No, this picture isn’t from the celebration. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Gio Gonzalez humbly Instagramed a picture this evening of a document from the mayor of Hialeah in which the city’s mayor, Carlos Hernandez, declared that January 8 be named “Gio Gonzalez Day,” in honor of the Nationals left hander. Gonzalez is originally from Hialeah, and attended Hialeah Senior High School before getting drafted by the White Sox in 2004.

In his first season as a member of the Nationals, Gonzalez posted a 2.89 ERA while leading the National League in wins (21). The left-hander placed third in NL CY Young voting, 20th in MVP voting, and was elected to his second consecutive All-Star Game. Walks were the biggest concern for Gonzalez coming into the 2012 season, but the change of scenery and help of Nationals pitching coach Randy Knorr helped Gio turn in his lowest walk total in three seasons (76). Gonzalez also posted his highest strikeout rate of his career, striking out an average of 9.3 batters per nine innings. 

A nice chap like Gio deserves a holiday named after him. A smile that large and a personality that vibrant deserve some recognition from his peers. Good for him!

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports that the Nationals sent a “top scout” to Vazquez’s most recent start in the Puerto Rican winter league, and have interest in signing him to a minor league deal.

Sep 16, 2011; Washington, DC, USA; Florida Marlins starting pitcher Javier Vazquez (23) throws in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The 36-year old hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2011, when the then-34-year old went 13-11 with a 3.69 for the then-Florida Marlins. However, Vazquez has a career 4.22 ERA, 6 seasons of under-4 ERA under his belt, and finished in the top-5 in Cy Young voting as recently as 2009, when he went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA for the Chicago White Sox.

Though Vazquez will probably not put up those numbers ever again, he will provide a low risk, high reward depth option for a team with Dan Haren as its fifth starter. The recently-signed Haren almost didn’t pass his physical back in December, and had hip issues last season, so signing a veteran like Vazquez as insurance will give the Nationals a replacement option for Haren those issues repeat themselves in 2013. With John Lannan gone, Zach Duke is currently the only veteran option the Nationals could turn to in the event that Haren or another starter went down, and in the event that two of them went down, the Nats would be forced to either rely on an unproven arm or go to a four-man rotation, which seems unlikely given Davey Johnson‘s style.

Vazquez has reportedly been hitting 92-93 MPH in his starts, so the stuff still appears to be there. If that’s the case, expect the Nationals to be aggressive in their pursuit.

Vazquez was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1994, and won 64 games for the Expos/Nationals franchise from 1998-2003. In that time he also led the league in shutouts (3) in 2001, posted ERAs under 4 three times and pitched more than 215 innings in four seasons. Hopefully he’ll choose to finish his career where he started it.

Aug 01, 2012; Washington, D.C., USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche (25) bats during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park. The Philadelphia Phillies won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

I have speculated on numerous occasions that the Red Sox could make a play for LaRoche, because frankly, their the perfect solution for him. He’s seemingly out of suitors besides Washington, and thus has no leverage in demanding three years on a contract. Boston has plenty of money to spend, needs a first baseman, hosts a large media market and has a hitter-friendly ballpark; hardly an undesirable destination.

This news should not be taken lightly either. The Nationals offered LaRoche 2 years and $25-million, and the deal that the Red Sox gave Napoli was for 3 years and $39-million – roughly the same yearly salary. So, there’s evidence that Boston can match and potentially surpass the Nats in a bidding war.

Though nothing is reportedly imminent and LaRoche has shown he’s willing to play the waiting game, he’s also seen several of his suitors fade out, and may look to sign a contract before another one falls off the map. This is, again, pure speculation, but the logic makes perfect sense.