Nationals Rumors

Luis Atilano Clears Waivers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 20, 2011 at 1:14pm CDT

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 Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 15, 2011 at 5:23pm CDT

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 Zachary Links | February 12, 2011 at 3:43pm CDT

Links for Saturday..

Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun called the Orioles' signing of pitcher Justin Duchscherer the latest "late-winter Hail Mary" by GM Andy MacPhail.
C.C. Sabathia told Mark Hale of the New York Post that he isn't concerned about the Yankees' rotation.
Carlos Marmol took his physical in Mesa, Arizona today, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Marmol and the Cubs should finalize a long-term deal this week.
The Nationals still have loose ends to tie up from the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
Tom Singer of MLB.com will be keeping a close eye on Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers as he looks to get his career back on track this season. Recently our own Mike Axisa characterized 2011 as a make or break year for the closer as he approaches free agency.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals and outfielder Jim Edmonds have not yet scheduled the physical that he needs to pass in order to finalize his minor league deal with the club. GM John Mozeliak confirmed that the agreement is open-ended in order to allow Edmonds time to recover from foot surgery before taking the physical.
After signing a one-year, $4MM this winter, Aaron Harang is looking to return to old form with the Padres, writes Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Meanwhile, Eric Chavez is looking for a fresh start with the Yankees, writes Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.

Nationals Sign Two Dominican Prospects

By Zachary Links | February 12, 2011 at 1:18pm CDT

The Nationals have finalized deals with a pair of Dominican prospects, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Outfielder Randy Novas and catcher Raudy Read will receive $150K and $130K, respectively.

Johnny DiPuglia, the Nats' head of international scouting, said that the 17-year-old Read will "easily be an everyday catcher." As for Novas, DiPuglia compared the 16-year-old's body to that of former big leaguer Devon White.

The club remains hesitant to hand out massive signing bonuses like the one they gave 16-year-old Esmailyn Gonzalez, who really turned out to be 20-year-old Carlos Alvarez, in 2006. Excluding the Yunesky Maya major league deal, the Nationals spent about $1MM on signing bonuses for prospects in Latin America last year, one of the smallest budgets in the majors. Now, DiPuglia tells Kilgore, the club is starting to spend more on international players.

Nationals Sign Alex Cintron

By Dan Mennella | February 8, 2011 at 5:39pm CDT

The Nationals have signed infielder Alex Cintron to a minor league deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com.

Cintron, 32, last appeared in the Major Leagues with Washington in 2009. The utility infielder spent last season in the Mets organization, playing in 20 games with Triple-A Buffalo.

The Nationals plan to give rookie Danny Espinosa a shot at the second-base job this season, but he is inexperienced and coming off hand surgery, so Cintron was presumably added for the sake of organizational depth in the event Espinosa is not ready to go by Opening Day.

Cintron broke into the big leagues with the Diamondbacks in 2001 and remained with Arizona through 2005. He's bounced around since then, spending time in a handful of organizations.

Nationals Sign Four

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 4, 2011 at 2:23pm CDT

The Nationals agreed to sign right-hander J.D. Martin, left-hander Matt Chico, catcher Carlos Maldonado and first baseman Kevin Barker the team announced. Chico gets a Major League deal and the others get minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training. All four players have big league experience and everyone but Barker has suited up for the Nationals before.

The Nationals released Martin last month after he pitched to a 4.32 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 125 innings from 2009-10. Martin spent most of the last three years at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.21 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 144 innings.

Chico, 27, is a former second rounder who has a 4.95 ERA in 220 big league innings. He spent the 2010 season with Washington's top affiliates, posting a 3.62 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 141 2/3 innings.

Maldonado, 32, has had cups of coffee in three big league seasons. The backstop has a .256/.328/.358 line in parts of 15 minor league seasons.

Barker, 35, has a .249/.328/.354 line in 323 career plate appearances for the Brewers, Padres, Reds and Blue Jays. The 1996 draft pick has 260 minor league homers to his name and an .843 OPS in the minor leagues.

Nationals To Sign Laynce Nix

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 2:06pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have agreed to sign Laynce Nix to a minor league deal (Twitter link). The outfielder receives an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Nix hit .291/.350/.455 in 182 plate appearances for the Reds last year and hit 15 homers the year before that. Though he hit southpaws well in 2010, he has struggled against them over the course of his career so manager Jim Riggleman could choose to limit the 30-year-old's exposure against left-handers. Nix has lots of experience in center field, but has spent most of his time in left since 2007.

Washington traded outfielder Justin Maxwell to the Yankees so this signing helps the team restore depth. Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina, Nyjer Morgan, Michael Morse and Jayson Werth are among the Nationals' other outfield options.

NL Notes: Mets, Martis, Loney, D’Backs

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2011 at 8:20pm CDT

Hall-of-Famer and Cardinals legend Red Schoendienst celebrates his 88th birthday today. Let's celebrate by looking at some news from the league where Schoendienst spent his entire 33-year career as a player and manager.

The Mets want to find a new minority owner by June, reports The Wall Street Journal's Matthew Futterman, Michael Rothfeld and Chad Bray. If the Wilpons can't sell a minority share of just the club, Futterman, Rothfeld and Brian Costa report that the Mets ownership group could look to add a share of the SNY cable network to the sale "if and when it became a necessity." Jeff Wilpon said last week that SNY wasn't for sale.
Mark Cuban tells Newsday's Barbara Barker that after failed attempts to buy the Cubs and Rangers, he won't pursue another baseball ownership opportunity unless he's approached. Cuban thinks the Mets are "a great opportunity, but I'm not going to call their investment banker." Cuban also said it's "very unlikely" he would settle for a minority share in a franchise unless he was given the first chance at buying a majority share in the future.
Shairon Martis has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate, reports the team's official Twitter feed. Martis was designated for assignment by Washington on January 24.
James Loney and the Dodgers "don't appear close to a settlement" of Loney's arbitration case, reports ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson. Loney is L.A.'s last arb-eligible player, now that Hong-Chih Kuo has come to an agreement with the club. You can keep track of all the outstanding and settled arbitration cases at the MLBTR ArbTracker.
Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs looks at what the Diamondbacks have done to remake their bullpen after last year's disastrous performance.

Nationals To Sign Cla Meredith

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 2, 2011 at 4:07pm CDT

The Nationals announced (on Twitter) that they have agreed to sign right-hander Cla Meredith to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Meredith, 27, had elected free agency after the 2010 season.

In 21 relief appeareances for the Orioles last year, Meredith posted a 5.40 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He had a 1.07 ERA in 45 appearances for the Padres five years ago and was a key member of the San Diego bullpen from 2006-09, before the Padres sent him to Baltimore for Oscar Salazar. Coincidentally, the Padres designated Salazar for assignment yesterday.

Yankees Acquire Justin Maxwell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 2, 2011 at 1:28pm CDT

The Yankees announced that they have acquired Justin Maxwell from the Nationals for minor league right-hander Adam Olbrychowski. When Washington had to clear roster space last week, they designated Maxwell for assignment.

Other than their four primary outfielders – Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones – the Yankees don't have a ton of outfield depth. Maxwell will provide manager Joe Girardi with an alternative to Colin Curtis, Greg Golson and Jordan Parraz.

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. The 27-year-old has shown speed on the basepaths and the ability to play all three outfield positions.

Olbrychowski reached Double-A last year in his fourth professional season. The 24-year-old posted a 3.90 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 67 innings at Class A and Double-A last year, working almost exclusively out of the bullpen.

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