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US Presswire photo John Lannan, optioned to Syracuse on Tuesday, requested he be traded yesterday. |
"It's just a tough thing," manager Davey Johnson said before today's season opener against the Cubs. "We're not trading him, though. We're keeping him. He's a good big-league pitcher."
Lannan, the club's Opening Day starter in 2009 and 2010 and the staff leader last season in wins and innings pitched while posting a career-best 3.70 ERA, was surprisingly optioned to Class AAA Syracuse during the Nationals' exhibition finale Tuesday afternoon. Ross Detwiler, the organization's first-round pick in 2007, was instead tabbed as the No. 5 starter to open the season.
One day later, Lannan formally asked general manager Mike Rizzo to trade him, then made his request public via an email to beat reporters.
Rizzo, though, said today that Lannan's request will not change anything about how the club proceeds with the matter. The GM again described there being "mild interest" in the 27-year-old from other teams this spring, and reiterated that he hasn't been actively shopping the pitcher.
"I've known John Lannan a long time," Rizzo said. "He's an ultra competitive person. And he's frustrated and upset and mad. If he was any other way, I would wonder about him. This guy has been a solid contributor to this franchise for a long time. He's a good, solid starting pitcher in the big leagues. Unfortunately, it was a conversation that we had about a roster spot that we felt we had five guys better than him."
Rizzo also reiterated that Lannan expressed a preference not to pitch out of the bullpen. The club's coaching staff and front office agreed he would be a poor fit as a reliever.
Lannan is scheduled to make his first start for Syracuse on Sunday, and as far as the Nationals are concerned, he'll remain in the Chiefs' rotation until the need arises for another starter at the big-league level.
"I trust John Lannan is going to be an ultra-professional like he's been throughout his career in Washington," Rizzo said. "The last thing I told him was that you're going to help us in the big leagues this year, or you're going to help somebody in the big leagues this year. That was the final statement that I made to him."
22 comments:
Typical Davey Johnson - stirring things up that were starting to settle down and pouring salt in the wounds.
OK, please let that be the end of that, and let's enjoy Opening Day!!!
Anon, did Davey something else? Looks to me that Rizzo repeated the "five guys better..." thing. Let's just let it go.
I'm late to this commenting parade, but enough already. Lannan, like Livo and others, has earned a place in the hearts of the Nats fans, but he's a baseball pitcher, not a federal judge, and he doesn't have lifetime tenure. If the baseball minds in the organization rate him our 7th best starting pitcher, then he's off to AAA until needed. He's got a contract that makes him untradeable. If he wants to be flexible on that front, so be it. If not, he's got to play the hand he's been dealt and show himself off to the best of his abilities so that he can get back to the bigs as soon as possible, whether here or somewhere else. The Nats have not done him wrong.
I love intelligent posters.
Steve Jardine, bringing it with perspective.
Johnson is going to be candid.
I foresaw this whole nasty mess ... kind of figured it might come down like this ...
But I didn't think it would end putting a definite definite pall on opening day. That's the part I truly find sad and not what happened to John Lannan. The players have to try to put this distraction aside and so should we.
And JayB, dude you aren't listening. The Nats FO has a plan. A real plan not Stan's plan. They are going to build and develop top prospects so that they not only win this year but the next five and beyond if they can. And that means picking young pitchers with closer potential like HRod and Mattheus over a guy like Durbin who is almost as old as 36 year old Joel Peralta. Peralta is better than Durbin, and he is in fact closing for the Rays again. So, ask yourself why is it they let him go?
They aren't going to do a one and done deal like Loria and his Marlins. They are in it to win and be competitive over the long haul not just short term. And they do have the prospects to make that happen.
So, why not just sit back and let them implement the plan they so painstakingly put together?
Mark, I understand you might not choose to say, but a question: Did Lannan send that email on his own, or his agent's, initiative, or was he responding to someone, and just cc'd everyone else to get it out of the way?
NatsJack in Florida said...
I love intelligent posters.
We love you, too, Jack...
And another baseball insider that knows how this is done. Thanks for telling it like it is. But be warned. JayB will continue to point to the past with his shoulda, coulda, woulda, sad as that is.
Right, Davey--you're not trading him, because he's your #5 starter.
It's time for Lannan to shut up and pitch in AAA. And it's time for Davey, since he's not going to shut up, to learn how to make less declarative statements about future events that he doesn't control.
There was nothing done wrong with Lannan's demotion, with how it was carried out, with what Davey or Rizzo said about it, with Lannan's email, or with Davey and Rizzo's responses to Lannan's trade request. Baseball is a business, and business is cruel. In fact, as businesses go, most are much crueler than baseball is.
Anyone who thinks differently, like Section 222, Boswell, etc, has lived a very sheltered life and had better watch out because they're in for a rude awakening someday, unless they're very lucky.
Right now Lannan is depressed and fears that his emotions will make it hard for him to get up for AAA games. As a result, he may not get another shot soon. I think he'll snap out of it, retract his demand for a trade and most likely be needed at some point this year. He's always impressed me as a smart guy, he knows he doesn't call the shots here.
Lannan in Syracuse, introduced with the rest, came out, shook hands with the manager, gave a couple high-fives. Looked professional to me.
Don't know Y Davey put LaRoche in cleanup. Should have left him in the 6 hole
Anonymous said...
"Don't know Y Davey put LaRoche in cleanup. Should have left him in the 6 hole."
With the way he looked on those first two at bats, Davey should have left him in Viera.
Steve Jardine makes some good points. Lannan is paid $ 5 million a year to play baseball. Yet Lannan has nothing to prove in Syracuse. He's almost in limbo. Psychologically, Lannan probably is experiencing quite a bit of ennui and feels very let down almost like a spouse who has experienced infidelity. I wouldn't be surprised if he pitches poorly in Syracuse and his trade value declines.
The Lannan situation has pointed this way since Jackson and Wang were signed and he should have been traded then to some team desperate for pitching like the Orioles. My own take is that neither Jackson or Wang are as good a pitcher as Lannan is. Jackson has a lifetime 4.50 ERA and Lannan's is 4.00. And Wang is likely to be injured once again.
Feel Wood...I agree with all you say in your post (except calling out Section 222).
Great crowd for opening day! Thanks for coming out. Go Nats!
Binx: Your take on Wang and Jackson is precisely why they are not going to give Lannan away in a trade. You are spot on that John has 5 million reasons to go pitch in Syracuse.
Nats had 'em all the way today. That game was NEVER in doubt.
Thanks for having us, Mr. Duffy. :-)
"And JayB, dude you aren't listening. The Nats FO has a plan. A real plan not Stan's plan."
The FO "Plan" and Stan's "Plan" are the same: Rebuild through the draft and sign free agents to fill holes when the time is right. It's possible that Stan would not have pulled the Gio deal as soon as Rizzo did, but trades are part of every FO plan.
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