At the end of an appearance on MASN's Mid-Atlantic Sports Report which focused on his recent article about Bryce Harper's thoughts on making the Opening Day roster, MLB.com Nats beat writer Bill Ladson talked about the chances of Jayson Werth ending up in center with Harper in right and the possibility of the Washington Nationals making a trade for an outfielder this Spring. Though Mr. Ladson said Werth could play center and will see time there in Spring Training, he added, "... it would not surprise me if [Nats' GM] Mike Rizzo tried to acquire a center fielder and then we'll see Jayson Werth back in right and Bryce Harper back in the minors."

"Now, is John Lannan out there?" Mr. Ladson asked rhetorically, "There's no question in my mind, although Mike Rizzo will deny it, that John Lannan will be traded, and I think he'll be traded for a center fielder or a position player." Mr. Ladson's not alone. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark on Thursday, in an article entitled, "Big names who might be on the move", listed the Nats' 27-year-old left-hander as one of five players, "... whose names are already being floated -- and could legitimately get traded between now and Opening Day."

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It wasn't the fact that the Washington Nationals signed Jayson Werth away from Philadelphia that made them angry. Phillies fans quickly came up with a punny way to deal with the loss and sum up what they thought about their former right fielder's true value. When Werth went out and had a 26 double, 20 HR, .232/.330/.389, +2.5 fWAR season in the first year of his 7-year/$126M dollar deal, after a 46 double, 27 HR, .296/.388/.532, +5.3 fWAR final season in Philadelphia, the joke was once again on the Nats. When D.C. GM Mike Rizzo and Jayson Werth reportedly joked about the Nats' NL East rivals last Spring, in a story that was later refuted by both the general manager and outfielder, that didn't seem to get to Phillies fans either, who laughed at the idea that any sort of rivalry between the two franchises even existed. The Nationals were, after all, 39-71 against the Phillies since moving from Montreal, and a brutal 15-39 against the Phillies from 2008-10 when Philadelphia made two World Series appearances, one of which ('08) resulted in their first World Series win since 1980 while the Nats lost 102, 103 and 93 games over the same three seasons...

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The Washington Nationals were the no.1 system in baseball on Baseball America's organizational rankings before the trade that sent three of the prospects on BA's November '11 Top 10 Nats' prospect list to Oakland in return for A's left-hander Gio Gonzalez and RHP Robert Gilliam. Baseball America's Jim Callis (@JimCallisBA) commented on Twitter that the deal would result in the Nationals slipping, "... a little in final rankings."

ESPN.com's Keith Law wrote yesterday in his rankings of the top organizations in baseball that the 4-for-2 trade with the A's turned the Nationals from, "a top-10 system," and, "no worse than top 15" on the list to no.21 overall because after the deal, as he wrote, "this system lacks depth." Two current Nationals' prospects and two former Nats' prospects made the ESPN.com writer and scout's list of the Top 100 Prospects in baseball when it was published this morning...

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When the Washington Nationals sent '09 no.1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg to Double-A Harrisburg to start his first professional season, he expressed some disappointment. The then-21-year-old right-hander had finished his junior year at San Diego State University with a (13-1) record, a 1.32 ERA, 195 K's (16.1 K/9) and just 19 walks (1.5 BB/9) in 15 starts and 109.0 IP. After that he went to the Arizona Fall League, where he was (4-1) in 5 GS and 19.0 IP, giving up 15 H, 10 R, 9 ER, three HR's and seven walks while recording 23 K's (10.89 K/9). In 9.0 Spring Training innings in 2010, Strasburg allowed eight hits, two runs, two earned, two HR's and a walk while striking out 12. When he was sent to Double-A Harrisburg to start the season, he told reporters, including the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, that he was convinced he had a chance to make the Opening Day roster.

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MLB Network Radio host Cliff Floyd (@Sleepy30), (who is friends w/ Michael Morse, to be clear before I write the following words), threatened to smack the Washington Nationals' 1B/LF when the 29-year-old slugger told the 17-year major league-vet that he planned to walk more in 2012 during an MLB Roundtrip interview tonight. Morse, a seven-year veteran who hit 36 doubles and 31 HR's while posting a .303/.360/.550 line, walking 36 times and striking out 126 times in 146 games and 575 PA's in a +3.4 fWAR 2011 season, signed a 2-year/$10.5M dollar extension earlier this winter. The response that prompted the threats from Cliff Floyd came when he asked Morse what he would concentrate on this Spring and this season:

Cliff Floyd: "Mike, I want to talk about you for a minute, and what you did last year. I mean, you had a breakout season. Now expectations are on you. When pitching coaches bring their pitchers into meetings, you're going to be on that board as a guy to not let you beat them. What are you doing differently this year, mentally, to prepare yourself for that little added... I'm not saying you're going to put that pressure on yourself, but that little added pressure of now you are the man on this team, or one of the men?"

Michael Morse: "Well, one thing I'm going to try to do this year, it might sound a little weird, but I want to try to walk more. I'm a free swinger, I've always been, but I think-- "

Cliff Floyd: "You're going to make me smack you. You're going to make me come through-- I'm gonna see you tonight and I'm going to smack you for that comment right there. I'm gonna knock you out."

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Then-Washington Nationals' skipper Jim Riggleman said everyone wanted '09 1st Round pick Drew Storen to claim the closer's role, but if necessary, the manager said last Spring, the Nats could use Sean Burnett as a closer if Storen struggled as he grew into the job. The Nationals had acquired flame throwing reliever Henry Rodriguez the previous December with D.C. GM Mike Rizzo telling Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore at the time (in an article entitled, "Josh Willingham traded by Washington Nationals to Oakland Athletics for Henry Rodriguez and Corey Brown") that the Nats, "'... foresee [Rodriguez] down the road as a guy who has the possibility to pitch in the back end of a game, either set up [Drew] Storen in the eighth inning or pitch in the ninth inning." Storen then struggled through a rough Spring Training in which he allowed 24 hits and 16 runs, 14 earned in 11 Grapefruit League outings and 11.1 IP over which he K'd 14 and walked two batters.

As Storen explained in response to a caller's question yesterday in an interview on the MLB Network Radio show First Pitch with Jim Memolo and Jeff Nelson, his struggles last Spring helped him regain his focus. "I think in the end, that was one of the best things that ever happened to me," the 24-year-old Brownsburg, Indiana-born right-hander said. He took the whole Spring as a learning experience and it's informed how he'll approach Spring Training this time around. "I learned a lot about what it takes to be successful at the big league level and what I need to do to be successful," Storen said, and this Spring, "I'm going to do the same thing. I'm going to go in and I'm going to try some different things and see what works and see what doesn't."

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When the Washington Nationals called first baseman and '06 1st Round pick Chris Marrero up late in the 2011 campaign, Nats' skipper Davey Johnson told reporters that Michael Morse, who'd taken over at first when Adam LaRoche went down with a shoulder injury, would move back to left so that they could get a look at what Marrero could do at the major league level. An additional benefit of the move, the manager explained to Washington Times' writer Amanda Comak, was that it would give Morse time to prepare for the 2012 campaign, when LaRoche would return and play first in the second year of his 2-year/$16M dollar deal. "'Ideally,'" the 68-year-old skipper told the Washington Times' reporter, "when LaRoche comes back, we'll have LaRoche at first and probably [Morse] in left field. But definitely, we'll have him somewhere every day."

Morse was a different player (offensively) when he was in left field as opposed to first base. In 83 games and 354 plate appearances as a 1B last year, Morse had a .336/.401/.601 slash with 27 of his 35 doubles and 19 of his 31 HR's. In 52 games and 208 plate appearances in left, Morse had a .254/.293/.482 line. BABIP? .384 as a 1B, .282 as a LF. In his career, Morse has played 102 games as a first baseman, in 402 career PA as a 1B, Morse has a .327/.388/.579 line. As a left fielder, the 29-year-old, seven-year veteran has a .250/.300/.459 line in 62 games and 240 plate appearances. Coincidence? Insignificant?

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• Mike Cameron. Mark Teahen. Rick Ankiel. Brett Carroll. Mark DeRosa. Chad Tracy. Jason Michaels. Xavier Paul. Jarrett Hoffpauir. Jeff Fulchino. Andres Blanco. Waldis Joaquin. Teahen was just the latest veteran name the Nats inked to a deal this winter. They traded for Gio Gonzalez, signed right-hander Edwin Jackson. The Nats re-signed Chien-Ming Wang early this winter. They claimed Carlos Rivero off waivers from Philadelphia. They traded Collin Balester for Ryan Perry...signed a bunch of minor league free agents. They added Brad Lidge to the bullpen. That's off the top of my head. There will be new names in Spring Training, but not too many spots available on the Opening Day roster. The biggest story of the Spring, however, is going to be Bryce Harper. He topped another prospect list released yesterday...LINKS...RIGHT NOW!!

• THE BIG STORY:

• "When it comes to Harper's immediate future, Nationals farm director Doug Harris chooses to take a very conservative approach dealing with the steady swirl of media and fan interest." - "Nationals' organization preview, Top 20 Prospects" - Doug Miller, MLB.com

• NATS BEAT:

• "[Mark] Teahan, 30, will compete for a spot on the Nationals’ bench and could give them needed depth at Class AAA Syracuse." - "Nationals sign Mark Teahen to minor league deal" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

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