[blog] Lannan vs. Wang vs. Detwiler
Lannan vs. Wang vs. Detwiler Monday, December 26, 2011
One of the significant domino effects of last week's Gio Gonzalez
trade -- as has been pointed out -- is the logjam it suddenly creates
at the back end of the Nationals' rotation.
Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann may be assured of the
top three spots come Opening Day, but there are now only two remaining
jobs and three more-than-viable candidates in John Lannan, Chien-Ming Wang
and Ross Detwiler.
So what do the Nationals do? There's no clear-cut solution. Wang is
already signed for $4 million (plus incentives). Detwiler is out of
options and thus can't be sent to the minors without first clearing
waivers (something that would almost certainly never happen). And
Lannan (after leading the staff in wins, starts and innings pitched)
is due to earn roughly $5 million through arbitration.
When asked about this dilemma Friday night during his conference call
announcing the Gonzalez trade, general manager Mike Rizzo reiterated
the importance of stockpiling as much pitching depth as possible and
suggested there would be a way to keep all six of his current starters.
"We know over the course of the season we're going to need more than five
starting pitchers," Rizzo said. "Everybody does. We feel we're still very
deep in starting pitching. We like the talent level of our starting
pitching, and it's going to be great competition to see who comes out of
there as our starting five."
OK, so it would appear Lannan, Wang and Detwiler will engage in a spring
training battle royale, with the two two finishers earning rotation spots
and the other ... landing in the bullpen? Is that fair to say?
"I think so," Rizzo replied. "I think it'd be fair to say. They're three
quality pitchers, so I don't see them not being on the big-league club. But
there's going to be competition, so we'll see how that all pans out during
spring training. But they're three quality pitchers, and if they're not
three of our best 12 when we leave camp, we're doing pretty good, because
they're three quality major-league pitchers."
Good luck deciphering that quote. Rizzo managed to talk his way around
this issue, offering no concrete answer. Though it's probably safe to
say he considers Lannan, Wang and Detwiler all "quality, major-league
pitchers."
Even if Rizzo totally committed to the bullpen scenario, it doesn't seem
an especially plausible outcome. None of those three has ever worked out
of the bullpen for any length of time, and none particularly profiles well
as a reliever. Wang is coming back from two years of recovery after a major
shoulder injury. Lannan's lot in life is as a starter; he doesn't have the
dominating stuff to face a couple of batters per night, and he's no more
effective against lefties than righties. And Detwiler, still only 25,
did not look comfortable during his brief bullpen stint last summer.
There is one long-shot scenario worth mentioning. Lannan does have one
option remaining, so he could in theory be sent to Class AAA Syracuse
to open the season. But doing so would leave the Nationals paying $5
million to a minor-league pitcher who (as pointed out earlier) led the
staff in wins, starts and innings this year and has done nothing himself
to merit a demotion other than watching his team acquire an All-Star
left-hander.
What about a trade? Well, any one of three certainly could be shopped
around, though it's tough to say what any of them might bring back to
the Nationals. Detwiler remains a promising young starter who possible
fetch something in return. Lannan is a reliable, back-of-the-rotation
lefty with two remaining years of club control. Wang had those back-to-back,
19-win seasons with the Yankees but has yet to fully re-establish
himself since the injury.
In fact, Wang's injury may be the No. 1 reason against the Nationals
making a trade. If Rizzo and Co. were absolutely positive he's healthy
and ready to make 30 starts in 2012, they could afford to part ways with
either Lannan or Detwiler. But there's really no way to know that. Which
of the Nationals' six current starters is least likely to hold up over
the course of an entire season? Without question, it's Wang.
So do you really want to trade Lannan or Detwiler this winter, only to
realize you needed both of them come June or July?
This is indeed quite the conundrum, and it may be a while until it sorts
itself out. There are still 55 days until pitchers and catchers report,
then another 46 days after that before one of the Nationals' six starters
takes the mound at Wrigley Field on Opening Day.
Sometime between now and then, Rizzo will have to figure out how best
to finalize a five-man rotation while also keeping the best stable of
reserve arms he can.
Posted by Mark Zuckerman at 10:21 AM
http://www.natsinsider.com/2011/12/lannan-vs-wang-vs-detwiler.html#more
台灣媒體翻譯說王會因為傷勢而被交易，
但原文明明是說:
王的傷勢會成為國民隊拒絕進行交易(無特定人)的第一原因
如果他們確定王可以在2012年完全健康，那他們可以和Lannan or Detwiler
分道揚鑣，可是無人能保證阿。在現在國民六個先發中，哪一個最不可能
撐過整著球季的，毫無疑問，就是王了。（註：作者忘了小史的局數限制了嗎？）
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◆ From: 140.109.23.99
※ yyhong68:轉錄至看板 Nationals 12/28 16:10
※ 編輯: yyhong68 來自: 140.109.23.99 (12/28 17:21)
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