Nationals Rumors

Trade Possible, Nats May Try To Extend Dunn Soon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2010 at 9:57am CDT

Adam Dunn is looking for a long-term deal, and if he and the Nationals can’t agree on his value, the team will likely trade him, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Dunn would stay in Washington if he and the Nationals can agree to the parameters of a deal, even if they don’t formally announce an agreement. The Nats have the chance to keep Dunn in Washington, so they may try to extend him before the trade deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).

Dunn, 31 in November, has 23 homers and a .933 OPS, so he remains one of the game's elite power hitters. Many have suggested that Dunn's poor defense makes him an ideal candidate to DH, but that hasn't prevented NL teams like the Giants from showing interest. The Nats seem reluctant to deal their top players, including Dunn, but the White Sox are definitely interested.

The White Sox also covet Prince Fielder, but Dunn, Adam LaRoche and Lance Berkman (in that order) are the next players on their list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).

Odds & Ends: Hamilton, Rangers, Moyer, Wilson

By Mark Polishuk | July 22, 2010 at 10:56pm CDT

As Alex Rodriguez takes a step closer to the 600-homer club, here are some news items…

Barry Shlachter of the Star-Telegram reports on Nolan Ryan's testimony about the Rangers' money problems. The most notable item from Ryan's testimony was that Texas may not be able to afford Josh Hamilton's inevitable arbitration raise this winter. This seems hard to believe, since you'd figure that Texas would cut corners anywhere else to find the money to pay Hamilton or to negotiate a long-term deal with their star.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com tweets that the Rangers have excess pitching and could make Scott Feldman and/or Rich Harden available in a trade.
Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Jamie Moyer's recent elbow injury might end the 47-year-old's amazing career.
The Cardinals feel more confident about their chances of signing draft pick Austin Wilson after the 12th-round selection and his family visited Busch Stadium, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The highly-regarded Wilson has a full scholarship waiting for him at Stanford and thus the Cards' selection was thought to be a longshot.
Tom Krasovic of the Inside The Padres blog writes that the Friars are looking for "a hitter adept at reaching base against right-handers."
Holden Kushner of CSNWashington.com examines a potential Adam Dunn deal against the situation the Nationals faced in 2005 when they didn't trade Alfonso Soriano.
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com discusses some Indians prospects and more in a fan mailbag.
David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune thinks the White Sox should resist the urge to trade Gordon Beckham for a rent-a-player. Haugh proposes that the Sox should instead offer up Bobby Jenks, whose closing job is up in the air.

Giants Interested In Bautista, Hart, DeJesus

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 21, 2010 at 4:08pm CDT

The Giants are interested in MLB home run leader Jose Bautista, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported today that the Blue Jays are asking for elite young players in exchange for Bautista, but the Giants must be getting used to such demands, since they're eyeing other top hitters.

The Giants remain interested in Corey Hart and David DeJesus, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Adam Dunn and Jorge Cantu are also on the team's radar.

Cantu has drawn interest from the Rangers and Angels; the Nationals are reluctant to trade Dunn; the Brewers want Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner for Hart; and the Royals have a steep asking price for DeJesus but teams are still interested. None of those bats will come cheap and the Giants know that better than anyone. They're presumably willing to give up talent to improve an offensive attack that ranks ninth in the NL.

The Braves, Padres, White Sox, Rays and Rangers are among the teams that could also be bidding for hitters, so the price could remain high until the July 31st deadline.

Nationals Reluctant To Trade Dunn, Willingham, Capps

By Tim Dierkes | July 20, 2010 at 1:33pm CDT

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is keeping other front office members in the dark about what's happening, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, but one thing is clear: Rizzo would need to be overwhelmed to trade Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham, or Matt Capps.

Extension talks with Dunn are at an impasse. Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington says Dunn is seeking at least four years and more than $15MM per year. There seems to be an assumption that as a Type A free agent, Dunn's club will offer arbitration and the slugger will reject it. Granted Dunn was coming off a worse season, but it should be noted that the Diamondbacks did not offer him arbitration after '08. The White Sox appear to be Dunn's most aggressive suitor, as they're reportedly willing to include Daniel Hudson or Dayan Viciedo in a deal.

Meanwhile, Willingham and Capps are under team control for 2011. Both figure to receive handsome raises as arbitration-eligible players.

White Sox Focused On Dunn, Not Fielder

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 20, 2010 at 12:07pm CDT

TUESDAY, 12:07pm: The Sox are focused on Dunn, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they're not in on Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman.

MONDAY, 11:15pm: White Sox GM Kenny Williams has been trying “desperately” to acquire Adam Dunn from the Nationals, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley’s source says the White Sox don’t want to move Carlos Quentin or Gordon Beckham to acquire Dunn, but would move any minor leaguer, and would trade Dayan Viciedo or Daniel Hudson. But Williams still finds that Nats GM Mike Rizzo is asking a lot, according to Cowley’s source. 

 "The problem Kenny is finding out is that Rizzo is acting like Dunn is Ryan Howard,'' the source said. 

Though the White Sox appear to have interest in Dunn, Williams said that he isn’t optimistic about completing deals this summer.

 "If I'm being honest and completely transparent right now of the price that is being asked for some of the players that we've inquired about, for us, it's more detrimental to our present and our future than we'd like,” Williams said.

The White Sox could definitely use an upgrade at DH, but as Williams pointed out, the team could still add a player in August. The White Sox acquired Alex Rios from the Blue Jays in an August 2009 waiver claim.

Rosenthal On Iannetta, Athletics, Bautista

By Tim Dierkes | July 19, 2010 at 1:21pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports kicks off his latest column with a look at Alex Rodriguez's $30MM worth of home run incentives. The chase isn't generating the buzz the Yankees anticipated when they re-signed A-Rod. On to Rosenthal's rumors…

Talks are on again between the Red Sox and Rockies regarding catcher Chris Iannetta. The Rockies would want to improve their big league club with an in-season deal, so perhaps we'll hear heightened Iannetta buzz during the offseason if Miguel Olivo is retained.
The Nationals do not seem to have chosen a course with Adam Dunn in terms of trading or extending him now.
The Athletics have no intention of trading Coco Crisp or Mark Ellis, as both players have club options for 2011.
Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli is "a frequent trade target of rival clubs," but the team likes having depth at the catcher position.
As part of the Yunel Escobar–Alex Gonzalez talks, the Braves and Blue Jays discussed Jose Bautista. For now, the Braves still have time to evaluate Nate McLouth's recovery from a concussion. MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote today that the Braves have considered David DeJesus, Cody Ross, Corey Hart, and Josh Willingham as potential trade targets.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Lilly, Haren, Marlins, Kotsay

By Zachary Links | July 18, 2010 at 10:35pm CDT

Sunday night linkage..

Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com wonders if the reason Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo has made players like Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham available is because the team's offense is struggling with them as it is, so he'll try to improve other areas of the team.
ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine says the Yankees could join the mix for Ted Lilly following Andy Pettitte's injury today. Meanwhile, Yanks' GM Brian Cashman told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com that he is "not inclined" to make a move to replace Pettitte yet, saying that he prefers to give internal options a try first. Levine has the Tigers, Twins, Mets, and Dodgers also in the hunt for Lilly.
Scott Miller of CSBSports.com wonders if this weekend's poor play (three losses to the Padres) makes a Dan Haren trade more likely.
David Villavicencio of Fox Sports Florida tells us that players like Cody Ross and Ricky Nolasco want to stay with the Marlins, and know they need a strong run to make that a reality.
Mark Kotsay knows what it's like to be the player who's desired in a trade, but also to be the player who would lose playing time as a result of one, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
Jose Bautista was honored that Alex Anthopoulos called him to help get Yunel Escobar settled into his new environment, writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Bautista says that he loves Toronto and would like to stay there long-term.
The Yankees, who have been interested bystanders through most of the process, are now getting more interested in Mexican amateur pitcher Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, the Pirates and the Blue Jays remain the frontrunners for the 15-year-old, who is sure to get a bonus of more than $2MM.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets that Tampa Bay expressed interest in Yunel Escobar before he was dealt to Toronto. He also tweets that Reid Brignac was part of the talks.
Hayden Penn, a pitcher for the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate who was reportedly nearing a deal with the Chiba Lotte Marines, is on his way to Japan, according to Indianapolis Indians Triple-A announcer Scott McCauley (via Twitter). McCauley also says that another Indianapolis hurler is "close to a deal".
The White Sox, who have been linked to Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, have had a scout present for Washington's series against the Marlins, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
Reliever David Aardsma is a possible fit for the Tigers, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs attempted to peg Fausto Carmona's trade value.
Roy Oswalt wants to claim the Astros win record before leaving, writes Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News praised the moves made by Rangers GM Jon Daniels.
Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun senses deja vu all over again as the deadline approaches.

Rizzo Doesn’t Like Offers For Dunn

By Mike Axisa | July 17, 2010 at 8:02pm CDT

Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo doesn't like the offers he's received for Adam Dunn, a person close to the team told MLB.com's Bill Ladson and Faran Fagen. As a result, the source doesn't believe the team will trade the first baseman before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. It is unclear exactly which teams have approached Rizzo and made an offer for the lefty power threat.

Dunn has said he is frustrated by not having a contract extension already in place, but as far as we know he hasn't asked for any kind of trade. The Yankees and White Sox are among the teams known to covet him, but there are certainly plenty more out there given the decrease in homeruns and offense in general around the league. Dunn is on pace for 39 bombs this year, which would make this the sixth consecutive year he's hit between 38 and 40.

Odds & Ends: Sheets, Padres, Scutaro, Nationals

By Mike Axisa | July 16, 2010 at 10:54pm CDT

A few links to check out while the Yankees play their first game without George Steinbrenner at the helm since 1972…

Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Phillies have had a "top scout" on hand for the A's last four series, though Oakland isn't going to move Mark Ellis and Ben Sheets isn't scheduled to pitch this weekend.
James Schmehl of MLive.com says that Sheets could be a "rather inexpensive" trade option for the Tigers if they're looking to add a starting pitcher.
MLB.com's Corey Brock reports that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer told reporters he would like to make a move to improve the team, not just a cosmetic one (all Twitter links). He says the prices must first come down, and that he has the resources to add multiple pieces.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford says (via Twitter) that the Braves did not talk to the Red Sox about a potential Yunel Escobar–Marco Scutaro deal. He says that the Blue Jays were the only team Atlanta spoke to about an Escobar trade.
Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo ranked the team's international free agent signings for MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling.
Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the Tokyo Giants have a scout attending tonight's Dodgers-Cardinals game. If nothing else, it shows that Japanese teams scour the U.S. for talent just like MLB teams do in Japan.

Dunn May Be Losing Interest In Extension?

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 16, 2010 at 5:30pm CDT

FRIDAY, 5:30pm: Dunn denied changing his mind about staying with the Nationals according to The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, though he did acknowledge being frustrated by not having an extension already in place. He said he has no animosity towards the team, but will stay out of any contract talks and let his representatives handle things.

MONDAY, 7:29pm: Adam Dunn is losing interest in signing a long-term deal with the Nationals, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter links found here). The powerful first baseman perceives a lack of urgency from the Nationals, who began preliminary discussions with Dunn and his representatives months ago.

GM Mike Rizzo has made it clear that he would part with Dunn only for an extraordinary package. Olney reports that the Nationals have discussed possible deals involving Dunn, so they are clearly considering trades. As we heard last week, the White Sox are among the interested teams.

Dunn leads the National League with 22 home runs and appears headed for a seventh consecutive season with 38 or more homers. The 30-year-old has a .959 OPS, which would be a career-high. Dunn and Jayson Werth are two of the most productive hitters rumored to be available as the trade deadline nears.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Nationals Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect