If Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson gets his wish, baseball's top prospect, Bryce Harper, will be on the major league roster come April 5th in Chicago.  Johnson has said this before, but it was most recently reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

It's hard to not think about the impact that Harper's bat in the Nationals lineup would have for the team.  Harper has a ridiculous arm and is getting better at tracking balls down in the outfield, and he's excelled offensively at every level he's seen so far in the minor league system, too.  Some in baseball have said Harper could be one of the best prospects in the history of baseball, drawing comparisons to Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Chipper Jones. Let's just consider for a moment what the Nationals roster could look like on Opening Day if Harper makes the jump from Double-A to the Majors in Spring Training. no comments

It's clear that Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo puts a premium on quality pitching, and the Nats are becoming a team that's increasingly difficult to ignore because of it.  The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels have incredible pitching rotations, but what about the entirety of their pitching staffs?  Can anyone compare to the Nats?

It hasn't taken long for the Nats pitching staff to shape itself into something pretty remarkable.  On Opening Day 2011, the Nationals starting rotation was Livan Hernandez (36), John Lannan(26), Jordan Zimmermann (25), Jason Marquis(32), and Tom Gorzelanny (29).  The average age of that rotation was 30 years old.  Livan won't be tendered a contract with the Nats this season, Marquis was traded, and Gorzelanny flopped as a starter.  On Opening Day 2012, the starting rotation will likely be some combination of Stephen Strasburg (23), Gio Gonzalez (26), Jordan Zimmerman (26), Chien-Ming Wang (32), and either John Lannan (27) or Ross Detwiler (26).  This rotation's average age would be just under 27 years old.  The youth movement is in full swing. no comments

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, a "surprising" number of baseball executives privately believe that when it's all said and done, the Los Angeles Dodgers may be major players for free-agent slugger Prince Fielder.

Could this be what Prince Fielder and agent Scott Boras are waiting for?

Joel Sherman@Joelsherman1

Stuff I heard and learned at BBWAA dinner: 1) surprising number of execs think #Dodgers will ultimately be in play for Prince Fielder (cont)

22 Jan 12

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We all know that the team will have a new ownership prior to next season, and it is widely believed that not only will that ownership want to win but they will also be willing to spend serious money to do it. As part of Frank McCourt'ssettlement with Major League Baseball, Fox Sports will have exclusive negotiating rights for a mega-television contract following the 2012 season, which could infuse the new Dodgers regime with massive amounts of spending cash right off the bat. Of course the timeline plays an issue here. The Dodgers must be sold by April 1, but as of the latest reports there is nothing immediate on the table. While a new ownership group likely wouldn't be in control in time to land Fielder themselves, it's more than reasonable to assume that if the bidding groups were interested in Fielder, the current regime wouldn't hesitate to go out and attemp to get him to sweeten the pot.

That being said, the Dodgers are already in a competitive hole that a new ownership group would unquestionably want to attempt to cut down immediately. The Los Angeles Angels made a major play this offseason to capture the hearts of the Los Angeles baseball market by acquiring both Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. What better way to match the Angels' moves than with the acquisition of Prince Fielder and a new ownership group to infuse a stale fan base?

This could be bad news for the Nats who have, until now, seemed the most logical fit for Fielder. No other team has as big a hole (no pun intended) at first base, and no other team seems to be willing and able to spend the type of money to acquire the All-Star slugger. Yet here we are, inching closer and closer to February and still they have not been able to lock Fielder down. You would think that if both the club and the player were actually intent on making a deal, it would be done already.

That leads me to one of two conclusions. Either the Nationals aren't willing to truly play ball and give Fielder the type of contract he and his agent wants, or Fielder isn't earnestly interested in joining the Nationals, and he's just playing the market until a potential golden ticket to Los Angeles presents itself.

When you break it down, it would be hard to blame anyone for at least considering to join he Dodgers over the Nationals. Los Angeles is a sexy city, and you would be joining not only the man who should have won the NL MVP, Matt Kemp, but also the best starting pitcher in the league, Calyton Kershaw. Both teams look to rebuild through their incredibly talented youth...but the Dodgers have at least some of that talent locked up over the long term, and Los Angeles has a much longer history of competition than Washington.

As late as today several journalists have named the Nationals as the reigning favorites to sign Fielder. But each day that passes, I think it's less and less likely that it is going to happen.

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By now, we probably shouldn't be surprised when it comes to news about Francisco Rodriguez. The trade bringing him to Milwaukee was unexpected. Very few people expected him to accept the Brewers' offer of arbitration at the end of the season. And now, perhaps most shocking of all, K-Rod is avoiding arbitration by signing a one-year deal for $8 million. [thebrewersbar]

Considering many arbitration projections had him slotted for over $10 million, the $8 million salary actually comes off as a somewhat pleasant surprise. Sure, you could find better uses for $8 million than a set-up man, but considering some of the contracts signed this winter, perhaps it isn't so bad after all.

Ryan Madson, like Rodriguez, had his eyes set on a big-dollar deal to close. He wound up in Cincinnati on a one-year, $8.5 million deal that was lauded as a "steal." Yet the K-Rod deal is still being described by some (most notably Keith Law) as "awful."

A lot of this probably has to do with the closer label. Only $8.5 million and minimal commitment to a shutdown closer? That sure sounds like a sweet deal. The same amount for just a "set-up guy?" That's just absurd, right?  no comments

With Spring Training around the corner, and the 2012 starting as the winter season ends, the question is this? [oriolepost]

How does one market the Baltimore Orioles?

We know that the 20^th anniversary of Camden Yards is this year and the organization will be having several things going on with that. That being said, it’s a great marketing tool, but at the end of the day – I care about the product on the field and winning.

Camden Yards has been kept in immaculate condition, and it’s still a gold standard of ballparks everywhere. There have been more additions to it in terms of concessions, seating options and more attractions.

Well, that’s all wonderful and good; however, once again, the product on the field has not left much to be desired.

Back in the day, Camden Yards was filled and it seemed that you had to know someone to get a ticket. Now, it’s fairly easy to get one – well, maybe not Opening Day – and there are some night you can’t even give them away.

As of now, the Orioles are by all accounts supposed to finish last in American League East. They have players such as Matt Wieters, Nick Markakis, slugger Mark Reynolds, Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy on the squad; however, does anyone really care about this team in the dead of winter? Is there any excitement – aside from hardcore fans – for the season to be approaching?

Until now, have the Oriole signed anyone of great significance to a contract? no comments

Update - 4:13 PM: According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Desportes, Gonzalez's extension is worth $42 million over the first five years. With the two club options, Gonzalez could earn as much as $65 million.

So to summarize, they are paying a potential top-of-the-rotation starter an average annual salary of $8.5 million, not bad when you consider the going rate of some starting pitchers in the Major Leagues. Another way to look at it is this: The Nationals had originally hoped to sign Mark Buehrle to a deal worth about $42 million. Instead they got a much younger, arguably more talented pitcher locked up throughout the duration of his prime years.

Amazing work by Rizzo.

Original: The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms on a contract extension with recently acquired starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez, according to a press release just emailed  to media by the club. There is no word yet on how much the extension is worth, however we do know that it is a five-year deal with options for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. no comments

It is official, Jerry Dipoto don't mess around.  In an off-season highlighted by the acquisitions of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, the Angels new general manager has moved on to now locking up the young core of the team by inking Howie Kendrick to a reportedly four-year contract.  Financial details are not yet available.

This new deal buys out Howie's final year of arbitration plus three years of free agency.  More importantly, it locks up the 28-year old Kendrick for the entirety of his physical prime, which is looking like it is going to be pretty good.  Kendrick is coming off a career season in which he was selected to the All-Star team for the first time while setting career-highs in WAR (5.8), home runs (18), walk rate (5.7%) and slugging percentage (.464) all while playing what many thought was Gold Glove caliber defense at second base.  It is probably safe to say that the Angels are locking up Howie while his value is peaking, but how much they are paying for that peak remains to be seen.

This extension might end up being well-timed though.  While Howie's 2011 is far and away his best ever, he is in position to see his value get boosted even more in 2012 as he is widely expected to bat in front of Albert Pujols most of the time, a scenario which could very well lead to Kendrick posting career numbers yet again as opponents should be giving him better pitches to hit now.  That could have meant Howie hitting the free agent market in 2012 looking for a big money deal.

For the Angels, this is a relatively low-risk deal.  Kendrick seems to have settled in to being a consistently productive hitter at the big league level, though it seems he will never live up to his billing as a future star and batting champion.  The lowest OPS he has ever posted is .721, and that includes a 2009 season in which he was briefly demoted to the minors.  Howie has also developed into a very good fielder at second, so even if his bat does slip, the Halos still have a very nice defender at a key infield position.  If there is a concern, it is that Kendrick has dealt with nagging injuries on an almost annual basis.  He has played 140 or more games each of the last two seasons and has never really suffered a serious injury though, so this is not a major concern.

All in all, this is deal that seems smart because Kendrick is one of the better offensive producers in a lineup that can ill afford to lose quality bats.  Full judgment needs to be reserved though until the money involved is revealed.  Many have pegged Kendrick value as somewhere between $8 and $10 million annually, so it will be interesting to see where in the middle he meets.  It will also be interesting to see how the deal is structured given the Angels' penchant for backloading contracts under Dipoto.

Stay tuned to the Angels news wire, they were rumored to be talking to Kendrick about a new contract earlier this week and the same rumor applied to Erick Aybar as well.  Could he be next?

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If you have grown up in Baltimore you know what I am talking about - if you don't know what I am speaking of allow me to explain.

Virtually everyone that has grown up in the greater Baltimore area suffers from a unique condition called the "Baltimore Inferiority Complex" (BIC). The BIC results in your average Baltimorean taking a salty attitude towards virtually every other city in the US - especially on the east coast. Baltimore is sort of the forgotten middle child of the east coast. Sandwiched between Philadelphia and the national capital the larger bands, stage shows, comics, speakers and world in general tends to bypass us. We have lost a basketball team, and a football team and the biggest contribution to the larger picture of American culture has been "The Wire;" not exactly something for the tourist board.

Philly, DC, New York and Boston get songs written about them - happy songs, upbeat songs. Songs featuring Baltimore are usually in the Tom Waits vein. no comments

Just a couple weeks ago Albert Pujols checked out of free agency C.J Wilson left any prospective bidders in the dust for the Angels, while the biggest star has been left neglected, rather surprisingly. One would think that common sense entitles Prince Fielder to all the attention the free agency market has to offer him now that the other two big prizes have been snatched up, by the Angels of all teams, so why hasn't the Prince received any royal attention?

Well for starters, Prince hasn't received any grand swooning efforts because of one major factor: Scott Boras. Boras has a unique and quite dastardly way of finding his clients a contract on the open market. He's well known for playing hardball, screwing around with suitors, and general asshattery as he looks to score his client the biggest possible contract they can get, but dammit the man is EFFICENT. His clients are always massively overpaid, usually by a big market club if the player is popular enough. Scott Boras has a way with overstaying his welcome on the market, usually dragging out the process for as long as humanely possible until he can squeeze out every last cent for his client. He's always secretive about his business, usually throwing around smokescreen "mystery teams/offers" and facades, which is probably the main reason why everything on the Prince Fielder camp has been relatively tight. We've heard the conflicting reports about multiple teams’ interest and general mystery regarding Fielder, making it extremely difficult to pin down Fielders possible future clubs, with iffy reports painting the Rangers as possible suitors. Now the reports detailing the Rangers interest have been spotty at best, but if they do end up landing Prince us Angels fans will have something to be very scared of...and something to be very excited about. no comments

95.

That's the average amount of games that Carlos Beltran has played per season the past 3 years. As astute baseball minds know, that's 67 games short of a full season and roughly 50 games less per year than Albert Pujols would have been in the lineup. 

Herein lies the problem and the opportunity for Carlos Beltran. He's not Albert Pujols. He doesn't play the same position as Albert Pujols. He doesn't have a similar game to Albert Pujols.  no comments