Most significant stories of 2021: Trade deadline teardown

Most significant stories of 2021: Trade deadline teardown
As we reach the end of the year, we've been taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them were uplifting. Some of them were depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We conclude today with the most significant story of them all: the dismantling of the roster at the trade deadline. ... The Nationals' season lasted six months, and over the course of those six months, there were countless stories and developments of...
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Most significant stories of 2021: Soto's historic second half

Most significant stories of 2021: Soto's historic second half
As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We continue today with one of the best developments of the year: Juan Soto's historic second half and MVP candidacy. ... It wasn't all bad for the Nationals this year. Sure, the team lost 97 games, traded away some of its biggest-name veterans and...
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Most significant stories of 2021: More COVID-19 outbreaks

Most significant stories of 2021: More COVID-19 outbreaks
As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We continue today with one of the most frustrating developments of the year: The loss of a host of prominent players at various times due to COVID-19. ... After everything they went through to get through a compressed 2020 season, the first such season...
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Most significant stories of 2021: Zimmerman's possible farewell

Most significant stories of 2021: Zimmerman's possible farewell
As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We continue today with one of the most emotional aspects of the year: Ryan Zimmerman's potential farewell tour. ... Throughout a season of turmoil and constant change, there was only one declaration the Nationals could make with complete confidence:...
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Most significant stories of 2021: Strasburg's devastating injury

Most significant stories of 2021: Strasburg's devastating injury
As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We continue today with one of the most depressing developments of the year: Stephen Strasburg's latest (and perhaps most serious) injury. ... It's not fair to boil a baseball franchise's chances for success in any given year to the health and...
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Most significant stories of 2021: Schwarber's homer barrage

Most significant stories of 2021: Schwarber's homer barrage
As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We begin today with one of the most uplifting events of the year: Kyle Schwarber's early-summer home run barrage. ... When he stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom of the first inning of a June 12 doubleheader at Nationals Park, Kyle Schwarber...
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What will you remember - or try to forget - about 2021?

What will you remember - or try to forget - about 2021?
It was a difficult year for so many, for so many reasons. And that it came on the heels of a difficult year for so many, for so many reasons, only made it more difficult. In some ways, the Nationals fit right in with that theme. As tough as 2020 was for them, 2021 was even tougher, on and off the field. And it leaves the franchise in an entirely different position as it looks ahead to 2022. Before we turn the page, though, we're going to take the final week of December to look back at the most...
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The Nats' surprising history of Christmas Eve transactions

The Nats' surprising history of Christmas Eve transactions
Christmas Eve and baseball. They go together like, well, Christmas and hot dogs. This just isn't historically the time of year to be thinking much about the national pastime. Especially when the national pastime is nearly one month into a work stoppage. And yet for the Nationals, Christmas Eve has been the source of a surprising amount of news. Big news. Go back through the annals and you'll find six significant transactions made by the Nats in the final 72 hours leading up to Christmas,...
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Who might join Soto in Nats outfield in 2022 and beyond?

Who might join Soto in Nats outfield in 2022 and beyond?
If you had to pick one position group on the Nationals roster you feel best about in both the short- and long-term, would you pick the outfield? There's a good case to be made it's the most reasonable answer. Not because the Nats outfield is loaded, or even guaranteed to be successful. There's still plenty of uncertainty at two of the three positions. But you can't find anything to complain about at the third position. And there is some ample reason to be optimistic about the future at the...
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Wednesday morning Nats Questions and Answers

Wednesday morning Nats Questions and Answers
We've been doing most of our Q&As on Fridays this offseason, but with the holiday weekend coming up, it seems to make some sense bumping it up to Wednesday this week. (Hey, if nothing else, maybe this will help you take your mind off the Washington Football Team's back-to-back losses, the Capitals' COVID-19 postponements and the Wizards' return to being the Wizards.) It's been an awfully quiet December for the Nationals, not that we expected anything else once the lockout began at the...
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After rocky 2021, Rutledge needs smooth 2022 on the mound

After rocky 2021, Rutledge needs smooth 2022 on the mound
We spend the majority of our time here talking about major leaguers, but with the lockout now preventing teams from making any transactions involving players on 40-man rosters, let's take an opportunity to delve deeper into some of the Nationals' top minor leaguers. We continue this weekly series with the organization's No. 3 prospect ... RHP JACKSON RUTLEDGE Height/Weight: 6-foot-8, 245 lbs. Age on opening day 2022: 23 How acquired: First-round pick, 2019 draft, San Jacinto Junior...
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MLB can only watch as COVID-19 impacts rest of sports world

MLB can only watch as COVID-19 impacts rest of sports world
By sheer virtue of timing, Major League Baseball was the first major North American sport to return to play during the pandemic. July 2020 feels like a lifetime ago at this point, but it's worth remembering just how uncertain everything was as ballplayers took the field for the first time in empty stadiums. We didn't know if the strict protocols put into place were going to allow for games to be played without the spread of the virus. We didn't know if clubhouses would become petri dishes...
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Tales from the clubhouse: Sleep-deprived Gio González

Tales from the clubhouse: Sleep-deprived Gio González
Over the course of 17 seasons on the Nationals beat, you come across players with every type of personality and every type of approach when it comes to dealing with reporters. Some are outgoing and gregarious. Some are shy and reticent. Some are polite but know how to say nothing interesting. Some are rude but can't help themselves and say plenty of things they shouldn't have said. In those 17 seasons, though, there has never been an interview subject quite like Giovany Aramis...
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Nationals trivia quiz: Pitching

Nationals trivia quiz: Pitching
With not much news trickling out of South Capitol Street as the lockout enters its third week, I have to get a little creative around here to come up with story ideas. I've been trying to strike a balance between stories about those currently employed by the Nationals and those previously employed by them. And what better way to remember those who used to play around here than with some trivia? Yes, it's time for a new round of Nats trivia. Today's quiz is all about pitching and features...
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What if the Nats never traded for Jonathan Papelbon?

What if the Nats never traded for Jonathan Papelbon?
Last week, we opened our "What If?" series wondering what might have been had Jordan Zimmermann accepted the Nationals' long-term extension offer after the 2014 season, a decision that had long-lasting ramifications on the organization. This week, we look at a big decision the organization made the following summer that absolutely had immediate consequences for the club, and probably had long-lasting ones as well: The trade for Jonathan Papelbon. Prepare to cringe. As the 2015 trade deadline...
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Infield is totally revamped, but is anyone a long-term answer?

Infield is totally revamped, but is anyone a long-term answer?
The Nationals roster has undergone massive changes in the last two years, but it may be more noticeable in the infield than anywhere else on the field. Consider this: On the night the Nats won their first World Series title, they started an infield of Ryan Zimmerman, Asdrúbal Cabrera, Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon, with Howie Kendrick serving as designated hitter, and Brian Dozier and Matt Adams coming off the bench. At this moment, only 25 1/2 months later, not one of those players is...
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Important 2022 season awaits top 2021 draft pick House

Important 2022 season awaits top 2021 draft pick House
We spend the majority of our time here talking about major leaguers, but with the lockout now preventing teams from making any transactions involving players on 40-man rosters, let's take an opportunity to delve deeper into some of the Nationals' top minor leaguers. We continue this weekly series with the organization's No. 2 prospect ... SS BRADY HOUSE Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 215 lbs. Age on opening day 2022: 18 How acquired: First-round pick, 2021 draft, Winder-Barrow (Ga.) High...
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Weekend additions suggest a developing pattern

Weekend additions suggest a developing pattern
While the rest of the baseball world pretty much locked itself indoors and watched football all weekend, the Nationals made two somewhat surprising moves, signing veteran infielders Dee Strange-Gordon and Maikel Franco to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. And as the sun comes up to begin this new work week, it's probably safe to admit we're seeing a pattern developing from the office on South Capitol Street. At a time when clubs are prohibited from signing players...
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Franco is latest veteran to join Nats on minor league deal

Franco is latest veteran to join Nats on minor league deal
The Nationals are bringing in another experienced major leaguer who wasn't on a major league roster at season's end, signing veteran third baseman Maikel Franco to a minor league contract, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. Franco joins fellow infielder Dee Strange-Gordon, who agreed to a minor league deal of his own Saturday evening, as newly added veterans to a Nationals organization that is lacking in experience after this summer's trade deadline sell-off. Like Strange-Gordon,...
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Nats sign veteran Strange-Gordon to minor league deal

Nats sign veteran Strange-Gordon to minor league deal
Though clubs are prohibited from signing free agents who were on big league rosters last season during the lockout, they are allowed to sign players who weren't in the majors in 2021 to minor league contracts. And the Nationals took advantage of that Saturday night, striking a deal with veteran infielder Dee Strange-Gordon, a source familiar with the signing confirmed. Strange-Gordon, who appeared in 1,002 big league games with the Dodgers, Marlins and Mariners from 2011-20 but spent 2021...
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