The Nationals will have a scout at C.J. Wilson's start tonight in Oakland, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson takes this as a sign that the Nationals will "more than likely" have interest in signing Wilson as a free agent after the season.
Wilson, 31 in November, is putting the finishing touches on a fantastic regular season. He has a 2.97 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, and 49.5% groundball rate in 215 1/3 innings. The lefty has been tough to hit as well.
A 2012 rotation led by Wilson, Stephen Strasburg, and Jordan Zimmermann could make the Natioanals contenders. They'll have to ante up, as Wilson has a strong case for a contract bigger than the five-year, $82.5MM deals given to John Lackey and A.J. Burnett.
The Nationlas could become such a great team.
Maybe next time, buddy
You could say this is the last big question concerning the Lerners: are they willing to OK signing a pitcher to a big long-term contract? The Nats have never come close (unless they were in on Cliff Lee as some reported). And there have just been so many pitcher contract disasters (Hampton, Pavano, Zito…) that it’s hard to know whether the Nats will take the plunge until they do.
Strasburg, Wilson, Zimmerman, Cole, Solis/Lannan
Fielder/Pujols, Rendon, Espinosa, Zimmerman, Ramos, Werth, Harper, Perez
Scary team could be scary. Very scary.
You’re dreaming if you think the Nats will sign multiple $100MM players, if even one more after Werth.
their owners are the richest in baseball, dont rule it out
I’m a Texas fan, and I promise CJ won’t be signing with the Nats. The only way they would even have a shot is to grossly overpay for him just like they did to get Werth.
The Rangers will not let CJ go.
Also, just because your owners are rich does not mean that they will spend all of their money on players for your team. What owner of any team does that?
They may spend a decent amount, but no owner throws around that kind of money.
Yea they do. The Yankees owners. The Redsox owners too
The team is rich and they spend team money from their large TV contracts. The Yankees and the Red Sox are in the black (positive cash flow) even with their high payrolls. The owners are not shelling out their own money to field the teams that they do. The National’s owners would have to spend their own money so comparing the Yanks and Boston to the Nationals is not an accurate match.
Thank you OZ10, that’s exactly what I meant.
Um, my point was that the Redsox and Yankees would have no problem throwing around that kind of money. (giving out two 100 million dollars contracts close together). I wasn’t comparing the Nationals to them at all. You looked way more into my post than i did. Simply saying the Sox and Yanks spend money and lots of it.
You commented on a comment that was about owners throwing around THEIR money which the Red Sox and Yankees do not do. And I didn’t look into your post deeply. I merely read it and realized it was incorrect. I didn’t even have to think about it.
Isn’t the money they make on the team still THEIR money? Its all the same. and my post is incorrect? So the Redsox and Yankees do not spend very much money?
The team is a business. Owners are in it to make money. Not take their other personal assets to continually put into it. The Yankees are a business that the owners make money off of, they don’t put their personal money into it. The Red Sox are a business that the owners don’t put anymore money into. They make money off of it. They have a budget that they work within. The Nationals do not have the revenue streams that the big two have so their owner would have to put money that is outside of the organization into signing these kinds of contracts. They would be spending their own (separate from the team) money to make these signings and then start losing money. Trust me, Ted Lerner didn’t become worth 3.5 billion by continually throwing money into businesses and not making money from them.
But then again, he may be like Mark Cuban who views the team he owns as a hobby and will win with no regard to money and cherishes the chase to be the best. But owners like Cuban are not the norm. (Mark Cuban owns the Mavericks if anybody is not aware)
You should probably take into account the Nats owner is like 80 and wants a winning team before he dies.
Then that falls under my second paragraph about him possibly being like Mark Cuban. So yes, I did take this into account.
You do realize that i just said that the yankees and red sox spend lots of money. And thats it. Why did you go off on this tangent? There was no emphasis on THEIR. It just said their, which is all money, including revenue from the team.
You just don’t get it. The owners are not throwing their money at them, the team is. The conversation leading up to your comment was about the nationals owner spending his money, not the team, because he is personally rich and that owners don’t don’t just throw their money at players. You said the Yankees and Red Sox owners do this which is not a true statement. They spend their massive amounts of money they have coming in through various revenue streams. If the Yankees and Red Sox revenue streams started drying up, I highly doubt that their owners would throw in their own money which is what Ed Lerner would have to do with the Nationals. I do have a sneaking suspicion that you still don’t get it.
The owner owns the team, its their money.
Your original comment was in reply to “no owner throws around that kind of money.”
The Yankees and Red Sox do spend a lot (which is obvious) but they don’t “throw around” this money.
Sure, they spend a lot but what does that have to do with anything
besides being a statement of the obvious? HEY, SKY IS BLUE! CLOUDS ARE
WHITE! So, either you were wrong in your intent OR you just like stating the obvious which is probably worse than being wrong. (I really do hate it when people try to twist their intent so they won’t be “wrong”) What counts if the point of your words — not petty little details that contribute nothing to a debate. PUPPIES! Do I win?
These two venues have totally different sales numbers. That take in A LOT (TV deals which was stated already) which is why they can spend a lot.
Say a team makes $500 in revenue, then would it make sense to invest in a contract worth $300? Perhaps. But what if you want to take on another contract at $300? That would exceed your revenue numbers. If you had $1000 in revenue, it would be a lot easier to spend for those two contracts.
It’s called risk assessment: sure, you might get more wins and that might bring in more fans and more revenue but what if the contract doesn’t work out? This is especially risky with long term contracts.
These owners are business men and they didn’t become rich by taking big bets like what is being suggested. What is the payoff for spending a lot of my own money? A better team and more fans? It probably isn’t it worth it even if the player does well. (and most of these long term contracts don’t pay off over the span of the contract anyway)
UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM??????? How did you get this much out of me saying the sox owners and yanks owners spend money? And they do throw around that kind of money. How can you say they don’t? A-rod, Burnett, Soriano, Lackey, Crawford. and thats just the players that suck. They both threw money at many other players too, even if they didn’t sign them (cliff lee).
Go back and read the thread from the beginning and maybe you can get how your statement was wrong and this all started.
Jays ownership trumps the Lerners by a mile… a more correct statement would have been the Nats have the richest individual owner in baseball.
Im pretty sure all the owners of sports teams are really really rich.
With the 24 million coming off the books, I can definitely see it happening.
Even assuming all of the arb raises adds up about 5-7 million, that’s 17-19 mil left.
That’s also assuming they’ll keep payroll at or near 68 mil. Which, quite honestly, I think they will surpass by about 20 – 30 mil if the right pieces are available.
the nats have a potentially nice starting 5 for next year….dont understand that possibility when they really need leadoff help…..the answer is reyes
the nats need a center fielder, they can wait a bit longer for a pitcher.
If they bring Harper up Werth can play a decent center field. Not great, but decent.
The best CF free agent this year is Coco Crisp, who isn’t much better than what they have. The time to get a free agent CF will be after next year, when Kemp, Bourn, and Upton should all be on the market (with the Dodger and Ray finances and Bourn being a Boras client, it’s unlikely any of them will sign extensions.)
theres talk of Upton being DFA’d at the end of the year… so he should be available this year…
The Rangers and nationals were talking this year about CF Julio Borbon + some for RP Tyler Clippard
Except Borbon is garbage and Clippard is real good, thats why they didnt do it haha
Actually Borbon got hurt which nixed their trade talks.
Borbon got demoted for a reason
I dont know why they dont give Roger Bernadina a chance, he has alot of talent.
so does Felix Pie
but the shark has much more
Wilson will sign with Texas for 90-100 mill. Book it.
Wilson follows the money and with a lot of wealthy teams needing pitching he is overpayed and not by Texas who will be priced out, book it….
Halored101, know what you can’t book?
playoff tickets……….awwwwww, so not sad.
Sorry guy, didn’t mean to offend your 2 year dynasty, Wilson is gone, probably to the Yankees, don’t want him in Anaheim and doubt the Angels make a real play for him, may just help drive the price up, comment was about Wilson and the markets mentality.
All in fun. Been a fan for 30 years so I have suffered long enough to finally have some fun with it.
Texas has shown they’re willing to go fight the Yankees to sign an ace, and Texas visits the west coast a ton (which will be a plus for CJ). Maybe you should be more worried about the next ridiculous contract your FO trades for.
gee…there is a team in massachusettes that needs pitching help and they will overpay….oh thats right, im sorry boston don’t make bad signings……they are perfect in every way according to their fans anyway
I’d target a different left handed Ace… the one who could possibly opt out of his contract. Not likely to happen, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Nats make a run at Sabathia. He’d take all the pressure off Strasburg and we all know what he did with Milwaukee in 2008. Plus, the Nationals made a run at Cliff Lee (reportedly) and are serious about wanting starting pitching.
I don’t see Wilson leaving Texas. I think he’s a good guy for them to target though if they don’t land Sabathia.
By the pound he might be a better deal.
@ four_aces: I thought he liked it there….
All, before getting too worked up about this I’d observe that if MLB’s Bill Ladson reported that the sky was blue I’d go buy a color chart and then step outside myself to confirm it was true. This, as a good bit of what Ladson reports, could be true, but the guy’s a sloppy reporter and not very bright.
I really hope they don’t sign him. In my opinion he isn’t a sure-fire thing (not that anybody is guaranteed to be good). I am just picturing the nightmare he could become for the Nats, like Lackey for the Sox. Having two big contract possible busts could be detrimental to the growth the nats are currently going through.
CJ is better than Lackey. Make no mistake, but the Rangers will re-sign him.
Yes right now, but I’m just saying i can see Wilson going down the Lackey road, and do not want the Nats anywhere near him.
Well when Texas re-signs him he will plenty far from D.C. lol. Wilson puts too much time and effort into his regimen to flame out like Lackey. CJ is one of the hardest working pitchers in baseball.
Get off of his nuts bro.
I could see Wilson leaving Texas and as a Rangers fan, I wouldn’t be disappointed. Like the wins, but Wilson and his head case attitude annoys me. He’s another Zambrano waiting to happen. Better to happen someplace other than Texas. Texas can use the money to bring in a cheaper pitcher, go after Darvish and/or make a run at a Fielder or Pujols.
Head case attitude? The guy is qwirky but he doesn’t drink and takes impeccable care of his body. He is willing to do anything that makes him a small percentage better. He likes to race but that guy is more focused on baseball on his day to pitch than anybody else. By all accounts he is a good club house guy that has taken Holland and this young pitching staff under his wing. He doesn’t have a temper and stays under control now.
Darvish isn’t sure he is ready to come to the US anymore. he thinks he needs another year. Darvish will cost more than CJ and is unproven at this level. Dice-K cost the Red Sox $103 million so I doubt Darvish is the cheaper option.
And make a run on Fielder or Pujols?!?!?! Guess you liked the 90’s where there were a lot of runs scored but just 1 playoff win in three times. Pitching is key, ask any Red Sox fan right now about how key pitching is.
Life above the influence? What a headcase.
what attitude?? just because he had enough balls to tell the truth about how bad it sucks to play in oakland makes him a head case?? dont know what your reason is for calling him a head case is……
Be careful what you wish for!
cj wilson and his agent saw buying numerous bottles of cristal in oakland later tonight. any mlb team who had 100 million to throw at a pitcher, you realize how far down the list cj wilson would be. i would take e jackson over wilson, esp with the diff in money
CJ is straight edge and has never taken a drink of alcohol. Not because he thought he would have a problem but he just didn’t see how it would ever help him to be the best. CJ will be a winner for a long time. Top 10 in ERA in back to back years and he pitches in Arlington half the time. He is legit. Jackson is almost a full run higher the past two years and comes with more miles on his arm. Your team can take Jackson, I will keep Wilson. Enjoy watching us in the World Series again!!!
Edwin over Wilson??? I wish people had more baseball knowledge so we could have intelligent conversations.
Ask the White Sox and Cardinals if they would rather have Edwin Jackson or CJ Wilson.
Funny how people think he is so awesome for being “straight edged” thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard. Mabe if it wasnt for so many athletes getting duis every year people wouldnt assume that he is the only player like that.
Where did I say he is awesome for that? I am drinker so I don’t get it but to each their own. I was just setting the other guy straight. But since he doesn’t drink, that is one risk element on a large contract you can take away. Alcohol, even as lovely as it is, is a poison that breaks down your body and makes us do some stupid stuff from time to time. CJ keeps himself in top shape and not drinking is part of it.
sinatra says i dont trust a person who doesnt drink because when they wake up that is the best they will feel all day or somethin like that
As I said, I am drinker and don’t get it but he is by far the best option out there this year. CJ is a 1-2 and Jackson will never be more than a three. We have plenty coming through the system and would be better off to go with those options if we don’t resign CJ.
enjoy watching your so called ace pitchin in a different uniform after you make it to the series. 3 years from now you will be happy they didnt sign him. for the diff in money i take jackson, that is the only reason.
So we are going to the Series again? Awesome! back to back years, why would he want to leave after that?
Been saying for awhile over on the ESPN boards the Nationals should go after Wilson this off-season. He’d fit in perfectly at the top of the rotation and considering Strasburg is going to be on an innings limit next year the Nationals need another quality top of the rotation arm.
Strasburg-Wilson-Zimmermann-Detwiler-Lannan/Peacock/Milone would be the best possible rotation next year in my opinion if Wilson was signed.
Nationals aren’t going to go out and get Fielder or Pujols, they still have LaRoche on the books, as well as Marrero and Morse(who is going to be moved out to LF for either LaRoche or Marrero to play 1B).
If Rizzo could find a way to get talks going again for Span, and manage to sign Wilson, I’d be very happy with the off-season
span? the guy with concussion issues….BRILLIANT!!!!!
Span, the guy who played a mean cf before he had a concussion? yes him.
woulda,shoulda,coulda….what about now smart guy?
Well when he gets over having a concussion I expect him to go back to where he left off, its not his fault the twins tried to rush him back into action to soon. He had the same thing happen to him in 09′ and came back the next season just fine.
Wilson is the only good free agent pitcher next year, the Yanks and the Sox will go hard after him!
Forget about Span. And no way for Storen.
“as Wilson has a strong case for a contract bigger than the five-year, $82.5MM deals given to John Lackey and A.J. Burnett.”
Hell i have a better case than John Lackey and A.J. Burnett.
and so does my 3 year old
CJ Wilson is coming home to CALI and he’s bringing Fielder with him GO ANGELS! PLEASE ARTE DONT LET US DOWN, AGAIN!!!! VERNON WELLS UGHHH!!!
AA – Good job on signing CJ Wilson and Fielder there Tony
Tony Reagins – Thanks, want to make a trade?
AA – Yup, Wilson and Fielder for Tallet, Camp and McCoy, you’ll save tons of money so that you may pay Well’s contract.
Tony – Done!
*I’m sorry Angel fans but Tony is just way too much fun at your expense.*
As a Rangers fan I truly hope that if he doesn’t sign here (first wish) that he signs anywhere but Angels. Anywhere.
The Angels are yesterday’s news they have missed the boat! What were they thinking with the Vernon Wells trade.
oh ya, 4 games out of the playoffs… what a bunch of scrubs
Just like try signed Crawford and Beltre last year right? CJ and Fielder will cost more AND you have a Vernon Wells contract to deal with now. Angels won’t sign either one.
If the Nats get Wilson they will also have starting pitching to trade for maybe a centerfielder. Strasburg, Zimmerman, Wilson, Peacock, Milone or Detwiller could be nice.
Strasburg? Lmao.
I suppose Wilson’s agent will argue that Lackey and Burnett actually deserve those contracts. That’s the real tragedy of those signings. Crawford, too.
Wait a minute, werent the nats high on fielder? so i guess wilson is their man
The Nats will need Wilson, I don’t see Peacock/Milone/Detwiler as long term rotation options, Milone doesn’t have 1 “plus” pitch, everything is just average and Peacock doesn’t have much of a repertoire only having a decent fastball (which is flat) and a good curve, I see Peacock as a Late Inning guy since hes not going to be able to fool batters with only two pitches
If CJ is looking for the best deal then the Yanks will give him the most money with the best chance to win in the future, if not he can go with another team and hope to make the playoffs!
Besides giving Wilson the POSSIBILITY of teaming up with Stras, Zimm, and Harper. Why would the Nationals be an attractive destination?
I take it you have never been to Washington. Wilson is very interested in politics and religion and Washington has both of those. They have the largest basilica in North America as well as well as being the hub of Political Activity.
CC isn’t leaving NY, his family loves it there, and the Yankees will do everything to make sure he stays there. I fhe does opt out, it will just be to get more years/money on a new deal.
Wilson would make the Nats contenders imo if they got him, hope he stays in Texas though.