As first reported by Peter Gammons on twitter and then confirmed by the local beat reporters the Nationals have agreed to terms with Adam LaRoche. --Dave Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com
When looking at Lee vs. LaRoche it appears the neither of them are anything more than average at this point and both should be under one year deals. --Dave Cameron at fangraphs.com
Of course the problem is if the Nationals offer a one year deal it opens the door for Tampa or San Diego to suddenly be a destination for LaRoche. Years of losing mean the Nationals have to pay just a little bit more to get what they want. --Thomas Boswell in The Washington Post
LaRoche is average with the bat, average with the glove, but in many ways average is underrated. It is much better than signing Kotchman, trading talent for Loney, or hoping Morse can be an every day player. --nationalsenquirer.com
With LaRoche now signed a look at the Nationals lineup. --Mark Zuckerman at natsinsider.com
And compared to last season. --William Yoder from thenatsblog.com
Even with LaRoche signed people will still miss Dunn, but Morse can now platoon in left and be a right handed bat off the bench and the questions of him playing first can hopefully end. --Bill Ladson at nationals.com
Boswell reported that Mike Rizzo told him the Nationals haven't talked to Pavano or his agent since the Winter Meetings, but other writers have different sources and they tell them differently, and with the clandestine way Rizzo runs a front office who knows what is real. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com
The Cubs are reportedly close to acquiring Garza. --Bob Harkins from nbcsports.com
Joe Jackson and Pete Rose will most likely never be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Baseball has made it very clear that gambling on the game is reason for a lifetime ban. There is no such edict on PEDs. --Jayson Stark at espn.com