Nationals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Hunter, Keppinger, Swisher

By Tim Dierkes | April 20, 2009 at 10:54am CDT

Links for Monday…

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Jed Lowrie will have wrist surgery, and Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe learned that he could return by the All-Star break. Julio Lugo, recovering from knee surgery, should be ready to take over soon.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. says "negotiations between the New York Yankees and Cuban exile prospect Felix Perez have broken down because of the outfielder's problem in obtaining a visa." Perez was set for a bonus north of $3MM, but questions have been raised about his age. The Yanks may have interest in a couple of other Cuban players, Noel Arguelles and Jose Iglesias, once they're declared free agents.
According to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Torii Hunter would seemingly like to finish his career with the Twins.
MLB.com's Alyson Footer says sending Drew Sutton to the Reds for Jeff Keppinger was "a great, great deal for the Astros." Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle explains why the move was made.
Aaron Gleeman weighs in on the Twins' decision to swap out Philip Humber for Juan Morillo.
David Pinto of Baseball Musings gives his opinion of the Ryan Zimmerman extension.
South Side Sox and Sox Machine discuss the minor tiff between Ozzie Guillen and Nick Swisher.
Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says the Dodgers signed pitcher Chuck Tiffany to a minor league deal. They'd traded him to the Rays in '06 as part of the Danys Baez deal, and the Rays released him in March of this year.

Nationals Overhaul Bullpen

By Steve Adams | April 19, 2009 at 9:18pm CDT

According to Chico Harlan, the Nationals have made some major changes to their 25-man roster. Here's a quick synopsis of the moves:

Josh Bard: Optioned to AAA-Syracuse
Saul Rivera: Optioned to AAA-Syracuse
Wil Ledezma: Designated for assignment
Steven Shell: Designated for assignment

The quartet was replaced by pitchers Jordan Zimmermann, Garrett Mock, Jason Bergmann, and veteran Kip Wells.

Following today's loss to the Marlins, which completed the second three-game sweep of the Nationals this season for the Fish already in 2009, Manny Acta was not shy about the bullpen:

I think it's embarrassing. I think it's unacceptable. I think our fans have every right to be mad, like we are right now. And it's not going to be tolerated. We're going to have a brand new bullpen tomorrow… We had a chance to win three games in a row, we couldn't do it, and it's not going to be tolerated… Plenty of moves, and more to come.

Cafardo’s Latest: Peavy, Mulder

By Nat Boyle | April 19, 2009 at 11:11am CDT

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a couple notes in his Sunday column:

Should he be dealt this season, the Red Sox appeal to Jake Peavy, who hit it off with Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia in the World Baseball Classic. Padres GM Kevin Towers is hopeful his clubs success will continue and trading Peavy won't have to come up. Only twelve games into the season and the Pads are tied with the Dodgers at 9-3.
The Nationals, A's, and Dodgers are all interested in Mark Mulder who believes he "could be ready two weeks after signing."

Yankees Outfield Options

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 18, 2009 at 9:37am CDT

According to George A. King III of the New York Post Austin Kearns or Jason Repko could become options for the Yankees if they decide to look outside the organization for outfield depth. Now that Xavier Nady could be out for a while the Yankees have moved Nick Swisher into right, but their bench isn't as deep as before.

King writes that the Dodgers "might be willing to trade" Repko and the Nationals "are said to be entertaining offers" for Kearns.

This King update is from a couple days ago. As MLB.com's Anthony DiComo writes we don't know much more about Nady's health now than we did Thursday. I'd expect the Yankees to get a full report on Nady before dealing for additional depth.

Nationals Closing In On Extension With Zimmerman

By Tim Dierkes | April 17, 2009 at 3:10pm CDT

3:10pm: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the Nationals are closing in on a five-year, $45MM extension with Zimmerman. The deal would begin with 2009, erasing his current contract. By comparison, Markakis will earn $47MM over the same service time slice of his career.

2:35pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Nationals are closing in on an extension with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. The talks are getting serious, with Zimmerman aiming for a deal similar to Nick Markakis' six-year, $66.1MM deal. Rosenthal says a Zimmerman extension "likely would cover his remaining arbitration years and at least two years of free agency." Markakis' deal bought out all three arbitration years and three free agent years with a mutual option for a fourth.

Looking at Zimmerman's accomplishments, is he worth a big-money extension? Or are the Nationals locking him up because he's their best young player?

Odds & Ends: Bonifacio, Jimenez, Darvish

By Tim Dierkes | April 17, 2009 at 1:32pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Royals third baseman Alex Gordon is out 10-12 weeks due to hip surgery. Mark Teahen will slide over to take his place.
Ken Rosenthal examines the Indians.
I did a Q&A with But The Game Is On.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post gets into the Emilio Bonifacio trade.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes about how the Yankees' signing of D'Angelo Jimenez changed everything.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Yu Darvish velocity chart.
The Big Lead talked to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Paul DePodesta explains the Padres' decision to expose Travis Denker to waivers.

Odds & Ends: Milledge, Draft Order, Cubs

By Tim Dierkes | April 14, 2009 at 10:30am CDT

Links for Tuesday…

The Nationals issued a press release regarding Lastings Milledge's demotion to Triple A. Seems like they're hoping it's a wake-up call.
Scott Boras spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about matching his client Dallas McPherson with the Giants.
Baseball America has the 2009 June draft order.
According to a Reuters article, one source suggested the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family may drag on past May.
Bart Given of Inside The Majors says the Indians are an exception in terms of providing nutritious meals to minor leaguers.
This week's chat will take place tomorrow at 2pm CST.

Nationals Sign Ron Villone

By Tim Dierkes | April 10, 2009 at 9:07pm CDT

According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, the Nationals signed lefty Ron Villone to a minor league deal. Villone is fourth on the depth chart in terms of southpaw relievers; he'll report to Triple A. He wasn't able to stick with the Mets earlier this spring.

Ladson adds that the Nats are in on free agent Chad Gaudin, but only for a minor league deal.

Stark On Olsen, Willingham, Millwood, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | April 9, 2009 at 4:05pm CDT

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new column up.

Stark looks at a few trades that didn't happen. Aside from the Angels' run at Aaron Harang at the end of Spring Training, they also talked to the Nationals about Scott Olsen. Stark says Dustin Moseley, Shane Loux, and Jason Bulger were three names kicked around in the Olsen talks.
Earlier this spring, the Rays inquired on Washington's Josh Willingham, apparently dangling Jason Hammel. Willingham is currently unhappy about being on the Nationals' bench, a situation that probably would not have improved in Tampa Bay.
Kevin Millwood could be attractive midseason trade bait, if his Opening Day start was any indication. Millwood's contract allows the club to decline his $12MM 2010 option unless he pitches 180 innings this year. He also has a limited no-trade clause.
Stark talked to an executive of a team that has Jake Peavy on its radar. This exec noted that teams did not overpay in deals for Rich Harden and Johan Santana, so the Padres may not be able to demand a ridiculous bounty for Peavy.

Zimmerman Talks On Hold

By | April 6, 2009 at 6:19pm CDT

MONDAY: Extension talks for Zimmerman are indeed on hold until after the season, according to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Zimmerman does not seem concerned, noting that "it's come a long way" and expressing relief to have entered the arbitration system.

SATURDAY: According to the Associated Press, via the Miami Herald, Ryan Zimmerman wants long-term contract negotiations to cease once the regular season starts. The Nationals have been working toward a multi-year extension with their 23-year-old third baseman since spring training began.

Zimmerman tells The Associated Press on Saturday that if there isn't something in place by Monday's first game, he wants a break in negotiations. He says the last thing he needs is to be worrying about something other than trying to help the Nationals win.

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