"The Cubs and Rangers have jumped ahead of the Nationals in the Brandon Webb sweepstakes, according to a source. No reason was given as to why the Nats fell behind in the race.

Washington was thought to be the front-runners in acquiring Webb's services because of his previous relationship with general manager Mike Rizzo and Phil Rizzo, the senior advisor to the GM. All three worked together with the D-backs as recently as 2006.

However, the source believes the Nationals are concentrating more on acquiring a first baseman to replace Adam Dunn, who signed with the White Sox earlier this month. "