Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nationals Rumors

Heyman On Penny, Ackley, Milledge

By | at

SI.com's Jon Heyman places Marco Scutaro and David Ortiz atop his lists of over and underperforming players. In the same article, he provides some trade rumors:

  • The Phillies, Mets and Cardinals are among the teams "in" on the Brad Penny discussions.
  • Philadelphia would still like to acquire a premium pitcher; they're "aiming higher" than Penny.  
  • Dustin Ackley is apparently seeking "Mark Teixeira money."  No, he's not looking for $180MM, but he'd like a deal worth $9.5MM, like the one Teixiera received out of college.
  • And there's word of trade talks involving Lastings Milledge.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Strasburg, Pedro, McLouth

By | at

On this date 70 years ago, Lou Gehrig played his last game with the Yankees. Gehrig would retire with a career batting average of .340, 493 home runs and a 179 OPS+. For comparison, Albert Pujols has a career batting average of .334, 337 home runs and a 171 OPS+. More than a third of the way through the '09 season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Josh Q. Public takes a look at what Stephen Strasburg would have to accomplish statistically to justify a 6-year, $50MM contract.
  • Federal Baseball spoke with Lee Jenkins about Strasburg and Jenkins' research of dominant amateur pitchers.
  • Nationals Park wonders if the Nats can sign Strasburg.
  • Ladies… say that Strasburg is destined to break down.
  • Bareknucks makes the case that Strasburg will be the next Mark Prior and baseball's version of Tony Mandarich.
  • Fanhouse has a pool going on how much Strasburg will ultimately sign for.
  • MLB Notebook argues that Pedro Martinez makes sense for the Rays. 
  • Operation Shutdown makes a case that the Pirates did well in the Nate McLouth trade.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Draft Roundup: Late Picks, Strasburg, Purke

By | at

Time to pass along some more links, including some noteworthy selections late in the draft…

Stark: What If The Nats Could Deal Strasburg?

By | at

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark determines how much Stephen Strasburg would be worth on the trade market if the Nats were allowed to deal him. Stark has an assortment of other rumors that will come soon in another post, but for now, some thoughts on Strasburg:

  • One NL exec wouldn't want to trade centerpiece players for Strasburg even if it was allowed, because pitchers aren't as reliable as position players.
  • Another executive said it would be hard to know how much to give for Strasburg when you don't know how much he's going to earn.
  • One official said he'd give up "three or four very good prospects" for Strasburg.  
  • A fourth exec said there's no way he'd give up an "everyday, impact, big-league player" like Adam Jones.
  • He reasons that Jones would have been the first overall pick in the draft this year if he'd somehow been eligible.  
  • Trading picks would enable the Nationals to avoid difficult negotiations with Scott Boras and allow them to get something immediately for giving up the rights to Strasburg.  

Discussion: Do The Nats Have To Sign Strasburg?

By | at

Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports suggests the Nationals have "absolutely nothing to lose with this draft," and says they win whether they sign Stephen Strasburg or get the second pick in next year's draft for failing to do so. They've already agreed to sign Drew Storen, the 10th overall selection, and they're early favorites for next year's first overall pick, with an MLB-worst 15-42 record. They could have the first two picks in next year's draft if they don't sign Strasburg.

However, SI.com's Jon Heyman argued yesterday that the Nationals can't afford not to come to an agreement with their pick. Strasburg is a unique talent and Heyman doesn't think the Nats can keep putting things off, even if they could potentially pick first and second in the 2010 draft.

So do you agree with Ringolsby and the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea that the Nats win whether they sign Strasburg or not? Or do you agree with Heyman that the Nationals should take advantage of an opporunity to acquire a special talent now instead of delaying for a year?

Odds & Ends: Rockies, Mariners, Astros

By | at

Some linkage as we enter the post-draft hangover, with more to come:

Nats Agree To Terms With Drew Storen

By | at

4:09pm: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the deal includes a $1.6MM bonus. This is less than the recommended bonus for the slot. Typically players drafted 10th have received bonuses of $2MM or a bit more. 

11:13am: MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals have agreed to terms with Drew Storen, who they selected 10th overall in yesterday's portion of the draft. Terms of the deal aren't known. Some believe Storen could make the big leagues quickly, as he was a reliever in college. 

Pete McElroy of MASN reports that Storen's open to starting or relieving in the Nationals' system. He struck out 66 batters in just over 40 innings of college ball this year, but he would start if that's Washington's preference.

The Nationals ensured Storen has ample time to develop in the minor leagues by agreeing to terms with him quickly. Negotiations with Stephen Strasburg, their other first round pick, are expected to continue until the August 17th deadline.

Draft Updates: Strasburg, Braves, Sierra Jr.

By | at

Some more updates and thoughts on the draft as day two continues…

  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman notes that the Braves have taken a different approach this year, selecting seven college players with their first eight picks.
  • Via Byron Kerr of MASN.com we hear that Jim Callis of Baseball America expects Stephen Strasburg to sign for about $17.5MM.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney says GMs want the draft to give the worst teams the chance to sign the best players, or the chance to trade the rights to them away. Teams don't always spend early picks on the best players, so Olney says the issue will surface when it's time for the next collective bargaining agreement.
  • Baseball America reports that the Rangers took a familiar name in Ruben Sierra Jr., a high school outfielder. His father showed flashes of brilliance for the Rangers, before falling off in the mid-1990s.  
  • The Pirates have impressed MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo today. They chose Tony Sanchez earlier than expected with the fourth pick, but have since been aggressive.

Boras And Strasburg On Negotiations

By | at

Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says Scott Boras was armed with stats proving Stephen Strasburg is a safe investment during this morning's conference call between the Nats' number one pick, his agent and the media. ESPN.com reports that Boras called Strasburg "a different breed of cat," who's worth more than other players.

Boras criticized the draft system for being "unilaterally imposed, not collectively bargained," and said his strong relationship with the Lerner family will help negotiations with the Nationals organization.

Strasburg, who said all the right things, will take a vacation, rest his arm and then resume training. He said he doesn't know whether he could go straight to the major leagues.

Draft Updates: Deadline, D’Backs, Rangers

By | at

Some more links in anticipation of this evening's draft…

  • Jon Heyman of SI.com says the signing deadline has been pushed back to August 17th because the 15th is a Saturday. The Nats' negotiations with Scott Boras will probably go down to the wire regardless, so it barely matters. If anything it's bad news for the Nats, as they'll have less time to prepare their probable selection, Stephen Strasburg, for a late-season cameo.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs could choose two hitters with their 16th and 17th picks. They like Bobby Borchering, but he may not be available to them.
  • Nolan Ryan expects the Rangers to select a pitcher when they pick 14th, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • MLB.com's Doug Miller rounds up major leaguers' responses to this question: Has any prospect ever received more hype than Strasburg?
  • And here's the final projection MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will make. He has Dustin Ackley going to Seattle, Donavan Tate going to San Diego, Tony Sanchez going to Pittsburgh and Zack Wheeler going to Baltimore.
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law has the same five players going in the same order. Interestingly, Law has Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers out of the first round, in large part because they're expected to demand lots of money.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top