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The rumors about Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein leaving the organization to join the Chicago Cubs were swirling as far back as June. Theo and the ownership group were at times evasive on the matter but generally denied it. Sometimes, however, there really is no smoke without fire.

After the Red Sox completed their September implosion, Epstein left and took over as president of baseball operations in the Windy City. Signing Epstein when he was still under contract meant Chicago owed Boston compensation.

At first, there was a lot of media attention and debate about whom the Sox should receive in exchange for their GM. The team took it seriously, too, reportedly seeking as grand a prize as the young and very promising Starlin Castro.

Weeks went by with no apparent progress, and it appeared clear the sides weren’t close in their negotiations. As the weeks turned into months, we knew Boston wouldn’t get anyone like Castro in the deal. Indeed, it seemed new GM Ben Cherington would have to be happy to receive anyone above Double-A.

Finally, on February 21, the compensation was worked out. It took them four months, but the sides have now reportedly agreed on RHP Chris Carpenter and a player to be named being sent to Boston for a player to be named.

The Red Sox can count this as a big victory, providing the player to be named later turns out to be someone they’re particularly big on.

Here’s why.

Firstly, these negotiations were so protracted and messy, both sides are lucky they didn’t end up having Commissioner Bud Selig make the decision for them.

Are you happy with getting Chris Carpenter as compensation for Theo Epstein?

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Are you happy with getting Chris Carpenter as compensation for Theo Epstein?

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Secondly, it was looking like the Sox would get a player no one had heard of. Someone who was buried so deep in the minors that he would never see major league action. Not only did they receive a good prospect, he has already pitched in the bigs.

Pitching in June last year, Carpenter made 10 appearances. The 26-year-old was effective, holding his opponents scoreless in eight of those outings. He posted a 2.79 ERA and limited left-handed hitters to a .143 average (2-for-14). Between Double-A, Triple-A and MLB last year, he had 42 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings.

The scouting report is very good, too.

His fastball sits comfortably between 92 and 96 mph but has hit 101 in the Arizona Fall League. He also has a good slider and a decent changeup. Control is his biggest problem, but all the tools are there for him to be a worthwhile late-innings guy.

If he sees big league action at all in 2012, it will be in late September, but when you consider that even a few days ago, it looked like Boston would get a nobody as compensation, this has to be a good result for the Red Sox.

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Dreadlocked slugger Manny Ramirez signs with Oakland A’s.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Me, myself and I have always been the only three people on the planet that newly signed Oakland A’s Manny Ramirez has ever cared about.

And baseball fans, not only in Oakland but around the country, should be dreading what this dastardly designated hitter will do next in his unexpected return to Major League Baseball.

Yesterday, the oft-maligned, mercurial Manny made many murmur when the Dominican-born slugger inked a $500,000 per year minor league contract with the Oakland A’s, his sixth and hopefully last major league team. The recalcitrant Ramirez’s return to MLB was met with the same mix of cynicism and guarded optimism reserved for what a Terrell Owens NFL signing or an Allen Iverson NBA signing would yield. 

The controversy, unprofessionalism and intrigue that have followed the petulant Ramirez during stints with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and most recently with the Tampa Bay Rays are certain to surface again in Oakland with the A’s.

How Ramirez’s LA Dodgers Manny-wood antics with all their distractions will return is not necessarily guaranteed, but is widely expected by everyone who has ever watched this terrifically talented hitter tear the cover off a 90 MPH fastball.

Manny will be Manny with no regard for what he leaves on the base paths behind him.

Expect this malcontent, once again, to march off the field, knock over a water cooler, shove a locker room attendant, ignore the press and then kick the cat when he gets home.

Because that’s Manny being Manny without any concern for anyone or anything except himself. There’s no you or we or us in Ramirez’s company of friends, but merely me, myself and I,  which beckons me to ask: Why don’t paying fans use their collective clout and send a signal to MLB management that Ramirez’s boorish behavior has grown tiresome?

Why should we once again tolerate the nonsense from this 12-time All Star?

Why haven’t his previous teammates collectively kicked Ramirez in the keister?

Why haven’t A’s faithful slowed down Northern California servers with tweets, blog posts and nasty emails decrying the signing of this dreadlocked lout?

Why did A’s management soften its style and succumb to the silly theory that the soon-to-be 40-year-old Manny will actually help a team that finished third in last year’s AL West with a 74-88 record?

How unconscionable for Major League Baseball to allow Ramirez back on the field again after violating the league’s drug policy for a second time.

Without a doubt, the Ramirez signing will dominate sports news today. And, speculation will continue and questions will linger about how Ramirez will acclimate in Oakland before his anticipated return versus the Kansas City Royals on June 2.

However, when you only think in terms of me, myself and I, and your whopping $205 Million in career earnings has been safely secured in the bank, it’s easy to understand why Manny will be Manny again—just this time with the A’s.

Straight talk. No static.

MIKE – aka Mike Raffone – thee ultimate talking head on sports!

http://www.facebook.com/theemikefans           

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The Oakland A’s reportedly have come to an agreement with free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Like it or not—believe it or not—the Oakland Athletics have reportedly come to terms with free agent Manny Ramirez. According to Pedro Gomez of ESPN.com, the A’s brass have reached a deal with the embattled slugger—a deal worth roughly $500,000.

The oft-beleaguered Ramirez has not played in the Major Leagues since last May, when he retired from the Tampa Bay Rays following a second failed drug test.

The impending Ramirez signing adds to a flurry of transactions by the Oakland A’s, a morbidly moribund team that has been surprisingly active this offseason.

The revamped and rebuilding ballclub has lobbied heavily for a new ballpark in San Jose, traded away a slew of key players, extended the contract of its face-of-the-franchise general manager and somehow signed several free agent veterans.

It’s been a roller-coaster winter for the organization, with the signing of Ramirez becoming the plunging corkscrew that will hopefully have fans screaming.

Many have questioned the Athletics’ pursuit of Manny, however. After all, by the time he becomes eligible to play this season, it will have been over a year since he last played a major league game. And, coincidentally, his projected return date is May 30th—his 40th birthday.

What exactly is Oakland’s intention for acquiring an over-the-hill, declining-in-productivity, PED-ically induced Ramirez?

First and foremost, one thing is clear: Oakland has continued to try. Given their circumstances—imagined or not—they are indeed doing their best. While critics have predicted that the A’s will scrape the bottom of their division for a tortuous 162 games, Oakland has surprisingly constructed a roster that has the makings of a spunky and enthusiastic team.

But the Athletics hope that their multitude of small splashes can somehow outdo the cannonballs of their AL West counterparts. Maybe the A’s can compete a little bit this season.

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With the out-of-nowhere catch of Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, and now the addition of Ramirez, the A’s have a lineup that has some promise and excitement, one that Oakland foresees will score some runs and make things happen.

Ramirez’s right-handed power replaces that of the departed Josh Willingham. And, if anything, he’ll provide a light-hearted atmosphere with his Manny Being Manny antics—which fits right in with Oakland’s notoriously laid-back clubhouse personality. Plus, at $500,000, there is little risk in Ramirez. If he fails, he fails. If not, good for Oakland.

Certainly, General Manager Billy Beane and the A’s public relations department are aware of the attention that Ramirez will bring to the franchise—both good and bad. After all, Ramirez sort of disappeared when he “retired” last season following reports of his failed drug test.

The media will absolutely be on his case for him to respond to those unanswered questions whenever he makes his first appearance in spring training. The circus will follow Ramirez wherever he goes for a little while.

But, hopefully, because of Oakland’s dim spotlight, Ramirez can quietly go about his business after the initial crush of questioning dies down. And then he can focus on getting back his health and timing and contributing to his new ballclub. At which point, if all goes according to Oakland’s plans, Ramirez will add to his 555 career home runs and 1,831 runs batted in.

If he produces at a high level, he could become a feel-good story of sorts, and the media attention would shift to Ramirez’s career achievements.

Which would be the perfect irony for the Oakland franchise, one of the first nests for performance-enhancing drugs and steroid use. Everything would come full circle from the hotbed of Jose Canseco’s days with the A’s in the early ’90s, when steroids were initially becoming prevalent throughout the MLB.

To have Ramirez come to and be successful in the Bay Area, the breeding ground of steroids and BALCO so long ago, would be a nice little bow on the use of PEDs in baseball.

To be sure, though, Oakland has perplexed fans with its offseason activity. They have proved that there is one way to run their ballclub: the A’s way.

No matter what hurdles face them, be it territorial rights or low payroll or a recessive economy, the Athletics will keep trying to move forward, keep up and be there in the middle of it all. The signing of Ramirez is proof that they’re certainly going to make things interesting this year.

Follow me on Twitter: @nathanieljue

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Displaying the grip of his trademark pitch, Wakefield delivered many exciting moments in his 19-year career as a knuckleball artist.
Bob Levey/Getty Images

As pitchers and catchers begin to report to start a new, fresh-faced season of Major League Baseball, the game turns a page in its history as long-tenured players like Tim Wakefield and Mike Cameron announce their retirements.

When Tim Wakefield was a rookie in 1992, I was a 10-year-old kid in love with the game of baseball.  I was the embodiment of the movie The Sandlot without the MLB athletic talent of Benjamin Rodriguez (the speed demon who went on to play for the Dodgers in the 1993 film).

I visited the actual farm where Field of Dreams was set in Dyersville, Iowa, throwing from the pitcher’s mound as if it was a sanctuary.

Fascinated by the erratic and unpredictable nature of the knuckleball, I recall studying up on Tom Candiotti of the Cleveland Indians around the same time Wakefield was an unknown rookie.  I recall another knuckleballer, Charlie Hough, had retired in recent years and the game had but one or two established knuckleballers active.

I practiced that pitch with my scrawny 10-year-old limbs and grips, only to see it sail like a sitting-duck changeup.  No movement, no missed bats, some spin and no magic.

The imaginative and spirited mind of my childhood found mystical grace in this American invention of baseball, and the knuckleball embodied the excitement of unpredictability and craftiness possible in sports.

To this day, I practice that pitch knowing full well I’ll never master it.  The nature of a knuckleball pitcher is like a classic underdog story we love as Americans. 

In the impressive list of Red Sox All-time Greats, where does Wakefield stand?

He was my favorite, not necessarily a more talented player than other greats but his service, character and unique knuckleball talent makes him among the top. One of the longest serving Red Sox players with many accolades, just not in the top 10. Middle of the pack of Red Sox greats. Great player but nowhere near an all-time Red Sox great. Submit Vote vote to see results

In the impressive list of Red Sox All-time Greats, where does Wakefield stand?

He was my favorite, not necessarily a more talented player than other greats but his service, character and unique knuckleball talent makes him among the top.

0%

One of the longest serving Red Sox players with many accolades, just not in the top 10.

0%

Middle of the pack of Red Sox greats.

0%

Great player but nowhere near an all-time Red Sox great.

0%

Total votes: 0

Some knuckleball pitchers, like today’s R.A. Dickey, were told they’d never make it without some kind of trick in their repertoire, so they added a knuckler.  Others had arm troubles, thus reducing the impact their weakened fastballs could create. 

The pitch itself is full of false-starts, epic changes of direction and, at other times, a total lack of breaking movement.  The knuckler is a prayer to the controller of the ball’s physics, hoping for seams to grant it the ability to dodge bats.

The knuckler is the slowest pitch to ever scowl ferociously at the biggest bats in baseball history, and win.

As a pitch, it’s the light-hearted fable of the tortoise and the hare meeting the profound wisdom of James Earl Jones’ voice.

Equally important, the knuckler and its master in Wakefield have no advantages in steroid use.  The knuckler is like a chess player who simply innovates a new opening in a storied game without cheating.

As I saw Tim Wakefield today, choking up tears to announce he had to say goodbye to the game he loved, I realized how much history the man has experienced in the game and what it means on the parallel path of all my own lifelong changes, successes and tribulations that I share with so many Americans of this generation.

Nearly 20 years is a lot of baseball.  Wakefield played through three presidents, two of which were second-term leaders of our country.

Tim Wakefield may not have a stat line that screams “Hall of Famer,” and I would be surprised if his current resume gets him into Cooperstown (who’s to say he won’t coach and become a legend in coaching to get him to the Hall, however?).

The 2004 Red Sox squad celebrating its first championship in 86 years. Wakefield experienced every high and low associated with playing the game.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

But the sheer scarcity of his breed of ballplayer—being a knuckleballer and great ambassador to his teammates, fans and community—makes me sure we have witnessed the end to a rare act in baseball history.

In fact, as the game evolves, if the past is any clue into baseball’s future, it is entirely possible fewer and fewer knuckleballers will exist, let alone effective ones like Wakefield.

With this in mind, baseball fans everywhere can celebrate Wakefield’s achievements knowing we may have just witnessed one of the most original, creative and honest performances in baseball history.

Thank you for your 19 years of service, Mr. Wakefield, you’ve done baseball proud.

Source

Displaying the grip of his trademark pitch, Wakefield delivered many exciting moments in his 19-year career as a knuckleball artist.
Bob Levey/Getty Images

As pitchers and catchers begin to report to start a new, fresh-faced season of Major League Baseball, the game turns a page in its history as long-tenured players like Tim Wakefield and Mike Cameron announce their retirements.

When Tim Wakefield was a rookie in 1992, I was a 10-year-old kid in love with the game of baseball.  I was the embodiment of the movie The Sandlot without the MLB athletic talent of Benjamin Rodriguez (the speed demon who went on to play for the Dodgers in the 1993 film).

I visited the actual farm where Field of Dreams was set in Dyersville, Iowa, throwing from the pitcher’s mound as if it was a sanctuary.

Fascinated by the erratic and unpredictable nature of the knuckleball, I recall studying up on Tom Candiotti of the Cleveland Indians around the same time Wakefield was an unknown rookie.  I recall another knuckleballer, Charlie Hough, had retired in recent years and the game had but one or two established knuckleballers active.

I practiced that pitch with my scrawny 10-year-old limbs and grips, only to see it sail like a sitting-duck changeup.  No movement, no missed bats, some spin and no magic.

The imaginative and spirited mind of my childhood found mystical grace in this American invention of baseball, and the knuckleball embodied the excitement of unpredictability and craftiness possible in sports.

To this day, I practice that pitch knowing full well I’ll never master it.  The nature of a knuckleball pitcher is like a classic underdog story we love as Americans. 

In the impressive list of Red Sox All-time Greats, where does Wakefield stand?

He was my favorite, not necessarily a more talented player than other greats but his service, character and unique knuckleball talent makes him among the top. One of the longest serving Red Sox players with many accolades, just not in the top 10. Middle of the pack of Red Sox greats. Great player but nowhere near an all-time Red Sox great. Submit Vote vote to see results

In the impressive list of Red Sox All-time Greats, where does Wakefield stand?

He was my favorite, not necessarily a more talented player than other greats but his service, character and unique knuckleball talent makes him among the top.

0%

One of the longest serving Red Sox players with many accolades, just not in the top 10.

0%

Middle of the pack of Red Sox greats.

0%

Great player but nowhere near an all-time Red Sox great.

0%

Total votes: 0

Some knuckleball pitchers, like today’s R.A. Dickey, were told they’d never make it without some kind of trick in their repertoire, so they added a knuckler.  Others had arm troubles, thus reducing the impact their weakened fastballs could create. 

The pitch itself is full of false-starts, epic changes of direction and, at other times, a total lack of breaking movement.  The knuckler is a prayer to the controller of the ball’s physics, hoping for seams to grant it the ability to dodge bats.

The knuckler is the slowest pitch to ever scowl ferociously at the biggest bats in baseball history, and win.

As a pitch, it’s the light-hearted fable of the tortoise and the hare meeting the profound wisdom of James Earl Jones’ voice.

Equally important, the knuckler and its master in Wakefield have no advantages in steroid use.  The knuckler is like a chess player who simply innovates a new opening in a storied game without cheating.

As I saw Tim Wakefield today, choking up tears to announce he had to say goodbye to the game he loved, I realized how much history the man has experienced in the game and what it means on the parallel path of all my own lifelong changes, successes and tribulations that I share with so many Americans of this generation.

Nearly 20 years is a lot of baseball.  Wakefield played through three presidents, two of which were second-term leaders of our country.

Tim Wakefield may not have a stat line that screams “Hall of Famer,” and I would be surprised if his current resume gets him into Cooperstown (who’s to say he won’t coach and become a legend in coaching to get him to the Hall, however?).

The 2004 Red Sox squad celebrating its first championship in 86 years. Wakefield experienced every high and low associated with playing the game.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

But the sheer scarcity of his breed of ballplayer—being a knuckleballer and great ambassador to his teammates, fans and community—makes me sure we have witnessed the end to a rare act in baseball history.

In fact, as the game evolves, if the past is any clue into baseball’s future, it is entirely possible fewer and fewer knuckleballers will exist, let alone effective ones like Wakefield.

With this in mind, baseball fans everywhere can celebrate Wakefield’s achievements knowing we may have just witnessed one of the most original, creative and honest performances in baseball history.

Thank you for your 19 years of service, Mr. Wakefield, you’ve done baseball proud.

Source

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Former Red Sox outfielder Mike Cameron announced his retirement today, and in an indirect way, his hanging up the spikes could affect the make-up of the 2012 Red Sox pitching staff.

Cameron was signed by the Nationals after a woeful 2011 season with the Red Sox and Marlins, in which he hit .203.

That signing underlines the desperation with which Washington views its centerfield situation. Despite the potential of minor-league phenom Bryce Harper, the Nationals believe he needs more time to work on his recognition of off-speed pitches and the way he approaches left-handed hurlers.

Washington’s options now are Roger Bernadina and Rick Ankiel.

At the same time, Washington has the luxury of too many starting pitchers.

Even before Washington signed Edwin Jackson, I argued that the Nationals were an intriguing potential trade partner for Boston, because the Nats had too many major league starters on their roster. 

Pete Kerzel of MASN wrote, “There’s no way around it: The Nationals have at least one more starting pitcher than spots in the vastly improved five-man rotation that will break camp from spring training in Viera, Fla., in early April.”

And Kerzel made that statement before Jackson was added to the mix. At the time, their starters included Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Chien-Ming Wang, Ross Detwiler, John Lannan, Tom Gorzelanny and Craig Stammen, with Yunesky Maya, Matt Purke and others waiting in the wings.

Push Jackson into the mix—likely as the No. 2 starter—and another pitcher has to drop off the end of the rotation.

I originally thought that if a deal gets done, it would get done late—just before the start of the season. Washington wanted to evaluate their centerfield options—their area of greatest need. So much need, in fact, that they signed Cameron as a non-roster invitee and re-signed former pitcher Rick Ankiel to compete with the immortal Roger Bernadina for the spot until Harper is deemed ready.

Cameron’s decision may move up that timetable.

Washington does still want to get a good look at all their pitchers before making a decision. They do need some insurance, with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Chien-Ming Wang all coming off recent surgeries.

Strasburg is on a 160-inning limit and will be shut down once he reaches that mark. Wang hasn’t pitched 100 innings since 2007, and it is unknown how many innings Zimmermann (who was limited to 160 in 2011) will be able to throw in 2012.

With all those caveats in mind, here’s a look at four Washington starters the Red Sox might pursue.

Lefty Tom Gorzelanny has had a seven-year career as a dependable end-of-the-rotation guy. A second-round pick in 2003, he was one of the Pirates’ top prospects in 2005, and by ’07, he was the staff ace (14-10, 3.88 ERA). His performance inexplicably went south thereafter, and he was traded to the Cubs, where he spent two seasons as a long reliever and fifth starter. He ended up with the Nationals in January 2011.

Tom Gorzelanny
Greg Fiume/Getty Images

For the past four years, he has averaged 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings and only one home run per nine innings. He also doesn’t walk a lot of batters. With the acquisition of Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson and return of ace Stephen Strasburg, Gorzelanny will likely be relegated to long relief if he stays in Washington.

Third-year arbitration-eligible for 2012, he earned $2.1 million last year. In January, he avoided arbitration by signing a $2.7 million deal for 2012.

While he scuffled in the team’s starting rotation last season, he did have some success as a reliever. Since the Nationals are probably viewing him as bullpen fodder, they may not ask a lot for him in a trade. 

In Boston, Gorzelanny could compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. And who knows how good he might be with the Red Sox lineup behind him?

Ross Detwiler, Washington’s first-round pick (sixth overall) in the ’07 draft, is a 6’5” lefty with a mid-90s fastball. He has great stuff and was the first player drafted in 2007 to appear in a major league game, but over the course of his short career, he has dealt with a number of lower body injuries, which have limited him to 29 starts in the majors since 2009. He had surgery in February 2010 to repair a torn hip flexor.

He started 10 games for the Nationals in 2011 and appeared in relief five times, earning an excellent 3.00 ERA for a relatively bad team. Lefties batted only .167 against him. Down the stretch, the 25-year-old left-hander went 2-0 in three starts in which he gave up just 10 hits and two runs in 19 innings.

Ross Detwiler
Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images

Detwiler isn’t slated to reach free agency until after the 2015 season. He is making a relatively paltry sum (by MLB standards) on his current contract. However, he is out of options, meaning he can’t be sent to Triple-A without first being put on waivers, and some other team would claim him for sure. And being a former first-round pick, it may cause the front office to overvalue him.

But does it make sense to stash him in the bullpen? Washington may be better off trading him while he has a decent value.

Right-hander Craig Stammen has had an up-and-down career, complicated by a 2009 operation to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow. He has a somewhat misleading 4.94 ERA in 244 major league innings. Control pitchers like Stammen live and die by the defense behind them, and the Nationals have not played great defense, as his other pitching metrics show.

He was drafted by Washington in 2005 and was called up to the majors on May 20, 2009 after posting a 1.80 ERA in seven Triple-A starts. He worked his way into the rotation, starting 19 games before his Sept. 6 surgery.

Stammen was supposedly ready to go for 2010, and he emerged from spring training as the No. 3 starter. However, he struggled mightily, and on June 7, he was optioned for a time to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs to make room for the phenom, Stephen Strasburg.

He made three Triple-A starts, allowing only five runs in 20 innings and walking only three of the 81 batters he faced. When the Nats needed another starter, they recalled him, and he made another 19 starts in the big leagues in 2010.

Craig Stammen
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

His low walk total, a better-than-average ground ball rate and the fact that he does not give up many home runs have helped keep him at the edge of major league success. He also throws strikes, and a lot of them are swinging strikes.

In 2011, Stammen was optioned to Triple-A for the start of the season. He made 25 starts in Syracuse around a two-week return to the Nationals in June. He was called back up in September and did reasonably well as a reliever, posting a miniscule 0.87 ERA in seven games.

Stammen is now viewed as more of a right-handed long reliever and swingman if someone gets hurt. But he is still young, he’s pre-arbitration eligible and he only earned $402,000 in 2010. He will not be a free agent until 2017, which makes him interesting from a contract perspective.

LHP John Lannan: Of the three Washington lefties previewed here, the one that seems to fit the Red Sox mold the best is Lannan. At the same time, analysts believe that Lannan is the most likely of this group to be traded.

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com writes, ”When we asked an exec of one team that had spoken with the Nationals if they appeared committed to dealing Lannan this spring, his answer was: ’100 percent.’ “

Lannan led the staff in wins, starts and innings pitched in 2011 and is under club control for two more years. Also of potential interest to GM Ben Cherington is Lannan’s ground ball rate: 54.1 percent, which is right up there in Aaron Cook range.

According to Patrick Reddington of FederalBaseball.com, that ground ball rate was the sixth highest among NL pitchers. Lannan also ranked second in double-play balls induced.

Virtually every description of Lannan’s career includes the words “reliable,” “steady” and “back-of-the-rotation starter.” He has made 30 starts in three of the past four seasons, and his 162-game average for innings pitched is 199.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post did some research on Lannan, who ranks in the top eight in his age group in career games started, innings pitched and quality starts. The other seven are Felix Hernandez, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Chad Billingsley, John Danks, Clayton Kershaw and Yovani Gallardo.

Kilgore also reports there are only 26 pitchers in baseball who have thrown at least 710 innings with a 4.00 earned run average or better over the past four seasons. However, the arrival of Gio Gonzales and Edwin Jackson has created a logjam in the starting rotation, and at least one Washington reporter thinks trading Lannan makes sense.

Phil Wood of MASN Sports writes, “I wouldn’t be surprised if veteran lefty John Lannan ends up in some other team’s uniform by opening day. The ballclub likes Lannan, but I suspect they like Ross Detwiler’s stuff a little more.”

Lannan is 27, a bit older than Detwiler, but more importantly, Lannan is already arbitration eligible and will be a free agent after the 2013 season. He will make $5 million (after losing his arbitration case) for 2012, so he will be more expensive than either Gorzelanny or Detwiler. Lannan still became the team’s highest-paid pitcher for 2012. He had asked for $5.7 million after earning $2.75 million last season. 

Detwiler is also a former first-round draftee while Lannan is an 11th round pick. It’s hard to imagine that distinction being lost on the front office.

John Lannan
Greg Fiume/Getty Images

A trade, perhaps for an outfielder, seems to be the best solution for the Nationals. Because Detwiler might offer more upside and because Washington just dealt a number of its young arms to the Oakland Athletics to get Gonzales, they may prefer to keep the younger pitcher and think about moving Lannan.

On Feb. 8, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post wrote that the Jackson deal “seemed to blanket John Lannan’s future here in uncertainty.” He reinforced Kerzel’s point that the Nationals have seven or eight viable starters competing for five spots.

“Based on contract and service time considerations,” Kilgore concluded, “Lannan became widely regarded as the Nationals’ most expendable (read: tradeable) starter.”

On the surface, it does not appear that the Red Sox are an ideal match, because their expendable outfielder who might appeal to Washington—Ryan Kalish—won’t be ready for the start of the season.

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, however, there is reason to believe that a trade could still happen. “It doesn’t have to be a center fielder,’’ one major league source told Cafardo. “They don’t have to get a center fielder in that deal as long as they get a center fielder some other way. The Red Sox make a lot of sense.’’

Perhaps the Nats would take Kalish and muddle along with Ankiel//Bernadina until Kalish is healthy enough to play. Washington is also looking to add bench strength, especially a left-handed bat; if they add a low-level pitching prospect to the deal, the Red Sox could throw in Lars Anderson, a left-handed hitter with potential, to sweeten the deal.

This deal would help Washington address another glaring need: on-base percentage. As the Feb. 13 issue of Sports Illustrated points out, Washington was 12th in the NL last year in runs and OBP, and they didn’t add anyone to help those numbers. The leadoff and No. 2 hitters were particularly hideous, combining for a .285 OBP. (Kalish has a minor league career .365 OBP, while Anderson’s is .372.)

Another reason Washington might deal with the Red Sox is because other teams would press them harder for some of the Nats’ top prospects. The Red Sox would settle for one of the left-handed pitchers listed above.

One caveat: Everything I’m writing here is predicated on the initial presumption that the Nationals have too many starting pitchers.

But isn’t that what folks said about the Red Sox last year? Look what happened.

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