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VIERA, Fla. - The Washington Nationals filled the last clear-cut need on their roster on the opening day of spring training, acquiring catcher Jose Lobaton and two prospects from the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday for pitcher Nathan Karns. Lobaton gives the Nationals insurance behind fellow Venezuelan Wilson Ramos, who has never played in more than 108 games in a season because of various injuries. "Hes a capable backup," general manager Mike Rizzo said, "in case something does happen with Wilson." Lobaton, 29, started 76 games for the Rays last season and batted .249 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs. He was expendable because the Rays re-signed catcher Jose Molina and traded for Ryan Hanigan. Rizzo said Lobaton has above average metrics on defence. A notable exception is a 16 per cent success rate throwing out would-be base-stealers. "We feel that he throws well enough that he should be better than 16 per cent," Rizzo said. It speaks volumes about the Nationals confidence in their talent-laden roster that a move for a backup can fill the last significant hole on the day that pitchers and catchers reported. Barring injury, Rizzo wont be shopping during spring training. "Theres not an obvious spot that we need to address," Rizzo said. "But, as we say, if an opportunity arises, well be aggressive and open-minded about it." The Nationals are giving up a top prospect in the 26-year-old right-hander Karns, who three made starts in his first taste of the major leagues last season, but theyre adding a pair of 22-year-olds from the Jays pool of talent: outfielder Drew Vettleson and left-handed pitcher Felipe Rivero. Karns would have been in a crowded race for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. The trade for a younger pitcher alleviates part of that logjam and helps the Nationals stagger their pitching prospects. To make room for the new players on the 40-man roster, Washington placed right-handed pitcher Erik Davis on the 60-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow. Fake Vans Shoes Suppliers . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. Cheap Vans Authentic . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. http://www.clearancevans.com/ . Footballs governing body said Tuesday that of the 2,577,662 tickets allocated for this years tournament, 1,041,418 have gone to people in Brazil. The U. Discount Vans Shoes . Week 2s biggest games include Florida facing Miami and Notre Dame travelling to the Big House to conclude their rivalry against Michigan in primetime on TSN2 and TSN 1050. Vans Shoes Cheap . The Canucks figured to be active prior to Wednesdays trade deadline, getting a jump on things the previous day when they dealt goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for netminder Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias.FALL RIVER, Mass. - Aaron Hernandez once seemed to be a man with a bright future. At age 23 he had a Super Bowl appearance under his belt and a $40 million contract as a star tight end with the New England Patriots. He and his fiancee had started a family, living in a mansion in the Boston suburbs with their 8-month-old daughter.This week, prosecutors will paint a different picture of Hernandez: they will portray him as a killer who orchestrated the shooting of semiprofessional football player Odin Lloyd.Hernandez was arrested days after Lloyds bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park near his North Attleborough mansion. He has pleaded not guilty and, after more than two weeks of jury selection, his trial is expected to kick off in earnest this week with opening statements.The case will be laid out in the courtroom just as Hernandezs old team prepares for Sundays Super Bowl, the Patriots first appearance since 2012, when Hernandez caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLVI. The Patriots cut him less than two hours after he was arrested.Hernandez, now 25, is also charged with killing two men in Boston in 2012 because he felt disrespected after one of them spilled a drink on him at a nightclub. He pleaded not guilty after being charged in those shootings in May, and the case has not yet gone to trial.Lloyd, 27, played for the Boston Bandits football team and was dating the sister of Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandezs fiancee. Prosecutors say he and Hernandez were friendly and had been at a nightclub together a couple of days before he was killed.Prosecutors have said Hernandez and two friends from his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, picked up Lloyd at his home in Bostons Dorchester section around 2:30 a.m. on June 17, 2013. Those men, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, have also pleaded not guilty to murder charges and will be tried separately.From Dorchester, prosecutors say the four men drove to North Attleborough in a rented Nissan Altima, stopping along the way to buy bubble gum at a gas station. An hour after he left his house, prosecutors say Lloyd was dead, shot multiple times by a .45-calibre Glock. They have not said who pulled the trigger, but say Hernandez orchestrated the killing. The murder weapon has never been found.Prosecutors have saaid toll booth, video surveillance, GPS and cellphone records clearly place Hernandez in the car with Lloyd at the time of his murder, and have said video from the security system inside Hernandezs own home shows him walking through his house with a gun minutes after the killing.ddddddddddddChristopher Dearborn, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, says that while the Bristol County District Attorneys office has a lot of circumstantial evidence, its challenge is to offer a motive to jurors. Prosecutors have said a possible motive was that Hernandez may have showed Lloyd the spot where the 2012 shooting took place. But Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh last month ruled they may not introduce anything having to do with the 2012 killing in the Lloyd murder trial.The lack of a clear motive is the biggest weakness in the prosecutions case, Dearborn said.You need to give a jury a reason why, or theyre going to have pause, Dearborn said. I dont think they have a motive that they can present in concrete fashion with witnesses that can support a motive.Hernandezs legal team is likely to focus on the holes, Dearborn said.We dont have a weapon. We dont have a confession. We dont have eyewitnesses, he said.Hernandezs team does not have to offer a defence or explanation, or even deliver an opening statement. But Dearborn said he expects to hear one.They will absolutely have to have their own narrative, he said. That narrative will probably suggest alternatives.Jenkins, Hernandezs fiancee has been charged with perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury — including when she said she could not remember what she did with a box prosecutors believe she disposed of after getting what they called a coded message from Hernandez. She has pleaded not guilty.In the run-up to the trial, Jenkins was often seen in court, and the judge this month granted a request from Hernandezs legal team that she be allowed to attend the trial to support him even though she is listed as a potential prosecution witness.But two days before the trial began, the district attorney petitioned the judge to grant Jenkins immunity, which would compel her to testify. The court has not said yet whether it was granted.Jenkins has not been seen in the courtroom since. ' ' '