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Odds & Ends: Beimel, Cust, Dukes, Santos

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Nationals Need To Make Room For Livan Hernandez

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The Nationals were able to play out the first week of the season with just four starters, but they're going to call up Livan Hernandez tomorrow to take over as the fifth member of the rotation. Hernandez signed a minor league deal this offseason, so the Nats kept him off the roster until they absolutely needed the extra starter.

The team will have to clear a spot on the 25-man roster to call Livan up, but they do have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so that's not that problem. However, as MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling notes, relievers Tyler Walker and Jason Bergmann could be candidates for demotion, and both are out of options. They would have to clear waivers to head to the minors. 

Walker, 33, signed a one year deal worth $650K this offseason, but he's allowed three runs in 3.1 innings on the young season. The 28-year-old Bergmann has appeared in two games so far, allowing a pair of runs in one inning of work. If the team choose to ignore the obviously small sample sizes, they could option 25-year-old Jesse English to Triple-A, who has allowed two runs in 1.2 innings of work on the season. Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post adds Miguel Batista's name to the mix, who's given up six runs in 4.1 innings so far. 

Nats Content With Right Field Platoon

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We've seen them connected to Jermaine Dye and heard that they've discussed trading for various outfielders, but the Nationals are in no rush to add a right fielder, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nationals expect to rely on players in the organization if the Willie Harris–Willy Taveras platoon doesn't work out. Utility player Cristian Guzman, who has been playing in right, and Mike Morse are among the players GM Mike Rizzo could turn to.

The Nationals haven't had any talks with Dye, though the Brewers had interest. Ladson reports that the Nationals would not be willing to offer Dye much money. 

Offseason Questions For The NL East

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The offseason is officially over, but we've still got a few questions.  Our Offseason In Review series can be found here, and questions for the NL East are below.

  • Will the Braves regret not finding a way to keep Javier Vazquez in the 2010 rotation?  Will an extra two weeks of Jason Heyward justify free agent eligibility after the 2015 season?
  • Having already cut many of their scrap heap relief pickups, will the Marlins' streak of unearthing bullpen diamonds in the rough end?  Will bypassing Major League free agency cost the team wins in 2010?
  • Could the Phillies have signed Placido Polanco or a comparable player for a significantly smaller commitment?  Will they regret trading Cliff Lee for prospects?
  • Did the Mets overcommit to Jason Bay, given the lack of comparable offers?  Given the team's array of needs, will they rue putting all their eggs in the Bay basket?
  • Could the Nationals have matched the production of Jason Marquis and Ivan Rodriguez with smaller commitments to different players?  Will they lament letting pitching prospect Marco Estrada go in favor of reliever Tyler Walker?

No Ongoing Talks Between Dunn, Nationals

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MONDAY, 10:00am: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears (via Twitter) that there are no ongoing talks between Dunn and the Nationals.

SUNDAY, 10:19pm: Dunn would prefer to hammer out a contract extension soon so that he doesn't have to hear his name in trade rumors, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. 

3:45pm: Despite not working something out prior to Opening Day, Adam Dunn is still open to negotiating an extension with Washington during the season, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Dunn is also comfortable waiting until after the season, but made it clear he'd like to stay with the Nats:

"If it gets done in two weeks, if it gets done in a month, great," Dunn said. "If it doesn't, then like I said, we've got all offsesason. This is the place I want to be at. I want to be here. This team is obviously going in the right direction. I'm all for it."

Dunn is entering the second year of a two-year, $20MM deal he signed with Washington prior to the 2009 season. While Dunn failed to reach the 40 home run mark for the first time in five seasons, he still enjoyed perhaps his best season at the plate. The Big Donkey hit .267/.398/.529 and belted 38 homers in 159 games during his age-29 season.

There's never been any doubt about Dunn's bat; Fangraphs ranked his offense alongside the likes of Ryan Howard, Pablo Sandoval, and Alex Rodriguez. However, his woes with the glove will always limit his overall value in the National League, and that trend continued in Washington. UZR/150 pegged Dunn's time in the outfield at a brutal -39.5 mark, and while he improved at first base, the -25.0 mark he posted there is hardly impressive.

Still, the Nationals love Dunn's offensive thunder and don't seem to be deterred by his struggles on defense. Kilgore quotes general manager Mike Rizzo as saying the two sides are in communication, though Rizzo declined to comment further.

Dunn says that he prefers to stay out of negotiations, and is letting his agent, Greg Genske, handle all of the discussions until things get serious. Dunn remains firm on one issue — staying in Washington:

"There's a lot of things to be excited about. I feel comfortable here. I feel like I fit in really well here. My family loves it here. It seems like it's a great fit. When we do something special here, I want to be a part of it."

Nationals Have Discussed Trade For Right Fielder

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In the wake of losing an everyday outfielder when they released Elijah Dukes, the Nationals have had discussions with several teams about a trade for a right fielder according to MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling. Among the targets: Corey Hart, Kosuke Fukudome, and B.J. Upton.

Goessling says that none of those trade talks have been particularly substantive, but it's clear the Nats aren't necessarily looking for a cheap solution. The two sides weren't able to find a common ground for Hart, and the Nats came away with the impression that the Rays won't move the elder Upton brother unless they fall out of the AL East race this summer. Fukudome still has two years and $26.5MM left on his deal, so he's unlikely to be moved unless the Cubs eat a large portion of that commitment.

Washington feels right field is a thin position around the league, so for now they'll try to get by with a combination of Willie Harris and Willy Taveras. They'll have to hope their defensive skills make up for their collective lack of offense. 

Could Nationals Trade Cristian Guzman?

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After the Nationals named Ian Desmond their starting shortstop at the beginning of this week, Cristian Guzman's role with Washington became a little less clear. Guzman will make more money ($8MM) in 2010 than any National not named Adam Dunn, and is without a starting job. If Desmond holds his own as an everyday starter, the club will be paying $8MM to a utility player.

It's not an ideal situation for the Nationals, but it would be a challenge to move Guzman. In addition to his price tag, the 32-year-old also possesses ten and five rights, meaning he would have to approve any trade the team worked out.

Guzman has said he won't request a trade, and GM Mike Rizzo has insisted that Washington is not attempting to deal him. However, the switch-hitter could provide some value to a contending team as a utility man. In 1359 plate appearances for the Nats since 2007, he has hit .305/.334/.423, and while Fangraphs rates his shortstop defense as consistently slightly below average during his time in Washington, his positional flexibility could come in handy. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes today that the Nationals are trying Guzman in right field in hopes of getting him a few more at-bats.

We've already seen questions this spring regarding the health of star infielders such as Jose Reyes and Brian Roberts, and the Rangers reportedly looked into acquiring Guzman during their search for infield help. It's not hard to imagine depth or injury concerns inspiring a team to make a move for Guzman this season, despite his hefty contract. Do you see it happening? Which club could you imagine pulling off a trade? And what might the cost be, in terms of both money and talent?

Brewers Showed Interest In Jermaine Dye

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The Brewers made a run at free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye within the last week, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, but the talks reached an impasse for unknown reasons.

The FOX writers say the Brewers are unhappy with Corey Hart, and might've tried trading him if they'd signed Dye.  Brewers GM Doug Melvin indicated to WSSP 1250 a few days ago that Hart doesn't have right field locked up.  Jim Edmonds is in the mix to start Opening Day.  Rosenthal and Morosi say Melvin discussed Hart with the Nationals.  Hart is under team control for two more years, but his salary climbed to $4.8MM when he won his arbitration hearing in February.  The 28-year-old recovered some OBP last year but saw his SLG slip to a career-worst .418.

Hart's glovework has been below-average the last few years in right field, so maybe the Brewers felt that they wouldn't lose much defensively by going with Edmonds and/or Dye.  MLBTR tried to help Dye find a job with this post a few days ago.

Odds & Ends: Offenses, Ben Snyder, Kelly Johnson

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Action-packed links for Wednesday…

Nationals Claim Chris Coste

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12:53pm: The Nationals claimed Coste, reports Brian Costa of the Newark Star-Ledger.

7:53am: The Mets placed catcher Chris Coste on waivers, reports Adam Rubin (via MetsBlog).  Coste signed a big league deal worth $650K back in December.  Rubin says Coste is likely to accept an assignment to Triple A if he clears waivers.

Coste, 37, hit .224/.301/.317 in 230 plate appearances for the Phillies and Astros last year, catching 352 innings.  Coste went 3 for 14 with a walk this spring.

On Saturday, ESPN's Jayson Stark said the Mets were hoping to move an excess catcher like Coste or Omir Santos for Triple A pitching depth.  The Mets have Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, Santos, Josh Thole, and Shawn Riggans on the depth chart.

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