Rauch to the D'Backs

[HoustonGM]

The Nationals sent their closer Jon Rauch to the Arizona Diamondbacks for middle infield prospect Emilio Bonifacio.

Really, this is an absolute steal for Arizona. Bonifacio is likely a longterm reserve with upside as a below-average second basemen. Rauch has taken fine to the closer role and has had a really good year, with 44 to 7 strikeout to walk ratio in 48.2 innings.

Rauch was probably the most sought-after reliever on the market, besides Brain Fuentes of the Rockies, so it's really surprising that Washington GM Jim Bowden gave him up for such a little return.

Right now, I'm wondering if Rauch will take over the closer role in Arizona from Brandon Lyon. I've heard nothing official about it. Lyon has been okay, and had a nice run of 25 scoreless innings that ended on June 12, but he's struggled since then with a 10.03 ERA in 11.2 innings (along with 2 unearned runs). Personally, I hope Rauch closes, but that's because I have him on a couple fantasy teams .

[metsguy234]

Wow, this is a big trade for Arizona. Rauch is a VERY good pitcher, and now, well, the Nationals will really suck.

What happened to Chad Cordero??

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Hes out for the season with a shoulder or elbow injury.

[Reade]

Good move by arizona

[RedsoxRockies]

Very good move by Arizona, awful by Washington. Bonifacio is fast, but Rauch is one of the better pitchers out there

[OldFatGuy]

CHALK ANOTHER ONE UP FOR THE GREAT JIM BOWDEN ! ! !

There are several GM's out there that you could question as to why they have their jobs, but NONE more so than this guy. Funny, when the new ownership bought the Nationals, they got rid of Frank Robinson and kept Jim Bowden, bass ackwards if you were going to keep one IMHO. Apparently Bowden and the new ownership are equally stupid SOB's.

I posted very recently about the Nationals being unable to keep Rauch due to the Orioles getting all their TV money, but they could've gotten more in return than this deal. DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB. I'm telling all of you folks who don't have a home town team, the only thing worse than not having a team is getting one that will forever be unable to compete because of stupid, illegal, deal Angelos got from MLB when the franchise moved to DC. Trust me. I was here when the Senators left, I was heartbroken, and I can say with experience the only thing worse than not having a team is having one that will never be able to compete.

I think I've attended my last Nats game and purchased my last Nats cap (bought three in the three years). No more of my money going to this waste.

[TheNamelessPoet]

nats got ROBBED

[TheNamelessPoet]

then again... we all said santana was a steal and minny looks like they might have gotten the better end of the deal

[HoustonGM]

then again... we all said santana was a steal and minny looks like they might have gotten the better end of the deal

They do? It's WAY too early to tell. Going just by what each team has gotten from the trade in the major leagues, the Mets have gotten the better end of the deal by a longshot.

[filihok]

They do? It's WAY too early to tell. Going just by what each team has gotten from the trade in the major leagues, the Mets have gotten the better end of the deal by a longshot.

I'm going to need to see some stats on that.

We can't say how Minnesota faired because we don't know what any of the other options were except for Keep Santana. That wasn't a very useful option (well...except they might win the central, but they're doing pretty good without him). This was the trade they made. We don't have anything to compare it to

[HoustonGM]

I'm going to need to see some stats on that.

We can't say how Minnesota faired because we don't know what any of the other options were except for Keep Santana. That wasn't a very useful option (well...except they might win the central, but they're doing pretty good without him). This was the trade they made. We don't have anything to compare it to

All I'm saying that the Mets have gotten more value out of Johan Santana THIS year in the majors than the Twins have gotten out of the 4 players they got for Santana....

[filihok]

All I'm saying that the Mets have gotten more value out of Johan Santana THIS year in the majors than the Twins have gotten out of the 4 players they got for Santana....

Way to go out there on a limb. That could have been said with a fair amount of confidence three months before the trade was made.

[HoustonGM]

Way to go out there on a limb. That could have been said with a fair amount of confidence three months before the trade was made.

I was replying to:

we all said santana was a steal and minny looks like they might have gotten the better end of the deal

because I don't see how that's at all the case.

[WHAK0985]

CHALK ANOTHER ONE UP FOR THE GREAT JIM BOWDEN ! ! !

There are several GM's out there that you could question as to why they have their jobs, but NONE more so than this guy. Funny, when the new ownership bought the Nationals, they got rid of Frank Robinson and kept Jim Bowden, bass ackwards if you were going to keep one IMHO. Apparently Bowden and the new ownership are equally stupid SOB's.

I posted very recently about the Nationals being unable to keep Rauch due to the Orioles getting all their TV money, but they could've gotten more in return than this deal. DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB. I'm telling all of you folks who don't have a home town team, the only thing worse than not having a team is getting one that will forever be unable to compete because of stupid, illegal, deal Angelos got from MLB when the franchise moved to DC. Trust me. I was here when the Senators left, I was heartbroken, and I can say with experience the only thing worse than not having a team is having one that will never be able to compete.

I think I've attended my last Nats game and purchased my last Nats cap (bought three in the three years). No more of my money going to this waste.

Don't forget about the other bit of news for the Nationals today. Bowden signed Christian Guzman to a two year contract extension reportedly worth 8 million a year. I guess it's only for two years, and it isn't as awful as that 4 year Luis Castillo deal by the Mets for a similar player. But still. It is Christian Guzman after all.

[HoustonGM]

Don't forget about the other bit of news for the Nationals today. Bowden signed Christian Guzman to a two year contract extension reportedly worth 8 million a year. I guess it's only for two years, and it isn't as awful as that 4 year Luis Castillo deal by the Mets for a similar player. But still. It is Christian Guzman after all.

This is actually somewhat justifiable. Guzman had Lasik surgery before last year, and he's better than ever since then, plus his shoulder is now healthy, so there's legitimate reasons to believe he's a different player now than his track record.