SB Nation DC - Washington Nationals Sign Edwin Jackson, May Be Shopping John Lannan

Nationals Trade Rumors: Red Sox, Tigers 'Most Serious' About John Lannan

2012-03-19T22:02:47Z

Washington Nationals left-hander John Lannan has a pair of teams interested in his services, says Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. According to a Tweet on Monday, March 19, the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers are the two teams "most serious" about acquiring Lannan from Washington.

Still hear #Tigers, #RedSox most serious on Lannan. Two issues: #Nationals' desire to clear Lannan's entire $5M and LHP's blah spring. #MLB
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 19, 2012

Mike Rizzo denied the team's interest in trading Lannan prior to the start of spring training; however, a so-so spring from the lefty with hefty contract could have them re-thinking that position.

Trading Lannan would clear $5 million in salary from the books.

Lannan has allowed 14 hits and seven earned runs in nine innings of work this spring. Opposing batters are hitting .378 against him, and he has a 1.89 WHIP, second-worst of any pitcher on the team this spring.

Lannan is likely to break camp with the Nationals in a bullpen role.

For more Nationals coverage, check out Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nationals community.

Edwin Jackson Has Been Traded A Lot

2012-02-03T17:10:17Z

Edwin Jackson's One-Year Contract With Nationals Is Worth $11 Million

2012-02-03T16:46:27Z

The Nationals agreed in principle with Edwin Jackson on a new contract on Thursday, but he was in Washington this morning finishing up his physical before the deal could be official. He passed, and the contract has now become official. Adam Kilgore has some new details for the contract, including exactly how much it will pay him, over at the Washington Post.

Some new details emerged today on Edwin Jackson's contract, from a person with knowledge of the deal. Jackson will make $11 million in 2012, not $10 million as had previously been widely reported, including by The Post. Jackson's deal also includes significant award bonuses for making the all-star team, receiving Cy Young and MVP votes and postseason awards.

At that value, Jackson is a risk worth taking for the Nationals. Maybe he pans out and they consider giving him a long term deal at the end of the season. And if he doesn't then his contract is up. You have to think a lot of other teams would like to have Jackson on their payroll under the same circumstances.

For more on Jackson and the Nats, check out our Edwin Jackson StoryStream andWashington Nationals blog Federal Baseball.

Edwin Jackson Signs, And Washington Nationals Let Ride Their Four Horsemen On NL East

2012-02-03T14:32:11Z

After the Washington Nationals signed 28-year old right-hander Edwin Jackson to a one-year deal worth around $10 million on Wednesday, I did something I haven't done since a wild Colt 45-filled night in a Holiday Inn on the Tennessee border long ago. I went to the drawer and pulled out the Good Book looking for some scripture.

I had some idea of what I wanted to find. I don’t claim to be the holiest of rollers, but I knew I had to flip to the back of the book. While thumbing through the bible paper, my mind thumbed across the top of the Nationals rotation and its saints. Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and now Jackson—have mercy! That is a rotation Washington has been praying to have and a rotation their rivals have been praying never to meet.

Sure, up north the Philadelphia Phillies have their "Holy Trinity" in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels; a Bermuda Triangle of pitchers that many of the Phillies faithful believe will one day lead them back to the promised land. But if the 2011 season taught us anything, it is to beware false prophets. That seemingly ordained rotation was infallible and you can certainly argue the Nationals' new rotation still has some work to put in. A lot clearly has to go right.

But I was not looking for its vindication as a new power. I was trying to get a sense of what a rotation of this magnitude might do to the division and what it might mean for the Nationals themselves. What is a better place to look than the big black book? Finally, I found the passages I wanted:

"I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come and see!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest..."

So began the End of Days and the story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Great Seals were broken and the riders were unleashed upon the world as harbingers of doom and judgment before the glory. The book goes on to talk about how these guys brought on earthquakes, famines, horrible wars, the moon turning to blood and other lovely fireside tales to tell the kiddies. Heavy and horrible stuff. Revelations.

Oh, Mike Rizzo. What have you turned out on the NL East?

Jackson has his issues. His career numbers are lackluster: 60-60 overall with a 4.46 ERA. He tends to give up a lot of hits and in the past teams have been willing to part with him for whatever reason. However, Jackson is still young enough that his potential ceiling has yet to be reached. He has postseason experience. He has a cannon for an arm that, when added to the Nationals rotation, makes it a much more potent machine of destruction.

The most important key to the Jackson signing is not necessarily just adding another arm to the Nationals stable or even adding Jackson himself. Rather, it's about sending a message. Last season, the Nationals adopted an "Expect It" motto. In 2012 they have declared, "Expect the Unexpected." After the Nationals "lost" free agent Prince Fielder to the Detroit Tigers, many (including myself) closed shop and figured the Nationals were content to go into the 2012 campaign with what they had. If they did, words like "contenders" wouldn’t be part of the Washington vocabulary right now. Instead, they unexpectedly invested in Jackson and have changed the NL East even without the addition of a mega-signing like Fielder.

The Nationals have signed and sealed their Four Horsemen. Yes, it is a five-man rotation, but the fifth man at this point doesn’t really matter, be it Chien-Ming Wang, John Lannan or Ross Detwiler. The Nationals will have seven deadly sins to choose from when Strasburg reaches his post-Tommy John innings limit, if Zimmermann can’t get to his 200-inning goal or if any unforeseeable events such as injuries happen.

Contention in 2012 now heavily rides on the Nationals' offense and whether they stay healthy or even show up. Rizzo and his Nationals have the pitching thing nailed down and every team in the division is crossing themselves and saying their Hail Mary's. I can’t say with absolute certainty the Nationals will reach Avalon in 2012, but they will certainly wreck absolute havoc on MLB, and much in part of it will come from their Horsemen.

The days of rotations full of the Livan Hernandezs’, Shawn Hills and Tim Reddings are in the history books. A wise man once said, "The meek shall one day inherit the earth." Indeed, it looks like that prophecy is reaching fulfillment, at least in Washington, for the "lowly Nationals" aren’t so lowly anymore.

Amen.

For more on Jackson and the Nats, check out our Edwin Jackson StoryStream andWashington Nationals blog Federal Baseball.

Edwin Jackson Signs With Nationals, Mike Rizzo Denies Shopping John Lannan For Trade

2012-02-02T21:27:15Z

When the Washington Nationals signed free agent starting pitcher Edwin Jackson following the victory in their arbitration case with John Lannan, it appeared that they were going to shop Lannan around and use him to acquire a position player. However, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo spoke to the media following the signing of Jackson, and implied that Lannan will not be shopped.

@chasehughes
Chase Hughes Rizzo: 'We did not acquire Edwin Jackson to trade another starting pitcher.' #Nats
Feb 02 via Twitter for BlackBerry® Favorite Retweet Reply

Rizzo also said that the Nationals are "going to make some tweaks to [Jackson's] delivery." Jackson finished 2011 with a 12-9 record and 3.79 ERA in 31 starts.

If Lannan sticks around, the Nationals' rotation should be a very strong one. Jackson and Lannan would join Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann in a strong group of starting pitchers. Lannan will make $5 million next season, while Jackson was signed to a one-year deal worth approximately $10 million.

For more on Jackson and the Nats, check out our Edwin Jackson StoryStream and Washington Nationals blog Federal Baseball.

Edwin Jackson To Washington Nationals: Former Cardinals' Pitcher's Contract In $10 Million Range, Report Says

2012-02-02T19:10:02Z

The Washington Nationals have signed former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Edwin Jackson to a one-year contract in the $10 million "range," according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman first reported the news, but Rosenthal was first with contract specifics.

Jackson, 27, spent last season split between the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, helping the latter win the 2011 World Series. Overall, he finished with a 12-9 record and 3.79 ERA in 31 starts. He was slightly better for the Cardinals (5-2, 3.58 ERA) than he was with the White Sox (7-7, 3.92 ERA). The Nationals will be his seventh team in his short career.

Washington nearly acquired Jackson at the 2010 MLB Trade Deadline, but he was sent from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the White Sox instead. He joins a rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and, for the time being, John Lannan. The Nationals are reportedly shopping Lannan for a position player.

Click the link for more on Edwin Jackson to the Nationals. For more on the team as a whole, visit Federal Baseball.

Edwin Jackson To Sign With Washington Nationals, According To Report

2012-02-02T18:52:43Z

Initial reports came in on Thursday afternoon that the Washington Nationals were attempting to free up payroll by moving left-handed pitcher John Lannan and targeting free agent RHP Edwin Jackson to solidify their rotation. Now it appears as though the Nats may have already landed their new pitcher.

According to John Heyman of CBS Sports, Jackson and the Nationals are in agreement on a deal. Amanda Comak of the Washington Times confirmed that the agreement between Jackson and the Nationals is for a one-year contract and that Jackson is already in town for a physical before the deal can be signed.

The Nats now appear to have a stacked rotation for 2012 that includes Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Jackson and Lannan. Even if the Nationals are indeed still aggressively shopping Lannan in hopes of acquiring a position player, the rotation is still set to be quite formidable.

For more on the Nationals, please visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nationals blog.

MLB Trade Rumors: Washington Nationals Shopping John Lannan, Targeting Edwin Jackson, According To Report

2012-02-02T18:12:10Z

The Washington Nationals are looking to make some more changes to their pitching rotation prior to spring training, it seems.

According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports, the Nationals won their arbitration case with John Lannan are are now aggressively shopping the southpaw in an attempt to shed payroll and pick up a top-tier free agent. Lannan earned $2.7 million in 2011 and asked for $5.7 million for the upcoming season. The arbitration case came out in favor of the Nats, but his $5 million will make him the highest-paid pitcher on the staff in 2012.

Although the article on FOX Sports mentioned that the Cardinals would be attempting to sign either Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson, Rosenthal followed up with a tweet saying that the Nats would definitely be targeting Jackson, rather than Oswalt, after moving payroll with a Lannan trade. Jackson is a right-handed starter who last played on the St. Louis Cardinals.

William Ladson of MLB.com indicated that the Nats are hoping to get a position player in exchange for Lannan, possibly a center fielder. If they can get a reasonable starting center fielder for the pitcher, that might shore up the outfield in the near future along with Jayson Werth and the eventual arrival of Bryce Harper.

For more on the Nationals, please visit Federal Baseball, SB Nation's Nationals blog.