Hello again from Indianapolis, where it continues to snow and things continue to be relatively quiet for the Nationals. They’re working on signing a veteran pitcher (which looks like it could be an expensive pursuit after the Brewers gave Randy Wolf $27.75 million over three years), and I heard they might be talking to the Tigers about a trade, possibly to acquire one of the players the Tigers need to dump after their three-way swap left them with 42 players on their 40-man roster. Infielder Jeff Larish and reliever Bobby Seay are names to watch. But nothing’s definite.
Scott Boras held court with the media a while ago, and took a few questions on the Nationals’ signing of Ivan Rodriguez. He, of course, was pleased with the deal, and reiterated there were other teams offering more than $3 million a year for the catcher. He also said some teams wanted the 38-year-old to play every day. The second year, he said, is what it took to finish the deal.
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Boras thought catcher Jesus Flores would benefit from having Rodriguez around, and the Nationals’ young pitchers can learn from him. “We’re very excited about that signing,” Boras said. “It’s going to bring a lot of information to a locker room about winning and about game-calling and performing under pressure, all those things.”
“You’re really talking about a library in catching coming to Washington,” Boras said. “It’s an opportunity for a young pitching staff and a young catcher. Because he’s our client, we’re very happy.”
Boras also added that general manager Mike Rizzo was “very candid” about Rodriguez’s role, likely to start 70-80 games, and that the catcher is hoping to get to 3,000 hits; he’s currently at 2,711.
