Washington Nationals/Adam LaRoche: Non-Update No.7 - Adam LaRoche Still Looking For 3-Year Deal.

Reiterating what's been clear since the discussion between the Washington Nationals and free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche started, MLB.com's Bill Ladson wrote this past Friday that his sources said the length of the deal is what's holding up a potential agreement between the Nats and their 2012 Gold Glove and Silver slugger-winning infielder. LaRoche wants a three-year deal and the Nationals are reportedly unwilling to go past two years (2-year/$25M acc. to the WaPost's Thomas Boswell). Though there were rumors of interest on Boston's behalf, as MLB.com's Mr. Ladson noted in the article, his colleague Peter Gammons (@PGammo) took to Twitter last week to proclaim that reports of the Red Sox' willingness to give LaRoche what he's looking for may have been exaggerated:

amidst the spins, Red Sox not interested in three years and surrendering all the ramifications of draft pick on and for LaRoche

' Peter Gammons (@pgammo) December 28, 2012

Boston would only have to part with a 2nd Round pick since their 1st Round pick (no.7 overall) is protected under the rules of the CBA agreed upon last winter, but just about every report on the Red Sox' rumored flirtation with the 33-year-old first baseman has included a caveat about the team's reluctance to part with a draft pick in order to sign the free agent. The Nationals' decision to make a 1-year/$13.3M dollar qualifying offer, which LaRoche turned down after declining a $10M dollar option for 2013, is clearly affecting the market, though the left-handed hitting slugger himself told the Washington Posts's Adam Kilgore this weekend that he was, "... in talks with multiple opposing clubs," in addition to the Nationals.

LaRoche would apparently still prefer to return to the nation's capital as he tells the WaPost's Mr. Kilgore that the negotiations with other teams are in case, "'... Washington doesn't work out.'" The nine-year MLB veteran does, however, add that though he's hopeful something can be worked out, "'... as you know it takes two sides cooperating to make that happen. I'm doing everything I can.'" Everything short of negotiating himself, that is, since he notes elsewhere in the article that he's so far, "... avoided injecting himself directly in negotiations."

Boston Globe writer Nick Cafardo gave the Nationals the nod as the most impressive roster in the majors heading into 2013 whether they have LaRoche at first or Michael Morse over there as Morse was in 2011 when the LaRoche tore the labrum in his left shoulder and missed most of the first year of his 2-year/$16M dollar deal with Washington. LaRoche's name comes up again later in Mr. Cafardo's Sunday Baseball Notes column in a discussion about the Red Sox' still-unofficial agreement with C/1B Mike Napoli. While Boston works to settle the situation with Napolo, the Boston Globe reporter writes that, "... they're keeping Adam LaRoche in their sights," though, of course, "... they really don't want to give up a draft pick to sign him."

Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell wrote in a chat with readers last week that he would be shocked if, "... LaRoche falls to [the] Nats at 2-yr deal... Pleasantly, but shocked," but if there's a 3-year deal out there for the veteran first baseman it's not public knowledge at this point. Another week and no resolution, and it appears that in spite of reports last week that there may have been progress, not much has changed since the Nationals and LaRoche started talking this past summer...

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals: Top 5 Stories Of 2012: No. 1 - Nats Clinch NL East For First Time

Frank Robinson, who managed the Washington Nationals in their first two seasons in the nation's capital in 2005-2006 following the franchise's move from Montreal, said this past October when he threw out the first pitch at the first postseason game in D.C. in 79 years, that he saw things coming together for the Nats toward the end of the 2011 campaign. "It came a little quicker than I thought it would," the 77-year-old veteran of 21 major league seasons as a player and 16 as a manager said, "but after last year I felt good about this franchise having an opportunity to do something probably this year if not next year, so it's come a year sooner."

Jayson Werth said the same as he stood on the field a week earlier celebrating the Nationals' first NL East Division title. The 33-year-old outfielder in the second year of his 7-year/$126M dollar deal with the Nats said when he signed that he saw an up-and-coming franchise in Washington and wanted to be a part of turning things around. Late in a rough first year in a Nationals uniform in 2011 during which he put up a .232/.330/.389 line, Werth said he saw something change that convinced him things would be different in his second season in D.C.

As Werth talked to reporters on the field in Nationals Park on October 1st this past season, while celebrating the fact that he and the Nats had clinched the NL East, he too admitted that it might have happened a little bit sooner than he'd imagined. "Maybe I didn't totally expect it in year two," Werth said, "But I was expecting it by year three. So, did it come early? Maybe. I don't know, but after September of last year I was confident it could happen."

That's about the time Davey Johnson said he made the decision to come back for a second season on the Nationals' bench in 2012. In the last few weeks of September he was sure. "When I had kind of more the mixture of talent I wanted on the ballclub and [saw] how they all worked together," the 69-year-old skipper said, "That was when I really felt, 'Man, there's so much more we can do here and I need to be here to help see it along.'"

When his return was officially announced in the winter of 2011, Johnson told reporters he really felt something special could happen. "I like the way we stack up against everybody in our division," Johnson said, "I'm not just sticking out my chest and saying some hot air. My baseball instincts tell me that that's where we need to be, that's where we need to go and that we can get there."

The Nationals did get there and they clinched in front of the hometown crowd. The Nationals took over first place in the NL East for good with a May 22nd win over Roy Halladay and the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Washington held first place in the division from that point on, and for all but ten days in 2012 as they held off the Atlanta Braves, who were within 2.0 games of the division lead as late as the first week of August before the Nats pulled ahead and hung on to win the division with a 98-64 record and a 4.0 game lead in the division just a year after they finished 80-81 in third place in the NL East, 21.5 games out of the first place.

"No one expected us to do what we're doing," 21-game winner Gio Gonzalez told reporters after the Nationals clinched the division, "And to make history and do this... let us enjoy this moment." The Nationals enjoyed the moment with a clubhouse celebration which spilled out onto the field for a while so the players could share the moment with several thousand of the 40,084 fans who turned up that night and stayed behind to participate in what was at that point the most exciting night of baseball in the nation's capital in decades. Four days later the Nats played the first postseason game by a team based in D.C. since 1933. A little over a week after they clinched the division the Nationals brought playoff baseball back to Washington in Games 3, 4 and 5 of the NLDS.

Before the nation's capital's baseball fans had their hearts broken in the final game of the series with the St. Louis Cardinals they got one chance to enjoy postseason success at home in Nationals Park when Jayson Werth's walk-off home run ended Game 4 against the Cards after perhaps the most exciting AB in D.C. baseball history, an epic, 13-pitch showdown vs Cardinals' reliever Lance Lynn that saw Werth hit a line drive home run out to the left field bullpen setting off the sort of mad, deafening, jubilant celebration you have to be a part of to truly understand but can enjoy just the same no matter where you may have been when it happened.

The Nationals were unable to win the first postseason series in the franchise's history, the first in the nation's capital since 1933, but they brought Washington its first NL East Division title and even though the actual clinching of the crown was somewhat anticlimactic coming as it did courtesy of an Atlanta Braves' loss on a night the Nats lost to the hated Philadelphia Phillies, the reception the news received on that night in Nationals Park, the reactions of the Nationals themselves and the way in which D.C. embraced and supported its team is something Frank Robinson and those who helped bring baseball back to Washington dreamed of when they made the move. The Nats won the NL East. The Nats won the NL East...

' Watch it one more time?:

(Warning - The crowd is loud and the audio's not great in the following clips, but it's still fun to listen to the celebration. Adjust audio as necessary. You've been warned...)

' LINK: Nationals Clinch NL East Audio Pt. 1

- 00:13 - 00:26 - Crowd noise then Jayson Werth talking to reporters about winning division.

- 00:35 - 00:46 - Ryan Zimmerman talks about everything coming together for Nats.

- 00:46 - 2:27 - Adam LaRoche (soft-spoken) talks about what it means for D.C. to win NL East, what it means for players like Zim. Having to delay hunting season.

- 2:33 - 4:15 - Bryce Harper talks to reporters about winning the division, not wanting to mess things up when he came up, wanting to win 20 more division titles.

LINK: Nationals Clinch NL East Audio Pt. 2

- 00:00 - 00:55 - Harper again, talks up his teammates.

- 00:56 - 1:07 - D.C. GM Mike Rizzo emerges from clubhouse. "Rizzo, Rizzo, Rizzo" chant begins.

- 1:07 - 1:27 - Harper on Strasburg being shut down. Getting to go all out next season.

- 1:28 - 2:34 - Gio Gonzalez talks about winning division, his fellow pitchers and getting to the postseason on a night they lost.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals: Top 5 Stories Of 2012 - No.3 - Bryce Harper Arrives; Steals Home; Impresses Everyone

Washington Nationals' outfielder Bryce Harper made his MLB debut on April 28th in LA, but he was seven games into his major league career, facing Philadelphia Phillies' lefty Cole Hamels for the first time in Washington, D.C., when the 2010 no.1 overall pick really arrived as a major leaguer. It was at that point that the 28-year-old Hamels decided to send the Nats' 19-year-old rookie a message. A fastball in the back, just below the numbers. Harper didn't respond. The occasionally hot-headed Harper didn't charge Hamels or even take a threatening step toward the mound. He bent over at the waist for a minute, grimaced in pain and made his way to first base. Harper went first-to-third' on Jayson Werth's two-out single in the next at bat and then did the unthinkable. He stole home.

First Harper timed Hamels' slow, deliberate move to first, something he'd previously discussed with both Werth and Nationals' third base coach Bo Porter. Then, after seeing it for himself, Harper stole home when Hamels threw over to first again. Harper sprinted fearlessly down the third base line and slid in ahead of a throw from first by Laynce Nix, colliding with Phillies' catcher Carlos Ruiz as Ruiz tried to block the plate. "SAFE!!" home plate ump Andy Fletcher yelled and gestured. HOLY S**T?!? Bryce Harper stole home. Who does that? Not too many teenagers that's for sure. As the Nationals noted in a press release about Harper stealing home on Hamels, "Before tonight, the last swipe of home by a teenager occurred 48 years ago yesterday, on May 5, 1964, when LAA's Ed Kirkpatrick stole home at KCR."

More impressive perhaps was the fact that Harper was actually prepared for the possibility that the scenario might arise. "I was talking to Jayson [Werth] about it," Davey Johnson told reporters that night. "He talked to [Harper] about [Hamels'] move and after second throw over there, [Harper] was anticipating it and he was gone. And Jayson and him discussed it along with [third base coach] Bo Porter before the game, about [Hamels having] a little slow move to first." It wasn't the last time Harper's preparedness impressed everyone following the rookie in his first major league season.

When the Nationals faced the Phillies again a few weeks later, Harper singled in his first at bat against future Hall of Fame pitcher Roy Halladay, then stepped up for the second time against the 35-year-old, 15-year veteran and tripled on a first-pitch curve that Harper appeared to be see coming. He did see it coming, actually. Harper told reporters, including the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, after the game that he had previously noted the right-hander's tendency to throw first-pitch curves while watching Halladay on t.v. over the years and apparently preparing for a future in which he would be facing the two-time Cy Young Award winner:

"'I've been watching him for about three years," Harper said Tuesday night. 'He throws first-pitch curveballs to so many people, and they just let it get over the plate. I was just really trying to get something up in that situation and get something going.'"

As the WaPost reporter noted, it wasn't just talk on Harper's part. Nationals' hitting coach Rick Eckstein and Harper had discussed how Halladay might approach him during Spring Training, in a conversation in which Harper had predicted how the Phillies' starter might attack him if and when they eventually faced one another.

Harper posted a .282/.354/.472 line with 15 doubles, four triples and eight HRs in 62 games and 277 PAs in the first half of his rookie campaign and appeared in the All-Star Game as a late addition to the roster after several players bowed out. Over his next 45 games and 194 plate appearances, starting after the All-Star Break through the end of August, Harper struggled, posting a .214/.281/.376 line with three doubles, two triples and seven home runs. Down the stretch, however, as the Nationals locked up their first NL East crown, Harper excelled with a .330/.400/.463 line, eight doubles, three triples and seven home runs in the final 31 games and 126 PAs of the regular season.

The Nationals' rookie outfielder finished the year at +4.9 fWAR, with a .270/.340/.477 line, 26 doubles, nine triples and 22 HRs in 139 games and 597 PAs. "[Harper] came up and he had a really good idea of the strike zone," Davey Johnson told reporters during the Nationals' postseason run which saw Harper go 3 for 23 in five games, with a double, triple and home run in the NLDS loss to St. Louis. "He went through a time [when] he expanded it, but then he made some adjustments back to making them throw the ball over. I think of all the guys the last three weeks of the season, he was as locked in as anybody I had on the ballclub."

The good news. Harper's just getting started. The Nationals will likely have the 20-year-old, second-year pro in left field when they start the 2013 campaign. The baseball world will be watching to see what he's able to do with a full season of at bats. For the second time in just a few years, a once-in-a-generation-type talent and no.1 overall pick somehow managed to live up to the ridiculous hype which accompanied his rise. Harper and fellow Nats' no.1 overall pick, Stephen Strasburg, two of the most covered, analyzed and scrutinized players in baseball will now team up for what is hopefully a full season of both trying to help the Nationals defend their NL East title.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals: Top 5 Stories Of 2012 - No.2. - Ryan Zimmerman Makes It To The Postseason

"We've had a bunch of guys kind of grow up and mature at the same time," Ryan Zimmerman said, "including myself, and everything just kind of came together." The 28-year-old third baseman was standing on the field in Nationals Park with the rest of the Washington Nationals celebrating along with the several thousand fans who remained in the stands after the Nats clinched the NL East Division title at home in front of the D.C. faithful with an Atlanta Braves' loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on October 1, 2012.

Two days later the '05 1st Round pick would complete his eighth MLB season with a .282/.346/.478 line, 36 doubles, 25 HRs, 57 walks and 116 Ks in 145 games and 641 PAs over which he was worth +4.5 fWAR. Four days after the final game of the 2012 regular season, Ryan Zimmerman played the first postseason game of his career in Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

Zimmerman was 8 for 21 with a double and two home runs in five games against the Cardinals in the NLDS and he went 2 for 5 with the one two-base hit of the series and one of his two HRs coming in Game 5. The 2012 season started with an injury which looked like it might derail the Nationals' first 1st Round pick for a second straight year after an abdominal tear which eventually required surgery limited the third baseman to 101 games and 440 PAs in a .289/.355/.443, +2.5 fWAR 2011 campaign. After the injury-shortened season, the Nationals signed the infielder to a 6-year/$100M dollar extension, so it concerned some when Zimmerman's eighth major league season started with an injury later diagnosed as inflammation in the AC joint of his right shoulder which led to a DL stint in late April.

The third baseman returned from the DL in the second week of May, but his struggles at the plate continued. Zimmerman played through the pain, receiving cortisone shots along the way. In the first 55 games and 242 PAs of the season, he posted a .218/.285/.305 line with 10 doubles and three home runs. With the shoulder continuing to cause him issues, Zimmerman had another cortisone shot before the Nationals' June 24th game against the Baltimore Orioles. This one took. Over the course of the next 90 games and 399 PAs, the infielder posted a .321/.383/.584 line with 26 of the 36 doubles and 22 of his 25 HRs coming after he made the decision to have an additional shot so he could stay on the field as Washington made its first serious run at a postseason berth.

As Zimmerman told 106.7 the FAN's Mike Wise in a July interview, having another shot wasn't a tough decision. He wasn't about to sit out with the Nationals in first place in what was shaping up to be a special season.

"If it's something that we need to clean up in the offseason, it's a simple three-to-five weeks," Zimmerman explained, "Which in the offseason is nothing, but when we're in first place and I haven't had a winning season in seven years, three-to-five weeks is like three-to-five years for me to be off the field."

Zimmerman was really enjoying the Nationals' run and he couldn't stand the thought of missing out. "It's been fun," the infielder told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s Mr. Wise, "Obviously the first few years, you're in the big leagues and you're so excited to be here that -- nobody wants to lose, losing is never fun whether you're in little league or the big leagues -- but as the season started to shape up and as June came and now we're into July and we're in first place, and you know, in the past four or five years this is the time where we're talking about who we're going to trade away and what we're going to do, so it's exciting to be a part of and it's fun to play meaningful games every single night."

' Listen to Zimmerman's interview with 106.7 the FAN's Mike Wise Here:

Though he said in that July interview that he would hold out as long as he could before having another cortisone shot, Zimmerman did eventually have one in mid-September and after the season ended he had surgery which revealed fraying but no tears of his labrum or rotator cuff, a bone spur on his collar bone and swelling of the AC joint. This past November, Zimmerman told the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore that if the cortisone shot in June hadn't alleviated the pain in his shoulder he would likely have had the surgery then. Luckily for the Nationals that shot worked and turned Zim's season around.

Will the surgically-repaired shoulder result in Zimmerman returning with more natural throwing mechanics than those which he later admitted he adopted to compensate for the issues he was dealing with? Will he be 100% for Spring Training? Will his strength and power be back? The Nats' third baseman and three-hole hitter played through pain to do all he could to help in the team's first postseason run, delaying surgery until after the season was over. Bill James' projections have Zimmerman playing 150 games in 2013, putting up a .287/.359/.486 line with 39 doubles and 25 HRs in 595 PAs. In other words, more of the same from the player who's still the cornerstone of the organization even if Stephen Strasburg or maybe Bryce Harper might be the new face.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals: Top 5 Stories Of 2012 - No.4 - The Stephen Strasburg Shutdown

The grin which normally spreads across Davey Johnson's tanned, weathered face as he sits down to address the media during one of his daily press briefings was noticeably absent. The 69-year-old veteran, in his 16th season on the bench after a 13-year MLB career, didn't look like he'd slept much and he wasn't in the mood to wait for reporters to ask questions. Johnson had just had a conversation everyone knew was coming, though it arrived a start earlier than expected. He started to talk as soon as he sat down. "Well, I just told Stephen [Strasburg] that his year is over," the Nats' skipper said in an unfamiliar, somewhat weary tone, "He's had a great year. I know what he's going through for actually the last couple weeks now. The media hype on this has been unbelievable. I feel it's hard for him as it would be for anybody to get mentally totally committed in a ballgame. And he's reached his innings limit that was set two years ago, so we can get past this and talk about other things for a change."

A few weeks earlier Johnson joked with reporters about all the "help" he was getting via email and text from everyone with an opinion on how he could ensure that the Nats' 24-year-old right-hander would be available in October if/when Washington played the first postseason games by a D.C.-based team since 1933. The Nationals' manager had clearly heard enough at that point.

"I wish we could get by the Strasburg thing," Johnson said.

"Do you think we will?" a reporter asked.

"No," Johnson responded. "Though it's funny, there wasn't anything said when we shut down [Jordan] Zimmermann."

When Johnson officially announced the end of Strasburg's 2012 campaign, the '09 no.1 overall pick was at 28 starts and 159.1 IP. Strasburg finished the year with a 3.16 ERA, a 2.82 FIP, 48 walks (2.71 BB/9) and 197 Ks (11.13 K/9). In his final three starts when the "shutdown story" really blew up with the Nats seemingly headed for the postseason, Strasburg had a 6.43 ERA over 14.0 IP. Davey Johnson told reporters the night after the last of those three starts, a 3.0-inning, six-hit, five-run-allowed outing at home against Miami, that the pressure of the national spotlight on the pitcher's impending shutdown had become too much for Strasburg to deal with.

On the night of that last outing of the season, Johnson said he saw signs that the media attention was affecting the Nats' still-young ace. "I think he just was thinking too much about the decision that we're going to shut him down," Johnson said, "and he kind of wore it. Didn't like it. But that's the way it is." Johnson talked to D.C. GM Mike Rizzo after the start that Friday night and said he thought it was best to stop there, an outing short of the previously-stated date for the shutdown. "I talked to Mike," the Nationals' manager explained and they decided to wait until the next morning to make the decision, "But when I revisited it I felt the same way, so... turn the page."

"It's a great subject to second guess on," Johnson said, referring to the seemingly endless supply of analysts, writers, former players and anonymous sources who'd commented on the plan the Nationals had spoken about publicly for over a year and stuck to. "I mean, I'm mentally worn out seeing it all the time myself," the manager said.

"It has its toll not only on Stephen, but on the rest of the guys on the club," Johnson told reporters, "It's a distraction."

"I don't think it became distraction whatsoever," the Nats' GM said when he spoke surrounded by microphones and tv cameras in the middle of a crowd of 15-20 reporters in a tightly-packed press box high above the field in Nationals Park later that afternoon, after his manager had announced the decision to end Strasburg's season.

"This team is battle-tested," the 51-year-old, fourth-year General Manager said, "They're a terrific major league ballclub with great makeup and guys that know how to prepare for the games and you could tell by the product on the field that this had no lingering effect whatsoever." As Rizzo pointed out then, the team was simply ending Strasburg's season a start earlier than expected because they saw signs they were looking for which told them he'd reached his limit in his first season back following reconstructive surgery on his elbow.

[The] year after the Tommy John surgery is all-important. So we followed the protocol," Rizzo said, "We had parameters set in mind, and after yesterday's start we just figured that mentally and physically Stephen looked like he was fatigued, and decided, 'What's the difference of 159.1 innings or 163 or four or five and a third innings.' We said, 'Let's pull the plug today and move on with the season and try to finish the season off positively."

A "positive" finish wouldn't be enough of course. Anything short of a World Series Championship and the Nationals were sure to be criticized for making the decision which the Nationals' GM said repeatedly he thought was the right thing to do for both the player and the franchise. Washington lost to St. Louis in the NLDS, of course, and it wasn't long before pundits everywhere pointed to the decision on Strasburg as a significant factor in the outcome of the team's first postseason run since returning to the nation's capital in 2005.

Strasburg himself told reporters after the decision was made that it was out of his hands. "It is what it is," the pitcher said, "It sucks. And I just got to move forward and I've got to be here for this team now.'" That it was not his preference was clear, however. "'But this decision,'" Strasburg said, "'They made well before the start of the year. I play for the Washington Nationals. I play to help this team win games. And that's the bottom line. I'm not the one making the calls.'"

Following the Game 5 loss to the Cardinals, Rizzo was asked one last time if he had any regrets about the decision he, Strasburg's doctor and the Nationals' staff made. "'I stand by my decision,'" Rizzo told reporters, "'We'll take the criticism as it comes.'"

It hasn't stopped coming...

Sources say Democrats and Republicans are really deciding where to set Stephen Strasburg's innings limit for 2013.

' Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 29, 2012

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

2012 Washington Nationals' Lefty Mike Gonzalez Signs With Milwaukee Brewers: Will Nats Sign Left-Handed Reliever?

Having already lost relievers Sean Burnett and Tom Gorzelanny to free agency, the Washington Nationals were known to be in the market for some bullpen help this winter, even after they added veteran lefty Bill Bray and re-signed Zach Duke. Until today, 2012 Nats' reliever Mike Gonzalez was considered to be a target for the Nationals, along with left-hander J.P. Howell, but according to reports this afternoon, Gonzalez decided to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, who also signed Gorzelanny to a 2-year/$6M dollar deal last week. Gonzalez and the Brewers have reportedly agreed upon a 1-year/$2.25M dollar deal according to MLB Network Radio host and former MLB GM Jim Bowden.

Howell, the former Tampa Bay Rays' reliever, and the Nats have expressed mutual interest in one another this winter, but the soon-to-turn-30-year-old lefty remains on the market as of this afternoon.

Though the Nationals have been open about their interest in adding another left-hander to the bullpen, D.C. GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, including the Washington Post's James Wagner, that he didn't think another reliever was absolutely necessary. "'We'd like to get a second left-hander," Rizzo said, "It's not a necessity because our right-handed relievers get out left-handers well, but in a perfect world we'd like to get a second.'" The late inning relievers that the Nationals already have, Tyler Clippard, Ryan Mattheus, Henry Rodriguez and Craig Stammen do have good numbers against left-handed hitters.

Stammen has held lefties to a .266/.310/.407 line over the course of his career, but working exclusively in relief last season, the right-hander had a .198/.274/.331 line against lefties. Henry Rodriguez held left-handed hitters to a .208/.356/.354 line before his 2012 campaign ended. In Ryan Mattheus' two major league seasons in D.C., the righty has held lefties to a .214/.294/.393 line. Last year lefties had a .241/.313/.471 line against the reliever. Opposing hitters have a .186/.268/.325 line against Tyler Clippard in his career, and 2012 was more of the same with the veteran closer/set-up man holding lefties to a .170/.260/.259 line.

Still, the Nationals would prefer to add a lefty to their pen. There aren't too many options left, though J.P. Howell's still available.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals: Top 5 Stories Of 2012 - No.5 - Ian Desmond's Big Year

Did the media miss the big story in the coverage of the 98-64 NL East Champion Washington Nationals by focusing almost exclusively (at least nationally) on the two stories that dominated the coverage of the Nats' 2012 campaign: 1) The decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg; and 2) The rookie campaign (and every word and action) of 19-year-old outfielder Bryce Harper? In a late-season edition of 106.7 the FAN In D.C.'s The Mike Rizzo Show with Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier, the eponymous Nats' GM and Executive Vice President of Baseball ops said he thought the media had whiffed by focusing way too heavily on the team's '09 and 2010 no.1 overall picks.

"No doubt about it," Rizzo said. "You guys whiffed. The whole media whiffed on this story. This is a team that is 25, 28 deep. There [were] terrific human-interest stories, baseball stories, all over the place. And it was kind of clouded by all the Strasburg discussion and all the Harp-hype and that type of thing. And I think we didn't recognize that this is one heck of a story. This is a great team that's exciting to watch. They're always fast paced and they're young and athletic and stories like Ian Desmond, that was certainly undervalued and the rotation and that type of thing. But we understand the process too. The stars get the attention. But we're okay with being that quiet team that nobody knows about that could sneak up on people. But we're not a mystery anymore. The other teams in the league know us and they respect us as we respect them. And they're ready to play us and we're ready to play them."

Rizzo was right about one thing for sure. In his fourth year in the majors, Ian Desmond did (rather quietly) manage to both sneak up on and surprise people with his offensive output over 130 games and 547 plate appearances by hitting 33 doubles and 25 HRs and finishing the year with a .292/.335/.511 line in a +5.4 fWAR campaign. The 26-going-on-27-year-old shortstop who debuted in 2009, posted a .269/.308/.392 line with 27 doubles and 10 HRs in 154 games and 574 PAs in which he was worth +1.3 fWAR in 2010 and followed that up with a 2011 season in which he struggled at the plate and finished the year with a .253/.298/.358 line, 27 doubles and eight home runs in 154 games and 639 PAs over which he was worth +1.4 fWAR.

The change for Desmond really began late in the 2011 season after Davey Johnson took over on the Nationals' bench. After posting a .232/.280/.325 line with 18 doubles and four home runs over the first 112 games and 449 PAs in 2011, Desmond caught fire late that summer, putting up a .303/.340/.433 line with nine doubles, a triple and four home runs over the final 42 games and 190 PAs. "He had a solid last six weeks," Rizzo explained in a March 2012 MLB Network Radio interview. "We stood him up, got him more erect at the plate, which allowed him to see the baseball more and [he] wasn't locking out his front side. I know this is getting kind of technical jargon, but it really freed him up to turn on pitches and to take balls to right field."

"I don't know, for whatever reason when I got here," Davey Johnson told reporters last season when discussing the changes in his shortstop's production, "[Desmond] was kind of trying to serve the ball to right field, let the ball get deep and kind of flare these little hits into right. He'd occasionally get some hits, but I remembered him as hitting the ball where it's pitched. The ball's inside, you get it out front, the ball's away you go the other way and kind of drop that head in there."

The changes the Nationals made to Desmond's approach at the plate focused on getting the infielder to simply hit the ball where it's pitched as the Nats' skipper explained to MLB.com's Bill Ladson in an article last season. "'Now he's handling balls on the inside part of the plate and he's pulling them,'" Johnson said, "'He's hitting balls more where they're pitched. He's looking to hit the ball hard, not guide it somewhere.'"

As impressive as his offensive output was, Desmond's defensive improvements in 2012 may have been more of a surprise. The shortstop who committed a league-leading 34 Es in 2010 (21 fielding, 17 throwing), and made 23 in 2011 (19 FE, 4 TE) cut that number down to 15 Es (8 FE, 7 TE) in 2012, while posting a career-best .970 fld% and a +6.5 UZR/150 which was up from -5.5 in 2011 and -9.4 in 2010. In an appearance on the MLB Network after the 2012 season ended, Desmond attributed his improvement at short to some advice he received from Larry Bowa:

"Before I would take a million ground balls," Desmond said, "But the wrong way. I talked to... actually, Larry Bowa deserves a lot of credit. He gave me a pointer last year in the middle of the year, that I needed to shuffle my feet instead of crossing my feet. My ball is coming out more straight. And it took away that sink."

All the advice he received over the last few years and the changes and adjustments he made along the way resulted in a marked improvement in Desmond's all-around game in 2012. In an interview during the Nats' postseason run, Davey Johnson said in his mind it was a toss-up between Desmond and first baseman Adam LaRoche when it came to the Nationals' 2012 MVP. "For me, I mean, I would have to vote for Adam LaRoche to be the MVP, but it's a toss'up with Ian Desmond, the things he's done. Got a lot of big hits, gifted defensively. I mean, he's been outstanding. I can't say enough about Ian. Kind of put him under my wing. He's been a fun project from two or three years ago when I was a consultant."

Though it may have been overshadowed somewhat in terms of the coverage it received as compared to Strasburg's shutdown and Harper's rookie campaign, there's no way to look back at the 2012 Nationals' season and not note how big a role Ian Desmond played in getting Washington into the postseason for the first time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Back To The Middle Of The Washington Nationals' Lineup For Jayson Werth?

In an interview with ESPN980's The Sports Fix hosts Thom Loverro and Kevin Sheehan before the trade with Minnesota for center fielder Denard Span, Washington Nationals' manager Davey Johnson said he would take Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper atop the lineup over any other 1-2 punch in the game. "I really like Jayson Werth and [Harper] 1-2," the soon-to-turn-70-year-old skipper said, "I mean, they're not only run producers, but they got on base. They were outstanding at getting on base and both of them [are] outstanding base runners. I wouldn't trade those two guys for any [1-2] combination in baseball."

As the Nats' leadoff man, Werth (described by Johnson in an article by MASN's Dan Kolko as a 6'6" Donkey) had a .309/.388/.450 line with 13 doubles, a triple, 20 walks and 24 Ks in 38 games and 170 PAs. Leading off the game, Werth had a .235/.316/.294 line with a .340/.402/.526 line when he led off an inning. Batting 5th, where Werth has the most PAs in his career, the outfielder had a .275/.359/.435 line in 19 games and 78 PAs in 2012. Over 339 games and 1,398 plate appearances hitting fifth since he debuted with Toronto in September of 2002, Werth has a .280/.374/.509 line after ten major league seasons.

While Davey Johnson talked about Werth leading off, acknowledging at the time that there could be changes to the roster, D.C. GM Mike Rizzo talked in an MLB Network Radio interview in early November about where he thought the free agent he signed to a 7-year/$126M dollar deal in the winter of 2010 would ideally hit in the Nationals' lineup.

"I think his skill set profiles as a middle-of-the-lineup type of hitter," Rizzo said, "You're a much better team when you have a good leadoff man and Jayson driving in runs in the five-hole or six-hole or wherever it might be for the team." That being said, had the Nationals not been able to acquire the center fielder/leadoff man they were after, the Nats' general manager said, "... it doesn't hurt us to have a .370-.380 OBP guy that can hit 20-25 HRs at the top of the lineup either." In Span, however, the Nationals got the "good leadoff man" they wanted.

In 2012, the 28-year-old '02 Twins' 1st Round pick finished his fifth MLB season with 47 walks, 62 Ks and a .283/.342/.395 line in 128 games and 568 plate appearances over which he hit 38 doubles, four triples, four home runs and was worth +3.9 fWAR. Span had a .280/.339/.393 line in 122 games and 565 plate appearances as Minnesota's leadoff man last season, and he brings a career .282/.354/.386 line to the top of the Nationals' lineup. As the first batter of the game, Span has a .251/.337/.346 line so far in his career, with a .268/.351/.369 line when leading off an inning. In 2012, Span had a .243/.287/.365 line in the first at bat of the 122 games he started and a .280/.331/.404 line when leading off an inning last season.

In an introductory discussion with the D.C. press corps after the Nationals traded 2011 1st Round pick pitcher Alex Meyer to Minnesota for Span, the outfielder talked about what he thought he brought to the table as the team's table setter, telling reporters, "I thrive on being one of the best leadoff hitters in the game, or trying to be. And I love setting the tone. I love getting up to start the game and taking pitches and trying to give my teammates the best look they can [get] and [trying] to set the tone and get on base." Span admitted that his running game was a work in progress, and that's one area in which the Nationals' GM too said he saw room for improvement in an otherwise glowing scouting report he gave on his new center fielder/leadoff man last month.

In Span, Rizzo said, "You're talking about a true defensive ballhawk center field type of guy with great range. Sabermetrically and with a scout's eye, he's a front line defensive center fielder. He's a confident leadoff type of hitter. He appeals greatly to us because of his skill set as an offensive player. You know, high average guy, .350 OBP-type of guy, doesn't strike out -- one of the tougher guys in the league to strike out -- so a contact bat and can really, really run... from the left side of the plate, which keeps our lineup balanced and a guy that in the past has stolen a lot of bases and we feel is really going to come into his own as a base stealer in the National League."

Davey Johnson may have liked having Werth lead off, but it looks like it's back to the middle of the order for the 6'6'' Donkey in 2013. Opening Day Lineup?:

1. Denard Span
2. Bryce Harper
3. Ryan Zimmerman
4. Adam LaRoche/Michael Morse
5. Jayson Werth
6. Ian Desmond
7. Danny Espinosa
8. Kurt Suzuki/Wilson Ramos

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals/Adam LaRoche Non-Update No.6: Boston Red Sox Talking To LaRoche?

Boston Globe writer Nick Cafardo speculated a few weeks back that the Boston Red Sox could pursue Adam LaRoche this winter and possibly offer the free agent first baseman the three-year deal he's after if their not-yet-officially-announced 3-year/$39M dollar deal with Mike Napoli fell apart. Mr. Cafardo put the Sox in the mix for LaRoche again this past weekend along with the Orioles and Nationals, though he wrote that Boston and Baltimore were relucant to part ways with the draft picks they would lose if they signed the 33-year-old Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winning infielder coming off a .271/.343/.510, 35 double, 33 HR, +3.8 fWAR campaign in the nation's capital in the second year of the 2-year/$16M dollar deal LaRoche signed with Washington in January of 2011.

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal wrote last week that it seemed the Sox weren't too concerned with a rumored issue with Napoli's hip, since Boston could have simply walked away from the deal had it been a big issue. A "revised deal," was more likely Mr. Rosenthal speculated, though he did note that the Sox could look at LaRoche if they didn't complete the deal with Napoli. The Red Sox would lose a 2nd Round pick if they signed LaRoche, however, and as Mr. Rosenthal noted, "Napoli did not receive a qualifying offer. Nor did any other free agent the Red Sox have signed. Clearly, the team wants to keep its picks."

As of Wednesday night the Red Sox and Napoli had yet to officially announce their deal. With whatever is holding the deal up apparently still delaying its completion, there was speculation out of Boston last night that the Sox may have renewed interest in Adam LaRoche:

Two sources tell me the Sox are going after Adam LaRoche, who's seeking a three-year deal. Third source says he won't budge on the years

' Jen Royle (@Jen_Royle) December 26, 2012

Ken Rosenthal, FOXSports.com's bow-tied reporter, followed up on Ms. Royle's report in an article last night in which he reported that "major league sources" confirmed that, "While the Sox prefer to complete their deal with Napoli, they also are talking to free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche," with the sources saying that the, "... discussions... involve two- and three-year possibilities." LaRoche is believed to be after a three-year deal, with the Washington Nationals reportedly unwilling to go beyond two years to get the infielder to come back to D.C. for a third season with the 2012 NL East champs.

Mr. Rosenthal mentions the possibility that the rumored interest on the Sox' part could be an attempt to pressure Napoli into accepting a revised deal or an attempt on LaRoche's part to, "... create more leverage in his talks with the Nationals." The FOXSports.com reporter once again mentions the Red Sox' reluctance to part with even the 2nd Round pick they would have to give up since it would also mean the loss of, "... the money assigned to the pick in their draft pool. Thus, the pool would be smaller, and the team could not manipulate its distribution of signing bonuses as easily."

The Nationals, as LaRoche himself has explained, don't appear to be willing to give the first baseman the third year he's after with options at first in Michael Morse and Tyler Moore this year and players like Matt Skole on the way up in the organization. Recent reports out of Washington say that the team would like to resolve this situation at first sooner rather than later, but with the month of December nearly over the two sides who were said to have made some sort of progress this past week have yet to agree on a deal that will result in LaRoche being back at first and in the middle of the lineup in 2013. LaRoche waited until January 13th in 2010 before accepting an offer from the Arizona D-Backs. When he signed with Washington in 2011, he waited until January 7th before he took the Nats' offer. How long will LaRoche be willing to wait this winter?

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo Tries To Build The Roster That Will Bring D.C. Its First World Series Championship Since 1924

December 23, 2011: Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo has just dealt pitching prospects A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock, Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris to the Oakland A's for a then-26-year-old Gio Gonzalez. The left-hander finished his fourth season in the majors at a career-high +3.6 fWAR with a 3.12 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 4.05 BB/9 and 8.78 K/9 in 32 starts and 202.0 IP. Gonzalez, Rizzo told reporters at the time, had, "All the prerequisites that we had to have for a deal of this magnitude." The Nats' then-50-year-old Executive Vice President and General Manager described the Nationals' new starter as a, ".. young power-throwing left-hander," with, "plus, plus stuff." The fact that Gonzalez was, "... a left-hander was really a key to this," Rizzo said, "We feel that he matches up very nicely between our two power right-handers [Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann]."

The Nationals paid a heavy price to get Gonzalez, giving up two pitchers who'd debuted in the majors in 2011, a young, highly-regarded prospect given an above slot deal so that he would sign and a hard-hitting young catcher with impressive patience. "To get a 26-year-old controllable, affordable left-handed pitcher that's pitched in All-Star games at the peak of his career," Rizzo explained, "it takes a bundle of good, talented players." And the four players they traded were especially tough to part with, the GM said, describing Peacock, Milone, Cole and Norris as, "... four players that are near and dear to our hearts because we scouted them, drafted them, signed them and developed them and they were long-standing members of our organization, and they'll be sorely missed."

The depth in terms of major-league-ready pitchers at the upper levels in the organization took a hit with the deal, but the Nationals had three spots in the rotation set with a mix of pitchers including Ross Detwiler, Chien-Ming Wang, John Lannan competing for the final two spots and Tom Gorzelanny and Craig Stammen capable of starting if needed. (They would later add Edwin Jackson on a 1-year deal). With Strasburg, Gonzalez and Zimmermann atop the rotation, the Nationals' GM said the deal for Gonzalez gave them, "... a young core of starting pitchers at the major league level that really is in the realm of something that we've never had here before."

As for pitching prospects, even after the trade Rizzo said, "I like our depth," reminding reporters, "we've got another wave of prospects coming, that I think will at least equal and possibly surpass the package of guys that we've given up in this trade. With the [Matt] Purkes and the [Sammy] Solises and the [Alex] Meyers of the world. Then we also have a wave behind them of the [Robbie] Rays and the [Paul] Demnys and those type of guys behind them. So, we feel that we're set up very, very well for the long haul."

The trade for Gonzalez gave the Nationals a young core of starting pitchers that were under team control for the near future at a relatively affordable price. In Strasburg, Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann that the Nats' GM thought he had a rotation that would allow the Nats to compete in a tough division. "Those guys are young," Rizzo said, "they're not going anywhere and Ross Detwiler is also 25-years-old, so our core rotation is very, very young and we've got great depth behind them on the major league level, major-league-ready. We've got a wave of pitchers coming behind them and even a further wave beyond that and I put the onus on [Asst. GM] Roy Clark and [Scouting Director] Kris Kline and Doug Harris our farm director to keep identifying, signing and developing good, young, power starting pitching."

Having found the pitcher they were after, the Nationals' GM said that they were still in the market for a center fielder if one was out there that made sense. "We feel that if the right fit for us for a center fielder," Rizzo said, "a long-term center field piece came to us, we would certainly be aggressive and address it and go after it either via the free agent market or the trade market." Washington didn't find the center fielder they were after last winter, but 2010 no.1 overall pick Bryce Harper was up before long and he took over in center and helped the Nationals to 98 wins in his first pro season, though the Nats reportedly continued to look for a prototypical center fielder/leadoff man throughout the summer.

The core group of pitchers (with E-Jax in the mix and Detwiler in and out but eventually part of the starting rotation on a regular basis) that Rizzo assembled last winter led the Nationals to the NL East crown and the first postseason appearance by a team from the nation's capital in 79 years.

November 2012: This winter the Nats finally added the center fielder/leadoff man they have been after for several years in a trade with the Minnesota Twins that got them Denard Span. In order to acquire the 28-year-old outfielder who finished his fifth major league season in 2012 with a .283/.342/.395 line, 38 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 17 steals in a +3.9 fWAR campaign, Rizzo parted with one of the pitchers he cited as being part of the depth in the organization that allowed the team to deal the likes of Peacock and Milone last December. Alex Meyer, a 2011 1st Round pick was the top-rated arm in the organization before he was dealt to the Twins.

"To get a good, established major league player at Denard's age, with the contract that he has," Rizzo told reporters after the trade, "you're going to have to give up a good quality player." As the Nationals' GM explained after the trade with the A's for Gio Gonzalez, even after another deal that cost them a high-end pitching prospect he was happy with the depth in the organization and his front office's ability to find and development more talent. "You have to give to get," Rizzo said, "And we feel that we have great depth in our minor league system. We continue to call upon our scouts and player development to add to that system each and every year and to give up an Alex Meyer for a Denard Span is always a difficult decision to make, but one that we felt fit our time frame, fit our skill set and was something that the front office and ownership was willing to do."

As Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell noted in a chat with readers today, the deal for Span was a risky one for the Nationals since it's forcing them to make tough decisions about other pieces of the roster including the big one that remains unresolved this winter involving Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche:

"Span BETTER be a good idea. Because you passed up an outfield of Werth/Harper CF/Moore-Bernadina and Morse at 1st base. Or, of course, the same with LaRoche at 1st base and Morse back in LF."

In Rizzo's mind, as he explained after the deal for Span, the move gave the Nationals something they've been looking for and had previously been unable to find. Rizzo described the outfielder as, "... the first guy with this type of skill set that's an established major league player." The Nats' GM said he thought the team had future center fielders in the organization, but none that were MLB-ready right now. "We think we've got guys in the system that fill this role," Rizzo explained, "But they're years away. They're in the pipeline and we're looking for big things from them down the road. But as far as an established guy, at his age... he's a 28-year-old guy, still just reaching the prime of his career, with his skill set, I really think that his game is going to translate to the National League very, very well."

The Nationals' General Manager was right about Gio Gonzalez last winter and he seems to believe he found the one thing the defending NL East Champions needed this time around in Denard Span at the cost of pitching depth the GM believes his scouts and coaches can identify and develop. Though the depth took another hit with the deal, a trade involving Michael Morse, if one has to be made, could bring some pitching prospects back or the Nats could keep Morse, take the draft pick they'd get for LaRoche signing elsewhere and then go through the same process with Morse next winter if he too moves on. With Tyler Moore and a prospect like Matt Skole already in the organization, the team seems comfortable with their future at first base regardless of how the situation sorts itself out this winter and in the coming season.

Four years later, the decision to make Mike Rizzo the Nationals' GM and then allow him to restructure the Nats' front office and organization seems to be one of the best moves that the Washington Nationals' owners made to get the franchise moving in the right direction. They're able to trade from depth with the confidence that they can identify and develop players to replace what they've lost. Can the roster Rizzo's assembled get the Nats back to the postseason and maybe even further next October?

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals/Adam LaRoche Non-Update No.5: What Options Does LaRoche Have Left?

Texas Rangers' Assistant GM Thad Levine spoke to MLB Network Radio host Jim Bowden today, with the former Washington Nationals' general manager taking to Twitter (@JimBowdenESPNXM) to report that the Rangers' executive said the team had not discussed adding Adam LaRoche this winter. "Adam LaRoche does not have an offer from the Rangers," Mr. Bowden wrote in another tweet, "and does not have a third year offer from anyone. Expect him to sign 2-year deal [with] Nats." The reasons the Rangers were never "in" on LaRoche or other free agents like Nick Swisher, who signed with the Cleveland Indians on Sunday? The Rangers were, "... not interested in long term deals for them or yielding draft picks for either player," according to Mr. Bowden.

The Rangers aren't the only ones who are reportedly unwilling to part with a draft pick this winter. According to Boston Globe writer Nick Cafardo, who discusses the Baltimore Orioles' interest in Seattle Mariners' 1B Justin Smoak in an article this morning, "The Orioles also have been linked, along with the Red Sox and Nationals, to Adam LaRoche, but the Sox and Orioles are hesitant to give up a draft pick to sign him." Several reports this week have now discussed the O's, Sox and Rangers' reluctance to give up their 1st Round pick if they sign any of the remaining free agents who turned down qualifying offers from their respective 2012 employers. There were previous reports that the Red Sox might return to LaRoche as a possibility if their 3-year/$39M dollar deal with Mike Napoli wasn't officially announced.

According to a report by FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal this past week, the hold-up with Napoli involves concern about his hip, but as Mr. Rosenthal wrote, "The Sox apparently do not think Napoli's condition is that serious; otherwise, they probably would have backed out by now." A reworked deal which protects the Red Sox is a more likely solution according to the writer, who also notes that neither Napoli or any free agent the Sox signed this winter received a qualifying offer and therefore did not cost Boston a draft pick while Swisher or LaRoche would have cost them a 2nd Round pick since their 1st Round pick (no.7 overall) is protected under the new rules of the CBA.

Does LaRoche have any other options? Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore wrote on Friday that the Nationals would prefer an answer sooner than later from the 33-year-old first baseman who declined an option that would have paid him $10M dollars in 2013 and turned down the 1-year/$13.3M dollar qualifying offer before becoming a free agent. MLB.com's Bill Ladson wrote Saturday that the two sides had made some progress in negotiations though there were no details about what concessions may have been made to get the team and its 2012 Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winning infielder closer to a deal.

So what does it all mean for Michael Morse if the Nationals do sign LaRoche? Before last season, the Nationals signed the 30-year-old slugger to a 2-year/$10.5M dollar extension after a .303/.360/.550, 36 double and 31 HR 2011 campaign in which he was worth +3.4 fWAR over 146 games and 575 plate appearances. In an August 2011 interview on 106.7 the FAN in D.C., GM Mike Rizzo said that Morse had, "... done enough to solidify himself to hit in the middle of [the Nats'] lineup, that's for sure."

"In a perfect world," the Nationals' General Manager continued, looking forward to the 2012 campaign, "we get the Adam LaRoche that we signed that's a 25-HR, 100-RBI Gold Glove [caliber first baseman]. Mike Morse goes to left field and is a 25-35 HR, 100-RBI left fielder and we've really replaced two powerful bats in the lineup." LaRoche hit a career-high 33 HRs in 2012, drove in the 100 runs Rizzo was looking for and finished the season at a career-best +3.8 fWAR while winning his first Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger. Morse started the season late after suffering a lat injury and dealt with wrist/hand issues that limited him to 102 games and 430 PAs over which he hit 17 doubles and 18 HRs while finishing at 0.3 fWAR after his +3.3 fWAR breakout campaign.

A year after his best season in the majors, with one year (at $6.75M) left before he becomes a free agent, Michael Morse's name has been mentioned often as a potential trade candidate with no room in the Nationals' outfield after the Denard Span trade and LaRoche possibly returning to first base in the nation's capital. The Nats parted ways with their top pitching prospect, '11 1st Round pick Alex Meyer in the Span deal and dealt three pitchers to Oakland last winter to bring Gio Gonzalez over from the A's, so they could use Morse's middle of the order bat to get bullpen help or young pitching prospects to help restock organizational depth, but it isn't likely, at least according to Davey Johnson, that both players will be on the roster in 2013. As has been the case all winter, however, it all depends upon what happens with Adam LaRoche...

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals And Adam LaRoche Sort-Of Update: Nats And Free Agent 1B Making Progress Toward Deal?

Friday - The weekend started with an update of the ongoing Adam LaRoche situation. Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore quoted an, "official familiar with the team's thinking," who told him that Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo, "... could press the issue soon," with the general manager offering, "not quite an ultimatum but something close to it."

After LaRoche declined the mutual option included in the 2-year/$16M dollar deal he signed in January of 2011 and turned down the 1-year/$13.3M dollar qualifying offer the Nationals made, the Nats are believed to be drawing the line at a two-year deal (worth a reported $25M), while the 33-year-old free agent first baseman is reportedly holding out for a third year in the hope that the Nationals or some other team out there in need a left-handed slugger might finally give the nine-year veteran the deal he wants after he set a career-high in HRs with 33 blasts last season while matching a career-high in RBIs (100) and finishing the year with a .271/.343/.510 line at +3.8 fWAR.

LaRoche won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award in recognition of his work with the NL East champs last season. He has so far been unable to find a three-year deal this winter, apparently, though he jokingly told the WaPost's Mr. Kilgore recently that he was willing to wait until April 1st (aka Opening Day) before making a decision on his home for the next few seasons.

Saturday - Though there was no word of the Nationals offering anything resembling an ultimatum, according to an update on Saturday night by MLB.com's Bill Ladson, the first baseman might be a "little bit" closer to returning to Washington. The two sides have reportedly been discussing a deal since late this past season, and now they may reportedly have made "a little bit of progress" toward an agreement that will bring LaRoche back to the nation's capital in 2013. Mr. Ladson's source noted that, "... the Nationals have not put a deadline on LaRoche as far as taking the deal off the table." Several recent reports said the Nats had an informal Christmas deadline to get a deal done.

The Nationals believe they have options should LaRoche walk, with Michael Morse under contract for 2013 and Tyler Moore capable of backing up at first. They also have 2012 Minor League Player of the Year Matt Skole in the system as a potential option in the future. Should they sign LaRoche, however, the Nationals are rumored to be willing to consider dealing Morse. When Nats' skipper Davey Johnson was asked earlier this winter about the possibility of keeping both LaRoche and Morse on the roster next season, the 69-year-old manager said he didn't think that would work, telling reporters including MASNSports.com's Dan Kolko it would be a tough situation:

Davey said LaRoche/Morse decision is up to GM Mike Rizzo, but would be tough for #Nats to keep both. "It's hard to start sharing roles."

' Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) December 4, 2012

Sunday - ? Is a resolution to the situation coming? Will LaRoche make a decision? Will the Nats offer a third year? An option like the one included with his last deal? Will Davey Johnson get what he said he wanted for Christmas?

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals Hot Stove: If They Were, Why Were The Nationals In The Mike Adams' Market?

Speaking to reporters during a teleconference after the Washington Nationals officially announced the signing of 32-year-old free agent right-hander Dan Haren, Nats' GM and Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo explained that the team wasn't necessarily done trying to improve its roster after a 98-64 season in which the franchise claimed its first NL East crown. The Nationals still needed to resolve the situation with Adam LaRoche which remains undecided to this day, and they were looking for a left-handed reliever which they still haven't found. Rizzo said they were happy with the depth they had in terms of starting pitching, but added that his oft-repeated mantra on such matters was, "... we're never satisfied with what we have. If we can do better, we'll certainly attempt to do better and I'm always after depth."

The Nationals re-signed reliever Zach Duke this winter, bringing back the left-hander who is likely to replace Tom Gorzelanny in the long-relief role in the bullpen. In order to fill the void left by the departure of Sean Burnett this winter via free agency, the Nationals were rumored to be interested in both soon-to-be-former-Rays' reliever J.P. Howell and left-hander Mike Gonzalez who pitched for Washington in 2012. As for right-handers, the Nationals have Drew Storen (CL), Tyler Clippard, who saved 32 games last year, Ryan Mattheus, Craig Stammen, possibly Christian Garcia if he doesn't transition to starting and Henry Rodriguez, the right-handed flamethrower whose control (seriously, and he meant it) and potential Nats' manager Davey Johnson praised in a November interview with MLB Network Radio.

So, with all the right-handers already on the roster, why were the Nationals interested in Mike Adams? It would fit in with Rizzo's thinking as expressed above in regards to the rotation. The Nationals have Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, their vaunted set-up and closer tandem for the last two seasons, but the possibility of Adams, a 34-year-old free agent coming off a 2012 campaign in Texas in which he was (5-3) with one save, a 3.27 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 17 walks (2.92 BB/9) and 45 Ks (7.74 K/9) in 61 games and 52.1 IP over which he was worth +0.9 fWAR, was apparently appealing to Washington.

Adams has spent the majority of his career in a set-up role, throwing 228.0 of 328.2 career innings pitched in the eighth inning. The Philadelphia Phillies had issues getting leads to their high-priced closer Jonathan Papelbon last season, so they signed Adams to fill the eighth inning role, giving him a 2-year/$12M dollar deal this week. The contract reportedly includes an option for a third year at $6.5M as well, which vests if Adams throws 120.0 innings total over the course of the first two years to paraphrase CSNPhilly.com's Corey Seidman's reporting on the deal.

Elsewhere in the article, the CSNPhilly reporter notes that Adams' agent, Josh Yates, told reporters that there were six teams interested in the pitcher's services this winter, with three of the teams believed to be seriously in pursuit. According to the agent, as Mr. Seidman wrote, Adams, "... had offers on the table for more guaranteed years and money. One of those offers was from an NL East team, believed to be the Nationals. He even had opportunities to close." Adams told reporters he had offers for, "... more guaranteed money elsewhere," but explained that he narrowed his options down to two teams and made the final decision to join the Phillies:

"'There was an NL East team that was really in on it,' Adams admitted. 'It was a tough choice between the two, but from what I've heard from other players that have been in this organization, what they think about it, where I think it's headed, that played a huge part into my decision.'"

Whether or not that "NL East team" was the Nationals is unclear, of course. If it was Washington? Were the Nats simply exploring options to improve their bullpen? Interested in adding depth? Addressing what they see as a weakness? Unsure about how Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen will rebound from late-season struggles on Clippard's part and a Game 5 performance by Storen which saw him struggle to throw strikes with the NLDS vs St. Louis on the line? Speculate away... More importantly, with a report connecting the Nationals to a right-handed free agent reliever, how long before people start speculating about a potential match between 33-year-old free agent Rafael Soriano and the Nationals, especially since Soriano just happens to be represented by Scott Boras... And you know about the connection between Boras and the Nats... etc.... [Yawns]

(ed. note - "Soriano's tied to a compensatory pick since the Yankees made a qualifying offer to him this winter, and it's reportedly an issue for him much in the same way it's reportedly been an issue for Adam LaRoche.")

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals Hot Stove: The Last Michael Morse vs Adam LaRoche Post?

Why Michael Morse over Adam LaRoche at first base for the Washington Nationals? He's younger. He's under contract for just one more year at a reasonable $6.75M. Morse will become a free agent after the 2013 campaign and if he leaves to sign elsewhere the Nationals (if they make a qualifying offer) will get a draft pick as compensation just as they will if LaRoche leaves via free agency this winter. While Davey Johnson and D.C. GM Mike Rizzo have openly expressed a desire to see LaRoche return, they've drawn a line and know they have options at first base in Morse, Tyler Moore and eventually potentially Matt Skole with an obligatory mention that Ryan Zimmerman may have to move to first at some point.

LaRoche is a left-handed power bat, but Morse hits RHPs and LHPs equally well to tune of .292/.343/.487 vs RHPs in his career with a .303/.357/.503 line vs LHPs. In 2012, Morse had a .291/.326/.478 line vs RHPs, with a .290/.306/.449 line vs LHPs. LaRoche had a .273/.353/.511 line against RHPs last year with a .268/.319/.506 line against LHPs and he has a .274/.348/.495 career line vs RHPs, with a .250/.305/.445 line against LHPs.

Of course, Morse's numbers have been accumulated over the course of 485 games and 1,690 PAs in eight seasons in the majors, with the 2011 campaign the closest he's come to a full season's worth of work. LaRoche's consistent output is one of the things the Nats' general manager cited when he signed him in January of 2011. Before 2011's torn labrum/shoulder damage, LaRoche averaged 141 games a year in his first seven major league seasons and he returned in 2012 to put up a .271/.343/.519 line with a career-high 33 HRs in 154 games and 647 PAs over which he was worth a career-best +3.8 fWAR.

LaRoche's shoulder injury in '11 in the first year of his 2-year/$16M dollar deal with Washington provided Morse with the opportunity to show what he could do given the chance to start on an everyday basis (.303/.360/.550, 36 2B, 31 HRs, +3.3 fWAR). The White Sox' 2000 3rd Round pick acquired by the Nats from the Mariners in a June '09 trade for OF Ryan Langerhans earned a role in the Nationals' lineup with his work in 2011, but a strained lat and hand/wrist issues limited him to 102 games and 430 PAs in 2012.

While LaRoche brings a Gold Glove and excellent first base defense to the lineup, when the Nationals' GM talked about the possibility of the 33-year-old infielder leaving this winter he noted in an MLB Network Radio interview that first base is, "... [Morse's] most comfortable defensive position where he plays defense very well. Not Adam LaRoche-caliber, but very well." Comfortable as the Nationals are with their position in 2013 and beyond it should not be a surprise that they've stood their ground and refused to go beyond a two-year offer to LaRoche this winter:

Nats not worried about Orioles or Texas or anyone else giving LaRoche a third year...go ahead and make my day we'll take the [draft] pick

' JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) December 21, 2012

Nats line in sand on LaRoche not going to give 3rd yr... just like they didn't give Buehrle 4th yr...and just like they shut-down Strasburg

' JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) December 21, 2012

(ed.note - "The Nats won't receive a "#1 pick" if LaRoche signs elsewhere as noted in the first tweet, but a supplemental pick between the 1st and 2nd Rounds.")

Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore reported this morning that the Nationals may soon press LaRoche to either accept or reject their two-year offer (which Mr. Kilgore's colleague at the post, Thomas Boswell, said was for 2-years/$25M) so that the Nats can, "... move on with their offseason and commit to Michael Morse at first base." Losing the Draft pick compensation is apparently a concern for some potential LaRoche suitors and deals are going down involving teams in the market for 1B/LHBs the Washington Post reporter notes. LaRoche wants to return, but wants the a three-year deal. Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo want LaRoche back if he'll take the two-year deal. Not much has changed since the sides started discussing a deal late last season, but a decision might come soon... any day now...

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals Hot Stove Chatter: Tom Gorzelanny Signs With Milwaukee Brewers; Edwin Jackson And Chicago Cubs Close

Sean Burnett became a free agent after he declined the $3.5M option included in the two-year extension the 30-year-old reliever signed with the Washington Nationals in December of 2010. The left-hander had surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow after the 2012 season ended and he hit free agency looking for a multi-year deal after putting up a 2.38 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 1.91 BB/9 and 9.05 K/9 over 70 games and 56.2 IP in which he was worth +1.1 fWAR in his sixth major league season. Burnett signed a 2-year/$8M dollar deal with the LA Angels in the first week of December.

In an interview on MLB Network Radio last week, Burnett said he would have preferred to stay with the Washington Nationals he had pitched for since 2009, but when it became clear he wasn't going to return to the nation's capital he said he wanted to find a new team that could contend in 2013. "I was looking forward to staying in D.C. if that was possible," Burnett explained, "and then you know as the process, as the free agent process played itself out, talking to my family, I [got] that little bit of taste of the playoffs last year in Washington [and] I wanted to go to a contender. I just had so much fun, and playing meaningful games late in the year was awesome." Burnett was introduced in LA along with three other new pitchers the Angels added: Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton and Ryan Madson.

The Nationals non-tendered 30-year-old left-hander Tom Gorzelanny after a 2012 campaign in which the eight-year MLB veteran earned $3M while putting up a 2.88 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 3.75 BB/9 and 7.75 K/9 in 45 games and 72.0 IP over which he was worth +0.2 fWAR working in a long-relief role for the NL East Champions. In explaining the decision to non-tender the veteran reliever who was potentially due a raise in arbitration to the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore earlier this winter, Nats' GM Mike Rizzo explained that, "For the amount of money we would have to pay for the role we're asking him to do, we didn't think that made sense to us."

The Nationals talked to Gorzelanny about returning, but couldn't reach a deal before they had to make a decision. The reliever reportedly, as Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writer Tom Haudricourt wrote this morning, signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers though the financial details have not yet been released*. The Nats are still in the market for a left-handed reliever (having already signed Bill Bray and Zach Duke) with free agent J.P. Howell mentioned often as a target. The deals for Burnett and Gorzelanny likely eliminate two teams who were competition in the market for left-handed relievers.

(ed. note - " * = FOXSports.com's Jon Morosi is reporting that sources are telling him, "Tom Gorzelanny's deal with #Brewers will be worth close to $6MM over two years.")

Edwin Jackson was worth +2.7 fWAR in 2012, going (10-11) with a 4.03 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 2.75 BB/9 and 7.97 K/9 while pitching for Washington on a 1-year/$11M dollar deal. E-Jax was allowed to become a free agent for whom the Nationals will receive no compensation in the form of a draft pick since they decided against making a qualifying offer which would have paid the 10-year MLB $13.3M dollars in 2013 had he accepted it. According to a report on Twitter this morning by ESPN.com's Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN), the right-handed starter is close to signing a 4-year/$52M dollar deal with the Chicago Cubs.

The Nationals did make a qualifying offer to first baseman Adam LaRoche after his .271/.343/.510, 35 double, 33 HR, +3.8 fWAR season in D.C., though the nine-year veteran turned it and the $10M dollar option included his contract down after a bounce-back 2012 campaign in the second year of the 2-year/$16M dollar deal he signed with Washington in 2011. Since they made a qualifying offer, the Nationals will receive a compensatory pick in next June's draft should LaRoche sign elsewhere and under the new rules of the CBA the team that signs him will forfeit their 1st Round pick provided it's not a team in the top 10. ESPN.com's Mr. Olney wrote Wednesday that LaRoche, ".. has been sitting on a two-year offer," from the Nationals for weeks, and, "... the fact that he would cost a top draft pick is really hurting him."

Baltimore Sun writer Dan Connolly said much the same in a report earlier this week in which he wrote that the Orioles were interested in signing the 33-year-old infielder to the sort of multi-year deal he was after but were hesitant to part with their 1st Round pick (no.24) since doing so, "... would run counter to executive vice president Dan Duquette's plan of rebuilding from the draft." The Texas Rangers are also believed to be interested in LaRoche's services. They would forfeit the 25th pick in the 2013 Draft if they did.

The Nationals were willing to take the risk that their Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winning first baseman would accept the 1-year/$13M dollar qualifying offer knowing he was after a multi-year deal and their decision to make the offer and force potential suitors to part with a draft pick could potentially make it more likely that he returns to the nation's capital on the two-year deal they're willing to give him.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals Hot Stove: Nats Still In Market For Lefty Reliever - Michael Gonzalez? J.P. Howell?

Sean Burnett signed a 2-year/$8M dollar deal with the LA Angels that includes a club option for 2015 that would pay him $4.5M. Tom Gorzelanny signed what is reportedly a 2-year/$6M dollar deal with the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon. The Washington Nationals entertained the idea of bringing both relievers back to the nation's capital in 2012, but realized quickly that each was likely to receive more money than they were willing to give them. So far this winter, the Nats have re-signed left-hander Zach Duke and brought lefty Bill Bray back to the organization six years after they dealt the '04 Expos' 1st Round pick to the Cincinnati Reds.

When D.C. GM Mike Rizzo talked to reporters after the Nationals signed Duke, who was (15-5) with a 3.51 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 2.14 BB/9 and 4.98 K/9 in 26 starts and 164.1 IP at Triple-A Syracuse last year and (1-0) with a 1.32 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 2.63 BB/9 and 6.59 K/9 in eight games and 13.2 IP with the Nats in September, the general manager explained that Duke would be stretched out like a starter in Spring Training but would likely end up in a long-relief role in the 2013 Nationals' pen. Rizzo did, however, add that that Nats would still like to add another reliever, telling the Washington Post's James Wagner, "'We'd like to get a second left-hander. It's not a necessity because our right-handed relievers get out left-handers well, but in a perfect world we'd like to get a second.'"

While Burnett and Gorzelanny are off the market, two lefties mentioned often as targets this winter remain available. Michael Gonzalez, who was coming off a 2-year/$12M dollar deal with the Orioles, signed a one-year minor league deal last May when he joined the Nats and he had a 3.03 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 4.04 BB/9 and 9.84 K/9 in 47 games and 35.2 IP last season in a +0.5 fWAR 2012 campaign. Gonzalez held opposing left-handed hitters to a .177/.257/.269 line in 2012. In his 10-year MLB career, the left-hander has held lefties to a .206/.278/.327 line. MLB Network Radio host and ESPN analyst Jim Bowden reported on Twitter this afternoon that the Nationals remain interested in Gonzalez:

Cincinnati Reds & Washington Nationals continue pursuit of LHR Mike Gonzalez who would fit in nicely with both post-season contenders in '13

' JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) December 20, 2012

J.P. Howell has been mentioned often this winter as a potential replacement for Sean Burnett and the '04 Royals' 1st Round pick who has pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays for the last six seasons told MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he'd like to join the Nationals' bullpen. Howell avoided arbitration with the Rays last season, signing a 1-year/$1.35M dollar deal. The 29-year-old reliever, who'll turn 30 in April, had a 3.04 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 3.93 BB/9 and 7.51 K/9 in a -0.3 fWAR campaign in his seventh MLB season in 2012. Howell held left-handed hitters to a .198/.306/.306 line last season, and he has a .238/.323/.351 line against left-handers over the course of his career. MLB.com's Mr. Ladson listed the Phillies, Cubs, Mariners and Rangers as other teams interested in the lefty this winter.

The options are dwindling on the free agent market. The Nationals could, of course, trade Michael Morse as rumored for bullpen help if they do sign Adam LaRoche, but as of this afternoon, neither of the situations have been settled.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Washington Nationals: Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects 2013

MLB.com updated their list of the Washington Nationals' top prospects after the trade with Minnesota that sent top pitching prospect Alex Meyer to the Twins in return for Denard Span. 2011 1st Round pick Anthony Rendon topped MLB.com's list with fellow '11 1st Round pick Brian Goodwin no.2 and 2012 1st Round pick Lucas Giolito third in the organization. Fangraphs.com and writer Marc Hulet released their Top 10 Nationals prospects earlier this month, giving Goodwin the top spot in the Nats' system with Rendon no.2 and Giolito no.3. Now Baseball America has released their own Top 10 Nationals' prospects list this morning. There's agreement amongst all three writers about the top three prospects. BA's Aaron Fitt has Rendon first, however, followed by Giolito and Goodwin...

Here's Baseball America's Top 10 Nats Prospect List:

1. Anthony Rendon - 3B
2. Lucas Giolito - RHP
3. Brian Goodwin - CF
4. Matt Skole - 3B
5. Nate Karns - RHP
6. Christian Garcia - RHP
7. Eury Perez - CF
8. Sammy Solis - LHP
9. Matt Purke - LHP
10. Zack Walters - SS

Rendon, who also earns BA's nod as the Best Hitter for Average and Best Defensive Infielder is also recognized as having the Best Strike Zone Discipline amongst hitting prospects in the Nats' organization. The 22-year-old 2011 1st Round pick suffered a partial fracture of his ankle which limited him to 43 games and 160 PAs in his first pro season, posting a .233/.363/.489 line with eight doubles, four triples and six home runs combined at four stops in the Nats' system between the Gulf Coast League, New York/Penn League, Class-A Carolina League and Double-A Eastern League. Rendon then went to the Arizona Fall League where he hit 10 doubles and one triple, stole six bases and put up a .338/.436/.494 line over 22 games and 94 PAs to earn recognition as a member of the AFL's Top Prospect team.

Lucas Giolito, 18, was the 16th overall pick in the 2012 Draft out of Harvard-Westlake high school in California. The Nationals picked the prep school pitcher in spite of concerns about an elbow injury he suffered during his senior year in high school. Giolito continued to rehab after he was drafted and made just one start in the Gulf Coast League before he did suffer a not-unexpected tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow which required Tommy John surgery. The right-hander still earned the distinction of being named the top pitching prospect on MLB's, Fangraphs.com's and now BA's lists of Nats' prospects. Baseball America also recognized Giolito for having the Best Fastball and Best Curve amongst pitchers in the organization.

Brian Goodwin, 22, was the 34th overall pick in the 2011 Draft. The outfielder out of North Carolina and Miami Dade College put up a .280/.384/.469 line over 100 games and 452 PAs split between Class-A Hagerstown and Double-A Harrisburg during which the left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing potential leadoff man hit 26 doubles and 14 HRs. Goodwin too went to the Arizona Fall League where he put up a .238/.340/.475 line with six doubles, two triples and three home runs in 20 games and 80 at bats.

Matt Skole (no.4 on BA's list) and Nate Karns (no.5) were the Nationals' Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, in 2012. Christian Garcia (no.6) dominated in the minors in 2012 and earned a call up to the majors where he almost immediately became one of Nats' manager Davey Johnson's favorite relievers. Eury Perez (no.7), a 22-year-old outfielder, had a .314/.344/.361 line in 127 games and 569 PAs between the GCL Nats, Double-A Senators and Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, earning a September call-up. Sammy Solis (no.8, Tommy John) and Matt Purke (no.9, shoulder) both had surgery last season. Zack Walters (no.10), 23, was acquired by the Nationals in a July '11 trade with Arizona, had a .266/.302/.418 line at three stops in the Nats' system in 2012, hitting 23 doubles, five triples and 12 HRs in his first full season in the organization.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Wire Taps: Washington Nationals' Center Fielder Denard Span On 106.7 The FAN In D.C.

Anyone who follows new Washington Nationals' outfielder Denard Span on Twitter (@ThisisDSpan) knows the 28-year-old former Minnesota Twin was in the nation's capital this past weekend to visit his new home and meet with his new team, including Nats' GM Mike Rizzo, who took a picture with Span on the field in Nationals Park.

Me and gm Mike Rizzo at National's park lockerz.com/s/268944450

' Denard Span (@thisisdspan) December 14, 2012

The veteran of five MLB seasons with the Twins who finished the 2012 campaign at +3.9 fWAR with a .283/.342/.395 line, a career-high 38 doubles, four triples and four home runs in 128 games and 568 plate appearances told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s Danny Rouhier (@funnydanny) in an interview aired on Mr. Rouhier's show with co-host Holden Kushner (@Holdenradio) this morning that it meant a lot to him to be going to a team that had pursued him for over two seasons before finally acquiring him in a trade for top pitching prospect Alex Meyer in late November.

"I tell you what," Span said, "It's a great feeling. It's a great feeling to be coming to a place where you're wanted. Obviously, the last two years there have been rumors that I was supposed to get traded to Washington and for it to actually finally become a reality after two years of them trying to do it, it definitely is a great feeling to be coming to an organization like this, an organization that is in place to win."

The Nationals are happy to have Span. D.C. GM Mike Rizzo described the outfielder in a press conference after the deal with the Twins as a, "... high average guy, .350 OBP-type of guy," who, "... doesn't strike out," or is at least, "... one of the tougher guys in the league to strike out," and a, "... contact bat [who] can really, really run... [hits] from the left side of the plate, which keeps our lineup balanced and [is] a guy that in the past has stolen a lot of bases and we feel is really going to come into his own as a base stealer in the National League."

The new Nats' leadoff man told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s host he too thinks he improve on the basepaths. "It's something I've been working on more than anybody probably knows," Span said, "But it's to be more of a threat on the bases. I feel like if I add that to team, add that to my game I will be a complete... first of all, it will only help the team having me at second or third base with the meat of the lineup coming up. But I feel like, myself as a player, if I can add that to my game, I will be an all-around, leadoff, prototypical player."

Asked to describe himself as a player for any fans in Washington who might not be familliar with Span's game, the outfielder said, "My game is first and foremost to bring good defense. I pride myself on catching the ball, trying to make exciting plays to get the fans into it and uplift our starting pitcher, whoever that might be for that day. Secondly, is to be the best leadoff hitter I can possibly be and set the tone for my teammates and just get the game going and rolling in the right direction and that's pretty much it. I'm going to try to bring a lot of athleticism to the team and a lot of excitement." As a leadoff hitter, Span had a .280/.339/.393 line last season. Leading off an inning, he had a .280/.331/.404 line.

Defensively, Span's +8.5 UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) was the second-best amongst qualified center fielders in the majors behind only runaway UZR leader, the Braves' Michael Bourn (+22.4 UZR). Span's .989 fld% was down from .990 in the last full season he played in 2010 and his career .991 fld%. Span told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s Mr. Rouhier he was looking forward to patrolling an outfield that wasn't quite as expansive as the one he played in for the last three years in Target Field in Minnesota, though he did say that after visiting Nationals Park this week, the outfield in D.C., "... looks pretty big as well." He was looking forward to the chance to play in the nation's capital though, and, "... definitely looking forward to playing next to Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper. These are two guys that probably are going to make my job a lot easier."

Offensively, Span admitted that he's definitely not a power hitter. "I'm not going up there to try to hit a home run, but I'm capable of doing it if a pitcher makes mistakes or whatever," the outfielder who hit a career-high eight home runs in 2009 said, "but my goal and what I like to do is to try to hit the ball in the gaps and try to hit doubles and triples." Span's 38 doubles in 2012 were the second-most by a center fielder league-wide, tied with Angel Pagan behind only the Orioles' Adam Jones (39 2B). Span's .283 AVG was eighth-highest amongst center fielders. The Nationals finally have the center fielder/leadoff man they were after this winter.

' Listen to Denard Span talk to 106.7 the FAN In D.C.'s Danny Rouhier HERE.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Former Washington Nationals' Lefty John Lannan's Deal With Philadelphia Phillies Made Official

Of the thirty batters 28-year-old Long Beach, NY-born left-hander John Lannan hit over his six seasons in the majors with the Washington Nationals, eleven of them were Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies' hitters took more of the two-time Nationals' Opening Day starter's HBPs than any other team he's faced. Two long-time Phillies, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, got hit during the '05 11th Round pick's June '07 MLB debut. Lannan broke Utley's hand that day and was ejected from the game in Citizens Bank Park. Over the course of his career he's hit Utley two more times and Howard three more times since that first major league start.

The Phillies dominated Lannan for most of his time with the Nationals, however, handing him losses in 13 of 19 career starts against the Nats' NL East rivals in which the lefty posted a 5.53 ERA. Subtract Lannan's numbers against Philadelphia and the pitcher with a (42-52) career record, 4.01 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 3.40 BB/9 and 4.71 K/9 in 134 starts and 783.2 MLB IP is a .500 pitcher at (39-39) with a 3.80 ERA in 115 outings as Philadelphia Inquirer writer Bob Brookover wrote this afternoon in an article about the Phillies officially announcing the 1-year/$2.5M dollar bonus-laden deal with Lannan.

Asked about the HBP-filled debut in 2007 today, Lannan joked with reporters that he didn't, "... remember anything about that day," before saying he was sure that it was all "water under the bridge," at this point. Lannan chalked the HBPs on Utley and Howard up to the difficulties of pitching left-handed hitters inside.

After a rough season with Washington in which he was optioned to Triple-A to start the year after five seasons in the Nationals' rotation, requested a trade and spent the majority of the year with the Nats' top affiliate outside of two spot starts and some fill-in duty at the end of the year once Stephen Strasburg was shut down, Lannan was non-tendered and allowed to become a free agent.

Lannan told reporters that it was a "weird" year in the organization, mostly watching as the Nationals won the NL East, though he did make significant contributions when called upon, going (4-1) with a 4.13 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 3.86 BB/9 and 4.68 K/9 in six starts and 32.2 IP:

"'It was weird definitely not being a part of it,' [Lannan] said. 'But I was happy for them and I was glad I was able to help. The season ended on a bad note, but I got a taste of it and that's why I wanted to come here. I feel like the Phillies have a great shot of winning the NL East and going to the World Series.'"

Lannan wouldn't bite when asked if he thought the Phillies were better than the Nationals, however, though his new teammate Jimmy Rollins went there in a CSNPhilly.com interview earlier this winter. The often-outspoken Rollins told reporters that in spite of the Nationals winning the 2012 NL East championship, the road to the divisional crown still goes through Philadelphia, with the Phillies having won five straight before the Nats broke their streak:

"It still runs through Philly," Rollins said. "[Washington] had one year to win it. It was just like when the Mets took it from Atlanta, it was still up for grabs. I'm sure Atlanta felt it was still theirs, but fortunately we were able to come in and take it the next five years."

"'I'm trying to say that it's a very competitve division and we're ready to go in and win the NL East,'" Lannan told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Brookover today. Lannan's agent, Brody Van Wagenen told the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore in an article published this morning that he thought his client would benefit from the move to Philadelphia, and increased run-support, noting that his numbers were affected by the lack of support and the quality of the teams he was pitching for in previous seasons in D.C. Might have a point there. The Phillies' first visit to the nation's capital in 2013 is in late May, it will be interesting to see how Lannan's received when he returns to Nationals Park.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

9/21/12: Washington Nationals' Manager Davey Johnson; Tyler Clippard's 5th Blown Save; Drew Storen And Game 5

Tyler Clippard put together his fourth-straight strong season in Washington in 2012, saving 32 games with Nationals' closer Drew Storen on the sidelines for the first half of the season following surgery to remove a bone chip/fragment from his elbow. Clippard posted a 3.72 ERA, a 3.31 FIP, walked 29 (3.59 BB/9) and K'd 84 (10.40 K/9) over 74 games and 72.2 IP in the 27-year-old's sixth major league campaign. Clippard struggled down the stretch, however, giving up 21 hits and 12 runs (all earned) in 18.1 IP in the last month-plus on the schedule. The right-handed reliever had an 8.10 ERA and a 4.59 FIP in September/October and after holding opponents to a .161/.257/.265 line from April through August, Clippard's opponents posted a .362/.381/.603 line over the final 14 games and 13.1 IP of the regular season.

Drew Storen, on the other hand, had started the season late on the 19th of July following surgery in April, and he was rediscovering the stuff that allowed him to save 43 games in his second pro season with Washington in 2011 after the Nationals drafted the Stanford Cardinal closer out college in the 1st Round of the '09 Draft eight picks after they'd selected Stephen Strasburg no.1 overall that year. After a rough outing against San Francisco on August 14th, Storen gave up just nine hits, a walk and one earned run over a stretch of 15.0 IP between August 17th and September 20th during which he had a 0.60 ERA, 15 Ks, two saves and six holds.

Clippard blew his fifth save of the year on September 21st at home against Milwaukee, giving up a leadoff bunt by Brewers' outfielder Norichika Aoki in the top of the ninth of a 2-1 game and allowing a passed ball, fly ball out which advanced Aoki from second to third and an RBI single to tie a game the visiting team eventually won 4-2. Storen had pitched the previous two nights, earning his third save of the season in the finale of a two-game set with the LA Dodgers the day before on September 20th, so Johnson turned to Clippard that night.

Before the game the manager had explained his thinking when it came to using both relievers as closers depending on the matchups each time one was needed. "Clippard's good against both [left and right handers]," the Nationals' manager said, "His high fastball and changeup [are] really effective against left hand hitters. Last year, Storen was very effective, he backdoored his slider and his ball [had] great movement, this year he hasn't been getting the left handers out as well as the right handers."

Right-handed hitters had a .209/.263/.380 line against Storen in 2011. The Nats' closer held left-handed hitters to a .198/.260/.281 line in 2011. In 2012, however, right-handed batters had a .140/.246/.140 line against Storen as of 9/21 with lefties posting a .357/.367/.429 line against him to that point in the season. Clippard, as Johnson noted, was hard on both right and left-handers to that point with righties posting a .208/.276/.367 line while left-handers hit for a .161/.261/.250 line.

Clippard's fifth blown save was a rough one though. "That one hurt," the Nationals manager Davey Johnson told reporters after the game. Edwin Jackson had given up just one run on six hits in 8.0 IP before Clippard took the mound on September 21st. "Jackson pitched a great ball game," Johnson said, "I was tempted to let him go out in the ninth, but I said, 'Pitched a great ballgame. Clippard's fresh. Let's go there."

Asked which pitcher he would turn to the next time he needed a save, the 69-year-old skipper said that in the next game on Saturday night against Milwaukee it would be Storen. "With the number of pitches [Clippard] threw tonight and I didn't want to come back with Storen three days in a row [on Friday], especially with Gio [Gonzalez] going [Saturday]. Storen will be the guy tomorrow."

Storen was the guy the next time the Nationals needed a closer on September 24th, and he and Clippard stayed in the roles they'd pitched in the previous season throughout the rest of the 2012 campaign with Clippard's final outing of the season a 23-pitch eighth in Game 5 of the NLDS with St. Louis which saw him give up a solo home run that got the Cardinals to within one run at 6-5 in a game they would eventually win 9-7...