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Jason Bergmann Clears Waivers, Outrighted To Triple-A

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12:48pm: Bergmann has cleared waivers and will head to Triple-A Syracuse, according to a Ladson tweet.

FRIDAY, 10:28am: The Nationals had a few teams interested in trading for Bergmann, but couldn't find an offer they liked, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Resolution on the right-hander should come later today.

THURSDAY, 7:12pm: Ladson tweets that Bergmann has been placed on waivers, meaning he could be outrighted, become a free agent, or be claimed by another team by tomorrow.

MONDAY, 7:20pm: Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com reports that Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo acknowledged fielding calls for Bergmann. 

"We've taken a few calls. We're still in the inquiry stage," said Rizzo. "We still have a few days to do something. Nothing to announce."

The Nats have until Thursday to waive Bergmann, and until Saturday to trade or release him.   

SUNDAY, 11:37am:The Blue Jays have expressed interest in Jason Bergmann, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Thursday, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com. In a second tweet, Ladson adds that if they acquired Bergmann, the Jays probably wouldn't need him until mid-season.

At the time of Bergmann's DFA, MLBTR speculated that the Jays could take a look at the right-hander, given former Nats' scouting director Dana Brown's familiarity with the 28-year-old. Brown now works on Alex Anthopoulos's staff in Toronto.

The Nationals have a ten-day window, as of Thursday's roster move, to attempt to finalize a trade involving Bergmann.

Stark On Padres, Jose Guillen, Derrek Lee

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ESPN's Jayson Stark kicks off today's column with a look at which teams' starts he considers reality and illusion.  Beyond that, a look at his hot stove rumblings…

  • One club official who "felt out" the Padres over the winter believes they'll hold on to their top players if they're in contention in July.  As Stark says, the market would look a lot worse without Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell.
  • Stark names six sluggers who "might be in play" this summer: Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn, Adam LaRoche, Rick Ankiel, Paul Konerko, and Manny Ramirez.  Hamilton and Manny are longer shots, but they'd certainly get the hot stove burning.
  • As for Jose Guillen – executives Stark talked to just aren't interested, despite his .377/.406/.738 start.
  • In search of new stadiums, where could the Rays and A's legitimately threaten to move?  Stark and his sources run through ideas and can't find a viable city.
  • A friend of Cal Ripken's tells Stark "there's a lot of mutual respect" between Ripken and Orioles owner Peter Angelos.  Ripken seeks a difference-making job, rather than just a title.  It doesn't necessarily have to be with the Orioles.
  • The Cubs told Derrek Lee's agent Casey Close they'd prefer to let the season play out before talking extension.  Lee discussed the situation during Spring Training. 
  • Stark's sources consider Brett Anderson's four-year, $12.5MM deal a very team-friendly contract.  To the A's credit, most young pitchers are not willing to give two club options.  Playing devil's advocate –  did the potential cost savings justify committing four years to Anderson after just one year of service?  You can find multiple clubs that do not share Oakland's enthusiasm for locking up good young pitchers.

Odds & Ends: Martinez, Rangers, Strasburg, Zambrano

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Links for Wednesday…

2011 Contract Issues: Washington Nationals

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The Nationals face one contractual option after the season.  Second baseman Adam Kennedy has a $2MM club option with a $500K buyout.  Of course, it's too early to tell if Kennedy can reprise his offensive success of '09 and post a solid defensive season.

Aside from Kennedy, nearly $24MM could be freed up with departing free agents.  Adam Dunn ($12MM) and Cristian Guzman ($8MM) make up the bulk.  Talks for a Dunn extension have quieted.  The Nationals will be free of their commitment to Austin Kearns, who received a $1MM buyout this year.

Increases to players under contract are mild, made up mostly of Ryan Zimmerman's $2.675MM bump.  The Nats have several notable arbitration cases after the season.  John Lannan goes for the first time, while Sean Burnett and Jesus Flores go for a second.  Third-timers include Josh Willingham, Matt Capps, and Scott Olsen.  Fourth-timers are interesting too, with Chien-Ming Wang and Brian Bruney in the mix.  Recent history says the Nationals won't be shy about going to hearings if necessary.

Assuming Dunn leaves, the Nationals will have money to work with even if they hold payroll steady.  It might be another active offseason for Washington.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Angels, Royals

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As the West Coast games get started, here are some tidbits to snack on…

Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg

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Links for Monday…

  • The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members.  Join the discussion today!  Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.
  • Tom Krasovic tweets that the Twins have a scout at tonight's Padres-Giants game, but it's just a routine visit. He adds that Heath Bell remains on Minnesota's radar, but the two sides haven't talked since Spring Training.
  • The Giants have no interest in Jermaine Dye, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. The reasons are the same as they've been all winter: defense and asking price.
  • More changes could be coming to the Dodgers' bullpen, says Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Russ Ortiz was designated for assignment yesterday, and Hernandez thinks Ramon Ortiz could be next.
  • Talking to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, I learned that teams can now safely promote minor leaguers for their MLB debuts with no chance of the player amassing 172 days of service in 2010.  By promoting '08 first-rounder Ike Davis today, the Mets ensured that he will be under team control through 2016 instead of 2015.  In contrast, the Braves have Jason Heyward through '15.
  • On that same topic, agent Scott Boras told MLB.com's Peter Gammons that Stephen Strasburg starting in the minors "had nothing to do with money."
  • Joe Posnanski digs into Forbes' team revenue numbers, noting that the Yankees made $173MM more than any other team.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch tells us Hayden Penn has accepted the Pirates' Triple A assignment in lieu of electing free agency.
  • In a statement, Cal Ripken said he looks forward to continued talks with the Orioles about a position in the organization.

Nationals Re-Sign Ron Villone

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8:26pm: Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post clears things up. He says Villone was re-signed to a minor league and assigned to Extended Spring Training, presumably for conditioning purposes.

3:06pm: The Nationals have apparently retained lefty reliever Ron Villone, based on this tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Ladson says Villone is "back in the Nats organization, working out in Viera, Florida right now."  The Nationals had released Villone in March after three spring appearances.  Ladson notes that Villone had a leg injury prior to the release, which probably explains why they were unable to let him go.

Villone, 40, posted a 6.66 K/9 and 4.81 BB/9 in 24.3 innings against lefties last year.  Control was a problem in '08 as well, through he had a better strikeout rate.  Villone has pitched for a dozen different teams in his 15 seasons.

Largest Contracts In Team History

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We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Ripken, Angels, Athletics, Lewis

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Rounding up some Friday night links….

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Strasburg, Collusion, Cain

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On this day ten years ago, Indians' starter Chuck Finley struck out Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis, and Rafael Palmeiro in the same inning after Curtis reached base on a passed ball. There have been 50 instances in baseball history where a pitcher struck out four men in one inning, but Finley did it three times, the only guy to do it more than once. Scot Shields is the last pitcher to strike out four in one frame, doing it less than a week after Scott Baker accomplished the same feat in June of 2008.

Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

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