Asked in early January, after several unsuccessful attempts, if the Nationals would continue to pursue the top of the rotation arm that had been Washington's stated target this winter, D.C. GM Mike Rizzo, in a small scrum with the D.C. press corps during Adam LaRoche's official introduction, told reporters the Nats would:
"I will say that we're going to keep attempting to do so," Mr. Rizzo said, "but again, they're few and far between and very difficult to obtain."
The Nats traded for one-time Pirates' and Cubs' starter Tom Gorzelanny shortly thereafter, though he's not considered a front-end starter, and according to an anonymous "big league scout" cited by MASNSports.com's Phil Wood yesterday, in an article entitled, "After roster move, are Nats talking with Indians?", the Nationals have also spoken to the Cleveland Indians' about the availability of 27-year-old right-hander Fausto Carmona (and OF Grady Sizemore). MASN's Mr. Wood is the only one who's written about this trade possibility. When I emailed one of the co-authors of the SB Nation's Indians blog Let's Go Tribe to see if he'd heard about the rumors, or thought there might be any truth behind the chatter, they said that they hadn't...
Federal Baseball: Wondering if you'd heard any talk about the Nats and Indians talking about a deal for Carmona/Sizemore? Have you heard any of these rumors? Think there's anything to them? Any thoughts on what the Indians would want in return?
Let's Go Tribe: "No, I haven't seen anything substantive about Carmona or Sizemore. The Indians are generally very tight-lipped about trades, so that doesn't mean they haven't discussed Carmona with teams, but I seriously doubt anything will happen. The Indians control Carmona through 2014; that includes this guaranteed money this year (2011) and three team option years. It's a ridiculously team-friendly contract. The Indians don't need to dump his salary; if he stinks or gets hurt, they don't have to pick up next year's option, and the options are pretty reasonable ($7M in 2012, $9M in 2013, $12M in 2014). So the only reason they'd deal him is if the return is really, really, REALLY good.
"Forget Sizemore. He's coming off knee surgery, and they aren't going to trade him with his value that low. MAYBE they try to deal him at the trading deadline, but even then the return would have to be insanely good. They dealt Lee and Martinez because the farm system needed restocking, and this season they have one of the better farm systems in baseball. They don't need prospects, and I think they'll try very hard to extend him after the season. If they can't extend him, next off-season would be the logical time to trade him."
More info when and if anyone else comments on the rumored talks...