Nats minor league rosters announced; Lannan update

Nats minor league rosters announced; Lannan update
Here is the full rosters for each of the Nationals' affiliates, announced by their respective clubs today. Left-hander John Lannan continues to work on his transition to a sidearm delivery at the Palm Beach facility. When ready, he could get into games at an affiliate on a future date. TRIPLE-A SYRACUSE CHIEFS Pitchers Joe Ross A.J. Cole Austin Voth Jacob Turner Taylor Hill Matt Albers Michael Broadway Neal Cotts Dustin Antolin Trevor Gott Matt Grace Rafael Martin Austin...

With new arm angle and new attitude, Lannan attempts comeback

With new arm angle and new attitude, Lannan attempts comeback
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - His face looks a bit older, his body a bit thinner, his stilted Long Island accent same as it ever was. Once he put the red curly W cap on his head, it was like John Lannan had never left. Even though he did. Four years and four different organizations since he last wore a Nationals uniform, Lannan is back with the franchise that made him part of its original 2005 draft class, the franchise that called him up to make his major league debut only two years later, the...

Nats sign John Lannan to minor league deal (updated)

Nats sign John Lannan to minor league deal (updated)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals have signed John Lannan, who pitched for the team from 2007-12, to a minor league contract. Lannan last pitched in the majors for the Mets in 2014 and spent last season at Triple-A Omaha, the top Royals affiliate, where he went 7-8 with a 5.24 ERA in 25 games (19 starts). His deal does not include an invitation to major league camp. The 32-year-old Lannan was an 11th-round choice of the Nationals in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of Siena. He debuted...

Tracking down former Nats pitchers

Tracking down former Nats pitchers
Yesterday, we tracked down some former Nationals position players to see what has become of them since we last saw them. Today we look at former pitchers, with some particularly notable and memorable names in this bunch. ROSS DETWILER The sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft had a few big moments during his Nationals career - most notably, he tossed a gem in the must-win Game 4 of the 2012 National League Division Series against the Cardinals - but he never could sustain it. The Nats decided...

Lannan lands back in the NL East

Lannan lands back in the NL East
John Lannan has now been a part of three big league organizations. All three reside in the National League East. Lannan signed a minor league deal with the Mets yesterday, the team announced. The deal includes an invitation to big league spring training. The Long Island native and former Nationals starter will now hope to land a spot in the Mets' starting rotation in spring training. Lannan went 3-6 with a 5.33 ERA in 14 starts with the Phillies last season, posting a 1.520 WHIP and a...

Timing out the managerial hire, plus notes on two former Nats

Timing out the managerial hire, plus notes on two former Nats
The Nationals are already working their way through the first round of interviews for their vacant managerial position, having met with Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams and Padres executive Brad Ausmus, as well as Randy Knorr, who has served as Nats bench coach the last two seasons. But don't expect to hear any final word on who lands the Nats' managerial job until November. Things have ramped up a bit in general manager Mike Rizzo's search for a new manager, but according to...

Hearing from Lannan, Desmond and Hairston

Hearing from Lannan, Desmond and Hairston
PHILADELPHIA - John Lannan isn't the type to talk openly about wanting to stick it to an organization or shove a strong performance in anyone's face to prove a point. He could go that route, but Lannan just isn't that kind of guy. That's why the left-hander downplayed the fact that his best outing in years - eight scoreless innings of four-hit ball - came against the team that drafted him, sent him to the minors last season and then cut him loose this winter. "The first time back, I...

Lannan holding Nats in check, Haren survives shaky start (Nats lose 3-2)

Lannan holding Nats in check, Haren survives shaky start (Nats lose 3-2)
PHILADELPHIA - Through five innings tonight, John Lannan is outpitching the guy the Nationals replaced him with this offseason and sticking it to his former team in the process. Lannan has held the Nats to just two hits over five scoreless innings, and he and the Phillies hold a 2-0 lead. The Nats had their only real chance against Lannan in the fourth. Bryce Harper walked and then appeared to have second base stolen, but slid into the bag incredibly late, allowing Jimmy Rollins to slap down...

A rocky start for Haren (Phillies pick up a 5-4 walk-off win)

A rocky start for Haren (Phillies pick up a 5-4 walk-off win)
PHILADELPHIA - Dan Haren had a 1-2-3 first inning, retiring Ben Revere, Michael Young and Jimmy Rollins in order to get his night started on a positive note. Over his next two innings of work, Haren allowed seven of the 12 hitters he faced to reach base. The right-hander served up five hits (three of which were for extra bases) and two walks, and three of those baserunners came around to score. Ryan Howard crushed a solo homer off Haren in the second, marking the 18th home run allowed by...

Span, LaRoche out of Nats lineup vs. Lannan

Span, LaRoche out of Nats lineup vs. Lannan
PHILADELPHIA - Both Denard Span and Adam LaRoche are out of the Nationals lineup for tonight's series opener against the Phillies. Span fouled yet another ball off his right foot yesterday (something he's done quite a bit over the last couple of months) and will get today off. So will LaRoche, who is mired in an 0-for-15 slump, with six strikeouts in his last four games. With Phillies left-hander John Lannan getting the ball tonight, Nats manager Davey Johnson is sitting two left-handed...

Hoping things will start to turn, Nats get a look at Lannan

Hoping things will start to turn, Nats get a look at Lannan
Looks like things didn't change all that much while I was away for the last few days. The Nationals picked up a dramatic win over the Indians on Saturday, plating seven runs and getting a huge ninth-inning, game-winning homer from the red-hot Anthony Rendon. You think maybe things will start to turn for the Nats, that they'll be able to ride a little momentum and start stringing together a few games of strong offensive production. Then they're shut out by the Indians yesterday, going...

Ryan Zimmerman loves Coors Field (Nats win 5-4)

Ryan Zimmerman loves Coors Field (Nats win 5-4)
Most hitters love playing at Coors Field. That's no secret. The ball travels further at altitude. Breaking pitches have less spin, leaving more balls hanging up in the zone. Ryan Zimmerman really, really loves playing at Coors Field. Zimmerman smoked a two-run homer to left with two outs in the third inning, giving the Nationals a 2-1 lead and further inflating Zimmerman's career numbers in Colorado. In 29 games at Coors Field, Zimmerman is now batting .365 (42-for-115) with eight home...

Now in a Phillies uniform, Lannan holds no grudges against Nats

Now in a Phillies uniform, Lannan holds no grudges against Nats
CLEARWATER, Fla. - When Nationals manager Davey Johnson saw John Lannan in a Phillies uniform during warm-ups on the field at Bright House Field late this morning, he had a message for his former starter. "You look like (expletive) in that uniform," Johnson told Lannan. Lannan's response to reporters a little bit later, while chatting in the Phillies clubhouse: "He's gonna have to get used to that. He's gonna see me a couple times." After spending the first eight years of his major...

What a difference a year's made for Nationals' Zach Duke

What a difference a year's made for Nationals' Zach Duke
It was about this time last season everything changed for Zach Duke. Last season, he struggled in Houston Astros camp and was eventually released. Two days later, he was picked up by the Nationals. After battling to regain his consistency and break on his best pitches, he worked his way back to the majors. Oh, he did work all right. Duke went 15-5 with a 3.51 ERA at Triple-A Syracuse. The left-hander made 26 starts, and had two complete games and a shutout over 164 1/3 innings. He had 91...

Some surprising pitching news within the division

Some surprising pitching news within the division
Given we currently have a free agent market in which Anibal Sanchez, a pitcher coming off a nine-win, 3.86-ERA season, can land a five-year, $80 million deal, it's shocking that the Mets aren't willing to offer R.A. Dickey the two-year, $26 million extension he's seeking. Instead, the Mets are on the verge of dealing the Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer to the Blue Jays, according to reports, for top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and other pieces. I guess this is the move you make...

Lannan gets a chance to start anew

Lannan gets a chance to start anew
John Lannan has had a rough 2012 from a professional standpoint. The 28-year-old left-hander went into spring training battling for a spot in the major league rotation. He ended up losing that battle, and then requested a trade only to have that request denied. The guy who had twice been the Nationals' opening day starter and had 128 major league starts under his belt found himself riding buses and taking the mound in front of miniscule crowds at Triple-A Syracuse. Lannan came up to make...

Nats non-tender Lannan, Flores, Gorzelanny

Nats non-tender Lannan, Flores, Gorzelanny
The Nationals plan to cut ties with left-handed starter John Lannan, catcher Jesus Flores and left-handed reliever Tom Gorzelanny, a source confirmed, declining to tender those players a contract. Lannan was twice the Nationals' opening day starter, Flores was once viewed as the team's catcher of the future and Gorzelanny was a productive long reliever during the Nats' 2012 playoff run. All three would be free agents if they are indeed non-tendered. Teams have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to...

Lannan's future with Nats could be decided today

Lannan's future with Nats could be decided today
Sometime today, we'll learn whether John Lannan still could have a future with the Nationals or whether the team will cut ties with its two-time opening day starter. The deadline for teams to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players is 11:59 p.m. tonight. The Nationals have 10 players up for arbitration, but only two are legitimate candidates to be non-tendered, which is a fancy term for the team declining the option to negotiate a contract through arbitration. Ian Desmond,...

More on the roster additions, plus a look at Flores

More on the roster additions, plus a look at Flores
In case you missed it, the Nationals made a couple of additions to their 40-man roster last night, selecting the contracts of right-handed pitchers Erik Davis and Nathan Karns. Both Davis (a reliever) and Karns (a starter) are now protected from the Rule 5 draft which will take place in a little over two weeks. Come spring, they'll get to spend some time in big league camp and also get some personal satisfaction in knowing the Nationals value them enough that they didn't want to risk losing...

How close is Ryan Perry to fifth starter material?

How close is Ryan Perry to fifth starter material?
On Saturday afternoon, the Salt River Rafters face Peoria in the championship game of the Arizona Fall League. Converted Nationals reliever Ryan Perry gets the start and could go five innings. The right-hander has a 4.98 ERA in the AFL, but is 2-0 and has allowed a .213 batting average against. With all the talk of Edwin Jackson, John Lannan or others as the fifth starter, this question can be put out there: Would an outstanding outing help Perry to be considered for that role in 2013? ...