Nationals Rumors

Knobler On Holliday, Giants, Tigers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2009 at 9:13am CDT

A number of baseball officials tell Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that they expect plenty of activity in the final week before next Friday's trade deadline.

Billy Beane is apparently looking for young position players if he trades Matt Holliday.
The Giants are "very interested" in Holliday.
The Giants and Tigers have both checked out the Pirates and Nationals in their respective searches for bats. Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson have appeal, but the Giants would prefer a right-handed bat and the Tigers are hesitant to take on Dunn's $12MM salary for next season.
Knobler says Tigers owner Mike Ilitch could always make a last-minute push for Holliday or Roy Halladay.
There's no way to know how much flexibility the Rays, Rangers and Braves have until the deadline passes.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Angels, Rangers

By Eddie Schmid | July 23, 2009 at 10:29pm CDT

It's getting late for big news, but do GMs (or beat writers) ever sleep this time of year? Still a chance for some bedtime stories. Here are some sheep for the non-believers to count:

Jeff Zrebiec at the Baltimore Sun checks in on five players teams could be targeting on the Orioles and his predictions on where they might end up.
Though he says he's fine with the current roster, Angels manager Mike Scioscia says that GM Tony Reagins has been active, reports Rhett Bollinger at MLB.com. Scioscia wants a bullpen arm.
Marty Noble at MLB.com answers questions about what the Mets might do at the deadline.
Jeff Wilson at the Dallas Morning News says Tanner Scheppers' agent vouches for the top pick's desire to sign with the Rangers, though talks have progressed little.
Bill Ladson at MLB.com has an extensive and fairly candid chat with Nationals owner Mark Lerner.
Tommy Rancel at Inside the Rays previews the team's targets and candidates to be moved.

Cubs Still Monitoring Options

By Eddie Schmid | July 23, 2009 at 7:41pm CDT

Dave van Dyck at the Chicago Tribune talked to Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who says that while anything can happen, the Cubs are looking more to "tinker" rather than make a big splash at the deadline. Van Dyck reminds that the Cubs just don't have the pieces to make a major trade, and Hendry sees team health as the major issue at hand.

Such tinkering, Van Dyck speculates, could involve the acquisition of a veteran backup catcher, left-handed reliever or vet outfielder along the lines of Jim Edmonds. He mentions there is room to add salary, but that it is "limited," which would discount someone like Jake Peavy. The Cubs have been in the mix for George Sherrill and Joe Beimel on the relief front, and Lou Piniella has said he desires "a couple hitters" before the deadline.

Odds & Ends: Garland, Washburn, Giants

By Eddie Schmid | July 23, 2009 at 6:50pm CDT

Lots of interesting rumblings from around the league–could be an exciting evening here at ol' MLBTR. Here are some intriguing links to feed the insatiable frenzy:

After Mark Reynolds criticized his D'Backs teammates a few weeks ago, Jon Garland took it a step further Wednesday, saying he "doesn't see any fight" in his teammates. As Bob Romantic at the East Valley Tribune notes, this could accelerate trade rumors already surrounding Garland.
The Dallas Morning News asks Rangers fans who they'd deal for Cliff Lee.
Buster Olney at ESPN gives a video-blog rundown of what the Red Sox have done in the trade market and what they plan to undertake.
Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that a number of scouts reported to the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate, including two from the Braves.
Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times talked with trade target Jarrod Washburn, who expresses interest in signing a contract extension with the Mariners.
Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Nationals are scouting the Giants' Double-A affiliate, and speculates that Adam Dunn, Joe Beimel, Ron Villone or Nick Johnson might be on the Giants' radar.
Chris Haft at MLB.com answers fans' questions about the Giants' stance at the upcoming deadline.
Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com wonders if improved play would make Ryan Garko the next to leave the Indians, as Matt LaPorta waits in the wings.

Cards & A’s Discussing Holliday For Wallace

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 6:18pm CDT

6:18pm: Ken Rosenthal calls the Cards' interest "mild, for now." However, Jon Heyman has a few updates on the proceedings–as noted in the past, Cards manager Tony La Russa is said to "badly" want Holliday. Heyman also reports that the Cardinals might want the A's to pay a portion of the $1.8MM bonus Wallace received after the 2008 draft.

3:41pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Cards are "seriously pursuing" Holliday, possibly for Wallace. The Tigers are also in the mix for Holliday.

12:55pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Cards and A's are indeed discussing a possible Wallace for Holliday trade. One of Olney's sources says the odds of a deal are 50-50. The Cardinals ownership may be prepared to take on salary, or the A's may pay a portion of Holliday's contract to obtain a better return.

10:00am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the Cardinals might be readying themselves to part with prospect Brett Wallace for Matt Holliday. The Cardinals need a bat to protect Albert Pujols and Holliday has a .310/.416/.492 line since May 5th despite a well-documented drop in power. He's walked 41 times in that span and continues to play above average defense in left field.

Holliday makes $13.5MM this year and will likely be a Type A free agent after the season. Wallace is a top prospect, playing in the upper minors with an OPS over .800 in his first full season of pro ball. Washington outfielder Josh Willingham is an option for the Cards in case Holliday costs too much money and too many prospects.

Stark On Deadline Deals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 2:53pm CDT

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says this year's deadline will be different than others, since more players will clear waivers, allowing teams to deal until the end of August. Matt Holliday, Jarrod Washburn and Jack Wilson are all "likely to zip through waivers" next month. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

The Phillies are as motivated as ever to acquire Roy Halladay. Their goal is to win the World Series, not make the playoffs.
The Phils don't want to trade Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, but one GM believes they should include Drabek if one of the two has to go.
The Phillies may have to decide which outfielder to include in a deal: Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown. One scout says there's "nothing not to like" about Taylor.
Acquiring Cliff Lee would take a "four-for-one, Halladay-esque Package."
The Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Rays and Brewers are scouting Lee.
Both the Blue Jays and Indians want top young arms for their aces, but the Indians aren't demanding big-league ready prospects, as long as they get a high-upside group.
Expect Lee to be traded close to the deadline, if he's moved at all, because the Halladay saga will need resolution first.
The Orioles have two prices for George Sherrill. Teams willing to take on his salary have to give up a premium prospect and another prospect, but if the O's have to pay Sherrill, they want a premium prospect and two other players.
Danys Baez's value has plummeted recently.
The Braves, unsure of how much Tim Hudson can contribute, are leaning heavily towards keeping Javier Vazquez.
Adding a reliever is now the Dodgers' top priority.
The Phillies have some interest in Ryan Spilborghs, Scott Hairston and Ryan Raburn.
The Reds would like to deal some of their expensive pitchers.
July 31st is also the deadline for Japanese teams to acquire foreign players for the rest of their season, so if Scott Boras is going to send Stephen Strasburg overseas, this will have to be the week.
The Cubs are looking at left-handed relievers, including Sherrill, John Grabow and Joe Beimel.

Edes On Lee, Feliciano, Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 22, 2009 at 8:56am CDT

Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Phillies and Dodgers are interested in Cliff Lee, but the Indians aren't anxious to move him. Not only would it mean trading Cy Young Award winners in back-to-back years, it would diminish the team's chances at contending next season. Here are the rest of Edes' rumors:

The Dodgers would have interest in Pedro Feliciano if the Mets become sellers.
The Brewers scouted Brad Penny over the weekend, but a trade seems unlikely now that Tim Wakefield's on the DL.
At least one NL executive believes the Pirates are ready to move almost anyone. Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Matt Capps, John Grabow, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson could all be targets.
It looks like the Reds would listen to offers for Francisco Cordero. However, he has no-trade protection and an big contract.
The Red Sox had a scout watch Nick Johnson this weekend.

ESPN: Nats Not Close To Signing Strasburg

By Brian Shephard | July 21, 2009 at 6:28pm CDT

Pedro Gomez of ESPN is reporting that that Nationals are "not on pace" to sign phenom Stephen Strasburg by the August 17 deadline. The information was given to Gomez by a "source close to the negotiations."

In spite of an "ongoing dialogue" with Scott Boras, Strasburg's advisor, the Nats have not made an offer other than the minor league tender that clubs must make within 10 days of drafting a player.

Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo talked to the Washington Post but revealed little, saying that a lot was happening "behind the scenes" but that the Nationals will not negotiate "through the media."

Phils Interested In Willingham

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 21, 2009 at 3:40pm CDT

Chuck Hixson of PhillyBaseballNews.com hears that the Phils are interested in Josh Willingham. The 30-year-old outfielder makes under $3MM and could spell various Phillies around the diamond, as he's played some first base, both corner outfield positions and catcher.

Some speculated that Kyle Kendrick could be headed to Washington for Willingham when the pitcher was scratched from his minor league start today, but there's nothing to it, as Andy Martino points out. Kendrick's start was simply pushed back a day.

Odds And Ends: Nats, Schedule, Wang

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 20, 2009 at 4:30pm CDT

Some links for the afternoon…

Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (via ESPN) determines that among contenders, the Yankees, Rays and Rangers will have the toughest opposition the rest of the way.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suspects the Pirates extended offers to Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson so they could say they did. Realistically, Neyer says it's hard for the Pirates to pay veteran players fair market value.
Count Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman among those who believe teams will continue to trade well into August, according to Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post.
Within the piece, acting GM Mike Rizzo hints that Nick Johnson could return to the Nats next year.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times suggests we shouldn't expect Chien-Ming Wang to return for a while, "if at all." He experienced tenderness playing catch today.

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