Washington Nationals’ Mike Rizzo to improve rotation – MLB Update
The Washington Nationals made a promising end to this past season, finishing third in the National League East division behind Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. The management now wants to maintain that momentum for the next season and is thus going
all-out to improve its roster for 2012.
As a first step, Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo retained manager Davey Johnson for the next season, giving him time to prove his mettle in the Majors. Although a veteran manager, Johnson came to the helm near midseason and thus had little time to
implement his strategies. Furthermore, Johnson asserted that the roster was not as he would have liked and thus expects a few additions before the new season embarks in April, 2012.
With a strong offence already present, Rizzo aims to boost the rotation in particular and the bull-pen in general during the offseason. In this regard, he has already re-signed Chien-Ming Wang to assist Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann in the rotation.
Now, the GM is in talks with Bob Garber, the agent for C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt in a bid to enhance the strength of the rotation and possibly create one of the strongest combinations on the circuit.
The details of the meeting, which lasted for 45 minutes, were kept a secret by both parties with a mutual desire of privacy in negotiations. However Garber said, “It was a good meeting. Washington would be a good fit for both players. It was just preliminary,
but there’s enough interest on both sides that we’re going to keep talking.”
Wilson became a free agent after this past season and it seems quite obvious that the starter will not return to the ballclub which shifted his role from being a relief pitcher to spearheading the rotation. His performance in the postseason was ordinary,
but he pitched beyond expectations in the regular season. The Nationals will not think twice if a possible deal is in the offing.
The Philadelphia Phillies refused to re-sign Oswalt after he failed to perform in the regular season and it seems that the Nationals have a liking for him, especially with former Philly Jayson Werth among the ranks.
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