Mark Zuckerman
Mark Zuckerman

Rizzo: Big bat is No. 1 priority, owners willing to pay for it

Rizzo: Big bat is No. 1 priority, owners willing to pay for it
The Nationals have a clear No. 1 priority this winter: Acquire a big bat to complement Trea Turner and Juan Soto in the heart of their lineup. And Mike Rizzo says ownership has assured him he'll have the resources to acquire that kind of big-ticket item. "It's no secret we're a pitching-oriented team," the Nats general manager said during a Zoom session with reporters today, his first since late September. "We've got three great strong starting pitchers coming back. We've got a bullpen...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats take a shot on veteran lefty Avilan with minor league deal

Nats take a shot on veteran lefty Avilan with minor league deal
If Major League Baseball reverses course and puts an end to the three-batter-minimum rule it instituted for pitchers this season, Luis Avilan might prove to be a savvy addition for the Nationals in 2021. There's been no indication MLB intends to do that, however, so the challenge for Avilan to be a successful reliever for the Nats will be immense. The Nationals signed the 31-year-old left-hander to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training Monday night, a source familiar...
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Mark Zuckerman

Monday morning Nats Q&A

Monday morning Nats Q&A
Well, we've reached the third week of December, and the hot stove remains pretty cold from the Nationals' perspective. All of the significant roster holes they knew they had a month ago remain significant roster holes. They've made a handful of fringe transactions, but nothing all that consequential yet. Perhaps that will change before this week is over. If nothing else, we're finally going to hear from general manager Mike Rizzo and manage Davey Martinez on the record. Both men are...
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Mark Zuckerman

Thinning market for catchers leaves Nats with few options

Thinning market for catchers leaves Nats with few options
The Nationals need another catcher. The number of appealing catchers available on the free agent market this winter was minimal all along. And now one of the few who might've fit that description is off the board after signing a surprisingly lucrative deal with a division rival. James McCann, widely regarded as the second-best available catcher behind star J.T. Realmuto, reportedly agreed Saturday to a four-year, $40 million deal with the Mets. That's hardly a minor investment for New York,...
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Mark Zuckerman

Updating Robles' winter ball performance

Updating Robles' winter ball performance
The most prominent National currently playing winter ball is getting plenty of opportunities to refine his game. And to bat at the top of his lineup. Victor Robles, who is spending the early portion of this winter playing in his native Dominican Republic, has been leading off for Águilas Cibaeñas. And so far, he's doing the two things most clubs want out of their leadoff man: He's getting on base, and he's scoring runs. Through 12 games played, Robles has posted a .352 on-base...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats' 2019 roster could be a distant memory come 2021

Nats' 2019 roster could be a distant memory come 2021
Nothing lasts forever in baseball. Change is inevitable. No roster, good or bad, stays intact from year to year. So this isn't unusual. But it's still somewhat striking when you pause to think about it: More than half of the Nationals' 2019 World Series roster isn't going to be part of their 2021 roster. At the moment, only 11 of the 25 players who were in uniform for Game 7 in Houston a mere 13 1/2 months ago remain employed by the Nationals. Only four of those 11 are position players:...
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Mark Zuckerman

Rule 5 draft success stories are few and far between (updated)

Rule 5 draft success stories are few and far between (updated)
The first virtual Rule 5 draft is set to be held today at noon Eastern, and who isn't excited about that? Well, hardly anyone's excited about it. Unless you work for a major league club's player development unit, are a rabid follower of third-tier minor league prospects or are one of the players whose livelihood is actually at stake today, you really have no good reason to pay more than glancing attention at this event. This is especially true for the Nationals, who essentially have been...
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Mark Zuckerman

Juan Soto honored as All-MLB first-team outfielder

Juan Soto honored as All-MLB first-team outfielder
Had there been a 2020 All-Star Game, Juan Soto and Trea Turner almost certainly would've found their way to Dodger Stadium to join the rest of baseball's best for a couple of days. But with no Midsummer Classic during a 60-game season that didn't even begin until late July, Soto and Turner are left to be honored in a different fashion for their standout performances this season: Soto was named tonight as a 2020 All-MLB first-team outfielder, while Turner was recognized as one of three...
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Mark Zuckerman

What should Nats prioritize in search for new corner outfielder?

What should Nats prioritize in search for new corner outfielder?
We've talked for weeks about the Nationals' need for a new corner outfielder, and that need officially became official Tuesday when Adam Eaton (surprisingly?) returned to the White Sox four years after they traded him to Washington in one of the most significant trades in club history. The Nats, of course, could've retained Eaton had they picked up his $10.5 million option for 2021. They chose not to, and that decision revealed the following about them: 1) They didn't believe the...
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Mark Zuckerman

Eaton reportedly returning to White Sox on one-year deal

Eaton reportedly returning to White Sox on one-year deal
Adam Eaton's tenure with the Nationals officially ended today when the free agent outfielder decided to return to the organization that sent him to D.C. in a blockbuster four years ago. Eaton has signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the White Sox that also includes an $8.5 million club option for 2022, according to NBC Sports Chicago. The deal is pending a physical. It's a somewhat surprising return to the South Side for Eaton, who spent the 2014-16 seasons with the White Sox before...
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Mark Zuckerman

On the importance of rotation depth

On the importance of rotation depth
The Nationals' acquisition Monday of Rogelio Armenteros didn't generate much buzz, nor should it have. A 26-year-old right-hander with five games of big league experience claimed off waivers? That's not exactly blockbuster material. But the move did offer up a reminder of an important but oft-overlooked area of concern for the Nationals and all clubs: rotation depth. Armenteros isn't going to make the Nats rotation out of spring training. If he somehow does, a bunch of things have gone...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats claim righty Armenteros, adding starter with options

Nats claim righty Armenteros, adding starter with options
Seeking more rotation depth, especially those with minor league options, the Nationals have claimed right-hander Rogelio Armenteros off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Armenteros, 26, has only five games of major league experience (with the Astros in 2019) but has been a starter with potential throughout his professional career. He missed the 2020 season while recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow. The Diamondbacks had only claimed Armenteros two weeks ago after Houston...
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Mark Zuckerman

Lack of Winter Meetings reminds us things aren't normal yet

Lack of Winter Meetings reminds us things aren't normal yet
The baseball world should be gathering this morning in Dallas for the Winter Meetings. Thousands of club executives, managers, agents, minor league front office staffers, equipment manufacturers, job seekers and media members should be spending the next four days participating in what essentially amounts to an annual convention for professional baseball. Except it's not happening. There are no Winter Meetings in 2020. The coronavirus has claimed another victim, and while this one obviously...
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Mark Zuckerman

Choice to quickly re-sign with Nats was easy for Harrison

Choice to quickly re-sign with Nats was easy for Harrison
Josh Harrison had dealt with the downside of free agency, twice. After waiting by his phone the entire winter of 2018-19, the veteran utility man finally got an offer from the Tigers after players had already reported to Lakeland, Fla., for spring training. Then, following an injury-plagued season in Detroit, he was left with little choice but to accept a minor league offer from the Phillies with an invitation to big league camp last winter. Given that frustrating backstory, Harrison departed...
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Mark Zuckerman

Ross doesn't regret opt-out decision, ready to return in 2021

Ross doesn't regret opt-out decision, ready to return in 2021
As March turned to April, then May, then June and finally July, Joe Ross anxiously watched Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association negotiate a plan for the sport to play the 2020 season under unprecedented circumstances. Ross, like so many of his fellow players, acknowledged there were financial issues that needed to be sorted out before the season could commence. But he was more concerned with the lack of time and attention that seemed to be being spent on figuring out the...
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Mark Zuckerman

New additions won't matter if returning Nats don't improve

New additions won't matter if returning Nats don't improve
What do the Nationals need in order to become a contender again in 2021? At this point, surely you can rattle off the list of needs. A power bat to join Juan Soto and Trea Turner in the heart of the lineup. A No. 4 starter to replace Aníbal Sánchez. A catcher. A left-handed reliever. Those are the obvious needs, and they all need to come from outside the organization. But there's an equally important need that we tend not to talk about as much: The Nats need several players already on...
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Mark Zuckerman

Some non-tendered outfielders who might interest Nats

Some non-tendered outfielders who might interest Nats
As expected, the Nationals tendered their only two remaining arbitration-eligible players (Juan Soto and Trea Turner) before Wednesday's 8 p.m. deadline. And as expected, a whole bunch of notable names were non-tendered by other clubs and became instant free agents. All told, 59 players were non-tendered, joining an already large list of free agents looking for work during what's expected to be a rough winter for everyone. And though the new additions to the list don't include star-level...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nationals tender 2021 contracts to Soto, Turner

Nationals tender 2021 contracts to Soto, Turner
The Nationals tonight tendered contracts to Juan Soto and Trea Turner, their only remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible players, in a couple of entirely expected-but-required transactions. All Major League Baseball clubs had until 8 p.m. Eastern time to either offer 2021 contracts to their players who are eligible for arbitration this winter (generally those with more than three but fewer than six years of big league service time) or non-tender them and let them become free agents. There was...
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Mark Zuckerman

With easy tender decisions, Nats will be watching other clubs

With easy tender decisions, Nats will be watching other clubs
The Nationals typically go into baseball's non-tender deadline day with some decisions to make. One year ago, they chose not to offer a contract to Javy Guerra (who later re-signed on a minor league deal), were prepared to do the same with Koda Glover before the oft-injured reliever instead announced his retirement, and after some internal discussion chose to retain Roenis Elías, Hunter Strickland and Michael A. Taylor. (None of those three players, it should be noted, remain in the...
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Mark Zuckerman

Ross agrees to $1.5 million salary, avoiding arbitration

Ross agrees to $1.5 million salary, avoiding arbitration
Joe Ross and the Nationals agreed to terms today on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, avoiding arbitration, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. With one day remaining before clubs are required to tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players, the Nats managed to work out a deal with Ross that establishes his 2021 salary right now, though it was a fairly straightforward process. The right-hander's contract is for the same amount he was due to earn in 2020 before he...
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