Before Edwin Jackson’s one-year deal with the Nationals became official, John Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports were reporting that Washington was actively shopping left-hander John Lannan.
Originally, Rosenthalwas reporting the Nationals were hoping to trade Lannan in order to facilitate a Jackson signing. Even after the Nationals inked Jackson, Rosenthal and Morosi said that the club continued its active shopping of Lannan.
Washington’s general manager Mike Rizzo has since come out and said that they did not acquire Jackson in order to trade another starting pitcher. Rizzo sounded as if he is comfortable heading into the 2012 with his current stable of arms, noting that it is his goal to have at least two starters log 200 innings.
Still, with the addition of Jackson, Lannan becomes a $5 million fifth starter behind Jackson, Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. Beyond this projected starting five, the Nationals have veteran starter Chien-Ming Wang and youngster Ross Detwiler waiting in the wings.
The Nationals would not simply be looking for salary relief for Lannan, who’s only 27 and has a career ERA of 4.00 over his 128 major league starts. MLB.com’s Bill Ladson tweeted that the Nationals are seeking a position player in exchange for Lannan, adding that Washington’s target could be a center fielder.
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