Davey: No trades "imminent"

Associated Press

DETROIT — As the clock winds down to today's 4 p.m. trade deadline, the Nationals appear to be staying true to their word and refraining from making any moves that would alter their roster for the season's final two months.

Manager Davey Johnson spoke with general manager Mike Rizzo, who remains in Washington with other top front-office execs, this morning and came away with the same vibe he's had all week: Rizzo isn't planning any deals.

"He's always trying to do something to help the club," Johnson said. "But it didn't seem like there would be anything imminent."

The Nationals have maintained all along they didn't feel like a significant roster change would be prudent, neither as a way to boost a struggling club trying to get back in the pennant race nor as a way to dump veteran salaries. Entering today's series finale in Detroit, the Nationals are a season-high 10 games behind the Braves in the NL East, 6 1/2 games behind the Reds for the NL's final Wild Card berth.
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McCatty still in D.C. hospital

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DETROIT — Steve McCatty remains in a D.C. hospital two days after he was admitted with high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat, but the Nationals hope their pitching coach will be released on Wednesday and rejoin the club sometime soon after that.

"Cat's doing alright," manager Davey Johnson said before tonight's game against the Tigers. "They're just keeping him the hospital tonight, and then they'll probably let him out tomorrow. Just being really careful with him, and I'm glad they're doing that."

McCatty, 59, was taken to the hospital Sunday morning after he experienced atrial fibrillation at Nationals Park before the club's series finale against the Mets. He has been receiving medication for the condition since and was hopeful of joining the Nationals on their Monday afternoon charter flight to Detroit.

Doctors, though, want McCatty to remain in the hospital until the medication takes full effect and allows him to travel without concern. It's unclear when that will be the case, but it's unlikely he'll return to the dugout in time for Wednesday afternoon's finale of this brief, two-game series in Detroit, his hometown.
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Nats not real active as deadline arrives

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DETROIT — While most of the baseball world approaches Wednesday afternoon's trade deadline with fervor, clubs clearly setting themselves up to be buyers or sellers, the Nationals' response to the annual late-July frenzy appears to be a shrug.

Positioned neither as a strong contender seeking a big boost to get over the hump nor as an also-ran seeking to dump veterans, the Nationals don't expect to do anything bold before the 4 p.m. deadline arrives.

As much as their lineup has underperformed, the Nationals don't have an obvious hole to fill. All eight regulars are under team control for another year, all but Adam LaRoche under control through at least 2015. And those eight players, taken collectively, have been more productive than you might have guessed: They've combined to hit .272 with a .338 on-base percentage and .448

Davey on potential for more trades

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PHILADELPHIA — Though he knows the Nationals haven't gotten the kind of performance he's hoped from the back end of his rotation, manager Davey Johnson said today he doesn't expect the club to pursue pitching help before this month's trade deadline.

Johnson cited the pipeline of young pitching that should arrive in the big leagues by next season as reason not to acquire another starter now.

"One of our areas that we have very little depth in, obviously, is starting pitching," he said. "But after this year and early into next year, some of our young starters should be knocking at the door here. As far as making a move and picking up somebody, a lease just for the short-term, I don't think that's in our plans because I think we have enough talent here and enough coming that we wouldn't do that."

Johnson believes the return of a healthy Ross Detwiler after the All-Star break, and continued improvement from Dan Haren will give the Nationals five starters that can withstand a pennant race.

Beltway Baseball - 8/2/12

Did Mike Rizzo make the right decision standing pat at the trade deadline? How might the deals made by other NL contenders affect the Nationals down the stretch? What's up with Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper's recent struggles?

CSNwashington.com's Chase Hughes, the Washington Times' Amanda Comak and I discussed all that and more during our latest episode of Beltway Baseball. We also answered your questions on several subjects.

Enjoy the show!

Submit questions for Beltway Baseball

July has transitioned into August, and that means it's time both to look back at the trade deadline and look ahead to a pennant race that is about to turn an already-blazing D.C. summer even hotter.

CSNwashington.com's Chase Hughes and the Washington Times' Amanda Comak will join me this afternoon for a taping of the latest episode of Beltway Baseball. And as always, we'll take your queries on the Nats.

Submit your questions here in the comments section, then check back tomorrow morning when we post the full episode...

Rizzo: "We like who we are"

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Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo didn't feel the need to make a trade today.

Updated at 6:00 p.m.

As every other NL contender around them made waves in the hours and minutes leading up to today's trade deadline, the Nationals made a self-evaluation and determined their best course right now was to stay the course.

Despite potential interest in adding a veteran catcher, infielder or starting pitcher, general manager Mike Rizzo decided to stick with the status quo, counting on young players currently on his roster to come through during Washington's first pennant race in three generations.

"All along, we said we like who we are and we like where we're at, the composition of the roster," Rizzo said. "We didn't see a whole lot of holes to fill. It's not about complacency. It's about making good, sound decisions and not taking the short route with rental players that could affect us long-term. We feel we're in a position to play meaningful games into September and beyond, and there wasn't a whole lot of necessity to make a deal."

Rizzo did work the phones down to the wire and held discussions with fellow GMs about several available players but ultimately felt the price was too high for pieces that would not have filled major roles anyway.
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VIDEO: Zuckerman on Desmond, Lannan

Mark joined Julie Donaldson on SportsNet Central last night to discuss the Nationals heading into the trade deadline. Towards the end of the segment he talked specifically about the absence of Ian Desmond and whether John Lannan may be the replacement for Stephen Strasburg in September.

Trade deadline day: 1 hour to go

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Mike Rizzo may not be on his phone that much today.

Updated at 3:00 p.m.

There are, depending on which direction the wind is blowing at any given moment, 18 teams with a halfway legitimate shot at reaching baseball's postseason right now. And nearly every one of those 18 teams is looking to make -- or already has made -- a move to bolster its chances down the stretch before today's 4 p.m. trade deadline passes.

Just look at some of the National League's top contenders. The Braves tried to get Ryan Dempster and Zack Greinke, failed on both counts and then last night scooped up Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson from the Cubs.

The Dodgers pulled off a major trade last week in snagging Hanley Ramirez from the fire-selling Marlins, then late last night added reliever Brandon League from Seattle. Their NL West rivals, the Giants, got Marco Scutaro from the Rockies and now have been linked in talks to acquire either Hunter Pence or Alfonso Soriano.

The red-hot Reds are rumored to be interested in Matt Garza. While the surprising Pirates, who already traded for Wandy Rodriguez last week,

Nats not actively pursuing infielder

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The Nats appear comfortable with Steve Lombardozzi at second base for now.

NEW YORK -- Despite a lack of organizational depth at the position, the Nationals are not actively seeking to acquire a middle infielder in the wake of Ian Desmond's placement on the disabled list.

According to a club source, the Nationals are content to move forward with Danny Espinosa at shortstop, Steve Lombardozzi at second base and Mark DeRosa as their backup infielder until Desmond is ready to return from a tear of his left oblique muscle.

Desmond is likely to miss at least a month, but the source said the Nationals don't believe any potential backup infielders available before next week's trade deadline provide a significant enough upgrade for the price they would cost.

Team officials aren't willing to deal away any top prospects for a two-month rental, and neither are they willing to take on a hefty contract for such a player. That would seem to rule out the likes of Minnesota's Jamey Carroll (still owed about $5 million through 2013) or Colorado's Marco Scutaro (owed about $2 million the rest of this season).
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2nd half storylines: The trade deadline

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Mike Rizzo will be making and receiving plenty of calls over the next 2 1/2 weeks.

The Nationals open tomorrow what promises to be the most compelling second half to a season since the franchise arrived in town in 2005, owners of the NL's best record but saddled with several major questions that need to be answered.

Today we're counting down the five most significant storylines to the remainder of the Nationals' season. Next up is storyline No. 3: Whether GM Mike Rizzo tries to bolster his roster before the July 31 trade deadline...

The Nationals have frequently been active around the trade deadline. They've just usually spent late July trying to move veterans to contending clubs in exchange for prospects.

Not so this summer. For the first time in seven years, they have no interest in selling at the July 31 deadline. But do they have interest in