The Nationals have no interest in trading demoted SP John Lannan to the Cubs for OF Marlon Byrd. Byrd, who used to be a reserve outfield for the Nationals, would only be used as a stop gap measure to cover for some injuries. The Nationals are willing to wait for former first round pick, Bryce Harper, to be called up to solve any outfield issues.
Lannan is unhappy by being demoted to AAA. He is the Nats Randy Wells. It was a numbers game, and Lannan wound up the 6th starter. With an option left, he was sent to AAA to be held in case one of the five regulars gets hurt or shut down. Which is a possibility since Strasburg is coming back from an injury and his innings may be throttled back.
Why the Cubs would want to pick up another $5.5 million starter in Lannan when the real immediate problem is with the bullpen is fairly simple: depth. Adding Lannan to the mix allows the Cubs to massage a deal down the road to trade Dempster ($14 million) or Garza ($9 million) or package them to move Soriano and some of his $19 million salary.
It is going to be a long, tough season on the North Side, especially at the turnstiles. Ticket demand is waning, so the best business plan is to continue to pare back on salaries, even with a spendthrift owner buying and building real estate projects. Byrd's $6.5 million contract appeared to be the most movable piece on the roster, but that is an expensive 4th outfielder for most teams. Most of the Cubs moves this season will be Seller salary dumps.
