Nats sign 5 to minor league deals

The Nationals gave fans an early Christmas present by singing five players with major league potential to minor league contracts. It was a return to normal for the Nats. A response to the New York Yankees swooping in and taking the apple of Jim Bowden’s eye, the free agent many considered out of our league, Mark Teixeira.

The Nats looked long and hard at themselves, their worth, and their plan…and evidently woke up and smelled the f*&%$*#@ coffee. They made some solid deals in the process.

The team inked former Oriole Corey Patterson, RHP Jorge Sosa, LHP Gustavo Chacin, infielder Jose Castillo and wayward Molina son; catcher Gustavo Molina. It was also the first day in MLB history that a team signed two Gustavo’s (not actually sure if that’s true…but its got to be).

Corey Patterson rose through the Cubs system as a future superstar who never quite developed into the promise his athleticism held. He finally put it together in his first season in Baltimore, batting .276 with 16 homers and swiping 46 bases. His second year was rather similar but while his stolen base numbers were high his OBP was abysmal (.314 and .304) so he couldn’t serve as a viable leadoff hitter.

He was traded and played absolutely horrendously for the Reds in 2008, batting .205 with an OBP of .238. The Nats are hoping that he may be able to be a more disciplined hitter as he approaches the age of 30, and may be able to be a true centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the club. Is this a likely outcome? No. But it is worth the risk of a one year deal valued at less than a million dollar.

Gustavo Chachin at one point in his career looked to be one of the better young left -handers in the American League. For Toronto at the age of 25 he posted a 13-9 season with a 3.72 ERA, showing a nasty curveball and good control with 70 walks in 202 innings for a rookie. His arm fell off in 2006 however and has only pitched 104 innings since, including none in 2008. He’s only 28 however, and if he has rebuilt his arm could very well be a starter in the Nationals rotation. The Nats signed him to a minor league deal for 90K, which bumps to 600K if he makes the major league club. Once again, no risk on this deal, potential high reward.

Jorge Sosa and Jose Castillo both have full-season major league experience and could contribute if they come to camp prepared. Both have the potential to be impact players but both have potential to be triple A fixtures. However…like the other signees, low risk, high potential.

Jim Bowden may know what the hell is going on after all.

Tex-Mess comes to an end.

Out of nowhere the New York Yankees swooped in to sign prized free agent Mark Teixeira tuesday afternoon. The deal sent shockwaves through the AL East and the rest of the baseball community as the Yanks not only showed up two division rivals in getting Tex, but also for the first time in MLB history signed their second 100 million + dollar contract in the same season.

Tex will play first base and will add that extra umph the Yankees had missing last year. With a new line up, and a new starting rotation with C.C Sabathia and A.J Burnett, the Yanks have to be the odds on favorite to win it all in 2009.

One Year Solutions

Lets Face it, the Nationals aren't going to compete next year. The Players we need to be targeting are those who are young with great upside, or those who are old who can carry us through next season while the young guns develop. Here are some options.

Ben Sheets: He hasn’t pitched a complete season since 2004 when he posted an incredible 2.70 ERA with 264K’s and only 32 walks. Since 04 when he has been healthy he has been nothing but filthy as well. So why aren’t the big market teams throwing money at him like they did Sabathia? He has to prove to the big boys that he can pitch a full season before they’ll give him a 5 year deal that will support his grandkids grandkids. Often times when pitchers are in this situation, they will get about this far into free agency before they realize they may need one more year to prove themselves. So why don’t the Nats offer him a one year deal, for a solid chunk of money (8-15 million). He has the incentive to stay healthy and perform to try and land a big time deal from a competitor in 2010. Best case scenario; he is the best pitcher in baseball the first half and the Nats trade him for prospects. Worst case scenario? He pitches 12 solid games and gets hurt…and he’s gone next year. No commitment, no problems.

Mark Prior: Was the next Tom Seaver, but last year his numbers weren’t any better than mine. Prior has been about as injury plagued as anyone, no one knows if he still has an arm, or even if he still remembers how to pitch. This means he couldn’t possibly demand much of a contract. He’s your prototypical why not guy, sign him to a low pay one year deal and who knows, you may find yourself an allstar starter. It’s not like having him on the DL will hurt the Nationals chances this season….

Randy Johnson: Are you seeing a trend? We know he wants to pitch another season (5 wins from 300 and 211K’s from 5000), but will he want to go to a competitor? He’s won a World Series already, so that might not be an issue. If he’s willing to pitch for a team without a chance, he will probably be willing to sign a one year deal with D.C. He can still pitch ( 2.41 ERA with 78K’s in the second half last year), and he can defiantly teach a young pitcher with a similar career bath such as Daniel Cabrera a thing or two. We know he likes pitching in small markets; Washington might just be the place for him.

Marcus Giles: Once labeled as the next great second basemen, fell off the table incredibly fast into obscurity. He was Dustin Pedroia and somehow turned into Stubby Clapp. At the age of 30, he’s worth a shot with a minor league deal. He’s a good utility guy and if he refinds his stroke, he could definitely start at second over Ronnie Belliard. We know that his downfall had to do with personal issues, perhaps his maturity will help him regain at least a glimpse of his former allstar self. No real risk here…

The Tex-Mess, what tangled webs we've woven

MASN Online reported today that a source claimed the Nationals have upped their offer to free agent first basemen Mark Teixeira. The Nats are now reportedly are offering somewhere between $178 and $184 Million for 8 years.

If that weren't enough, rumors have reported the Nationals leadership is considering expanding their offer to nine or ten years to accommodate Boras' demands. It's also been rumored that to sweeten the pot, the Nationals may be offering an opt out clause, much like the one C.C Sabathia had included in his deal this offseason. This would serve as an escape hatch for Teixeira after he realizes he signed a deal with a team that is further away from the playoffs than many of us would hope.

While as a whole these possible additions to the contract really don't mean a whole lot in terms of offering too much (whats an extra 8-10 million when you're spending 170 already?). They do however speak worlds about the inexperience and the naivety of the Nationals front office. As we've seen with the moves in the last several days, this part of the negotiation process has become a chess match for the big boys in the talks with Boras. The Redsox have called Boras' bluff and have walked away from the table, where the Angels have just retracted their offer all together. With the anonymity of the offer process, it leaves GM's and agents in a guessing game of who means what they say and say what they mean.

The Nationals are still playing checkers. It appears they are just indulging Boras in a way the bigger and more experienced teams wont.

It's as if Boras' client is the girl who every guy is after. They'll wine and dine her, show her why they're worthy, and show what they'll give to have her. But the older and wiser guys (The Sox and Angels) realize the truth in time...they're just being played. Are the Nats just being led on?

I could be wrong. Maybe the Nats do see and understand this. Maybe they just know that they can't afford to call Boras' bluff because they aren't as qualified a suitor as the others. But maybe thats just giving Jim Bowden a little too much credit...

Expect a deal before the new year (No one wants to start the year single after all).  

Say-What Willie?

Nats utility man Willie Harris supports the teams push for Teixeira. Harris played half a season in 2007 with Tex in Atlanta, and has first hand knowledge of his impact in the clubhouse. This is what he had to say.

"I mean, that's a big move, and it definitely shows the rest of the players—everybody else in the clubhouse, everybody else in the organization—that it's time for a change. Whether we get Tex or not, just trying to get him shows everybody else in the clubhouse that it's time to win. ... God knows, I hope Tex comes here."

Nats sign Cabrera

The Nats got tired of waiting around to hear from Agent Boras and made a deal today. They picked up former Orioles young gun Daniel Cabrera for one year with undisclosed terms.

The Orioles had previously considered Cabrera a key to their future but gave up on him this offseason after four consecutive years of regression. The 6 foot 8 righty burst onto the scene in 2004 with his high 90's fastball and strong slider. In 27 starts he posted a 5.00ERA but had a solid 12-8 record. This was enough for the Orioles leadership to decide he was major league ready as he became a staple in the rotation for the next 4 years.

Cabrera just couldn't make that jump that everyone expected him to in Baltimore. His frame, arm strength and youth suggested superstar potential, but his best year saw him go 10-13 with a 4.52 ERA and 157 K's. That was 2005, since then its just gotten worse and worse. While Cabrera will occasionally have games where he flashes brilliance and dominating stuff, more often than not fans will see him walking too many batter and giving up the big hit in the wrong time. It's that dominating stuff that keeps scouts hoping....

The bottom line is the Orioles very likely ruined Cabrera. He was up pitching a full season in the majors for the O's by the age of 23 before even pitching a game in triple A, he clearly wasn't ready. It took Cabrera 2 seasons to get out of rookie ball at the ages of 20-21, and at the age of 22 he didn't improve much in low A ball either. Regardless he was promoted to Bowie the very next season and in his first five starts he dominated, posting a 2.63 ERA with 35 K's in 27 innings.

What did the Orioles do next? Move him up to Baltimore...naturally...the rest was history.

Perhaps he will mature at the age of 28 and figure it out, and end up being a very good starter for the Nationals. If he does what he did last year, it will be a solid contribution as well. Right now all the Nats need are pitchers to fill out their rotation and get them through the next few years until they can compete.

Know Your Nats-John Lannan

John Lannan grew up in Long Island. He attended the prestigious Chaminade, a private all boys high school in New York, where he lettered in Baseball and became the teams captain. Lannan was a standout but not a superstar. It's hard to stand out though when your fellow alumni have names like Bill Oreilly, Bob Mckillop and Al Groh. Continuing the Chaminade tradition of 100% of graduates being accepted to college, and 99% attending, Lannan elected to attend the small Sienna College. As one of the smaller Division 1 schools in the country, Sienna proved to be a perfect place for the crafty6 foot 5 lefty to learn how to become a dominant pitcher.

His freshman year was rocky, but Lannan earned the chance to pitch a lot of innings and learn under fire. His guts and his potential earned him the chance to start against the #1 ranked team in the nation, Florida State. He held is own only allowing five hits and two earn

ed in five innings, causing scouts to start to take notice of Lannan's talents. He finished the season with a 5.44 ERA in 44 innings.

Lannan continued to improve throughout his career at Sienna, culminating with his stellar junior season. Sienna won 29 games and Lannan tossed 10 of them, finishing with an impressive line of 10-2, 2.29 ERA, and 83 strikeouts in 82 innings. He also contributed 8 complete games in 12 starts. Pairing with another stellar junior, Ken Grant, Sienna went on to one of its best seasons and drew many professional scouts.

Lannan was selected in 2005 by the Washington Nationals in the 11^th round, as the 324^th overall pick. He signed and was in the organization in no time, pitching for the Vermont Expos. It was a rough professional debut for Lannan, producing poor numbers for low A Vermont with an ERA of 5.26 in 2005 and a slightly improved 4.46 respectively for high A Savannah in 2006. His poor performance was probably a result of fatigue more than anything else, he jumped directly into professional ball after pitching more innings than he ever had before at Sienna, without much of a break. Lannan was confident about his performance however, telling Scout.com:

“I felt like I did well for my first season. I enjoyed playing in Vermont and I was glad I got as many innings as I did. And, I was able to get a couple of wins for the team. The only thing I wish is that I didn't walk as many batters as I did."

Lannan also said he had trouble adjusting to professional hitters and the tighter professional strike-zone, a common problem for new pitchers. His velocity was still only peaking at 87-89 MPH on his fastball at this point, which is relatively slow for a pitcher with major league aspirations.

2007 was a brand new story for the young lefty. After adjusting his delivery, and working hard in the offseason to boost his velocity, the soutpaw made his move. He opened in Potomac, blazing the competition with a 6-0 record and a 2.13 ERA. He earned a quick promotion to double A Harrisburg where he continued to deal his junk to a 3-2 record with a 3.25 ERA. He earned yet another promotion to triple A columbus where his fast track to the majors continued with a 3-1 record and a 1.75 ERA. With the Nationals going nowhere, and their starting rotation dilapidated, Lannan earned his call up.

Lannan made his MLB debut July 26, 2007, and in stunning fashion. While his start only saw him pitch 5 innings, and allow 3 runs to the Phillies, his antics in the 5^th inning are what made him an immediate impact player. With one out Lannan hit fellow lefty Chase Utley with a fastball, causing him to break his hand and go on the DL. The very next pitch he hit Ryan Howard, forcing him to leave the game as well. Lannan was ejected, becoming the first pitcher to be ejected in his debut in over a decade. More importantly he became the object of much animosity from Philly fans, as a 'John Lannan must die,' movement began.

Lannan couldn't manage to get out of the spotlight in his third career start either. It found him pitching in San Francisco, in front of the national media...against Barry Bonds. Bonds was a homer shy of breaking Aaron's all time home run record, and Lannan was the man standing in his way. Lannan stepped up and preformed, as we would go to see him to many times.

Lannan started 2008 as an inexperienced, but potential filled starter. Expectations were low, but hopes were high that he could develop and be a permanent starter in the Nats rotation. He began the rotation behind Shawn Hill, Tim Redding, and Odalis Perez, but quickly moved up the ranks as he preformed at an ace level.

He finished the year with a 3.91 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 31 starts. It was an impressive first full season for the Nats lefty and a good foundation to build his career on. When the Nats were in a losing streak, and needed someone to pitch a gem, Lannan more often than not stepped up. His demeanor on the mound has fans excited and hopeful that he can develop into the ace this team needs.

Nats sign two 16 year olds

The Washington Nationals announced today that they signed a pair of 16 year old prospects from the Dominican; left hander Gregory Baez and catcher Bill Pena. After researching for about half an hour about these two I couldn't find much more than what the Nationals said in their press release.

"Pena is a high-energy, two-way catcher with a very strong arm. At 6-foot-2, Baez has good size and has great potential. He throws with an effortless motion and gets outstanding late movement on his pitches."

That's about all we got, which isn't too surprising, they're 16...and from the Dominican. We'll just need to wait and see how they preform in camp and rookie ball, but what we can be sure of is that they are at the very least 2 years from the majors, and probably more like 5 or 6...assuming they even have the talent to get there.

Tex-Mess, The Plot Thickens

My uncle from Boston visited tonight, pulled out his laptop and went straight to his bookmarked Boston Globe sports page.

“Gammons reports Redsox and Teixiera are close to a deal!” He boasted.

It was true. Epstein had flown out to Texas to meet Teixiera at his home in hopes of finalizing a deal that would lock up the slugging first basemen for 8 years for a total of $184 million. It seemed all but eminent, the Yankees were stewing, Sox fans were enjoying an early christmas, and Mike Lowell already had his foot out the door.

However in the blink of a Bill Buckner eye, those hopes vanished faster than the Wilpons' fortune. Right as most Sox fans were tucking their little Pedroia's and Papelbons into bed, a

 new headline came across the ticker.

“Henry: 'We're not going to be a factor' for Teixeira.”

Shocking news to say the least, it had seemed to be all but a done deal. The Sox were going to put Teixeira at first, move Youkalis to third, and ship Lowell elsewhere. It would have bolstered their line up for the next half decade, and more than replace the hole Manny left. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Texierra, Ortiz, Youkalis, Bay and Drew; a true Hank Steinbrenner nightmare.

According to John Henry, the Redsox owner, another club had swooped in with a larger offer the team wasn't willing to match, promising Teixiera more money and for more years. The Redsox have been very firm in the past with the amount of years they have been willing to tack onto a contract, it's one of the main reasons they didn't sign another Boras client, Johnny Damon.

This means one of two things. Either super-agent Scott Boras is bluffing, and the Redsox are trying to call that bluff, or another team truly did sweep in with a bigger offer. With the Dodgers finalizing a deal with Raphael Furcal this afternoon, it would lead me to believe that the only other team in the hunt with the ability, and the brashness to offer a bigger deal would be our own Washington Nationals.

We reported earlier that there were rumors of the Nationals offering as much as 10 years for $200 million. Until now those reports had not been confirmed but it seems that with the Redsox announcing that they were outbid, this may be the very deal we will see signed in the next few days. This story continues to echo the Alex Rodriguez signing with the Texas Rangers several years ago.

Let's just hope again that if the Nationals sign the Tex-Mess, it will pay off for us, not just him.  

Tim Redding to the Mets?

The Nationals non-tendered Tim Redding this offseason allowing him to become a free agent. According to the New York Daily News the Mets have reported they're interested in signing him.

Redding at many points of the season was the best pitcher for Washington. In the first half Redding went 7-3 with a 3.85 ERA and 75 K's, however in the second half he couldn't quite produce at the same level, posting a 3-8 record with a 6.82 ERA.

While Redding certainly wasn't a part of the Nationals future, it would have been nice to see him stick around and eat up some innings for another year or two. New York will be a good place for him however, as he will have a chance to be a 4^th or 5^th starter on a potential playoff team.

Mark Teixeira? Just say NO

I woke up this morning to read this: according to some un-named source in the Nationals front office, they are “99% likely to land Teixeira.”

But wait! There's more; according to sources yahoo.com reports that the Nationals are willing to offer 20 million a year for up to 10 years. 200 million dollars!?!?! You have to be kidding me here Jim.

Don't get me wrong, Mark Teixeira is a great talent, and probably a great guy (even if he was on the Braves). He's a 28 year old, 6 foot 3 inch, 220 pound slugger who can hit for average, gets on base, and doesn't strike out all that much. His fielding ability has been praised by many and he's a local boy, from Annapolis.

It's not as if he came out of nowhere to produce these career numbers either, he's was a top 5 draft pick in 2001, and was a star at Georgia Tech. In fact I remember Baseball America quoting one of his minor league coaches as saying, “The only thing wrong with him is he's not extremely fast, his name is hard to spell, and he can't walk on water.”

Now that I've given him his due, let me explain why this deal would probably end in disaster for the Nats.

This season, splitting between Atlanta and Los Angeles (so hitting behind or in front of Chipper Jones or Vlad Guerrero) Texierra combined to bat .308 with 33 homers and 121 RBI. Compared to other first basemen in the league he ranked fourth in batting average, 8^th in homers, and fourth in RBI. Therefor it's safe to say he was probably the fourth or fifth best first basemen in the majors behind Pujols, Berkman, Howard, and Miguel Cabrerra (Maybe even Kevin Youkalis?). You can argue the order, but you can't argue that he's certainly better than any of these guys.

Lets also not forget about Prince Fielder, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Adrian Gonzalez....

So why do the Nationals want to pay him like he's Alex Rodriguez?

Miguel Cabrera contract- 8 Years/$152.3 million

Albert Pujols contract- 7 years/$100 million

Ryan Howard contract- 1 year/$10 million

Lance Berkman contract- 6 years/$85 million

Supposed Teixeira contract with the Nats- 7 years/$150 million – 10 years/$200 million

Let's not forget that the market, and the economy, is much more bear than they were when all those contracts were signed. More recently guys like reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia signed a 6 year/$40.5 million deal, and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria inked a 6 year/$17.5 million deal.

Economic disaster aside, the Nationals are very very far away from competing in any division, much less the National League East. They lost a league leading 102 games this season with poor pitching, poor hitting, poor fielding, and poor baseball intelligence. How far are they from turning this team into a playoff team? There's no clear answer for sure. They need their young talent who are a ways from the majors to develop, and they probably need to acquire a pitching prospect or two...then they need to wait about two or three years.

Quite frankly there aren't enough free agents out there for them to buy up and become a playoff team. So what impact could Teixeira have?

Positive impact: His WARP is listed as 10 wins above replacement player, which means based on his performance he would give his team an estimated extra 10 wins over a guy like Aaron Boone or whoever the Nats had filling in for injuries at first last year. That gives brings the team down to 92 losses...excellent. One could also argue that having his bat in the line up may give more protection to other batters, making their WARP slightly increase as well.

Negative impact: When Alex Rodriguez signed a mega-deal to a last place team in Texas, it crippled them financially. Sure, they did have the best player in baseball, but it didn't take them out of last place. It financially constricted them from getting good young free agents, and caused tension between a star who wanted to win, and a team that couldn't get out of his shadow.

Signing Teixeira would put the Nationals in a very similar situation. However a key difference is, Teixiera isn't the best player in baseball, he's three years older than Rodriguez at the time and most importantly, The Nationals already have the most money on the team invested into his position. Let's also not forget the Nats top prospect last year, Chris Morrero, plays first base.

So what would giving this contract to Teixeira do? It would lock up for 10 years a guy who will only be in his prime another 4 or 5, a time frame when the Nationals wont need a star because they probably wont be competing. It will restrict the team from getting better free agents over the next several years like Tim Lincecum, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and others. Let's also not forget we havn't even given team cornerstones John Lannan or Ryan Zimmerman a long term deal yet.

Let's rethink this Mr. Bowden.

The number one reward for last place

 Well the Nationals really dropped the ball with Aaron Crow. The Nats first round pick last year who was just shy of major league ready, chock full of talent, and was easily the best pitcher in college baseball, evidently wasn't worth the the extra Hendricks tax to sign him to the club. Instead of signing a below value contract, Crow elected to take the year off and re-enter the draft in the summer of 2009, where he is still projected to be a top 10 pick.

The good news for the club however is that their 102 loss season left them with the worst record in baseball, and as a result the Nats will have the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. It seems the consensus top pick on everyones draft board is right handed pitcher Steven Strasburg, and he may very well be the savior of the Washington Nationals franchise. Many are already comparing him to previous top college pitchers David Price, Clayton Kershaw, Mark Prior, and Tim Lincecum.

A right-handed starter from San Diego State University, Strasburg has risen to the top of the college pitching ranks with authority both on the mound and with his reputation. At six foot four inches, 220 pounds, he stands as your prototypical power pitcher, but with the stuff to put him on the next level. His fastball sits in the high 90's, and he has been known to record 96 on the last pitch of a complete game. He has a plus-plus slider with two break planes and a developing change-up. His mechanics are smooth and he has a good head on his shoulders (turned down scholarships to Harvard and Yale).

Strasburg two biggest accomplishments came last year when first he struck out 23 Utah University batters en route to a complete game one hitter (he happened to be sick that day). And second, as the sole college player on the U.S Olympic baseball team, Strasburg pitched a one hitter sending his team to the medal rounds. Netherlands manager Jim Lefeabvre later said had they known about Strasburg, “They might not have shown up (New York Times).”

Video of Strasburgs 23 K game

 

Video of Strasburg in the pen

 

Bottom line: The Nats are lucky to have a shot at this once in a generation talent. While he certainly makes up for missing out on Crow, it sure would have been nice to have both of them in the mix, as they could be at the top of the rotation by 2011. The Nats should not hesitate to draft, sign, and coddle Strasburg at all cost.

Nats attempt to get Young in Rule-5 Draft

In the first pick in the Rule-5 Draft the Nationals selected right handed reliever Terrell Young from Cincinnati. The 23 year old reliever will be asked to contribute right away to the Nationals bullpen with his 93-96 MPH fastball and an improving slider.

Young split time between low A Dayton and high A Sarasota last season. In 25 games for Sarasota he struck out 26 in 33 innings. He allowed 31 hits and 13 walks and recorded a 2.41 ERA, proving that he probably deserved another promotion before seasons end.Do to Rule-5 Draft stipulations Young will have to make the Nationals club out of spring training and stay with the team the entire year. If he does not he will be automatically shipped back to Cincinnati. This is often the problem with players selected in the Rule-5 Draft, espessially for players with Young’s experience (or lack there of).

He is probably not ready for the bigs yet, and barring a great showing in spring training, he will most likely get sent back to Cinci. This is no guarantee however. Let us not forget that Jesus Flores was a Rule-5 selection for the Nats from the Mets several years ago and was in a similar situation as Young.

For only more proof that experience isn’t everything one must only look to Josh Hamilton. The 26 year old outfielder was selected in the Rule-5 draft by the Reds after having been out of professional baseball for half a decade…we all see where his career has gone since.