Daily Nats Blurbs

[General]

Tony Armas Jr. held the Cubs to one run over seven innings of work on Sunday to pick up the win in a 7-1 game.
If the Nationals had the option to fast forward to the trading deadline without playing any more games, we think they might elect to do so even with Jose Vidro hurting. Alfonso Soriano is on an absolute tear and couldn't be helping his trade value any more, while Armas showed good command (no walks) and impressive results in his second start since returning from the DL. Armas will get the Dodgers in Los Angeles for his final start before the deadline.

Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-5 with a solo homer against the Cubs on Sunday.
Soriano had a down June, but the Nationals have to be estatic that he's having his best month to date in July. The right-hander is batting .391 with nine doubles, two triples, and seven homers in just 17 games this month. Future Nationals' president Stan Kasten said during the game that he has had multiple conversations with Soriano and his agent, but followed by saying that the team's goal is "getting to be the best team we can as soon as possible." Soriano should be traded within the week.

Ryan Church belted a two-run homer off Cubs starter Carlos Marmol on Sunday.
Church went hitless with two strikeouts in his other three at-bats, but it was still a strong first start since being recalled from the minors. Church should get a decent amount of playing time over the next week, but his best chance for fantasy value after that is to see Alfonso Soriano traded.

[General]

The Nationals fear Jose Guillen will need Tommy John surgery to fix his elbow. He's scheduled to be examined by Dr. James Andrews today.
Guillen could undergo Tommy John surgery and still be ready for the start of 2007, but it'd definitely lower his value as a free agent. He might have to take a one-year deal in an attempt to rebuild his value

[General]

Jose Guillen underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, officially ending his season.
Guillen is going to be a tough sell as a free agent this winter. He finishes 2006 with a .216/.276/.398 line in 241 at-bats, and his struggles actually date back to the second half of 2005. There's a good chance he'll be ready for his Opening Day, but his arm -- his one real strength as an outfielder -- won't be 100 percent. He's going to be a bad risk for more than a year with so many questions surrounding him. And to think he very likely could have gotten $28 million-$32 million over four years from the Nationals if he had just been reasonable with his demands during spring training.

[General]

The Washington Post reports that the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox are still interested in acquiring Alfonso Soriano.
"We know the price that we need to have from clubs," Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said. "The price doesn't change. The price today is the same price it's going to be at the deadline. We don't have to trade anybody. . . . You're not going to see us, at the last minute, all of a sudden, we change our price. I've never done that. I don't believe in it." Even though Bowden vows not to decrease his asking price, we expect he will be moved by Monday's trading deadline

[General]

Facing a depleted Giants lineup, Livan Hernandez allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings to win on Thursday.
Hernandez has recorded three straight quality starts, but those have come against the Pirates, Cubs and now a Giants team minus Barry Bonds, Moises Alou and Omar Vizquel. While he has been solid lately -- the Nationals have won his last six starts -- he hasn't given up fewer than three runs in an outing since May 31. As a result, his ERA still stands at 5.70.

[General]

Larry Broadway hit his 11th and 12th homers for Triple-A New Orleans on Thursday.
Broadway has alowed down over the last couple of months, but he still has a decent .302/.365/.464 line in 364 at-bats. He probably needed to stay closer to .340/.390/.540 in order to turn himself into attractive trade bait for the Nationals. He's not an option anywhere other than five base, so it doesn't look like he has a future in Washington.

[General]

With the trade deadline little more than 36 hours away, the Nationals are still trying to sign Alfonso Soriano to a contract extension, MLB.com is reporting.
A good time to float the story anyway. If the Nationals still have a chance to sign Soriano, maybe teams will improve their offers. Everyone still seems to believe that Soriano is a goner. According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, the Astros, Angels, Twins and Dodgers are the remaining suitors. Three of those teams -- the Astros. Angels and Dodgers -- are also believed to be trying for Miguel Tejada.

[General]

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels' final offer for Alfonso Soriano was Erick Aybar, Jose Arredondo or Tommy Mendoza, and either Reggie Willits or Tommy Murphy.
Aybar is the only elite prospect from that bunch and if the Nationals were getting similar offers it's not hard to see why general manager Jim Bowden didn't jump at anything. The newspaper reports that Bowden initially asked for Howie Kendrick or Brandon Wood and one of Ervin Santana, John Lackey or Jered Weaver, but that the Angels wouldn't have traded Kendrick straight up for Soriano.

[General]

Alfonso Soriano went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers in Wednesday's loss to the Giants.
Soriano took Jason Schmidt deep to lead off a game with a homer for the seventh time this year. The multihomer game was his fourth of the year and 15th overall. He has 34 homers and 70 RBI.

[General]

Nationals recalled LHP Billy Traber from Triple-A New Orleans.
Traber will be available out of the pen for now, but he could start Saturday. NL-only leaguers will want to keep an eye on him. He was 7-7 with a 4.05 ERA, 143 H and 102/26 K/BB in 124 1/3 IP for New Orleans.

[Providence A's]

Livan going nowhere now...

see here

After Hernandez was placed on waivers last Tuesday and claimed by an unnamed team, a deal could not be worked out. Hernandez was then withdrawn from waivers and, by rule, cannot be dealt the rest of the season.

Oh well for the Nats...

[jasonshortstop2]

wow i thought at least someone would get him.
it seems to me that the Nats are being greedy with there players and arent being smart.

[General]

The Nationals are expected to recall Jason Bergmann to start Saturday against the Mets.
Bergmann is nothing special as a reliever, so he's unlikely to have any success while being used out of the rotation. Fantasy leaguers should stay far away.

[General]

Alex Escobar tonight is making his first start in the outfield since he hurt his hamstring on July 21.
Escobar is starting over Ryan Church in center field. The two could share time if Escobar resumes hitting. Church .288/.367/.500 line since the break should guarantee him of a significant role against right-handers.

[General]

Billy Traber earned a victory by limiting the Mets to one run in seven innings of work on Friday.
He struck out just two, but didn't walk a batter and gave up four hits. Traber wasn't pitching all that well in Triple-A of late, so while he will get another start next week against the Braves, he's not an option in NL-only leagues just yet.