Washington ? The Washington Nationals are working the phones trying to find favorable deals while Alfonso Soriano is amused by the rumors flying around ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.

“The last seven days, I’ve seen my name (linked) with five different teams, so I’m laughing,” Soriano said before Washington’s game against San Francisco on Tuesday night. “I know and I understand it’s a very difficult decision for the team.”

With the Nationals in last place, and a stated goal of improving with an eye to the future, general manager Jim Bowden is rather busy these days. He said on Tuesday alone, as of 5 p.m., the Nationals had spoken to 27 of the other 29 major league teams about various players.

“The fire department is presently in my office, hosing down my phone, because all it does it burn,” Bowden said.

He wouldn’t go into specifics about Soriano or any other player that could be involved in a swap. But Bowden did say his goal is to acquire talent – regardless of whether a player is already in the majors or in rookie ball. The preference would be for pitching.