Updated 4:45- Alex DiFilippo of MLB.COM wrote today that while Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski is interested in a deal for Adam Dunn, he is not looking to trade away major blue-chip prospects.

Dombrowski said: "Other clubs look at us and say, 'Well, they are desperate so maybe they will trade us Oliver and Turner. Well we aren't. I'm not meaning to say that anyone is untouchable. I'm not going to give away blue-chip young players for a guy for two months. It just doesn't make sense. Will we be active in talking to people? Yes. If there is a deal that we think can be made that can help us, will we? Yes. Are we going to mortgage our future? No."

4:26 - Bill Ladson of MLB.COM tweeted today that following the injury of Magglio Ordonez, the Detroit Tigers now have 'great interest' in Adam Dunn as a replacement middle of the order bat.

Ordonez had been a big part of the Tigers offense this season as the slugger was having a comeback year. The 36-year-old was batting .303/.378/.474 with 12 homers and 59 RBI on the season so far. Ordonez suffered a broken ankle and will be out 6-8 weeks for the Tigers who are currently in the playoff hunt in the American League Central.

Analysis:

Mike Rizzo has said over and over that the Nationals would need to be blown away by an offer in order to trade their top slugger. A team looking to improve, such as the White Sox, may not be willing to give up what it takes to "blow away" Rizzo, however a team looking to stay in the picture very well may trade away big pieces of their future just to save their season...

The combination of Miguel Cabrera and Adam Dunn could certainly not only save the Tigers season, who currently are 2.5 games out of first place in their division, but it could help push them over the top and make them a World Series contender. A combination of two hitters of that magnitude would certainly be a force to be reckoned with, especially since they both represent threats from opposite sides of the plate. It could also help Cabrera secure his first MVP award.

On top of what the move could do for the Tigers, the Detroit front office might be tempted to make it happen because it would stop the White Sox from acquiring Dunn themselves. Until now, Chicago had been making the strongest bid at the Nationals first baseman.

Hopefully, the sudden interest by the Tigers means the two clubs will get in a bidding war.

Rizzo has stated that he still puts a premium on young pitching, and the Tigers have four top pitching prospects in Jacob Turner, Casey Crosby, Andy Oliver, and Daniel Schlereth.

Uggla is without question one of the top hitting second basemen in the league, as for his fielding...thats another story. I have to disagree with Marlin Maniac when he says that "Dan Uggla cannot be considered a cornerstone of a franchise in the same lines as Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson." Sure he is not a player you would necessarily want to pick first in your fantasy draft but I would consider him a "core" player that you would want with your team for several years. He can still be a valuable asset for anyone for the next five seasons.

Mets Blog gives us the latest on the state of the franchise.

There is no doubt that this season has been up and down for the Mets and clearly, there in the midst of one of their down swings. Is it just me or have things just not felt right ever since the return of Carlos Beltran? I'm not trying to throw Beltran under the bus or anything, but is it possible that he ruined some of the chemistry this team once had? The Mets have now fell into third place behind the Braves and Phillies, and their record is creeping closer to .500 as they currently are at 50-47. The team can only hope to get someone before the deadline to give them a boost.

After a disappointing first half, the Phillies have fired their hitting coach, Milt Thompson.

Interesting move, but I can understand why they did it, that's just part of the game. The team hasn't been healthy all year but that shouldn't be an excuse for the poor performance. Jayson Werth started out as one of the hottest players in the league but is now on the trading block batting .280 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI, at that pace he will end up short of last years 36 homers and 99 RBI. Its amazing how their offense has fallen to one of the worst in the NL this season, the numbers don't lie, it was time to make a change.

Ben Goessling of MASN.com suggests that the Washington Nationals may recall 24-year-old Jordan Zimmermann to make an emergency start in place of recently injured J.D. Martin:

"The Nationals' rotation will get yet another new look later this week, this one coming in light of the strained lower back that will send JD Martin to the disabled list on Sunday. In the short term, Martin's injury means Collin Balester will stay in the majors for a few more days, at least until the Nationals need another starter.

That will likely come on Friday against the Phillies, when Martin would have been scheduled to pitch next. The Nationals could bump it back to Saturday, pitching Ross Detwiler on regular rest. But they're using him on short rest tomorrow, so it seems likely they'd give him an extra day to make up for this week's workload.

From what I can see now, there's one reason the Nationals could have Detwiler pitch on the 30th: so they could bring Jordan Zimmermann back on the 31st against the Phillies. Zimmermann has a rehab start at Single-A Hagerstown on Monday, so he could make the start on regular rest. But the Nationals likely will want to wait until early August to bring Zimmermann back, giving him a little extra time in his Tommy John surgery rehab."

Goessling goes on to suggest that Scott Olsen and Jason Marquis could be ready to make their return, but wont be available as they are scheduled to pitch Thursday and Friday respectively.

Analysis:

I tend to agree with Goessling here when he says that it might be a bit too early to bring back Zimmermann. Yes, he has been dominant in Potomac during his Thommy John rehab,  posting 0.00 ERA and striking out 13 batters in 13 innings. However there is no reason to rush an arm that the organization which the franchise is counting on for the future.

Zimmermann has a long history of injuries, as well as a history of recovering from them quickly. Perhaps in this season which is turning out to be a wash, the Nationals should give him something he hasn't had in his young lift, a chance to fully recover.

I think the wiser choice is to have one of the minor leaguers skip a start in order to be at full rest for a major league call up next weekend. A good choice could be Matt Chico, who is scheduled to start on Tuesday for Triple-A Syracuse.

In 14 starts for Syracuse, Chico has a 5-4 record with a 3.58 ERA.

Bill Ladson is one of the top MLB.COM reporters around, and not to mention one of the nicest guys you'll meet. Out of all the Nationals beat reporters he does the best job of finding out the inside scoop, and breaking stories, despite being hired by the league to promote it in a positive light.

That being said, if he believes Rizzo will keep the core of the team together through next year, he is likely to know better than anyone.

Despite a ninth inning comeback from the Washington Nationals, the Milwaukee Brewers would rally to score in the bottom of the ninth against the Nats "closer of the future," Drew Storen to win 4-3.

The bases-clearing walk off double came from Ryan Braun as the slugging outfielder raked one to the fence, a shot which left-fielder Josh Willingham didn't even bat an eye at. As the ball sailed over his head, he knew before the rest of us, the Nationals would rack up yet another road loss. The club is now 8-28 on the road since May 13.

It was an ugly road to an ugly finish Saturday night as Washington had to use four pitchers just to get through the first five innings.

J.D. Martin was knocked out in the third due to a back injury after allowing three hits, three walks, and one earned in 2.1 innings pitched. Newly promoted Colin Balester didn't fair much better, allowing a homer in two innings of work, and lost all composure when he (probably accidently) beaned Rickie Weeks. Doug Slaten and Miguel Batista both got work in as well until Riggleman handed the game into the hands of Clippard in the seventh.

The Nats scored runs in the fifth, sixth, and ninth to eventually tie the game up but it would be for nothing as Drew Storen allowed two hits, a walk and a run while only making one out in the 9th.

Missed Opportunity

Entering the 9th last night, the Nats outlook was grim. The Brewers possessed an 83.3 win expectancy and had just brought on their closer, John Axford. With the heart of the order up for Washington, the club rallied with back-to-back singles from Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham, and a sacrifice bunt-attempt turned base hit by Nyjer Morgan.

With the bases loaded and no outs the Nationals had shredded the Brewers win expectancy from 83.3% to 35.8%. Mathematically, the Nats were in position to win despite still being down 2-3. Adam Dunn pinch hit and drove in Zimmerman on a shallow sac-fly, advancing both runners.

However with only one out and runners on second and third, neither Wil Nieves nor Alberto Gonzalez could find a way to bring either run home. I guess Win Expectancy doesn't work when you are looking at a pair of guys barely keeping afloat in the majors.

Adam Kilgore of Nationals Journal reports that Washington Nationals right-handed starter, Jason Marquis, threw 65 pitches in a rehab start on Friday:

Once Marquis has the arm-strength to return to the big league rotation it wont take long for him to be back in a Nationals uniform. The clubs biggest 2010 offseason investment is a major league veteran and likely wont need much fine tuning to return to his top form, wherever that may be these days.

The 31-year-old starter only managed three starts before going down to injury, but was able to do plenty damage during his short stint in Washington. The righty pitched only 8.1 innings in three starts, posting a 20.52 ERA, and earned three losses. Rizzo had brought Marquis to Washington for the sole purpose of adding stability to a young rotation, however Marquis has proved to do just the opposite.

Win or lose, you better bet that the Nationals will try and get him on the field as soon as possible to try and capitalize on their $15 million investment, because right now it's looking like one of the worst contracts in recent memory.

Despite breaking out to an early 5-1 lead, the Washington Nationals bullpen could not hold on as the Brewers came back to score six runs in the final four innings to win 7-5 in Milwaukee Friday night.

Mike Morse must have been having such a great time too. The lightly used utility player had a breakout game to help the Nationals build their early lead. Morse, who has only played in 38 games despite batting .338/.386/.636 with six homers in 77 at bats, went two-for-three on the night with two homers and four RBI.

It wasn't enough.

Nationals starting pitcher Craig Stammen pitched five full innings, allowing three earned on five hits and a walk, however when Riggleman put the game in the usually capable hands of the bullpen, things collapsed. Clippard came on and allowed two earned runs on two hits in a walk in two-thirds of an inning, earning his eighth blown save of the year.

Sean Burnett came on in relief, and allowed two more earned runs for the loss.

The Brewers lineup was too much for the Nats pitching staff to contain. With four players totaling 15 homers-or-more this season, and four with at least 50 RBI, the Brewers have one of the most explosive lineups in baseball. While five runs may be enough to beat most ball-clubs...more runs have to go on the board to contain the likes of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Hart.

Buster Olney of ESPN.com reported that the Washington Nationals may attempt to sign slugging first-baseman Adam Dunn to a contract extension before the Jul. 31 trade deadline.

"Heard this: The Nationals may attempt to complete talks with Adam Dunn in the next eight days, and if they can't do it, they'll move him."

Dunn, 30, will be a free agent at the end of the season if the Nationals do not give him an extension. In 95 games this season Dunn has hit 23 homers while batting .278/.368/.565, and is expected to seek a large contract if he hits free agency. As a result, he has been considered the hottest target of the trade deadline as teams in competition are looking for a premium bat to add down the stretch.

The Nationals other top bat that has been thrown around in trade conversation, Josh Willingham, has not been approached about a contract extension beyond 2010 according to the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore. Willingham, 31, is arbitration eligible next season, which means the club can still maintain control over the outfielder for another year. However, with Willingham batting .272/.401/.480, the club will likely have to give him a raise to keep him.

Analysis:

It has been reported that the Nationals are demanding a kings ransom in return for Dunn. Dunn currently ranks in the top 10 in RBI with 61, second in homers with 23, and third in OPS with a .933 mark. However it has appeared that teams have not been willing to give up a significant part of their future for a player that they will only have guaranteed control over for several months. As a result, many have speculated that the club would hold onto the slugger and try to sign him after the season.

This changes things. This report, if true, indicates that the Nationals are in effect giving themselves an eight day deadline to decide whether or not to trade Dunn, or make him part of their future.

At 30, Dunn's value as a long term investment is questionable. His defense, while improved this season, has been dreadfully awful throughout his career and should only get worse as he ages. His production is likely to drop off faster than other players because of his size, and his high strikeout total means that the ball is put into play very infrequently on what is already a poor hitting club.

Mike Rizzo has to decide whether or not the investment on Dunn will pay off not just next year, but three-to-four years down the road. In 2014 will Adam Dunn still be a viable defensive first baseman and clean-up hitter behind Ryan Zimmerman? Will he be worth the $12+ million a year he is expected to make?

Bill Ladson of MLB.COM tweeted today that Washington Nationals left-handed pitcher Ross Detwiler will make his first start of the season Sunday in place of injured rookie Luis Atilano.

Detwiler, 24, is returning from a torn hip flexor muscle that forced him to undergo surgery in spring training, causing him to miss the first two months of the season. The young starter was a candidate for a rotation spot entering the 2010 season before being hurt, the former first round pick has posted a 2-2 record with a 2.48 ERA in seven rehab starts for Double-A Harrisburg.

Detwiler's latest rehab start came just two nights ago as the lefty earned the win after pitching seven shutout innings while surrendering only five hits. He struck out seven on the night while walking only one. In seven starts this season Detwiler has 31 strikeouts to seven walks total.

Last season Detwiler had an up-and-down rookie showing, going 1-6 in 15 starts with a 5.00 ERA.

Analysis:

Before Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg came a long, Detwiler was by and large considered the organization's best pitching prospect. He combines a mid-to-low 90's fastball with a very slow curve. Despite early struggles in his professional career, he came on like gangbusters last season after finally mastering control of his 83 MPH changeup.

His return, while surprisingly early, is the first of  a string of returns this club has been desperately waiting for since the beginning of the season. While at this point it may be moot in terms of turning the season around, if Detwiler pitches well he will likely be up in the majors for the rest of the season. Regardless of performance, this stretch will go a long way towards helping the talented youngster develop into the pitcher we all hope he can be.

If he does reach his potential, the Nats will have a thrilling young rotation with Strasburg, Zimmerman, and Detwiler.