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Young's happy days in D.C. may be short

June 14, 2007 12:35 am

BY TODD JACOBSON

BALTIMORE--There's a part of Dmitri Young that wants to stay in Washington, and another part that understands the cold realities of baseball, the world where it's likely the veteran slugger could be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline for prospects.

And as the veteran first baseman enjoys one of the hottest streaks of his major league career, he'd just as soon not worry about any of it.

"I don't think about it," Young said. "My thought every day is to help the Washington Nationals win. I'm just taking it like I've been taking life for the last eight months, one day at a time."

But it's almost impossible to avoid, the talk of trades and Young's future with the Nationals.

When Washington signed Young in February, giving him a second chance after he was arrested on a domestic violence charge and spent time in a rehabilitation hospital before being released in 2006, they did so knowing that if he cleaned up his personal life and began to hit like a former all-star, he'd be trade bait come July, a perfect piece to the team's rebuilding puzzle.

That's exactly what's happened.

Young entered yesterday's game hitting .339--with 40 hits in his last 82 at-bats. He's among the leading candidates to represent the Nationals in the All-Star Game next month in San Francisco--if he's still a National by then.

Veteran infielder Ronnie Belliard, who has performed well after signing a minor league deal during spring training, is also expected to draw significant interest before the trade deadline.

"If the right deal is out there to improve this organization, I am sure [general manager] Jim [Bowden] is going to do it and I'll deal with whoever comes in here," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "I am very happy that they're doing good. That's why we brought them over here in the first place. They accepted their roles, have done well and whatever happens, happens."

For his part, Young said he's become attached to many of the friends he has made in Washington's clubhouse, players who have been there for him as much as he's been there for them. And he admitted he'd like to stay.

"I know this is a business and from the business aspect, that [a trade] may or may not happen," Young said, "but from the standpoint of helping with these young guys and being a leader, from that aspect I don't want to go."

So Young will continue doing what he does best, which is hitting, and trying not to think too far into the future. But with every line drive or home run, he becomes that much more tantalizing for a club in need of a switch-hitting bat.

He knows that, too. Of course, the alternative wasn't nearly as palatable.

"If I wasn't hitting," Young said, "I could've been released."

The Nationals signed second-round pick Jordan Zimmermann, a right-handed pitcher from Wisconsin-Stevens Point who was the 67th overall pick in last week's First-Year Player Draft, to a contract that included a $495,000 signing bonus yesterday.

Zimmermann, who is expected to begin his pro career at short-season Vermont later this month, was one of five draftees signed by the Nationals yesterday: Texas right-hander Adrian Alaniz (eighth round), Franklin Pierce College right-hander Steven Shepard (13th round), Saint Leo University catcher Ricky Nolan (24th round) and Florida Atlantic right-hander Justin Phillabaum (29th round) also agreed to contracts, meaning the Nationals have signed 22 of the 53 players they selected in last week's draft.

Shortstop Jake Smolinski, Washington's the 70th pick in the draft, agreed to a deal Monday that included a $452,500 signing bonus.

Nationals officials are negotiating with the team's top three draft picks--left-handers Ross Detwiler (No. 6 overall) and Josh Smoker (No. 31) and outfielder Michael Burgess (No. 49).