Pete Kerzel

Is Steve Lombardozzi ready for the majors?

Is Steve Lombardozzi ready for the majors?
In all the discussions about how the Nationals are trying to improve their bench for 2012, Steve Lombardozzi's name comes up - but only at the end of the conversation. Most agree that the 23-year-old infielder has a promising career ahead of him; the question remains whether he's ready to contribute at the major league level or whether he needs some more at-bats at Triple-A Syracuse. And then there's the pesky question about where the Nats can use him. Lombardozzi is a favorite among Nats...
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Pete Kerzel

Despite Rizzo's continued denials, Fielder-to-Nationals rumors just won't die

Despite Rizzo's continued denials, Fielder-to-Nationals rumors just won't die
No matter how many times he denies it, no matter how strongly general manager Mike Rizzo says Adam LaRoche is healthy and his team's first baseman for 2012, the Nationals continue to be linked to free agent slugger Prince Fielder. Maybe it's the fact that NatsTown isn't convinced LaRoche's surgically repaired shoulder is fit enough to withstand the rigors of a full season. Maybe it's the fact that Fielder remains unsigned as 2011 becomes 2012 and that his agent is Scott Boras, who has a...
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Byron Kerr

The stuff of Gio Gonzalez

The stuff of Gio Gonzalez
I have focused many of my recent blogs on the impact of losing four top prospects in the trade with the Oakland A's for Gio Gonzalez and a minor league player. Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole, Tom Milone and Derek Norris are all close, or already have major league experience. They can help Oakland now. But the importance of what an experienced left-handed starter can mean to a still young Nationals pitching staff cannot be overstated. The 5-foot-11, 185-lb. southpaw Gonzalez has credentials that...
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Pete Kerzel

Does Michael Morse fit better in left or right field?

Does Michael Morse fit better in left or right field?
If the Nationals are intent on going into 2012 with Jayson Werth as their primary center fielder - as general manager Mike Rizzo told a national radio audience Wednesday - the move creates an opening in right field. Rizzo's proclamation has also stirred up a lot of discussion in NatsTown in the past 24 hours, with curious fans wondering who will be manning the patch of green to Werth's left (for you directionally challenged folks, right field is to Werth's left). Yes, there's a lot of...
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Byron Kerr

New wave of prospects expected to move up from Auburn in spring

New wave of prospects expected to move up from Auburn in spring
The next wave of prospects from the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays, including several late round picks, will begin to fill the rosters of Single-A Hagerstown and advanced Single-A Potomac when the 2012 season draws closer. One of those players we will hear from is former Georgia Tech third baseman Matt Skole, who had a very promising start to his career with Auburn. Skole hit .290 with five homers and 48 RBIs in 72 games. He smacked 23 doubles and one triple, while stealing two...
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Pete Kerzel

Nats seem to be leaning toward Werth in center

Nats seem to be leaning toward Werth in center
Further proof that the Nationals are willing to go into 2012 with Jayson Werth as their primary center fielder: General manager Mike Rizzo pretty much said as much in an interview this morning on MLB Network Radio on Sirius/XM. "We see the 2013 free agent class at center field is much stronger than it is for the 2012 season," Rizzo said. "With that in mind, we know Jayson can handle the center field position. It's not a perfect world for us. He's a good defender out there and is ready,...
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Pete Kerzel

Nationals announce one-year deal with Mark DeRosa

Nationals announce one-year deal with Mark DeRosa
Through their public relations department's Twitter account, the Nationals have announced that they've signed free agent utility man Mark DeRosa to a one-year deal. The 36-year-old has started games at six different positions during his 14-year major league career. He's played everywhere but pitcher, catcher and center field. He is a career .272 hitter with 93 homers and 452 RBIs for the Braves, Rangers, Cubs, Indians, Cardinals and Giants. Last season in San Francisco, he batted .279 in...
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Josh Land

Nationals sign free agent Mark DeRosa to one-year contract

Nationals sign free agent Mark DeRosa to one-year contract
The Washington Nationals today signed free-agent infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa to a one-year contact. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. DeRosa has hit .272 with 179 doubles, 93 home runs and 452 RBI since debuting with the Braves in 1998. His 316 walks in 1105 games render a career on-base percentage of .341. DeRosa is especially versatile having started games at six different positions during his career,...
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Pete Kerzel

Lefty Ballard inks minor league deal with Nationals

Lefty Ballard inks minor league deal with Nationals
Add another name to the list of organizational depth players signed by the Nationals this offseason. Left-hander Mike Ballard has inked a minor league deal with the Nats, per this tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ballard is a 27-year-old native of Norfolk, Va., who has logged a 51-43 record and 4.50 ERA in eight minor league seasons. He spent the first five years of his pro career in the Rangers system before joining the Orioles organization last season, when he went 8-3 with a 3.33 ERA at...
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Pete Kerzel

What if ... Jerry Dipoto had gotten the GM gig that went to Mike Rizzo?

What if ... Jerry Dipoto had gotten the GM gig that went to Mike Rizzo?
Depending on your point of view, general manager Mike Rizzo is either a forward-thinking executive who just made a decisive move that landed the Nationals a front-line starting pitcher with the trade for Gio Gonzalez, or he's the overreacting fool who just mortgaged the club's farm system and future for a chance to win sooner rather than later. But Rizzo's latest deal, whatever it does or does not produce, is also perfect fodder for our "What if?" Wednesday discussion, which this week...
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Byron Kerr

Norris ready for "new opportunity" with the Oakland A's

Norris ready for "new opportunity" with the Oakland A's
Catcher Derek Norris, one of the four top prospects traded last week and considered one of the highest-rated backstops not yet in the majors, believes he can contribute right now with his new team, the Oakland Athletics. Norris has been the prized possession of the Nationals' revamped minor league system, and each season has continued to develop his defense. Norris has jumped from Single-A Potomac Nationals to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, working on his ability to call games and his...
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Josh Land

Strasburg sports beautiful ugly sweater

Strasburg sports beautiful ugly sweater
Hopefully you had very happy and relaxing holiday season, Nationals fans. And if you're like me, you're not too thrilled about having to get back to work. So as you're browsing the internet, pretending to get things done, take a look at Stephen Strasburg's recent getup. Strasburg apparently attended an ugly sweater party recently and, quite honestly, his sweater of choice was as nasty as his breaking ball. The sweater is
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Byron Kerr

Milone looking forward to reuniting with USC teammates at Oakland

Milone looking forward to reuniting with USC teammates at Oakland
Left-hander Tom Milone, one of four players traded by the Nationals for Gio Gonzalez, is excited about his opportunity to pitch for the Oakland A's, but also looks back with admiration to the team that believed in him that first season. Milone, a 10th-round selection by the Nationals in 2008, pitched for the University of Southern California, and was Washington's 2010 minor league Pitcher of the Year. After another spectacular year in the minors in 2011, Milone got his shot to pitch for the...
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Pete Kerzel

Some leftovers from Rizzo's conference call

Some leftovers from Rizzo's conference call
A couple of pre-holiday morsels left over from the conference call with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo after the six-player trade that landed left-hander Gio Gonzalez was formally announced: * Don't buy into all of those rumors about clandestine talks between the Nationals and free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. Asked if Adam LaRoche would be the Nationals' first baseman in 2012, Rizzo said, "That is correct." * While Rizzo continues to search the free agent and trade markets...
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Mel Antonen

O's Jones would be an attractive fit for many clubs needing center field help

O's Jones would be an attractive fit for many clubs needing center field help
The Orioles have apparently talked to the Atlanta Braves about a trade involving center fielder Adam Jones, and while that trade is off for now, it could heat up again. But there is a long list of other teams that might want to trade for Jones. Who knows if the Orioles will trade the All-Star outfielder? They don't have a lot of trade chips, and of the core players, he seems the most likely to go, assuming the right price. Jones has two years left on his contract, and that makes him...
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Pete Kerzel

Rizzo on Gonzalez: "He brings a presence in our rotation"

Rizzo on Gonzalez: "He brings a presence in our rotation"
There's very little about Gio Gonzalez that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo doesn't like. He throws four pitches, gobbles up innings and posts the kind of statistics that make opposing general managers drool with envy. In short, the southpaw is a power pitcher in a game where few hurlers can lay claim to that jb description. If that wasn't evident by the left-hander's presence as the centerpiece of the six-player trade between the A's and Nationals that was finally announced Friday...
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Pete Kerzel

Nationals acquire Gio Gonzalez from A's in six-player deal

Nationals acquire Gio Gonzalez from A's in six-player deal
The Washington Nationals today acquired left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez and right-handed pitcher Robert Gilliam from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for catcher Derek Norris, right-handed pitcher A.J. Cole, right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock and left-handed pitcher Tommy Milone. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The 26 year-old Gonzalez is coming off his finest big league season to date. In 2011, he finished 16-12...
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Pete Kerzel

Five questions (and answers) about Gio Gonzalez

Five questions (and answers) about Gio Gonzalez
The deal is done, finally officially announced by the teams involved Friday night. The Nationals have acquired left-hander Gio Gonzalez and minor league right-hander Robert Gilliam from the A's in exchange for four top prospects: right-handers Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole, left-hander Tommy Milone and catcher Derek Norris. Some of you like the deal, others don't. Curiously enough, in the two weeks since the Winter Meetings ended in Dallas, a good portion of NatsTown has been milling about with...
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Byron Kerr

After Gonzalez trade, what's left in Nationals' system?

After Gonzalez trade, what's left in Nationals' system?
The announcement of the blockbuster trade drew a few gasps at the prospects the Nationals gave up to get left-hander Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A's. Those prospects represented among the top players in the franchise's coveted minor league system, according to Baseball America. Specifically, Brad Peacock (No. 3), A.J. Cole (No. 4), Derek Norris (No. 9) and Tom Milone (No.16 in 2010) were considered among the best the Nationals had to offer. This deal was pretty much the package the...
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Pete Kerzel

Price was high, but Nats finally get workhorse arm in Gio Gonzalez (updated)

Price was high, but Nats finally get workhorse arm in Gio Gonzalez (updated)
There are all kinds of reasons to make a trade - you're trying to fill a hole, you're trying to loosen a positional logjam, you need to create a pathway for a promising young player. The Nationals' acquisition Thursday afternoon of left-hander Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A's in exchange for four prospects solves a glaring need in the Washington rotation: someone to log lots of innings and take the pressure off younger starters coming off injuries. Both sides have agreed in principle to...
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