Williams meets the press

Williams meets the press
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - I passed along some quick-hit notes from Matt Williams' session with reporters earlier today, but now that our meeting with general manager Mike Rizzo is done and I've had a chance to settle in a bit, I can provide some more in-depth quotes from the Nationals' new skipper. Since being named Nats manager more than five weeks ago, Williams has tried to hit the ground running. He's met with a handful of Nationals players, integrated himself in organizational meetings...
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Rizzo discusses trade rumors surrounding Clippard, Storen, Espinosa

Rizzo discusses trade rumors surrounding Clippard, Storen, Espinosa
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - There has been a lot of chatter here at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, home to the Winter Meetings, linking various teams to Nationals relievers Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen. There have been reports that the Cubs were interested in both right-handers. I had heard that the Tigers were kicking the tires on Clippard and Storen. But Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said that a lot of the trade rumors swirling around Clippard and Storen are overblown. In other words,...
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Quick hits from a 30-minute chat with Matt Williams

Quick hits from a 30-minute chat with Matt Williams
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Reporters just got done with a 30-minute chat with Nationals manager Matt Williams here off to the side of the media work room at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, and while there wasn't any real breaking news that came out of the session, we got plenty of interesting tidbits on how Williams plans to manage his team and what he's accomplished so far. I'll have full quotes and more in-depth stuff in a bit, once I get a chance to sift through everything. But I wanted to...
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Heard in the lobby ...

Heard in the lobby ...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Nationals are a team generating a bunch of chatter in the lobby here at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, with a few players being discussed by various teams as potential trade targets. Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday that the Nationals are shopping Danny Espinosa, and while there are teams that have had conversations with the Nats about Espinosa, I've been told that general manager Mike Rizzo is not actively looking to deal the 26-year-old infielder. As one source...
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Notes on the rotation and thoughts on the backup catcher job

Notes on the rotation and thoughts on the backup catcher job
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Nationals have four of their starting pitchers set and locked in for 2014, but they're going to go into spring training still unsure of who will be that fifth guy. That's the way general manager Mike Rizzo wants it, even if left-hander Ross Detwiler - an experienced option who has claimed the No. 5 spot in the rotation the last two seasons - is totally healthy after missing much of the 2013 season on the disabled list. "He's going to come to spring training as...
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Evaluating some trade rumors, plus Rizzo on extensions for Desmond, Zimmermann

Evaluating some trade rumors, plus Rizzo on extensions for Desmond, Zimmermann
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A bit ago, a tweet from Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports came across my laptop saying that the Nationals are currently shopping infielder Danny Espinosa. The timing of this report was a bit ironic, given that Nats general manager Mike Rizzo had just finished his session with local reporters, during which he talked up Espinosa and his ability to serve as a quality backup at multiple infield positions, including third base. This much is clear: the Nationals still hold...
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Rizzo on left-handed reliever search, Nats' bench roles

Rizzo on left-handed reliever search, Nats' bench roles
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Local reporters met with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo in his suite at the Swan and Dolphin resort for nearly 20 minutes a bit ago, and we covered a number of topics related to the Nats' efforts to finalize their roster this offseason. It's clear that finding a left-handed reliever is Rizzo's top priority, and the Nats could still look to bolster their depth at a few spots on the bench after adding Nate McLouth, whose signing should be official after he...
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A couple of interesting updates on the lefties, plus a cool note

A couple of interesting updates on the lefties, plus a cool note
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - We're scheduled to meet with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo in less than an hour, but I've got a few notes from the lobby to pass along before we head up to Rizzo's suite to quiz him on the Nats-related happenings during Day One of the Winter Meetings. The Nats continue to monitor the market for left-handed relievers, and as they do so, they might have to take one interesting wrinkle into account. I've heard that Boone Logan, a lefty who has spent the last...
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Rival evaluators react to Nats' offseason moves

Rival evaluators react to Nats' offseason moves
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A key figure in the National League East for the last four years has decided to step away from the game. Roy Halladay has just taken to the podium in the media room at the Swan and Dolphin resort to announce his retirement, marking the end of a tremendous 16-year career. Halladay will finish with a record of 203-105 and a career 3.38 ERA. He won two Cy Young awards, finished in the top five of the Cy Young voting seven times and was an eight-time All-Star. Is he a...
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Cox, La Russa, Torre unanimously elected to Hall of Fame

Cox, La Russa, Torre unanimously elected to Hall of Fame
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The hotel lobby has emptied out here at the Swan and Dolphin resort and the free agent and trade chatter has temporarily hit a lull, as a trio of elite managers were just announced as the newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre have all been unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame as part of the Expansion Era ballot, voted on by 16 longtime major league players, executives and historians. Cox spent 29 years as a...
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The latest on the lefties

The latest on the lefties
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - While reporters, executives and other baseball people trickled into the Swan and Dolphin Resort here in the Orlando area throughout the day yesterday, the Winter Meetings officially begin today. Get pumped, people. Or don't. Either way. There might not be as much excitement about the Winter Meetings among Nationals fans as there has been in past years, largely because most of the major moves that general manager Mike Rizzo needed to make this offseason have already...
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Source: Nats "very interested" in Eric O'Flaherty

Source: Nats "very interested" in Eric O'Flaherty
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Hello from the 2014 Winter Meetings, where the climate is slightly different than it is in the Washington D.C., area. I was lucky enough to make it down here with only a slight delay on my flight, but others leaving out of D.C. and other points north weren't so fortunate. People will still be rolling in throughout the night, meaning the crowd in the lobby at the Swan and Dolphin Resort isn't anywhere near its peak. I've got some minor news to pass along, which is...
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We're off for Orlando

We're off for Orlando
Well, here we go. The most hyped four days of the offseason officially begin tomorrow, and so for myself and the rest of the MASNsports.com staff, it's off to Orlando today, a day ahead of the start of the Winter Meetings. Don't let the location of the meetings fool you, however. If I see sunlight for a total of 30 minutes during the entirety of the Winter Meetings, I'll consider it a victory. This isn't exactly the trip you take if you're interested in working on your tan or hitting the...
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Bench roles starting to fall into place

Bench roles starting to fall into place
Robinson Cano. Huroki Kuroda. Scott Feldman. Curtis Granderson. Ryan Webb. J.P. Arencibia. Nate McLouth. Mike Napoli. Carlos Beltran. Most offseasons, that's a busy week when it comes to free agent signings. In the winter of 2013, however, that's just one day's worth of free agent action. All nine of the players listed above agreed to terms on contracts yesterday, crossing a handful more names off the list of available free agents going into the Winter Meetings. I texted a major league...
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Nationals sign Nate McLouth to two-year deal (updated)

Nationals sign Nate McLouth to two-year deal (updated)
Mike Rizzo got his experienced starter in Doug Fister earlier this week. Now he has his left-handed-hitting reserve outfielder in Nate McLouth. The Nationals have signed McLouth to a two-year contract, a source confirms, giving the Nats their fourth outfielder, one who can play any outfield spot and has a little bit of pop from the left side of the plate. FOXSports.com was the first to report the signing, and according to the Baltimore Sun, McLouth will get $10.75 million over the two-year...
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Where will Cano go? (Cano agrees to terms with Mariners)

Where will Cano go? (Cano agrees to terms with Mariners)
Second baseman Robinson Cano, far and away the top free agent in this year's class, flew to Seattle yesterday and reportedly received a nine-year, $225 million deal from the Mariners, according to CBSSports.com. Anyone still want Cano coming to D.C. if it's at that price? The Mariners' offer is one that tops the Yankees' largest projected proposal to Cano by two years and $50 million, leaving Seattle with what's believed to be the top offer on the table by a wide margin. As of right...
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On Espinosa's chances at cracking the Nats' roster

On Espinosa's chances at cracking the Nats' roster
If you take the time to consider which players within the Nationals organization benefit most from this week's trade that brought Doug Fister to D.C. and shipped Steve Lombardozzi, Ian Krol and Robbie Ray to Detroit, there's no doubt that Danny Espinosa's name would be near, if not at, the top of the list. As of Monday morning, Espinosa sat behind Lombardozzi on the Nats' middle infield depth chart. Lombardozzi had established himself as a quality utility player on the major league roster,...
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Some leftovers on Fister and a wild week

Some leftovers on Fister and a wild week
What an insane week this has already been in Major League Baseball. And we're only through Tuesday. The following deals all went down in the last two days (terms are according to various media reports): Jacoby Ellsbury turned in his Red Sox for some pinstripes, agreeing to a seven-year, $153 million deal with the Yankees. The Red Sox signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year, $8.25 million deal. The Rockies inked first baseman Justin Morneau to a two-year deal worth around $13 million....
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Fister on joining Nats: "There's a lot of excitement for me"

Fister on joining Nats: "There's a lot of excitement for me"
Since July 2011, Doug Fister has been with the Detroit Tigers, a team that made the postseason in each of the last three years and made it to the World Series in 2012. He's built friendships there and has pitched in a strong starting rotation. The 29-year-old is now eager to have some of those same experiences in D.C. Fister found out last night that he had been traded to the Nationals, who will now be his third organization in six major league seasons. Both he and fellow Tigers right-hander...
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Mike Rizzo discusses the Doug Fister trade

Mike Rizzo discusses the Doug Fister trade
Reporters didn't get a chance to discuss the Doug Fister trade with Mike Rizzo last night because Rizzo had previous obligations, but we were able to fire questions at the Nationals general manager just a bit ago during a conference call. Rizzo said that the Nationals had been talking with the Tigers about a possible trade for a starting pitcher dating to just before the general managers meetings in November, and they initially "kicked the tires" on three of Detroit's right-handed options...
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