Nationals Transactions Thread

[Mickey Mental]

Designated OF/1B Matt Stairs for assignment. Been an up and down career for Stairs.

[astrosfanatic]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/1...-gonzalez.html

he Athletics will trade Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals in a deal that further depletes Oakland's pitching staff and adds to Washington's potentially dominant rotation. The deal sends Gonzalez and minor league right-hander Robert Gilliam to Washington in exchange for four highly-regarded young players, including three of the Nationals' top ten prospects: right-handers A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, left-hander Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris. ESPN.com's Keith Law broke the news on Twitter, with Scott Miller of CBSSports.com reporting Gilliam's inclusion in the deal.

Seems to me like the A's went for Quantity over Quality in this deal. I know some of the experts say that the prospects were very good, but when i look at their minor league stats, i am not overly impressed with any of them except for maybe Malone. Cole is too young and inexperienced to make a solid projection, and Norris really struggled last year with the call-up to AA. The A's have their financial concerns, so Gio had to go.

It seems like the Nationals did well in this trade. The NL East teams are making some moves. The Phillies arent running away with the division this year.

[Mudge]

IF Steven Strasburg returns with anything in the gas tank, the Nationals have a pretty solid rotation.

1. Strasburg
2. Gonzalez
3. Hernandez
4. Zimmermann
5. Lannan

[Old Sweater]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/1...-gonzalez.html



Seems to me like the A's went for Quantity over Quality in this deal. I know some of the experts say that the prospects were very good, but when i look at their minor league stats, i am not overly impressed with any of them except for maybe Malone. Cole is too young and inexperienced to make a solid projection, and Norris really struggled last year with the call-up to AA. The A's have their financial concerns, so Gio had to go.

It seems like the Nationals did well in this trade. The NL East teams are making some moves. The Phillies arent running away with the division this year.

I don't buy that.

Lewis N. Wolff (commonly shortened to Lew) is an American real estate developer. Wolff is also known for owning sports franchises; he is currently the co-owner of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. He attended the University of Wisconsin where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity [1] and a fraternity brother of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Wolff is credited with the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown San Jose, where for many years he was the largest developer of office, hotel, and parking.

Biography

Wolff graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis in 1961.

In 1994, Wolff founded Maritz, Wolff & Co with Philip Maritz in St. Louis, Missouri.[2] The company owned interest in eighteen hotel and resort properties around the world, including the Fairmont San Jose Hotel, the Fairmont San Francisco, the Carlyle Hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Nevis, the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, and the Park Hyatt Sydney.[3] In 2011 Wolff and his partner, Philip Maritz, orchestrated the $800 million sale of five hotels, including The Carlyle and the Rosewood Management Company to New World, a Hong Kong based real estate and hotel company.

Wolff has a long history of sports franchise ownership. In the past, he has been a co-owner of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League and the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association.[4] On April 1, 2005, Wolff and an ownership group purchased the Oakland Athletics baseball team; Wolff became the 8th owner of the franchise purchasing the interests of Stephen Schott and Ken Hofmann.[5] In 2006, the A's ownership group purchased an option to revive the San Jose Earthquakes franchise of Major League Soccer.[6] At the 2007 MLS All Star Game, it was announced that Wolff has exercised the option, and the Earthquakes began play during the 2008 MLS season.[7] In January 2011, it was speculated that he had interest in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers, but later denied this.

A group led by developer Lewis Wolff bought the A's for $180M in April, 2005. Forbes magazine valued the club at $307M in March, 2011. Wolff is the group's managing general partner & has a 10% share. The group also includes Wolff's son, Keith, and John Fisher, son of Gap founder Donald Fisher, who holds the majority stake in the group. Team president Michael Crowley & general manager Billy Beane also received small ownership stakes.

The A's could go out on the limb a bit to increase demand instead of nursing the gauranteed money each and every year. Looks like Wolff is working San Jose just the way that Loria worked Miami and being frat tight with Selig, sure can't hurt, along with the fact that he is already tight with San Jose.

Topic related, good for the Nats and bad for the A's fans, as usual.

[Mr. Baseball]

The Nationals have granted a minor-league contract to former Cardinals' outfielder Rick Ankiel. The deal also includes an invite to Spring Training.

Last season with Washington, Ankiel batted .239 with 9 HR and 37 RBI while playing in 122 games.

More Information: http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=150449

[yankeebiscuitfan]

The Nationals have granted a minor-league contract to former Cardinals' outfielder Rick Ankiel. The deal also includes an invite to Spring Training.

Last season with Washington, Ankiel batted .239 with 9 HR and 37 RBI while playing in 122 games.

More Information: http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=150449

Man, it will be tough for Bernadina to claim a roster spot.

[RickD]

Ankiel.....can't believe he is still going to give it a try!

[Mr. Baseball]

Ankiel.....can't believe he is still going to give it a try!

What's hard to believe? The level of determination it takes to be a professional ballplayer is incredible. No player should ever give up because of a bad streak. I hate the 30 year-old players that have two bad years, get sent down to the minors, then retire at 32 because they aren't getting called up.

Stick with it!

[yankeebiscuitfan]

After John Lannan was demoted to AAA, he made clear that he wanted to be traded.
Right now it doesn't look like he will see his wish granted. According Davey Johnson, the Nationals will keep him.

Lannan was one of the most consistent starting pitchers of the Nats, since joining their rotation in 2008.

In 33 starts last season, Lannan was 10-13 with a 3.70 ERA (the second-best ERA among the team’s starters behind Jordan Zimmermann’s 3.18 mark).

To be continued?

[DaaBoTownSox]

Nationals purchased the contract of C Carlos Maldonado from Triple-A Syracuse.

He'll replace the injured Sandy Leon (ankle) on the active roster. Maldonado, 33, was hitting .211/.273/.380 in 21 games with the Chiefs this year and has a .185/.274/.370 batting line in 62 career plate appearances at the big league level. He can be ignored in fantasy leagues.