greinke's innings.

Pavano ending up in either Kansas City or Pittsburgh would be, to say the least, a surprise. If one of the two teams gives him the three-year contract he's looking for, however, the extra guaranteed year could be enough to sway Pavano to join a team that isn't likely to contend over the lifetime of the deal. The Pirates and Royals might see a Pavano signing as a bellwether move to announce to players and agents that the small-market clubs are ready to be active in the market, though it could be argued that just being active in bidding achieves that same goal.

Heyman On Yankees, Greinke, Young, Giants

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 5, 2011 at 4:16pm CDT

Just as MLBTR did last week, Jon Heyman of SI.com runs through the items remaining on each team's offseason shopping list. Along the way, he presents some rumors; here they are:

The Yankees appear to have at least “a modicum” of interest in Freddy Garcia and Kevin Millwood.
Heyman reports that the Nationals were prepared to offer Zack Greinke an extension worth about $18MM per season for five seasons or so if he accepted a trade to Washington.
Word is that Chris Young’s medicals don’t look great and he’s willing to accept a deal that guarantees him less than $2MM. The Mets deny that they have made the right-hander an offer, but they appear interested in his services. ESPN.com's Buster Olney recently reported that the Mets had offered a deal that's likely worth over $1MM.
The Giants are saying that they only need a backup infielder at this point in the offseason. They have resumed talks with World Series MVP Edgar Renteria.

Royals Interested In Jeff Francis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 5, 2011 at 12:18pm CDT

The Royals are one of seven teams with interest in Jeff Francis, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Crasnick named the Nationals, Pirates, Rangers, Yankees and Mets as suitors for the left-hander late last month. Those clubs, along with the Rockies, maintain interest in Francis, Crasnick writes.

Francis missed all of the 2009 season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. He was generally healthy in 2010, when he logged 104 1/3 innings and posted a 5.00 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 for the Rockies.

The Royals expressed interest in Kevin Millwood early in the offseason. Now that they've traded Zack Greinke, their need for starting pitching is even more apparent. Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar, Sean O'Sullivan and Vin Mazzaro are internal rotation candidates, but GM Dayton Moore figures to add at least one starter by the time Spring Training begins.

Nationals Rumors: Free Agents, Lee, Pavano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 5, 2011 at 9:45am CDT

The challenge for the Nationals, writes Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, is convincing elite players to come to D.C. Zack Greinke, Jorge de la Rosa and Derrek Lee are among the players who declined Mike Rizzo’s overtures this offseason; the GM says luring players to Washington isn’t easy.

"It shows the difficulty of trying to build something," Rizzo said. "The only thing that convinces players to come is winning. It's the chicken and the egg. Which comes first? Do you win and then the players come, or do the players come and then you win?"

The Nationals have agreed to deals with top free agents like Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche this offseason. But the team faced rejection along he way.

“We liked [Derrek] Lee a lot,” Rizzo said. “I don't know why he went to Baltimore over us."

The Nationals have been linked to Carl Pavano for months, but Rizzo says he hasn’t talked to the right-hander at all. The Nationals last spoke to agent Tom O’Connell at the Winter Meetings, so they don’t appear to be frontrunners. Conflicting reports about the Nationals’ interest in Pavano emerged yesterday.

NL Notes: Pavano, Young, Cubs, Brewers

By Mike Axisa | January 4, 2011 at 8:46pm CDT

Some notes from the senior circuit…

Carl Pavano is still "entertaining interest" from a handful of teams according to MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling. The Nationals remain very much in that mix, and Goessling's source indicates that there is no timetable for Pavano's decision.
Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post gets the sense from team officials that the Nats are "lukewarm" on Pavano (Twitter link). He says not to expect a deal until Pavano's asking price comes down.
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Mets' offer to Chris Young "likely includes guaranteed money over $1 million." A team offical said that yesterday's Chris Capuano pickup will not take the team out of the running for other free agent starters.
The Cubs are not planning to upgrade at second base, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). That makes it unlikely that they'll pursue Michael Young.
The Brewers have signed right-hander Jesus Sanchez to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). The 23-year-old posted a 2.99 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 129 1/3 Single-A innings for the Phillies last season. They originally acquired him from the Yankees in the Bobby Abreu trade, back when Sanchez was a catcher.
Eddy tweets that the Brewers also signed outfielder Brandon Jones to a minor league deal. The 27-year-old hit .231/.333/.325 in the minors last year, bouncing from the Braves to the Pirates to the Tigers.

Nationals, LaRoche Nearing Two-Year Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 4, 2011 at 7:49am CDT

TUESDAY, 7:49am: The Nationals are closing in on a two-year deal with LaRoche, according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter). Bowden was GM Mike Rizzo's predecessor in Washington.

MONDAY, 10:38pm: Confidence is growing on both sides that LaRoche will end up in Washington, a person with knowledge of the talks told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

4:44pm: The Nationals are still discussing potential contracts with Adam LaRoche and talks are progressing, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Ladson reports that the sides are not far apart on a deal and may continue negotiations today.

The Nationals recently offered LaRoche a two-year deal that appears to be worth $8-9MM per season. Washington appears to be a fit for LaRoche, since there aren't many reliable first basemen available. They could use a first baseman and LaRoche lost a serious suitor when the Orioles agreed to sign Derrek Lee.

As MLBTR's Steve Adams explained yesterday, the Nationals are just one of the options for LaRoche and his representatives at SFX. It appears to be an option that appeals to the first baseman, though - LaRoche told Ladson in December that he likes the Nationals’ direction.

Heyman On Crawford, Pavano, CarGo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 3, 2011 at 1:16pm CDT

There’s word that many Angels people were in favor of offering Carl Crawford a seven-year deal worth $142MM or so, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Red Sox won the bidding for the All-Star left fielder with a $142MM offer that left the Angels without one of their offseason targets. Owner Arte Moreno has said that his team never made Crawford an offer, but he acknowledged the Angels' interest. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

There are thought to be one or two teams looking at Carl Pavano other than the Twins and Nationals, according to Heyman. The Mariners and Rangers have been linked to Pavano this winter, but it's not clear if those clubs are currently interested.
Heyman reports that the Rockies are still trying to lock up Carlos Gonzalez. Meanwhile Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that the Rockies could move closer to an extension with the 25-year-old this week

Odds & Ends: Greinke, Young, Rangers, MacLane

By Luke Adams 2 | January 2, 2011 at 10:19pm CDT

Links for Sunday….

SI.com's Jon Heyman says the "word is" that the Nationals offered Zack Greinke a big contract extension in an effort to entice him to join their team (Twitter links). He simply didn't believe the Nats could win, so he instead waived his no-trade clause to go to the Brewers.
A source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Rangers and Rockies have not had any serious talks about Michael Young in the last week, so if he does get traded, it will likely be to a team that did not show much interest in him at the Winter Meetings (Twitter links).
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News offers a "semi-educated guess" that if the Rangers do sign Adrian Beltre, they'll shift Young to a DH/utility role rather than trade him (Twitter link).
NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman passes along a Japanese report that has the Orix Buffaloes set to acquire Evan MacLane from the Cardinals. An official announcement is expected soon.
Cole Hamels and the Phillies haven't yet begun discussions for a multiyear extension, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted when he examined the Phillies' four aces, Hamels is arbitration eligible after next season and can become a free agent after 2012.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider required) shares a list of 36 potential MLB storylines for 2011. Olney's list includes the Albert Pujols negotiations, Heath Bell trade talks, and C.C. Sabathia's out clause.
The Jason Bartlett trade potentially opened up a spot on the 25-man roster for long-time Rays' farmhand Elliot Johnson, according to Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.
WEEI's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier attempt to determine whether Hideki Okajima is likely to rebound for the Red Sox in 2011.
Roch Kubatko of MASN can't see the Orioles signing a full-time DH now that Derrek Lee is on board.
Police say Alfredo Simon is the primary suspect in a fatal shooting in the Dominican Republic, reports the Associated Press (via the Miami Herald). Simon insists he was not involved in the incident, according to Orioles Dominican representative Felipe Alou Jr.

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