Latest On The Lannan And Parra Rumors

Danny Knobler of CBS Sports kept the John Lannan rumblings coming Tuesday afternoon, Tweeting that a deal involving John Lannan is likely. The Red Sox, Tigers and Astros are all reportedly watching Lannan, so Washington has multiple suitors should they part ways with the 27-year old.

The team to take most note of in that group is the Astros. Perhaps Lannan is involved in a deal for center fielder Jason Bourgeois, whom the Nationals have inquired on multiple times since the Winter Meetings. The deal could potentially help both parties, as the Nationals have long needed a center fielder, and the Astros have long needed, well, just about everything, but pitching in particular.

Many have speculated that the Nats would seek prospects should they not land the center fielder they desire, so contending teams with deep farm systems such as the Red Sox and Tigers could also make some sense as trade partners, though acquiring Bourgeois from the Astros would presumably be the preferable option.

The Mets and Padres reportedly both had interest in Lannan at one point in time, but are not interested in adding his $5 million salary to their respective payrolls.

As for those of you still hoping that Gerardo Parra is coming to Washington, there were also further reports yesterday regarding the outfielder

According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, D’Backs GM Kevin Towers says that he’s had “no discussions” about trading the Gold Glove winner, and that he is “very much a part of the club.” Considering the Gold Glove and .292 average last year, it makes perfect sense why the Snakes would want to hang on to Parra, though at the same time, it’s curious as to why Towers is shutting the door so much on a possible trade. The two most realistic possibilities that come to mind are that a) Towers doesn’t have full faith in Jason Kubel, or b) that Towers has a deal in the works involving another outfielder (i.e Chris Young), and plans on starting Parra in center field should that trade come full circle. So based on Piecoro’s report, it doesn’t sound like Parra is coming to Washington, for now.

However, in another report, Knobler tweets that Parra is the “latest possible [center field target] for [the] Nationals.” He also notes that John Lannan, who’s been made available this spring, would not be part of a Parra trade. Knobler doesn’t cite any sources, and he may just be making a late report of the rumor that was first reported in late February, but it’s something worth watching, just in case. You never know what’s going on behind the scenes.

There have been rumblings about potential deals surrounding both Lannan and Parra in recent days, so these could be two stories worth keeping an eye on. Talk about Lannan seems to have picked up, so it seems like he could be the more likely one to be dealt. You can be sure we’ll keep you updated here with all the details as they become available.