Have the White Sox actually given up in their pursuit of the Nats' big middle-of-the-order bat? The latest rumors have the Sox discussing a deal for Manny Ramirez with the Dodgers. Both SI.com's Jon Heyman (@SI_jonheyman) and FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) are reporting that Chicago's taking a run at LA's outfielder to fill their need for a slugger, and Mr. Rosenthal's colleague at FOXSports.com Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) has Tweeted within the last half-hour that the Nats' GM Mike Rizzo refuses to budge:
"Hearing that #Nats are keeping a high price tag on their guys, T-minus four hours to deadline."
(ed. note - "The latest note on the Sox seeking Manny comes from SI.com's Jon Heyman (@SI_jonheyman), who reports via Twitter that the Dodgers are asking for Chicago infielder Dayan Viciedo in return for LA's veteran outfielder.")
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) thinks that Tampa Bay might be the only team still in the hunt for the Nats' 30-year-old 40/100 threat. In a Tweet at around 9:00 am this morning Mr. Crasnick wrote that, "In the end, it might come down to Andrew Friedman deciding how much he's comfortable giving up for Adam Dunn." But apparently Mr. Crasnick gets the same vibe from the DC GM that the rest of the writers around baseball are getting because his last Tweet on the subject supported a lot of what was being reported last night:
@jcrasnick: "Nats GM Mike Rizzo gave distinct impression that he'll keep Dunn if he can't get what he wants. It didn't seem like posturing."
• In a small bit of news unrelated to Adam Dunn, Nats Insider.com's Mark Zuckerman finally provided a bit of info on Cuban right-hander Yunesky Maya this morning in a post entitled, "Deadline day thread", in which he reports that Maya:
"...has been granted his visa and has traveled to Washington. I expect a formal announcement of his signing will come in the very near future, perhaps as soon as today."
Federal Baseball is in Nationals Park, and I'll be here all day trying to see if anything happens...