Dmitri Young may become a Nat
Dmitri Young is close to signing a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals. The Nats already have Travis Lee around to play first while Nick Johnson recovers, but Young would certainly give them more pop while they wait.
Young struggled in limited time last year, but has always been a consistent source of power, and is only a few years removed from a sparkling .297/.372/.537 campaign back in ’03 in Detroit. I would’ve expect Young would find an AL home before he landed with an NL team, but Jim Bowden seems to like guys like this, as he signed Matt LeCroy last offseason.
UPDATE: Tony Batista has signed a minor league deal with the Nats, too. He must not have gotten any good offers at all, because there are few teams likely to have less playing time for Batista than the Nats, unless Batista thinks he can sell himself as a shortstop.
By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com
Dmitri Young may become a Nat
Dmitri Young is close to signing a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals. The Nats already have Travis Lee around to play first while Nick Johnson recovers, but Young would certainly give them more pop while they wait.
Young struggled in limited time last year, but has always been a consistent source of power, and is only a few years removed from a sparkling .297/.372/.537 campaign back in ’03 in Detroit. I would’ve expect Young would find an AL home before he landed with an NL team, but Jim Bowden seems to like guys like this, as he signed Matt LeCroy last offseason.
UPDATE: Tony Batista has signed a minor league deal with the Nats, too. He must not have gotten any good offers at all, because there are few teams likely to have less playing time for Batista than the Nats, unless Batista thinks he can sell himself as a shortstop.
By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com
Long Term Deal for Cordero?
The Nationals and Chad Cordero are discussing a multi-year deal to avoid their upcoming arbitration hearing. The two sides aren’t that far apart, but since they have a consistent, young pitcher on their hands, I’m sure the Nats would like to work something out.
Cordero wasn’t as good last year as he was in his eye-popping 2005, but he did manage a 3.19 ERA and a K:BB of better than 3:1. He may not have been the best closer in the NL named Cordero, but he still remains one of the best relievers in the league. It’s tough to see the Nats going more than three years (with an option for a fourth) for a young reliever, but such a deal would not only work nicely for Washington, but would make Chad an even more valuable trade commodity in the 07-08 offseason.
By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com
Long Term Deal for Cordero?
The Nationals and Chad Cordero are discussing a multi-year deal to avoid their upcoming arbitration hearing. The two sides aren’t that far apart, but since they have a consistent, young pitcher on their hands, I’m sure the Nats would like to work something out.
Cordero wasn’t as good last year as he was in his eye-popping 2005, but he did manage a 3.19 ERA and a K:BB of better than 3:1. He may not have been the best closer in the NL named Cordero, but he still remains one of the best relievers in the league. It’s tough to see the Nats going more than three years (with an option for a fourth) for a young reliever, but such a deal would not only work nicely for Washington, but would make Chad an even more valuable trade commodity in the 07-08 offseason.
By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com
Nats Not Interested In Trachsel
Apparently Steve Trachsel has priced himself out of the Nationals’ range ($3 million is too much I guess). Washington is not one of the three teams in the running for him, according to Bill Ladson.
A few days ago, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Astros were talking to Trax but that Tim Purpura did not consider it hot and heavy. The Twins are out now too. So who are these two other teams?
Trachsel was born in Oxnard, CA, so maybe he’d like to play on the west coast. The Dodgers and Angels would be closest to his hometown, but those teams have fully booked rotations. The Padres, Giants, and A’s are further away. I wouldn’t put it past the Giants to sign Trachsel to use instead of Jonathan Sanchez. Or maybe Trachsel could help as the veteran presence in Tampa Bay’s rotation? Perhaps some Kyle Davies insurance for the Braves?
Honestly, I have no idea who the other teams would be.
Nats Not Interested In Trachsel
Apparently Steve Trachsel has priced himself out of the Nationals’ range ($3 million is too much I guess). Washington is not one of the three teams in the running for him, according to Bill Ladson.
A few days ago, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Astros were talking to Trax but that Tim Purpura did not consider it hot and heavy. The Twins are out now too. So who are these two other teams?
Trachsel was born in Oxnard, CA, so maybe he’d like to play on the west coast. The Dodgers and Angels would be closest to his hometown, but those teams have fully booked rotations. The Padres, Giants, and A’s are further away. I wouldn’t put it past the Giants to sign Trachsel to use instead of Jonathan Sanchez. Or maybe Trachsel could help as the veteran presence in Tampa Bay’s rotation? Perhaps some Kyle Davies insurance for the Braves?
Honestly, I have no idea who the other teams would be.
Nats Blogs Gaining Exposure
This is awesome! Kudos to the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga for acknowledging the "Natosphere" and writing an entire column about it. I too had noticed that the Nationals seem to have a disproportionate number of blogs. Twins, too. That says a lot about their fanbases. And props to Nats executives for embracing the diehards. More teams should follow suit.
Blogs mentioned in Svrluga’s article:
Nats Blogs Gaining Exposure
This is awesome! Kudos to the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga for acknowledging the "Natosphere" and writing an entire column about it. I too had noticed that the Nationals seem to have a disproportionate number of blogs. Twins, too. That says a lot about their fanbases. And props to Nats executives for embracing the diehards. More teams should follow suit.
Blogs mentioned in Svrluga’s article:
Latest On Ohka
Ah, the Tomo Ohka saga. What could be more exciting in late January? Football just can’t compete. The Pirates have "escalated efforts" to snag the righthander, which I suppose means an increased offer. An Ohka signing for the Bucs would probably push Shawn Chacon out of the rotation, never a bad idea.
The Nats, Blue Jays, and…wait for it…a mystery team are the contenders for Ohka. My guess is that Ohka wants a Jason Marquis type deal.
Ohka Could Sign Soon
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reports that Tomo Ohka could decide this weekend whether to pitch for the Nationals, Pirates, or Blue Jays. The Bucs are also working on Brian Lawrence, so they’d probably only sign one of the two.
I wonder what happened to the Mets, and whether Ohka is still holding out for a three-year deal. You can read my full profile of the 30 year-old righty here.