The "Former Nat Watch" Thread (2011)

[Lintyfresh85]

Gregor Blanco - CF - (played most of the year in AAA Syracuse) signed a minor league deal with the Giants.

[epic_phalanx]

Alberto Gonzalez was just released by the Padres.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/minor-moves-gonzalez-buchholz-ortega-.html

Now he can get all the playing time he wants on somebody's AA team.

[sportsfan882]

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/36638/anna-benson-is-back

Anna Benson, the wife of former Mets pitcher Kris, is currently taping segments of a new VH1 show entitled, "Baseball Wives," the Post reports.

According to the report, the show is currently filming in Scottsdale, Ariz., and also includes the wives of Matt Williams and Ron Villone and the ex-wives of Jason Kendall and Mark Grace.

“We are not like the ‘Basketball Wives,’ ” Benson told the Post. “We are classy.”

Kris last pitched in the majors in 2010, when he made three appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

[houston-nat]

Someone call Mrs. Balester!

[houston-nat]

Random thought: if the age 30 Nolan Ryan was a free agent today, what kind of contract would he get?

[Lintyfresh85]

Random thought: if the age 30 Nolan Ryan was a free agent today, what kind of contract would he get?

Through age 29 season...

122-116, 3.11 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, 1.77 K/BB

So... CJ Wilson money?

Wilson through age 30 season...

3.60 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 2.16 K.BB

[houston-nat]

CJ Wilson? But CJ Wilson's only pitched, what, two full years? At age 30 Nolan Ryan's got 6 seasons over 150 innings and a couple over 300.

[Obed_Marsh]

So... CJ Wilson money?

I'd tack on 15%. I may be mindfacting but I recall more buzz and hype around Ryan than Wilson.

[Lintyfresh85]

CJ Wilson? But CJ Wilson's only pitched, what, two full years? At age 30 Nolan Ryan's got 6 seasons over 150 innings and a couple over 300.

Only one I could think of with somewhat similar numbers in ERA/WHIP

[houston-nat]

Only one I could think of with somewhat similar numbers in ERA/WHIP

They are pretty similar lines, except Ryan's greater Ks and BBs. He's like if Edwin Jackson was somebody that everyone agreed was good.

[zimm_da_kid]

I just completely out of the blue thought about Jason Bergmann.  *shudder*

[PC]

Former top prospect Lastings Milledge is putting together a formidable season with the Aragua Tigres in an effort to parlay his performance into a spring training invite.
 
Through 27 games this winter, Milledge is batting .324 with 10 doubles in 105 at-bats and a .387 on-base percentage and is among the league leaders in total bases and slugging.
 
Milledge arrived in Venezuela early to join Aragua’s workouts and has since been the cornerstone of the Tigres’ offense and the go-to guy for Aragua manager Buddy Bailey, who manages Daytona -- the Chicago Cubs’ Class A affiliate in the Florida State League.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/18687/winter-leagues-roundup-milledge-thriving

So he's Wilson Ramos' teammate...

[zimm_da_kid]

So he's Wilson Ramos' teammate...

Someone's going to be stupid enough to invite this cancer to spring training.  I feel bad for that team's fans.

[Nathan]

Someone's going to be stupid enough to invite this cancer to spring training.  I feel bad for that team's fans.

You don't want this?

[zimm_da_kid]

   What does he call this look?

[Vega]

You don't want this?

(Image removed from quote.)

[Vega]

Garrett Mock to the Blue Jays! Yes! He's finally gone!

[Nathan]

Garrett Mock to the Blue Jays! Yes! He's finally gone!

Well, didn't someone else go there and we brought him back.  Was it Kimball?

[The Chief]

lol good point

[Vega]

Well, didn't someone else go there and we brought him back.  Was it Kimball?

This was a minor league contract, not a waiver claim like Kimball.

[Nathan]

This was a minor league contract, not a waiver claim like Kimball.

Well then,

[houston-nat]

MLBTR sez

There are six teams in on free agent reliever Luis Ayala, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN XM radio, including the Mets, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Angels and Red Sox.


Holy sweet jesus 

[houston-nat]

Adam Kilgore adds:

Livan Hernandez has four meetings scheduled at the winter meetings with other teams who view him as a starter — which the Nationals do not.

[Tyler Durden]

Adam Kilgore adds:

Livan Hernandez has four meetings scheduled at the winter meetings with other teams who view him as a starter — which the Nationals do not.

Marlins?

[nats2playoffs]

Report: Laynce Nix agrees to two-year deal with the Phillies
By Adam Kilgore


(Nick Wass - AP)

After spending 2011 with the Nationals, reserve outfielder Laynce Nix reached a two-year deal with the National League East rival Phillies, according to a report by CSN Philadelphia. The contract is pending a physical.  The Nationals planned to overhaul their underperforming bench, but in Nix they lost a power hitter who could mash right-handed pitching and, for a time, worked his way into the starting lineup. Last year, Nix clubbed a career-high 16 home runs, all of them against right-handers, and hit .263 with a .306 on-base percentage and a .475 slugging percentage against right-handed pitching.

The Nationals and Nix had discussions immediately after the season, and the sides had more dialogue later in the offseason. But the allure of a two-year deal, for a player who had never before signed a big league deal, proved too much to pass up.

The Nationals signed Nix as a minor league free agent last February, and after an impressive start Nix worked his way into the starting lineup, replacing Michael Morse in left field. He could play left or right field and covered a surprising amount of ground for his size. He was well-liked by teammates, a veteran part of the clubhouse bedrock.

Nix’s season hit a snag as he fought a sore left hamstring, which never fully healed and frequently kept him on the bench. He still played well enough to earn the first major league deal of his career, and a two-year one at that. With the Phillies, Nix serve as a platoon in left field with John Mayberry Jr....