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The questions about when the Washington Nationals would shut down their star pitcher Stephen Strasburg were answered by manager Davey Johnson on Saturday morning.

Nationals beat writer for MASNsports.com Byron Kerr is reporting on Twitter about the organization’s plans for Strasburg:

“Davey just announced Strasburg shutdown effective immediately”

— Byron Kerr (@masnKerr) September 8, 2012

CSNwashington.com beat writer Mark Zuckerman talks about whose call it was and what Johnson said about Strasburg’s season:

“Davey: ‘I made this call.’ Discussed with Rizzo last night, informed Strasburg today.”

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 8, 2012

“Davey: ‘He’s had a great year and I know what he’s going through the last couple weeks. The hype on this thing had been unbearable.'”

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 8, 2012

Washington Post Nationals insider Adam Kilgore is reporting the reason behind the decision, according to Johnson:

“Davey said he sensed ‘from the first pitch’ yesterday that Strasburg was overwhelmed. ‘Now he can get past this.'”

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) September 8, 2012

“Davey: ‘I don’t see the ball jumping out of his hand. I don’t see any crispness. This game is 99 percent mental.'”

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) September 8, 2012

After recovering from Tommy John surgery that put him on an innings count and would ultimately decide when his season was over to ensure no further damage to the elbow, Strasburg returned to elite form for most of 2012.

The Nationals ace has managed an impressive 15-6 record this season with an even more impressive ERA of 3.16, but Strasburg was forced out of the team’s last game after letting up five runs in three innings.

While some took this as a sign that the organization would further the innings count for the young star, it solidified the club’s decision to stop the season where it was and allow Strasburg ample time to rest his arm and get ready for 2013.

The Nationals are in the midst of a push for the postseason, but the organization is doing the right thing for their young star by shutting him down for the remainder of the season.

Washington will be better off having the star healthy over the next 10 years instead of pushing its luck and ruining the young man’s career.

Check back for more on Major League Baseball as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s MLB page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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After one of the biggest trades in Major League Baseball history, James Loney has found himself on the Boston Red Sox with the weight of a failing organization resting on his shoulders.

With the failure of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford’s contract—not to mention whatever it was Josh Beckett thought he was doing—Loney will now be the face of all that failure.

While his 2012 wasn’t going great, a change of pace and the knowledge that he will be a free agent after this season will get the young star playing well to finish the season.

Once it’s over though, he should not re-sign with Boston.

The Boston Media

One of the toughest parts about playing for a team like the Boston Red Sox is the intense scrutiny from the fans and the media on everything that the players do on and off the field. As we saw over the last three seasons in Boston, it gets complicated at Fenway Park.

While every man hungers for chicken and beer from time to time, Loney must pass on possibly re-signing with the Red Sox because that isn’t his style. Loney has never been great with the media, and it will be much worse in Boston.

Loney will have a chance to see what it’s like in the town after such a huge trade, and he will choose for himself if the pressure put on him from all different sides is worth the glory he could have if they turn the organization around.

It won’t be worth it.

The Allure of Free Agency

As much as becoming a star for the storied Boston Red Sox would intrigue any baseball player, this is James Loney’s biggest chance to get a payday in his career. At 28 years old, this may be his last major contract and it needs to be huge.

That likely won’t come from Boston, so it’s time to test the waters and try to get the biggest paycheck he can.

Despite having a mediocre season, the turnover in the Dodger’s organization and uncertainty around 2012 will do that to a player. The hope for Loney and his next team will be that the change of scenery and stability will result in a career rejuvenation.

Loney’s got the skill to do it.

The Weight of This Trade

From now on in Boston, James Loney will always be the player traded for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.

Despite the fact that the real key in the trade was star prospect Ivan de Jesus going to the Red Sox, the Boston fans will always associate Loney with the bad deals that he cleared from the books.

No matter how much salary room for the team he helped create, his name will always be associated with the failure of those players and those contracts.

That’s something no player wants to deal with.

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s MLB page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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The New York Mets‘ run toward the MLB playoffs has gotten much tougher with the team’s placement of All-Star starting pitcher Johan Santana on the 15-day disabled list with an ankle injury.

ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin is reporting via Twitter about Santana heading to the DL:

Johan Santana to DL, officially with ankle injury.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) July 21, 2012

There were concerns from around the majors that Santana was going too hard too soon after having shoulder surgery, but the pitcher’s recent struggles don’t appear to be related to that previous injury.

Just as Rubin stated, the belief is that any other soreness in his shoulder or any missteps in his delivery can be attributed to the sore ankle.

What It Means

The New York Mets sit 4.5 games out of one of the NL wild-card spots, and losing Santana may be too big of a blow for the talented team to overcome.

While R.A. Dickey is having the greatest season of his career, the lack of depth in the starting rotation and in the bullpen will be the ultimate undoing of the Mets in 2012. Santana’s absence for three starts at least may be the team’s playoff death knell.

Santana and the team will slow-play this injury so that it doesn’t get worse and cost him even more time later in 2012 or even into 2013.

Playing it safe now is the right way to go.

What’s Next?

For the New York Mets, putting Santana on the DL was a no-brainer. With the ankle injury not being that serious, the team is playing it safe because it is obviously screwing up the star’s delivery.

After missing the 2011 season with shoulder surgery, the last thing the Mets need is Santana altering his delivery to compensate for the sore ankle and re-injuring himself. It’s better to lose him for 15 days instead of much longer.

With the Mets slowly falling out of contention in the National League, this could be the kind of loss that kills any remaining hope for the New York faithful. While that is a hard pill to swallow, it’s better for Santana’s long-term success.

Check back for more on Major League Baseball as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s MLB page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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With the 2012 MLB season almost upon us, it’s time to get down to the crux of the fantasy baseball rankings, which always starts with the sleepers.

While there are big names due for breakout seasons, the following players will all have amazing seasons and you could pick them up in the middle or later rounds.

Grab these players as late as you can in the draft and laugh all the way to the fantasy baseball bank.

Trevor Cahill

While 12 wins in 2011 is a solid season that could be deemed worthy of a selection in deeper fantasy leagues, new Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Trevor Cahill will be so much more than that.

With 18 wins the previous season in Oakland, the more powerful offense that Arizona boasts will help bring his record back to where his ERA and WHIP depicts it should be.

Add in over 200 innings pitched each of the last two seasons, and the 24-year-old star will be a huge part of the reinvention in the desert. I expect 19 wins, a 3.11 ERA and 144 strikeouts.

Sean Marshall

With the recent news that new closer Ryan Madson had been diagnosed with an elbow injury and will be forced to undergo Tommy John surgery, the new closer in Cincinnati will be Sean Marshall.

Marshall was one of the best setup men in MLB last season, posting a 2.26 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 75.2 innings of a work with the Chicago Cubs last season.

The former Cub was brought in to help Madson take the full reins of a team, but it will be him taking the reins. While there are uncertainties around him, Marshall will do fine and put up 33 saves and a 2.66 ERA.

Wilson Ramos

After a wild offseason that has the Washington Nationals young catcher thankful to be alive, Wilson Ramos looks to dominate at the plate this season.

With a Nationals team that is getting stronger by the day, Ramos is a big key to the success of the team now and going forward. While his .267 batting average in 2011 isn’t that impressive, this season will be different.

With a full MLB season under his belt, Ramos will hit closer to .285 this season with 25 home runs and 80 RBI. That’s a sleeper if I ever heard of one!

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s MLB Page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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With the 2012 MLB season just a few weeks away, it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty of the fantasy baseball sleepers for this season.

This piece will discuss the top three sleeper sluggers that fantasy owners can wait a few rounds longer on and still reap the rewards.

All of the following MLB stars will have stellar 2012 seasons, so feel free to grab them as late as physically possible.

Hunter Pence

The Philadelphia Phillies are starting the season down two men, with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard both nursing injuries that could cost them extended periods of the 2012 season.

With that said, they need Hunter Pence to deliver an MVP-quality season. That’s exactly what he will do in his first full season in Phillies pinstripes. Fantasy owners should be scooping Pence up early.

After putting up a stellar .324 batting average with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in just 54 games with the Phillies last season, Pence will look to shock the world and become the Phillies’ go-to guy.

Austin Jackson

After a superb rookie season in 2010, Detroit Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson had a mediocre 2011 that saw him bat .249 and strike out 181 times.

With the addition of a slugger like Prince Fielder to an already talented offensive bunch, Jackson should see more quality pitches to hit this season. No doubt teams will want to face the center fielder instead of Fielder or Cabrera.

If you can wait until the later rounds to snag him, that’s your best bet. If he starts getting talked about in the middle rounds, take him and reap the fantasy benefits.

Cameron Maybin

After already bouncing around in his short MLB career, it’s time for 24-year-old outfielder Cameron Maybin to have the breakout season everyone wants from him.

In 2011, his first season with the San Diego Padres, Maybin made a huge mark, with 82 runs scored and 40 stolen bases. If he can continue to build confidence in a lineup that offers little help offensively, he will be a great mid-round fantasy steal.

While there is plenty of risk, as there is nobody in the Padres lineup to prevent pitchers from pitching around Maybin, his base-stealing ability will discourage much of that.

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s MLB Page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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The meager New York Yankees rotation from last season will have a new look come the opening of the 2012 season when they unveil their newest acquisitions of starting pitchers Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda.

After watching starters like A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes drop down the depth chart as far as humanly possible, the Yankees management knew that standing still wouldn’t help them get anywhere.

While the offseason was quiet up until just a few hours ago, the Yankees stole the show with two of the biggest power moves of the offseason. Add in the fact that the Yankees may not be done, and this could be a wild stretch towards spring training.

Michael Pineda

There may be no better prospect at the MLB level right now then the newly acquired Pineda. At 6’7” 260 pounds, the giant right-hander will be the No. 2 in what could be the most devastating starting combinations in all of baseball.

While Pineda’s win-loss record was mediocre at best during his one-year MLB stay with the Seattle Mariners, it just proves that those stats are irrelevant to how good a pitcher truly is. Look to Pineda’s 173 strikeouts in 171 innings in his very first season to realize where his talent is going.

Add in a 3.74 ERA and you have a player that could win 15 games with the Yankees this year. Have CC Sabathia take him under his wing and Pineda could have 18 wins this season.

As much as losing a prospect like catcher Jesus Montero hurts the Yankees, Pineda will be the future of the pitching staff in New York for a long time.

Michael Pineda > Freddie Garcia

Jesus Montero

As good as the Pineda move is for the starting rotation, the transaction didn’t come with no cost to the Yankees. They gave up one of the best catching prospects in all of baseball in Jesus Montero.

The 22-year-old came up late last season, but in just 18 games, he managed a stellar .328 batting average as well as four home runs and 12 RBI.

With Montero’s departure, coupled with the reports indicating that veteran Jorge Posada will retire, the pressure will fall on the duo of Russell Martin and Francisco Cervelli. While Cervelli is a good prospect, Martin emerged as an All-Star last season, which made the trade moving Montero easier to swallow.

Hiroki Kuroda

Yankees GM Brian Cashman realized that the problems ran deeper than just adding one pitcher and having them all go away. That’s why he made a free agent splash by signing former Los Angeles Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda.

Since coming to the MLB just five years ago, Kuroda has been an innings eater. Even with an injury that sidelined him for latter half of the 2009 season, Kuroda still averages 175 innings pitched per season.

With a 3.07 ERA and 161 strikeouts, the Yankees have turned the bottom-third of their rotation into one of the best in the league. Add this potent pitching to their stellar offense and you have the most dangerous team in MLB.

Who’s Next?

With the pitching rotation much closer to complete than it was just a few hours ago, it may be time for New York to start hunting for the power bat off the bench and at DH that could be the right addition to the team.

The most interesting name so far has been Carlos Pena, formerly of the Chicago Cubs. While Pena has the power to hit a home run during any at-bat, his low batting average has kept teams from taking the chance.

The Yankees have a plethora of legendary hitters and talented hitting coaches that could help shape Pena into a solid bench player who also can play first base or DH. Pena would be a versatile add that wouldn’t cost much money and could turn into something special with some TLC.

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s MLB Page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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The American League Cy Young and MVP winner for 2011 was Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander. That’s not where the honor stops, though.

Verlander is now on the front cover of video game MLB 2k12.

Verlander took to Twitter to show the world:

While many athletes just get a normal image of themselves posing, the people at 2k Sports have taken the idea of artwork on the front to a new level.

Just like Roy Halladay from last year and Michael Jordan on the front of the NBA 2k games, the star seems to be moving through a mist. It’s fantastic to look at.

The coolest part of the actual cover is the fact that his arm is electrified. While it’s not a big detail or something that everyone will catch, the fact that they are showing his arm in a super hero like fashion could become the staple of the covers.

And there may be no more deserving athlete in the last five years that deserves to be on the front of this game. He was absolutely lights out this year.

Verlander started 34 games this season for the Tigers, picking up 24 wins. Many of those wins broke up losing streaks and kept Detroit in playoff contention through good times and bad.

With 250 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.4, Verlander was the clear choice for AL Cy Young. The Tigers pitcher one the MVP award because no hitter did more for his team’s success than Verlander. People said pitchers shouldn’t win the award, but no one meant more to their team in the entire MLB than Verlander this year.

Such an amazing season should be immortalized with a fantastic video game cover. Verlander deserves the honor.

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s MLB Page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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The Tampa Bay Rays are looking for more over-the-hill veterans to fill out their roster like they did last season. But as they saw last year, it’s not exactly the best way to go about it.

Now with news that Jorge Posada may be on the team’s radar, I am convinced that the club is satisfied with being as mediocre as you can get.

Posada had his worst statistical season of his career with the Yankees this year and the Rays want him. Why? I understand the veteran presence, but don’t they have enough of that?

NBC Hardball Talk is reporting on Posada’s possible suitors:

Javier Maymi of ESPNDeportes.com hears (link in Spanish) that the Rays are interested in the 40-year-old. Maymi confirmed the information with Posada’s father, who said he has also had some discussions with the Orioles and Phillies. However, he hasn’t decided whether he will play in 2012.

This is a terrible move for a team that doesn’t need any more veteran players, at least not Jorge Posada. With a lack of offensive production, Posada adds nothing more than a strong veteran presence and mediocre pinch hitting.

If Tampa Bay signs Posada, that means they will not try to re-sign veteran Johnny Damon. If I was given the choice of one over-the-hill veteran or the other, I would much rather have a more consistent Damon than a clunky Posada.

This is the point of his career when Posada needs to realize that it’s over and he has all the money he needs. Think about the reputation he has and how the end will be further tainted if he signs with a team and becomes and even further shell of the player he once was.

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s MLB Page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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As MLB Spring Training approaches, predictions are being thrown around like snowballs in winter.

For the Phillies organization, losing a big offensive star in Jayson Werth was met with the arrival of pitching ace Cliff Lee.

When the opportunity arose for me to make some wild predictions of my own for the upcoming season, I couldn’t resist.

The following slideshow is my five wild predictions for the 2011 MLB season pertaining to the Philadelphia Phillies.

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As the spring draws closer, the talk of pitchers and catchers starts circulating amongst the fans.

Philadelphia Phillies fans, and baseball fans in general, start to grow restless as thoughts of homeruns and Cy Young Awards dance in their heads.

With a tumultuous offseason almost over, the Phillies roster has been altered in a big way.  It will be interesting to see the effects of the big addition of pitcher Cliff Lee and the departure of right handed hitter Jayson Werth.

The following list consists of 10 things that have to happen for the Philadelphia Phillies to have a shot at another World Series win.

The wait for spring training is on and the let the excitement grow, Enjoy!

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