Rumor Of The Day
From Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, discussing the Nationals bullpen problems:
OK, so who’s next in line if the Nats are looking for (more) replacements? Trades are always a possibility, but a tough one. This season, for reasons that only smarter people can explain, relief pitching has been brutal across baseball. In 2008, MLB bullpens had a combined 4.08 ERA. This year, it’s 4.39. When you’re talking about averages spread across so many teams, that’s an incredible jump. Which is one of the reasons why the trade market isn’t so hot. The other reason, of course, is what the Nats have to offer. They could presumably trade one bad contract for another — say, Austin Kearns ($8 mil) for Seattle reliever Miguel Batista ($9 mil); this trade possibility has been discussed — but that’s the extent of it. Mostly, help will have to come from within the system.
Kearns is right-handed and the M’s don’t exactly need another right-handed hitting outfielder, but still, this is one of those say-yes-as-fast-as-possible type moves. Why the Nationals would even consider swapping Kearns (who is hitting .261/.414/.522 right now) for Batista is beyond me.
Looks like Kearns is in the last year of his deal but he does have a club option in 2010 for $10 mil.
I like Kearns, has always been a good OBP guy and while I agree that we don’t need another righty bat, we do need players that can display patience at the plate.
But if the M’s were to get Kearns, what would happen to Balentien? What about a Kearns/Chavez platoon in LF and a Balentien/Griffey platoon at DH?
Or, could the M’s find a way to get Nick Johnson who would seem to be a better fit.
I would assume the M’s would decline the 2010 option on Kearns if they got him…
Looks like his UZR has been 13.7 the last two years so he has a pretty good glove in the OF. Please let this happen!
I would figure, if this deal actually happened, that there’d be a good chance we’d pick up Kearns’ option. Righty or not, even given the way he’s scuffled the last couple years, the guy has a lot of ability.
I don’t even care if there’s a place for Kearns on this roster. If it meant getting something – anything – of value at the expense of Batista, I’d slot Kearns in at hot dog vendor just to make it work.
I was thinking that, if this deal were to go down, Zduriencik probably already has another deal lined up with Kearns as a centerpiece.
Really, is there any indication this is anything but your typical newspaper-reporter-sitting-in-his-mother’s-basement making up stuff to write about? I mean, anybody can run down a list of bad contracts and find a near match on the numbers, regardless of how much sense it makes in practice. The difference, of course, is that “real” journalists are supposed to try to get a second source and a confirmation, denial, or at least a “no comment” from the team. Though these days, it’s hard to tell what we’re dealing with, particularly when it’s a guy who told another reporter “I don’t like sports — I am embarrassed that I cover them” and “I can’t wait to stop. It is a means to an end and a paycheck.”
Hmmm,
This is interesting. Obviously, the biggest conundrum comes with what to do with either WLAD of Sweeney. The M’s couldn’t keep all three, unless they dropped a pitcher, which, given the recent struggles of Silva and Jaku, will not happen. But getting Kearns and getting rid of Batista is worth the potential logjam of righty hitters.
On a slightly related not, Balentien has proved himself worthy of a roster spot as a platoon partner with Endy. Hopefully he will start tonight. That may make the interest in Kearns on the part of Zduriencik less that what it would have been in February.
Wow, this would be the easiest deal ever. Trade Batista, drop Sweeney, call up one of our relief arms, and all of a sudden our team is much better. Of course, this would require that Washington is that dumb – maybe we can throw in a low-level prospect to help them out?
No, this is them still feeling bad about the Jose Vidro situation. They owe us.
The Nats have a logjam in the OF (Dunn, Kearns, Dukes, Willingham, Milledge). I’ve heard they want to eventually move Dunn to 1B (and I’m assuming recall Milledge) but Johnson hasn’t gotten hurt yet and is producing.
Now why they would trade him or anyone for Batista is one of life’s great mysteries.
And while they’re at it, throw in some cash and maybe Josh Fields and Yuni to try and romance them out of drafting Strasburg. If only that’s how baseball worked. . .
Well, considering that they seem to be collecting old geezer arms like Julian Tavarez and Ron Villone these days, maybe they figure Miggy will fit right in there.