Nationals Rumors: John Lannan and Roger Bernadina

In his latest Rumblings and Grumblings article, Jayson Stark of ESPN chimed in on a pair of Washington Nationals players that currently find themselves involved in trade rumors.  John Lannan has basically been on the trade block since the Nationals signed Edwin Jackson.  While the Nationals are continually shopping Lannan, his efforts during the spring and at Triple-A have lessened his value.  Stark also mentions outfielder Roger Bernadina, a player the Nationals are not interested in trading… yet.

Stark spoke with an unnamed executive of a major league club that said the Nationals “obviously” want to trade Lannan.  The issue has become, on top of the $5 million owed to Lannan this season, the left-hander’s awful spring and start to the minor league season.

Over his first three appearances with the Nationals Triple-A affiliate, Lannan has only logged 12 innings of work.  Over that span, the 27-year-old has surrendered 21 hits, six walks, 14 runs (10 of which have been earned), while only striking out six.  This amounts to an ugly ERA and WHIP of 7.50 and 2.250.

While the Nationals are reportedly desperately trying to trade Lannan, Stark said the team is not currently willing to part with outfielder Roger Bernadina.  Things could change as Michael Morse gets healthy and Bryce Harper forces his way to the major league level, but for now the Nationals need Bernadina to provide outfield depth.

Stark expects Bernadina to become available later this summer when the Nationals are likely to make changes to their roster.  Lannan can be had right now, but it doesn’t look as if teams are interested in the left-hander.

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