John Lannan

Early Thursday morning word first came out that John Lannan had lost his arbitration hearing against the Washington Nationals. He will earn $5 Million for the 2012 season, rather than the $5.7 Million he had requested. While the left-hander certainly has some value to the team, it’s important to remember that this was only his second time through arbitration. Lannan will be under team control through at least 2013 before reaching free agency and his 2013 salary will be influenced both by how he performs this season and how much he is paid. He’s a quality pitcher, don’t get me [...]

Jon Heyman (via Twitter) has reported that the Nationals will sign Edwin Jackson to a 1-year deal. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, however, Heyman projects the deal to be in the $8-12 million range. The Nationals did announce the contract agreement this morning, so we know the report is for real. Jackson will join a staff that figures to include Gio Gonzalez, Steven Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and John Lannan, though according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, the Nats are aggressively shopping Lannan. The deal is pending a physical.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Washington Nationals and John Lannan had their arbitration hearing earlier this afternoon. During these hearings it is typical for each side to receive an hour to present their case for what the player should be paid this upcoming season. A group of three independent arbitrators will then decide between the two figures. Washington submitted a figure of $5 Million while Lannan is seeking $5.7 Million. A decision is expected no later than tomorrow. Historically, the Nationals have gone to hearings with seven players since 2005, winning 5 of those decisions.

Each year teams report to Spring Training with high hopes and expectations for the upcoming season. We hear about countless players showing up in the “best shape of their lives”. But ultimately there are always question marks. Questions facing each and every team. Questions facing each and every player. With Spring Training just over two weeks away, let’s take a look at some of the questions facing the members of the Washington Nationals as they arrive in Viera, Florida. To start, let’s look at the pitchers on the current 40-man roster (in alphabetical order for no particular reason). Sean Burnett, [...]

Despite coming to an agreement on one year contracts with four of their arbitration eligible players, the Washington Nationals will end up having hearings for the two remaining players – John Lannan and Michael Morse. The team and the two players submitted figures midday Wednesday, though hearings won’t take place until early February. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Lannan submitted a figure of $5.7 Million and the team submitted $5 Million. Morse submitted $5 Million and the team $3.5 Million. Once arbitration reaches an actual hearing, an arbitrator will decide which of the two figures the player will earn for [...]

In 41 days players will begin reporting to the Nationals’ Spring Training home in Viera, Florida. For the most part it would seem the team’s roster is set, though there are still a few holes that will need to be addressed. Of course, there will need to be some resolution to all of the Prince Fielder rumors by then too. There weren’t any significant moves from the weekend to discuss, but there are a few notes from some of the team’s beat writers worth passing along. Pete Kerzel of MASN Sports tries to pinpoint how the team is going to [...]

Over at his Nats Insider blog, Mark Zuckerman (who’s quickly become one of my favorite Nationals writers) took a fairly thorough look at the organization’s future payroll obligations in the coming years. It’s an important topic to consider, particularly with the ongoing speculation and discussions centered on whether the Nationals are a serious contender to sign Prince Fielder. Without any additional moves, the team is looking at a 2012 payroll in the vicinity of $70 Million – roughly the same place they were in 2011. By 2015, that figure could rise above $100 Million for the first time in franchise history [...]

This past Sunday our very own Andrew Flax argued against the Nationals pursuing free agent starting pitcher Joe Saunders. Andrew’s argument centered on two factors – Saunders’ lack of experience in high pressure situations and the fact that 2011 may have been an aberration compared to his career norms. While Andrew’s argument is a justifiable one, it would seem as though it is just one of the many arguments out there on the very subject. Over at The Nats Blog, Joe Drugan came to the opposite conclusion regarding Saunders. He focuses on Saunders’ track record throwing a lot of innings [...]

While much of the Nationals’ focus this winter has revolved around center field and the starting rotation, one additional area that will need to be addressed is the remainder of the 25-man roster, notably the bench. In particular, it is currently unclear who the team’s reserve outfielders will be once the season begins in April. There has not been much discussion on the subject, as let’s face it, filling out the bench is not a priority at this point in time when there are still holes in the starting lineup. However, let’s take a look at an outside the box [...]

At this point all of the major year end awards have been announced and baseball is well into the winter offseason. However, last week one of the more prestigious honorary awards were announced, and while we didn’t get a post up about it at the time I still felt this was still worth noting after the fact. Topps – the longtime manufacturer of baseball cards and currently the exclusive dealer of MLB licenced cards – has been naming an All Star Rookie Team each year since 1959. The annual list recognizes a rookie at each position, plus one starting pitcher [...]