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After searching for a long-term solution in center field for several years, the Nationals entered this offseason with a bevy of options at the position. The free agent class was deep with B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn, and Angel Pagan. Throw Josh Hamilton in there, the year’s top overall free agent, and few offseasons offer as many choices.
But instead of taking the free agent route, the Nationals pulled the trigger on a trade target long rumored to be on their wish list. In comes 28 year old Denard Span from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for top pitching prospect Alex Meyer. The Nationals decided to go with a cheaper, more short-term choice in Span, but still got the leadoff hitter and defensive stud they were coveting.
Acquiring Span shows that general manager Mike Rizzo opted for flexibility over flash. But looking at Span in comparison to this year’s other options, the difference really isn’t that dramatic.
Take a look at how Span stacked up against the free agents in 2012:
B.J. Upton (28 years old)
146 G - .246/.298/.454 – 79 R – 28 HR – 78 RBI – 31 SB
Michael Bourn (29 years old)
155 G - .274/.348/.391 – 96 R – 9 HR – 57 RBI – 42 SB
Denard Span (28 years old)
128 G - .283/.342/.395 – 71 R – 4 HR – 41 RBI – 17 SB
Angel Pagan (31 years old)
154 G - .288/.338/.440 – 95 R – 8 HR – 56 RBI – 29 SB
Despite being tied to the Nationals in rumors, Upton was a poor fit from the beginning. He bats right handed, doesn’t slot well at the leadoff position, and would require the biggest contract of the group. He does have the best power numbers of the four, but when healthy the Nats’ lineup has plenty of big bats. They needed someone who could set the table and slot their core hitters later in the lineup.
Bourn made the most sense for the Nationals of the three free agents given his track record as a leadoff hitter, but with his age and contract demands the Nats decided to look elsewhere. Span has a similar batting average and on-base percentage, also hits lefty, and also plays good defense in center field. Oh, and he’s two years younger (Bourn turns 30 in December).
Pagan may have simply been too old as well as he turns 32 during the middle of the 2013 season. He just won a World Series with the Giants, but was never linked seriously to Washington.
Given the age of Bourn and the sub-.300 OBP of Upton, combined with their asking prices, why wouldn’t you prefer Span? The Nationals will now have Span on the books through 2014 with $11.25 million owed and a team option for 2015. If they signed either Bourn or Upton they would be locking in all three outfield positions for the foreseeable future, two with massive deals. Just ask the Angels how that method can backfire.
Instead of sacrificing a lot of money to improve in center field, the Nationals decided to give up their best pitching prospect. Alex Meyer could someday make the Nats’ regret letting him go, but the short-term flexibility might be worth the risk.
24 hours ago it looked like the Nationals were in a tough position this offseason, trying to improve their outfield while preventing a drop-off at first base. Now the ball is in Rizzo’s court. He has leverage with Adam LaRoche, an enviable trade chip in Michael Morse, and a defensively sound lead-off hitter in Denard Span.
Instead of making a move looking four or five years into the future, the Nationals have a solution for the next two or three years. By then prospect Brian Goodwin could be ready for the majors and, between he and Span, the Nats will likely have the position on lock throughout their championship window. In the meantime, Span gives them everything they wanted out of Bourn and Upton, but without the price and long-term commitment.
85 comments:
Chase Hughes bringing it again! If Rizzo's 1st concern was leadoff, then it was down to Bourn, Pagan, and Span.
If you are looking at short-term, it was Span or Pagan.
If you are looking at the most upside potential, I would say Span.
can we skip january?
or ,,, may we?
For those thinking the Nats should go for Greinke, this from Boz:
"There’s only an infinitesimal chance it’ll be Zack Greinke. The Nats barely consider it, assuming insane L.A. money will keep him an Angel or Dodger."
By the way, "infinitesimal chance" means near zero chance.
The Rangers may play too, they're saving a bunch on Hamilton and their rotation is not what it needs to be anymore. I suspect they would outbid the Angels. The Dodgers, of course, can spend another billion on him if they have to after that TV deal.
Nice piece. I thought Mark wrote it at first (and I mean that in a good way :-)).
Speaking of Boz, finally got around to reading the transcript of his Monday chat. Loved this line from him:
That hideous enormous "sculpture" in CF that lights up on home runs should have an enormous neon sign above it that flashes "Tilt!" and "Suckers!!!"
Continuing the discussion from the previous thread; Michael Morse had a UZR rating of -5.1 at 1st base in 2011 which is somewhat worse than Ryan Howard which is somewhere near horrible.
As a comparison Joey Votto was +7.4 in 2011 and +6.5 in 2012; ALR was +6.1 in 2012.
Let's not pretend that Michael Morse is an above average 1st baseman; he's not and this is why signing ALR is still the best option for the Nats.
Gonat just tweeted this that in 2011 in the 83 games that Michael Morse played 1st base he slashed: .336/.401/.601/1.002 on a 40 homer 120 RBI pace. That is Triple Crown type numbers.
JD, still small sample sizes on Morse's UZR. I think he can be an All Star at 1st base and will improve with his defense if ALR doesn't return. Ryan Howard has played there is whole career. Morse doesn't even have 1 full season at 1st base.
Also from the previous post (the Hanson-Walden thread).
Yeah, just reading a lot of stats on Hanson's decline. For example:
David O'Brien @ajcbraves
Hanson was 10-4 w/2.44 ERA and .190 opp avg in 17 starts before the 2011 All-Star break, is 14-13 w/ 4.96 ERA and .277 OA in 36 starts since
and also his declining velocity. Which makes you wonder if Wren sold the Halos damaged goods (shoulder with a partial tear that could or should need surgery). Of course, the Angels can do a physical, and the Angels can watch videos and read stats, but that's not the same as watching the guy game in, game out, or seeing what treatment he gets from the trainers.
It seems like the Angels just traded one risky pitcher (Haren) for another (Hanson), although the former is cheaper. From Bowden, Haren won 12g with 4.33 ERA; Hanson won 13g with 4.48 ERA; Haren made $12.75m Hanson is 1st time arbit elgible will make 9m less than Haren.
Michael Morse can improve at 1B. ALR did, Votto did. If ALR doesn't come back and Morse knows he will be at the position, then he needs to hire a coach and spend three months learning it (example, charging bunts).
NatsLady, that was my thinking on Hanson. Same thing the Braves tried to do last year with Jurjjens. Angels will end up DFA'ing Hanson at some point would be my guess. Bad move.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=1b&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=120&type=1&season=2012&month=0&season1=2012&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0
JD, plenty of 1st baseman in Morse's UZR category. Here's a bunch on Page 3. There's more if you look at fewer games played at 1st. Freddie Freeman and Ryan Howard and Mark Reynolds and Hosmer and Konerko and Brett Wallace and Corey Hart.
That's a lot of large 1st baseman that lack the ultimate in range. Even LaRoche wasn't at the top of range.
Morse is still an alternative until LaRoche signs somewhere else, LaRoche is still in the picture unless you believe Rizzo has moved on and I heard he has not.....yet.
I am just going to say "In Rizzo We Trust," and see what he pulls off. I really do love the Winter Meetings.
+1/2St.
Whether or not it improved his offense, Morse was "happier" at 1B than in LF. He may have even said so, he did say something to the effect that he likes to be "in on the action." And if you recall, he did not like DH'ing, especially in Boston where he couldn't find anything to do with himself between at-bats.
Brewers just non-tendered Manny Parra (lefty reliever). Nowhere close to Burnett or Gonzalez but he'd come cheap (probably close to league-minimum) and could be cut in spring training if he doesn't pan out.
Manny Parra
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/parrama01.shtml
Ghost,
I never implied that Morse was not an alternative at 1st base; he is clearly less of a problem there than in left field I just objected to the characterization of him as an 'above average' defensive 1st baseman. You are also correct that ALT does not have the greatest of ranges but he makes up for it by being so smooth around the bag.
NatsLady,
The issue of the left handed reliever is an interesting one. There is no way one should pay a Loogy 3 * $6 mil like the Giants did with Afeldt. It's true that Burnett was much more than a Loogy last year; in fact he was the main set up guy the entire time Clip was closing but with both Clip and Storen back and healthy and with Matheus stepping up a notch I am not sure that we need Sean for that role.
If you are looking for someone to get you 2 or 3 tough lefties out on most nights there are many pitchers who can accomplish this who you can have for a lot less than $6 mil a year.
The Twitterverse is filled with pitchers who are being non-tendered. If that happens to Lannan he will have competition.
Steve M.:
Could you give us some discussion on UZR, so that some Sabermtric perspective is uncovered.
They discussed UZR on MLB Network "Clubhouse Confidential" last year and Brain Kenny joked that it was a stat that left a lot to be desired as far as being a reliable.
Morse may have a few things to learn about 1B, but just don't think that he is all that bad. ALR probably knows more about positioning himself--but then again he's played about 12 years more at the bag than Morse.
Good stuff Chase.
As posted in the previous thread, Span asked what Natitude is. the Natosphere melted down with responses.
You better believe that if Morse ends up as our starting 1B he will take the job very seriously and get all the instruction and practice he needs to play the position as well as he possibly can. In his contract year, he needs to show he can do it all. Heck, he might even learn to do that intentional miss on a popped up bunt that ALR pulled off. That still is one of my favorite plays of the year.
I'm sure Morse prefers 1B (or is "happier" there if you want to put it that way). It's an easier position, with less running, and he was raised as an infielder so sharp grounders don't trouble him.
Morse is a happy warrior, great for the clubhouse vibe and for the fans. And I'll be very happy to see him unleashing the Beast again, after the crowd sings Take on Me. And if ALR re-signs, I'll be sad to see him take his talents elsewhere. But that's life in Rizzo's world, and In Rizzo We Trust.
I'm about tomgomoff the grid and checked here for news of non-tenders. I'm grateful for the stats on CF options, and didn't realize I was reading Chase until I read 1a's comment. Good post!
If we don't get ALR back I want Mikey there. His joy is great for the team and the fans, and so is his bat.
But my main comment is that we were never in position to make moves to get a short term bump before. How cool that this is where we are now?
I'm joining the "dump January" movement with you, waddu eye! And I'm going to start looking for places to sneak away and check for baseball news as soon as we arrive.
Go Rizzo! Go Nats.
I like beast's 2011 numbers at 1b too. That was a year and a lat injury ago. Wont have to stress that lat as much throwing back to the mound as he did from LF.
And i like the craziness. But i could be happy watching either him or ALR.
Sooner the better
Hey sec222, I just got done watching that play on MLB. It was against the Marlins back in August.
Morse is still an alternative until LaRoche signs somewhere else, LaRoche is still in the picture unless you believe Rizzo has moved on and I heard he has not.....yet.
Rizzo hasn't moved on from wanting to sign ALR, but he's not raising his offer either. It's all up to LaRoche now. He can find a better offer somewhere else, or he can sign with the Nats at the offer that's on the table. There's no "negotiation" any more. Rizzo is perfectly happy to wait him out, just like he did last year with Fielder. Rizzo doesn't need LaRoche any more. He's fine with him or without him.
One thought inspired by an earlier comment. I don't think that signing Greinke or Sanchez to a multi-year deal and putting out a lot of money to do it would be a "win this year at all costs move." I would see it as a dynasty solidifying move -- a starting rotation of Stras, Greinke, Gio (#3!!), JZnn (#4!!!!!), and Det would be historically imposing. And we'd have it for at least the next three years.
Even signing Lohse to a 2 year deal would put us in a position to have the most dominant rotation top to bottom in baseball, with a nice bridge to hopefully Purke or Giolito being able to take over in 2015.
And for those who worry about having enough money to sign Desi, JZnn or others, I really don't think that's an issue. The Nats attendance is going to skyrocket this year, and with a rotation upgraded from last year taking us to the next level, the Lerners could be looking at Citizens Bank Park-like daily sellouts very soon. Conservatively, that's a $40 million increase in gate receipts alone per year, not to mention merchandise and beer profits on top of that. Not to mention the new TV deal, whenever it happens. A championship team will be a money printing press for the Lerners.
Is it spring yet?
Feel Wood, I think you said that well. On to the 5th starter and lefty relievers and down the road to what ALR decides.
Doc, Brian Kenny and others believe the UZR is graded too subjectively and can't account for hits and runs actually given up.
The look and see test has always judged Morse as looking awkward in the outfield but does he miss balls he should have gotten to? Hard to judge shoulda coulda woulda.
Rabbit, the MLB video search function is awesome. Just type in "LaRoche bunt", "Bernadina catch", "Harper steal home", or "Werth walk-off" and you can find whatever highlight you feel like reliving. (I'm sure everyone knows what plays I'm thinking of...
I've embarked on my now annual re-watching of the Nats' season via the condensed games on the MLB Media Center site. This is going to be a very fun season to relive, and it won't be hard to watch all 162 games before spring training.
Sec222 how much for the offseason package on MLB.Com
Michele, I don't know. All the stuff I was talking about is free. I'm just watching the condensed games, which are 10-20 minutes each depending on how much hitting there was in a given game. To watch every game start to finish would demand a time investment that even I, a seriously disturbed Nats devotee, am not willing to make!
I am not sure I agree that Rizzo now has leverage with ALR because they got Span. The club still needs another LHB with power as much as they did without Span. And the other clubs are no less interested in ALR.
See also Morse recreates his grand slam swing." :-)
Oops. The closing quotation mark is in the link display, but the link works so whatever...
Don, I agree with you, partly. The main difference is that the Nats know they have a complete outfield if they have to move Morse to 1B, whereas before they had a question mark that might be answered by Moore or Bernadina or Brown, but wasn't a sure thing. That more than balances out the continued desire for ALR's LH bat. They'd like it, but they don't need it as much since Span is a leftie and Harper can move to the middle of the order. So Rizzo likely has more comfort in holding the line at the 2 (or 3 years max) that he's offering to ALR, but I wouldn't really call it leverage in the sense that it's going to change ALR's asking price or make him take a deal he's not happy with.
If ALR goes, then either Morse or Moore will have the opportunity to get comfortable in that position. Every single player does a better job when they know where they are playing and get to play there almost every day. Switching positions and sitting the bench part time are hard things for almost every ball player. There are a few guys that are truly versatile enough to play all around the field, but most of them improve with daily repetition at one position.
I wholeheartedly agree with S222. I think the upside of Span is that it saves us great money. Money they need to spend to get the best SP around, and that is still Greinke. As far as the cost of signing him is concerned, and our worries that we need to save money to lock in our other players, a dollar (in baseball) is not what it used to be. The team will have at least 30MM more per year from MASN (and that will reset in five years time again), plus an additional 20MM or so from the national TV contracts and probably another 10MM in ticket and stadium sales. All together that is an increase of 60MM (at least) or so from next year, more than enough to keep the team going.
Baseballswami, very true. It's a contract year for Morse which will add to his incentive. Expect a big Morse season!
Whatever happened to Chris Marrero?
Isn't this a lot more fun than waiting -- endlessly, it seemed -- on Prince Fielder's decision last offseason?
It's hard to imagine LaRoche settling for a 2 year deal. Although I imagine that Rizzo's Plan A is LaRoche at 1b for 2013-2014, it's looking more and more like we'll see plan B - Morse at 1b in 2013 and move Zim to 1b in 2014, unless Morse has another year like 2011 and can reach an agreement with the Nats for an extension. I'll be sorry to see either LaRoche or Morse go, but it will be good to have Moore's bat coming off the bench again.
NI Watcher, I think Marrero was seen here:
http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/10/3228241/that-guy-the-worst-baseman-or-the-no-hit-first-baseman
I love being in the win/win situation with LaRoche & Morse. I agree with others that Morse will work hard at his craft and improve at first base. It was a small sample size but his hitting was certainly outstanding in the time he played there in 2011. The fact that he is in a move year on his contract should also help greatly.
I believe Rizzo will not go higher than two years with LaRoche, but I have no inside information on that.
On the title of this post, I was talking to my son last night, we were both excited and I did not have data but I mentioned that the great thing about this was we were not tied up for 5 years and that Span could do pretty much what Upton and Bourn can do in the field. I love this trade!!
Marrero's looking for an agent who speaks Japanese.
Does anyone know when we will hear about the non-tendering situation? Six hours to go? I would also be interested to know if any other teams pursued Span. Seems like they were focused on the bigger names/bigger dollars. I find that after 24 hours I am much more ok with this deal. I always marvel at how Rizzo can sneak in the back door with no rumors, no muss, no fuss and pull off something special. I wish some reporter would follow him around for 24 hours - if they could keep up with him -- it would be fascinating.
Braves non tendered jurjins and moylan.
Chase Hughes? No, the logic that Dan Kolko makes the most sense. At least to me. Looks to me like they picked prospects over payroll in this transaction. Even in losing Alex Meyer and gaining an inexpensive left-handed CF still under 30.
I made the mistake of thinking the Nats would use their trove of prospects to pick up a left-handed (per Drew's suggestion) starter like David Price. Of course Price probably became too pricey when he won the Cy Young. And apparently the Rays have thought better of bleeding top talent while hoping to replace it from the enormous spigot their farm system promised to provide.
I thought the FO would go the cheaper, monetarily, route of signing a left-handed hitting outfielder like Swisher. While trading the farm for a top, young left-handed starter.
Even though it cost them Alex Meyer it would appear that Nationals consider their prospect trove far more valuable than their payroll because it now sure looks like the next shoe to fall should be Zach Grienke to go with Denard Span. The principal owner apparently still likes him.
Span is more of a Riggleman player and Rizzo has often talked about building rosters like that. I assumed it was because Riggleman was the manager, but apparently the Nats FO doesn't entirely buy into the Davey/Earl of Ballimer philosophy.
In Davey's case its not going to bother him. He still has left handed Corey Brown who is a power hitting outfielder with superlative fielding skills for his bench. He still has Roger Bernadina who now appears to be a "tweener". Plus he has Tyler Moore and Michael Morse on the right side both at first and in the outfield as well as on the bench.
Plus, as Kolko mentions, now they have time to see what Goodwin does in the minors and he is definitely not a slap hitter. BUT, he is having problems hitting left-handed pitching among other things.
BUT, they still need left-handed relief in addition to another starter.
Let's assume they sign Grienke.
Then they need to trade for left-handed relief using Morse and Bernadina both now proven quantities. That would leave Brown and Lombardozzi as the backups along with Tyler Moore either on the bench or in the field. If he isn't selected in the rule 5 Jeff Kobernus plus Chris Marerro are possibilities as bench bats.
They are kind of stuck until Purke, Solis, Turnbull, and Mooneyham prove their mettle. They need at least one short relief power pitcher and Gorzelanny and Duke are more setup, middle to long.
Darn it. I always liked the way the Nats beat up on Peter Moylan. Can the Phillies sign him now?
What LaRoche wanted most in his next contract was a place where he could buy a home, put his kids in school and play for a winning team. He isn't getting it here -- or at most is getting a two-year play -- and I doubt whether there is any other place where he can get it. There are places (Pittsburgh, Oakland, Miami) that wouldn't give him the money; places where he wouldn't be on a winning team (Colorado, Cleveland, Seattle). About the only places I can imagine he could get three years -- and maybe enjoy living there -- are Texas and Houston. And Texas has several internal options, and Houston has a 1B who just finished AA.
His timing just isn't right.
Chris Marrero as a bench bat? Nah. Thank goodness we're way past that.
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Chris Marrero is this century's Larry Broadway.
Theophilus T. S. said...
What LaRoche wanted most in his next contract was a place where he could buy a home, put his kids in school and play for a winning team.
The last one, sure. But the first two? No way. The dude is a cattle rancher and deer hunter in the offseason, which also happens to be the timeframe when kids are in school. So if he does buy a home in whatever city he plays in, it's going to be a second home. He's not going to live in that city year-round like Werth does. His home is always going to be Kansas, no matter what team he plays for.
ALR does not seem much like a city guy. And is there any word on the tender situation? Isn't the deadline mid- night?
Peric - long post but do you like the aquisition of Span or mot?
Swami, just checked the twitter feed and as usual, Rizzo is acting like the head of the CIA.
Well, LaRoche could live in Warrenton, VA is only 40 minutes away from D.C, with great schools, and a lot of deer to hunt!
NF in Brazil, on a good day Warrenton is a about 1.5 hours. Sorry, the traffic stinks out that way now. On a normal day, it would be a minimum of 2 hours probably longer.
MIcheleS, how is that? i used to live there, 2011, and my american dad worked on a company that was really close to the nats park, he usually took a hour to get home! did the traffic change so much since I left? well still a great city :)
Depends on what time of day you leave at. If you are in rush hour traffic, it's an hour at a min to get from Warrenton to the Beltway.
O' s not signing Reynolds. The ranks of the unemployed players begins to lengthen .
Peric - long post but do you like the aquisition of Span or not?
I see Span as a better Nyjer Morgan, better make up, more stable, consistent performer and fielder. He is team controllable at a very reasonable cost for three years. Because of that he doesn't block any player from beating him out for his spot as Jayson Werth and his contract currently do. Also, he isn't really a Davey Johnson kind of CF or hitter given how enamored he is with Harper? And Rendon's bat?
Also, its not what I expected Rizzo to do. Instead of using multiple prospects to get another top left-handed pitcher he decided to keep the prospects (well, let's face it the farm system is getting awfully thin again after Rendon, Giolito, and a couple of others) and go for the best free agent pitcher he could. In my mind that means Ted Lerner is in play and is involved in once again trying to get Grienke to come to DC. I think Ted Lerner wins this time.
If Corey Brown or Roger Bernadina or Harper beat Span out in spring training or during the season for the CF spot it doesn't hurt the Nats to make him a bench player given his contract. Not at all like the huge no-trade Werthian contract. I imagine they feel they need to get a year or two more out of Jayson as a starter before they decide they can do that with him. Unlike Werth Span can be traded and would be valued by other GM's.
So, its not a bad deal all things considered but I do consider it a precursor to bigger things as the offseason unfolds. They still need that starter and they still need one or two back-end of the bullpen left-handed power relievers.
Nats non-tender John Lannan.
Lannan non- tendered. Kind of sad. He hung in for us during the rough years and really showed up for us this year.
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
#Nationals' non-tenders: Gorzelanny, Lannan, Flores.
Lannan, Gorzelanny, and Flores.
Two left-handed starters. Rizzo must have something up his sleeve trade-wise.
peric said...
Nats non-tender John Lannan.
November 30, 2012 10:39 PM
_________________________________
Now you won't have to complain about him any more.
In no universe do I see Brown beating Span for cf. To me they finally got the guy they wanted for a price they could swallow. With Goodwin I'm the pipe I can't see Brown with any more of a role then Bernsdina has had with this team.
Flores and Gorzelanny, too. Not too much of a surprise. Just kind of sad.
Surprised about Lannan. Seemed smarter to string him along until ST at least, until they were sure the 5th starter slot was locked up.
And yeah, it is kinda sad. No one was ever going to confuse him with an ace, but seems like a good guy who does the best with what he has.
Three slots open up on the Nat's 40-man roster that makes it 36 with 4 slots open.
Surely this list will grow as other teams report. Sad night in MLB.
Peric: once again you provide great humor to this blog. "If Corey Brown or Roger Bernadina beat Span out in Spring Training" Do you really think about what you write before you write it?? We sent a top prospect to the Twins, Rizzo has wanted Span for over two years and you still are trying to promote your minor league hero Corey Brown. This is a great trade and Span is a proven major league player. Bernadina is just fine as a #4 outfielder and Brown could fill in the same spot but neither one can provide what Span does. It's ok for you to not have all the answers and when you post like this it just gives Natsjack and others more ammunition to take shots.
Its not close to being a bad deal, its actually the perfect deal for what we needed and you are correct that we still need the starter and bullpen help but I think it has been shown that they do not have to be left-handed. See pdowdy about a week ago. Surprised someone here actually felt they needed to ask you how you felt. I was also surprised you didn't take up space to write about LannEn and his lack of ability.
Go Nats
In no universe do I see Brown beating Span for cf. To me they finally got the guy they wanted for a price they could swallow. With Goodwin I'm the pipe I can't see Brown with any more of a role then Bernsdina has had with this team.
A lot of people have said that about guys like Morse, T-Mo until he proved he could hit for power in AA and learn to field decently. Cllippard was terrible ... and then?
Never say never again SCNat just as Sean Connery learned when Talia Shire convinced him to play an older lecherous Bond in her movie.
Well of course he thinks about it, sjm. That kind of silliness, day in and day out, can't be accidental.
Wow. Gorzo, Flores, Lannan all non-tendered. Shows what I know. Rizzo is ruthless.
Span ends up a bench player because Brown or Bernadina beats him out in ST? Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahha. peric, you've outdone yourself with this one.
We sent a top prospect to the Twins, Rizzo has wanted Span for over two years and you still are trying to promote your minor league hero Corey Brown. This is a great trade and Span is a proven major league player.
And so if Brown started popping off home runs and extra base hits or Bernadina Davey? ~laughing~
That's the good part of this deal. Span HAS TO EARN the job. He already lost the CF job to another guy in "Minnesoda" right? What makes you think it can't happen here with Davey?
That's the great thing: Span has to prove he deserves to start every single year. If he gets injured he could lose the slot. He isn't a "shoo-in" as a starter because of his huge contract with a no-trade like Jayson Werth.
So, if Span is so great? A perennial All Star? How did he lose his job to Ben Revere? C'mon, of course Span can lose out to one of the other guys that's one of the attributes of the deal that makes it a winning deal. Span can't block anyone. Not Brown, Bernadina, Goodwin, nor even potential Michael Taylor because you just never know.
Rizzo may try to re-sign Gorzo. Surprised he didn't tender Lannan and trade him.
I understand Flores but the two lefties leave me a little baffled. I would be hopeful that Rizzo tries to re-sign Gorzo and that he is open to that.
No left relievers under contract.i sure that Rizzo has a plan or two. I would love to see Burnett stay.
Peric - no one here said Span was an all-star. Its just that Brown and Bernadina have had YEARS to establish their credentials and it appears that Span has done a better job. Just let it go, you said something silly and as usual, were called on it. Span has better stats and better credentials than both Bernadina and Brown. In fact, I like Brown but he has not been able to produce to the liking of Davey or Rizzo. Hence, they trade for Span. Brown could hit .500 this spring and Span will still get the start if he is healthy. Its just the way it works.
ouch lannen, gorzo, and flores tendered, i didn't see gorzo coming, we really need a lefty in the pen, hopefully rizzo has something good up his sleeve, also, what was the point of non-tendering gorzo he was a very good lefty long reliever last season plus i don't remember that his contract has that hefty, someone want to explain that move to me?
Remember, all peric is is a long-winded version of JayB. The same fixation on a totally irrational view of certain players and their role in the Nats' past, current or future success. No point arguing with him. It's like the old saying about trying to teach a pig to sing. He'll never learn and all it does is annoy the pig.
i kind understand what peric is saying.if u think about it, it makes sense.imagine span starts the season the way pujols did last season, he could be benched? Yes, he will? Probabilidade not, but he could.
Just saying that davey hás no obriglation in starting span like he hás To werth or harp or zim
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