Nationals Rumors

Reaction To The Matt Garza Trade

By Mark Polishuk | January 7, 2011 at 6:18pm CDT

The Cubs and Rays agreed today on an eight-player swap headlined by right-hander Matt Garza. Here's some early reaction and analysis of the big deal, including news of another team that had an offer for Garza on the table…

ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) loves the trade for the Rays: "they got more for Garza than Kansas City did for Zack Greinke although their package of players is, collectively, further away than what the Royals got." Law had Hak-Ju Lee ranked as the top prospect in Chicago's system and calls the 20-year-old shortstop "the star of the deal" for Tampa Bay.
The trade is a "slight overpay" for the Cubs, writes Fangraphs' Joe Pawlikowski, but overall he likes the deal. Pawlikowski also cites concerns about how Garza will fare at Wrigley Field given Garza's propensity for giving up fly balls.
Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo Sports has no problem with the trade itself, but calls Garza just a "Band-Aid" on the Cubs' problems since he doesn't think Chicago is close to contending.
Tampa Bay fans won't be pleased to see Garza go, but Erik Hahmann of the DRaysBay blog notes that Andrew Friedman has had success with past unpopular trades.
Mike Bauman of MLB.com writes that the Rays organization is strong enough to recover from the losses of Garza, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett this winter.
The Rangers made Tampa Bay an offer for Garza that offered "more 2011 impact," tweets Peter Gammons. The Cubs' prospect package, however, has a "higher longterm ceiling."
A high-profile trade naturally invites some questions from fans wondering why their clubs didn't make a move for the star player in question. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that neither the Yankees or Mets contacted the Rays about Garza. Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post hears from Baseball America's Jim Callis that the Nationals simply didn't have the minor league depth to match Chicago's package.

Nationals To Sign Adam LaRoche

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 7, 2011 at 2:49pm CDT

The Nationals have officially announced their two-year agreement with Adam LaRoche. The deal includes a mutual option for 2013. LaRoche will be paid $7MM in 2011 and $8MM in 2012 before a $10MM mutual option/$1MM buyout comes into play.

LaRoche had alternatives and so did the Nationals, but once the Orioles agreed to terms with Derrek Lee, Washington offered a two-year deal and the sides came to an agreement quickly.

Like Adam Dunn, the Nationals' previous first baseman, LaRoche is consistent. The 31-year-old has hit at least 20 homers and posted an OPS of .775 or better for six consecutive seasons. LaRoche has hit exactly 25 homers in each of the past three seasons and has a career .271/.339/.488 line.

The D'Backs will obtain a supplementary first round pick since LaRoche, a Type B free agent, turned down arbitration. However, the Nationals do not have to surrender a draft choice to sign the first baseman.

LaRoche joins Ryan Zimmerman, Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond on the Nationals' infield. The team has expressed interest in adding a veteran utility infielder before the season starts, but the starters are in place.

As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, the first base market has thinned out considerably now that Lee and LaRoche have agreed to deals.

GM Mike Rizzo and the Nationals front office negotiated the deal with LaRoche's representatives at SFX. Rizzo's predecessor, Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio first reported that the sides were nearing a deal (on Twitter) and Peter Gammons first reported the agreement (on Twitter). Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post and Mark Zuckerman of NatsInsider.com added the salary details (Twitter links)

Relief Rumors: Saito, Fuentes, Burton, Nationals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 6, 2011 at 3:40pm CDT

As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, lots of free agent relievers remain unsigned. Here's the latest on the relief market:

Takashi Saito's deal with the Brewers guarantees him $1.75MM and gives him the chance to earn $1.5MM more through incentives, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy adds details on the contracts for Sean Green and Craig Counsell.
Brian Fuentes is telling teams that he would like to close, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Several teams are interested in the lefty and the Rays are one interested club that could offer a closing job.
The Reds will likely avoid arbitration with Jared Burton today and agree to a one-year deal with the reliever, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
The Nationals are pursuing another reliever who can pitch late in games and potentially close, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes listed relief help as one of the Nationals' remaining needs last week.

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.

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