Nats shopping Lannan, exploring options

The Washington Nationals, even after acquiring left-hander Gio Gonzalez and signing him to a five-year, $42 million extension, might not be done adjusting their starting rotation. The team is aggressively shopping left-hander John Lannan, according to major-league sources. Trading Lannan would clear payroll, potentially enabling the Nats to sign one of the top remaining free-agent right-handers, either Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson. Oswalt, 34, and Jackson, 28, both are entertaining one-year offers, but Oswalt prefers to play for the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals, sources say. Jackson, on the other hand, is represented by Scott Boras, with whom the Nationals have worked well in the past. The Nats also tried to acquire Jackson at the 2010 non-waiver deadline. Lannan, 27, lost his arbitration case with the Nationals but became the team's highest-paid pitcher for 2012 on Thursday, receiving $5 million. The pitcher had asked for $5.7 million after earning $2.75 million last season. If the Nationals traded Lannan, who went 10-13 with a 3.70 ERA last season, they still would have one left-hander in their rotation, Gonzalez, and possibly a second, Ross Detwiler. Jackson, who has averaged nearly 208 innings and produced a 3.96 ERA over the past three seasons, would combine with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann to give the Nats three power right-handers. The addition of Oswalt, a pitcher whom the Nationals have targeted from the start of the off-season, would have a similar effect. Chien-Ming Wang is another right-handed candidate for the team's rotation. Jackson has received multiple three-year offers, sources say, but signing a one-year deal would position him to go back on the market next off-season. Signing with a team in the more pitcher-friendly National League would give him a better chance to enhance his value than if he went to an AL club such as the Boston Red Sox. Jackson would become the latest Boras client with the Nationals, joining Strasburg, second baseman Danny Espinosa and outfielders Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper, among others.