Deadline for deciding fate of John Lannan and Jesus Flores nears for Washington Nationals-MLB
Before upcoming Friday, Washington Nationals are supposed to sign contracts with those players that have not been guaranteed yet whether they will play during the 2013 Major League Baseball season or not for the team. Names of John Lannan and Jesus Flores
surface automatically.
Both players, though talented, are not required by the Nationals at the moment. The Nationals are against the idea of including Lannan in their rotation for 2013 season.
They are interested in someone else with better credentials and someone more suited to the culture of their rotation.
They are looking for someone at-par with the likes of their existing hurlers such as Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg. Off-course, for this they will be visiting the free agent market and signing an expensive contract.
Against this backdrop, it is unlikely that Lannan will be retained by Washington. It is more so due to the fact that he is arbitration-eligible, which will force the Nationals to give him a raise in salary if he is hired.
Lannan was allowed to start games for the team during 2012. After shutting down Strasburg, the Nationals gave him opportunities.
Interestingly enough, he did not disappoint the team. Except for a few occasions, he was solid on the mound. Yet, his future in the team is uncertain.
Other than him, Jesus Flores is another player that seeks declaration from the part of the Nationals regarding his fate next year. Similar to the case of Lannan, he does not fit in the needs of the team.
He did well when regular catcher for Washington, Wilson Ramos got injured but right now the Nationals already have an excessive supply in this department.
It will be interesting to see what decision the Nationals take regarding these two players before the Friday deadline.
While at the moment the Nationals do not need the services of Lannan and Flores, it is possible that in future their presence in the team turns out to be of great help to the club. In light of this, the Nationals can consider offering new deals to them.
Certainly, money is going to be the biggest determinant of whether the Nationals re-sign them.
Regardless of what the Nationals decide, it is sure that they will reveal their offseason plan by offering or declining deals to Lannan and Flores.
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