Nationals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Teixeira, Ligtenberg

By Tim Dierkes | May 1, 2009 at 11:32am CDT

Links for Friday…

RotoAuthority looks at the April offensive stat leaders.
Jim Callis of Baseball America discussed Jim Bowden's Stephen Strasburg comments. Bowden says the Nationals' decision to draft Strasburg has been made, and predicts they'll sign him for around $15MM minutes before the deadline.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. talked to Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo about their revamped Latin American plan.
Mark Teixeira talked to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times about his decision to sign with the Yankees.
Brian Stensaas of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes about Kerry Ligtenberg, who is attempting a comeback with the St. Paul Saints.
SI.com's Tom Verducci spoke with one GM who points to struggling older teams and says "it's better to be young these days."
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers are being patient with pitchers Ryan Perry and Rick Porcello.
MLB.com's Corey Brock doesn't expect GM Kevin Towers to sit back and watch if the Padres continues to struggle.
Here's Baseball America's list of the hottest prospects in the minors right now.
ESPN.com's Keith Law scouts a pair of college players who could turn up on BA's list next year: Tim Wheeler and Drew Storen.
Twins reliever Juan Morillo cleared waivers, so he'll head to Triple A according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Odds & Ends: Bowden, Owens, Flores

By Tim Dierkes | April 30, 2009 at 9:00am CDT

Links for Thursday…

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and ESPN's Jason Churchill say high school catcher Luke Bailey is having Tommy John surgery. He might fall out of the top 20 in the draft, says Churchill.
Thom Loverro of The Washington Times transcribes all kinds of amusing comments made by former Nationals GM Jim Bowden earlier this month. Bowden touched upon Stephen Strasburg, Mark Teixeira, and Aaron Crow.
Alex Speier of WEEI notes that free agency hasn't done much for the Red Sox recently, outside of the Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz bargain signings.
ESPN's Jim Caple talked to pitcher Jeff Zimmerman, who is on the comeback trail with the Mariners.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that White Sox outfielder Jerry Owens may be on the way out. It sounds like Scott Podsednik is coming up, but there will be no roster move today.
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Rockies reliever Randy Flores, currently in Triple A, is debating whether to opt out of his contract.
Zach Berman of the Washington Post gathered quotes on new Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing.
Tonight at 10pm CST, Seth Stohs and Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will co-host the MN GameNight radio show.

Nationals Acquire Logan Kensing

By Tim Dierkes | April 29, 2009 at 2:15pm CDT

According to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, the Nationals acquired recently-designated reliever Logan Kensing from the Marlins for minor league reliever Kyle Gunderson. Gunderson was drafted out of Rice in '07.

Kensing, 26, was designated for assignment by Florida after just 7.3 innings this year. Last year, he logged 55.3 innings with a 4.23 ERA, struggling with his control. He had Tommy John surgery in August of 2006.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Garcia, Bonds

By Tim Dierkes | April 29, 2009 at 9:03am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com grilled various Nationals about the possibility of the team signing Stephen Strasburg for big bucks.
Righty Steven Shell elected free agency, while Nats reliever Wil Ledezma accepted a Triple A assignment according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Chico Harlan of the Washington Post discusses the Nationals' bullpen construction in this post.
Yahoo's Gordon Edes chatted with Evan Longoria as part of his article about David Price and Matt Wieters starting the season in Triple A.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen commented about free agent Freddy Garcia, talking to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star thinks the Royals should sign Barry Bonds, and current team members seem receptive to the idea. In separate columns, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News try to figure out why Bonds hasn't retired.

Rosenthal On Yankees, Acta, Pedro

By Tim Dierkes | April 28, 2009 at 8:52am CDT

The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

The Yankees' bullpen ranks 12th in the AL with a 6.47 ERA in 64 innings. Rosenthal learned that GM Brian Cashman isn't interested in any of the available relievers, and the plan seems to be to let them pitch their way out of the funk. Early offenders include Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Damaso Marte. Plus, Brian Bruney is out with an elbow injury.
Rosenthal explains some of the criticisms of Nationals manager Manny Acta. He does not think a firing is imminent, but Acta may not make it through the year.
David Ortiz on Pedro Martinez: "When I saw him pitch, I had hot flashes of when he was here."
Rosenthal notes the team-friendly nature of Albert Pujols' current seven-year, $100MM contract.

Pedro Martinez May Sign Soon

By Tim Dierkes | April 24, 2009 at 6:47pm CDT

6:47pm: Just to clarify, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says the team maintains mild interest in Pedro.

1:41pm: For what it's worth, Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post would like to see the Nationals ink Pedro. He believes the organization has more than enough money, citing the recent Forbes findings, to match the right-hander's high salary demands.

FRIDAY, 8:53am: MLB.com's Bill Ladson has a source saying the Nationals haven't had interest in Pedro since Spring Training. The door remains just a crack open in the event that Martinez becomes amenable to an inexpensive contract. Otherwise, Ladson's Nationals source says, "We are satisfied with our rotation even though there is going to be some bumps along the way. We wouldn't want to make any changes there."

Meanwhile, here's Dodgers GM Ned Colletti talking about Pedro.

THURSDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Pedro Martinezcould decide on his next team within two weeks. He's set to begin throwing off a mound tomorrow. Rosenthal says Pedro is open to both contending and rebuilding teams, but continues to demand a $5MM salary. ESPN's Jayson Stark suggested today that Martinez's exorbitant asking price may be a way of delaying his return.

A rundown of possible suitors, from Rosenthal:

Angels GM Tony Reagins recently admitted to contacting Pedro's agent, but Rosenthal says "the two sides have not spoken in more than two weeks."
Rosenthal learned from Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo that the team has mild interest in Pedro and scouted him in March. Martinez's asking price is the issue.
The Rangers have some interest.
Rosenthal's Yankees source denies interest in Pedro, despite the pitcher telling friends the opposite. There is a Dominican newspaper report floating about suggesting a Pedro-Yankees union, but we'll trust Rosenthal's source.
The Indians don't have the money, the Dodgers don't like the price, and the Mets aren't interested.
Rosenthal does not mention the Orioles, Cardinals, or Pirates, teams that have been linked to Pedro in the past.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mulder, Pedro, Cabrera, Holliday

By Cork Gaines | April 24, 2009 at 8:09am CDT

On this date 32 years ago, Carlos Beltran was born. Beltran is still one of only 19 players to ever sign a contract for at least $100MM (four currently play for the Yankees). With three years left on Beltran's seven-year, $119MM deal signed in 2005, let's take a look a what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Feeling Dodger Blue wonders if Mark Mulder is the Dodgers' best option.
Never Forget '69 wonders if the Mets should explore adding Pedro Martinez.
The Detroit Tigers Weblog addresses the recent rumors that the Tigers will look to trade Miguel Cabrera.
The Baseball Opinion takes a closer look at the Nationals' attempt to remake their roster.
River Ave. Blues says the Yankees' series against the A's was an audition for Matt Holliday.

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

Luis Vizcaino Designated For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | April 23, 2009 at 9:41am CDT

9:41am: Vizcaino has been designated for assignment, according to ESPN's Bruce Levine. Levine says Cubs GM Jim Hendry "tried to be creative with other teams, including the Washington Nationals, and tried to save some money before having to release Vizcaino."

Assuming Vizcaino signs elsewhere at the minimum salary, that'll be $3.6MM lost for the Cubs. They also sent $875K to Colorado in the January Jason Marquis deal. So the Cubs will end up paying $4.475MM rather than Marquis' $9.875MM salary.

THURSDAY, 9:04am: Sullivan seems a little more sure, writing today that Vizcaino "is expected to be released to make room for Samardzija."

WEDNESDAY, 4:56pm: According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs will call up pitcher Jeff Samardzija on Thursday to join the bullpen. Sullivan adds that Milton Bradley is back in the lineup (ie not headed for the DL), and lefties Neal Cotts and Sean Marshall won't be sent down. For Sullivan, it all adds up to the possibility that reliever Luis Vizcaino may be released. To do so, the Cubs would have to assume the $4MM owed to him.

Odds & Ends: Zimmerman, Devine, Wolf

By Tim Dierkes | April 22, 2009 at 11:30am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

WEEI's Alex Speier points out that Ryan Zimmerman's deal mirrors the Kevin Youkilis extension, despite the difference in performance. Tyler Hissey of Around The Majors likes the Zimmerman contract nonetheless.
Speier also reports that the Red Sox placed pitcher Devern Hansack on unconditional release waivers, not long after he dislocated his shoulder. UPDATE: Hansack will be re-signed to a minor league deal.
Athletics reliever Joey Devine had Tommy John surgery, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star talked to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who said the decision to recall Brian Bannister over Luke Hochevar was not financially motivated.
Randy Wolf doesn't have hard feelings toward the Astros, according to MLB.com's Michael Murphy. The 'Stros wisely yanked their three-year, $28.5MM offer to Wolf in November.
Josh Levitt names the worst contract extensions in the game.

Ryan Zimmerman Agrees To Extension

By Steve Adams | April 20, 2009 at 5:56pm CDT

MONDAY, 5:56pm: Harlan has details on Zimmerman's new contract. He says one of the final hold-ups was Zimmerman's insistence that there be no club options. It seems that this deal has been done for a few weeks now.

SUNDAY, 9:26pm: Chico Harlan weighs in with an update. It is indeed a five-year, $45MM extension for Zimmerman, as previously speculated. This contract overrides the one-year, $3.325MM deal that Zimmerman and the Nats agreed on prior to the season. Zimmerman had a refreshing take on the negotiation process:

"It just gets to the point where you think, 'How much [money] do you really need? How much do you need, and do you really want to be here?' I think that's the most important thing…The whole point of being a free agent and having a negotiating power is to play where you want to want to play. And I don't really need to go into that. I'm happy here."

8:43pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that the Nationals have agreed on an extension with Ryan Zimmerman. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but an official announcement could come tomorrow.

Previously we'd heard that Zimmerman didn't want to negotiate mid-season, but clearly things have changed. Last week, there was speculation that his extension would be five years, $45MM, and would take effect during the 2009 season.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Nationals Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect