The Nationals haven’t liked the offers they’ve gotten for 1B/OF Adam Dunn and think the team will not be trading the veteran power hitter, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
The Nationals preference seems to be to sign an extension with Adam Dunn instead of trading him. The two sides haven’t been even close to one though so the Nationals have explored the possibility of trading him.
Even if it becomes clear that an extension becomes impossible, the Nats seem to be thinking that they might as well hold on to the type-A free agent and take the two first round draft picks if they fail to sign him.
The Yankees have been connected to Dunn for a couple of days now, but as far as we know the two sides have not met to discuss a deal.
The only thing concrete that we know is that the Yankees would like to have Dunn, but who wouldn’t?
If the Yankees do acquire Dunn, expect a deal to get done quickly a la the Bobby Abreu deal in 2006. What Brian Cashman and the Yankees did there was wait patiently for the market to develop on Abreu and once they decided that they liked the asking price, they came out of nowhere to make an offer that closed the deal.
With that thinking in mind, this news is hard to gauge. The Nationals GM Mike Rizzo may just be pandering in an attempt to get better offers, or he may really be willing to hang on to Dunn and try to resign him this offseason.
If he’s just pandering, that could mean the Yankees may be able to work out a deal in the future, but if he’s really willing to hold on to him than they are unlikely to blow the Nats away with a deal that could pry Dunn away.
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