Washington, DC – In setting their opening day 25-man roster, the Washington Nationals made a surprise move by sending pitcher John Lannan to Triple-A Syracuse.
Lannan, who was the Opening Day starter in 2009 and 2010 and started 33 games last season, is due $5 million this year. The lefty went 10-13 with a 3.70 earned run average in 2011.
The Nationals also moved Ross Detwiler to the starting rotation at the No. 5 position, in place of Lannan. The southpaw compiled a 4-5 record with a 3.00 ERA in 15 games (10 starts) last year.
The team selected the contracts of outfielder Brett Carroll, outfielder/first baseman Xavier Nady and first baseman Chad Tracy; released pitcher Chad Durbin; placed pitchers Drew Storen and Chien-Ming Wang, outfielders Rick Ankiel and Michael Morse on the 15-day disabled list; and placed pitcher Cole Kimball and first baseman Chris Marrero on the 60-day disabled list.
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