Washington Nationals starting pitcher John Lannan schedules an arbitration verdict – MLB News
After a long battle of arbitration negotiations between Washington Nationals’ management and their starting pitcher John Lannan’s agent, the salary arbitration decision is expected this coming Thursday.
Lannan, whose contract, in-fact his salary issues roared after the 2011 regular season, is now preparing to hear his 2012 salary arbitrations’ final say. After the deadline of salary arbitration was passed, both sides could not agree on mutual understanding as the MLB executives had to resolve the issue. Now the final salary of the starter will be revealed to the media next week.
“John Lannan knows it’s not personal, that this is a business decision,” General Manager Mike Rizzo said. “Once we get to spring training, this is in the past. I spoke to John, and he told me he’s raring to go. After tomorrow, this is behind us. No hard feelings at all.”
“The process of salary arbitration is built to help the two sides bridge a gap. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that prior to a hearing,” said Lannan’s agent, Brodie Van Wagenen. “Neither side took this personally, and both sides presented very professional cases.”
Lannan is a good player and considered one of the best pitchers in the Nationals' bullpen. Before making his debut in the big league, his long struggle in the Minors is pretty impressive. Playing in the farm system Single-A Vermont Expos in 2005 along with Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats in 2006 as he showed good progress there. Going with an ERA of 5.26 and 4.76 respectively, he soon was recognised by MLB scouts who later brought him into the Major League.
However, he also played for another Minor League team, the high-A Potomac Nationals and was consistent at 6-0 with an ERA of 2.13. His performance was so impressive that the team helped him to play in their upgraded team at the Double-A Harrisburg where he achieved 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA. Later he went into to Triple-A Columbus, where he played six games and went 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA.
Last year with the Nationals, Lannan was smooth at a 3.70 ERA along with 10-13 win loss record, 106 strike-outs and 1.46 WHIP. While his career 4.00 ERA, with a 38-51 win loss record, 1.42 WHIP and 393 strike-outs make him a good starter.
Experts believe that as soon as the Nationals resolve salary issues with their 27-year-old pitcher, the team can move towards preparing themselves for the upcoming Spring Training session.
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