Belliard Signs Extension

Dunn, 27, entered last night hitting .260 with 26 homers this season, and he has hit at least 40 homers in each of the previous three. He was leading the majors with 119 strikeouts this year, and since his first full major league season in 2002, his 972 strikeouts were 175 more than anyone else. Some of his power, too, is because of Cincinnati's tiny Great American Ball Park. His career numbers at home -- 124 homers, .552 slugging percentage -- outshine his production on the road (100 homers, .483 slugging percentage).

There are several factors that would complicate a deal for Dunn, not the least of which is Dunn's contract. If he is traded, Dunn becomes a free agent at the end of this season. The Nationals almost certainly would want assurances that Dunn would re-sign here.

Cincinnati also filed a grievance with MLB after last summer's eight-player trade between the teams because they felt the Nationals were not forthright about the health of reliever Gary Majewski, who went on the disabled list in August. The Nationals vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

An MLB official said yesterday the matter is still under review. Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, however, said in the offseason, "I don't like eliminating teams from the pool of players to acquire."

The possible pursuit of Dunn and the signing of Belliard are manifestations of what Kasten has said all along, that the team will be flexible. Last year, they appeared to deviate from a plan of cutting payroll by trading for right fielder Austin Kearns and infielder Felipe Lopez as part of the deal with Cincinnati that included Majewski.

"We look for opportunity," Kasten said at the time, and he has repeated that since.

As for the major league players the Nationals have made most available, sources continued to indicate yesterday that it might be difficult to find a fit, a problem that isn't unique to the Nationals.

"A lot of clubs, when you go to talk about their players, they think the guy's a starter because he starts for them," one scout said. "But for a contender, he's a bench player."

That, the scout said, would apply to someone like Church, who is hitting .262 with 39 RBI in 92 games for the Nationals. The same philosophy applies to Cordero, who has been a consistent closer for the Nationals but likely would be a setup man for a contender.

Young, who is hitting .340, could become the National most likely to be moved. Washington might opt to keep Young because of the questions about the health of Nick Johnson, who has been out all season with a broken leg.

"We never change our plan," Bowden said. "We're trying to build the organization into a world championship club. In doing that, we explore every possibility."