truebluefan

The Washington Nationals and their two remaining arbitration-eligible players, reliever Jon Rauch and infielder Felipe Lopez, are $300,000 apart in figures they submitted for potential hearings yesterday.

Rauch, who led the majors with 88 appearances last year, submitted a figure of $1.4 million. The Nationals countered with an offer of $1.1 million. Rauch, the primary setup man for closer Chad Cordero the past two years, earned $455,000 in 2007 and is going through the arbitration process for the first time.

Lopez, coming off a poor offensive season in which he hit .245, is asking for $5.2 million. The Nationals countered with an offer of $4.9 million. Lopez, who will be a free agent after the upcoming season, earned $3.9 million last year.