All the ballplayers whose careers ended in D.C.

All the ballplayers whose careers ended in D.C.
A total of 370 players have appeared in at least one game for the Nationals since 2005. Some of them were longtime stalwarts who are forever associated fondly with this franchise. Some were only here for a year or two as part of successful careers with multiple clubs. And some of them played for a while in Washington and then never played in the big leagues again. Actually, more than some of them fit that last description. Would you believe at least 127 of the 370 players in Nationals history...
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Why 2021 will be better than 2020

Why 2021 will be better than 2020
You already know this, but 2020 was a pretty awful year. Not that many folks didn't experience some legitimately positive moments, but in the big picture this was among the worst years in most everybody's lives. Now, you have to be awfully naïve to believe that the world is suddenly going to change for the better just because we're all opening up a new calendar today. Nothing is inherently different today compared to yesterday, other than an arbitrary number someone a long time ago chose...
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Thames signs with Japanese club for 2021

Thames signs with Japanese club for 2021
Eric Thames went to Asia to resurrect his career once before. He'll attempt to do it again after signing with a Japanese club Wednesday following his disappointing season with the Nationals. Thames signed a one-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He'll earn roughly $1.2 million, according to Sports Hochi. That's a bit of a fall from grace for Thames, who one year ago signed with the Nationals for a guaranteed $4 million in 2020, plus a $4 million mutual option...
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Why Yadiel Hernández isn't in the mix for the outfield job

Why Yadiel Hernández isn't in the mix for the outfield job
The Nationals need a corner outfielder. This is not news to anyone who has paid even scant attention this winter. This to-be-determined outfielder most likely will come from outside the organization, acquired either via free agency or trade. Unless the front office decides to gamble and stay in-house with Andrew Stevenson, who looked awfully impressive when given a chance to play in September but has very little track record. What, though, about the other in-house option, the other outfielder...
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Cubs' teardown is a cautionary tale for Nationals

Cubs' teardown is a cautionary tale for Nationals
It's a common practice to look at a team in the moments after it wins a championship and wonder if it's good enough to come back the next year and win another. And rarely in recent baseball history has that sentiment been more prevalent than in the moments after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series. Yes, they broke the Billy Goat Curse with their first title in 108 years, but this didn't appear to be some kind of one-in-a-million convergence of events. The Cubs roster was loaded with young...
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Monday morning Nats Q&A

Monday morning Nats Q&A
Good morning, everyone. Hope you all had a safe and healthy holiday weekend. And hope you had a little time to read about the Nationals' trade for Josh Bell and the subsequent reaction and analysis that followed. After an awfully quiet start to the offseason, the Nats have now acquired a much-needed big bat. The question is, will they attempt to go get another significant bat to further bolster the top half of their lineup? We know they still need a corner outfielder. And they could still...
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Is there still room for Zimmerman on 2021 roster?

Is there still room for Zimmerman on 2021 roster?
It was a throwaway line at the end of his opening statement introducing Josh Bell on Saturday afternoon, but a four-word phrase from Mike Rizzo might have carried more weight than he realized at the time. Rizzo referred to Bell as "our new first baseman." That's not something the Nationals general manager has said in some time. The last time Rizzo acquired a first baseman with the intention of starting him on opening day was 2011. The player's name was Adam LaRoche, and he would hold the...
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Nationals believe Bell is "a big upgrade for us"

Nationals believe Bell is "a big upgrade for us"
In searching for the big bat his club was missing this season and he had openly identified as his No. 1 goal of this offseason, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo had no shortage of options to consider. He could've gone big in the free agent market and tried to sign one of the pre-eminent (but pricey) players available. He could've gone after a second-tier (and thus less expensive) free agent and hoped that would be enough. Or he could've explored trade possibilities, recognizing that type...
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How the Nationals' 2021 lineup looks for now

How the Nationals' 2021 lineup looks for now
The Christmas Eve acquisition of Josh Bell gives the Nationals a much-needed, middle-of-the-order bat. General manager Mike Rizzo said that was his No. 1 priority of the winter, and the general manager even dropped a hint last week it could come in the form of a first baseman. But where exactly does Bell - who is tentatively scheduled to speak to reporters this afternoon, by the way - figure to bat in the Nats lineup? The idea all along was to provide protection for Juan Soto, who sorely needed...
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Bell trade can't be Nats' only big move of the winter

Bell trade can't be Nats' only big move of the winter
The initial reaction to the Josh Bell trade was overwhelmingly positive. A Nationals club that desperately needed to acquire a big bat did so without spending gobs of money and without dealing away top prospects. What's not to like about that? Well, as with all trades, it's best not to jump to any conclusions just yet. Let's see how this plays out. There's a good chance Bell proves to be everything the Nationals need him to be, and that neither Wil Crowe nor Eddy Yean amounts to much with...
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Nats get big bat for Christmas, acquire Josh Bell from Bucs

Nats get big bat for Christmas, acquire Josh Bell from Bucs
General manager Mike Rizzo found a much-desired big bat to stuff into the Nationals' stocking just hours before the sun sets on Christmas Eve: Josh Bell. The Nats have acquired Bell, an All-Star first baseman in 2019, from the Pirates in exchange for pitching prospects Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean in a rare (but not unprecedented) Dec. 24 move announced by the club this afternoon. The switch-hitting Bell, 28, clubbed 37 homers and drove in 116 runs while posting a .936 OPS and earning his first...
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Kendrick's immeasurable impact on the Nationals

Kendrick's immeasurable impact on the Nationals
Ask someone to create a list of the best players in Nationals history, and you're going to find plenty of consensus. Max Scherzer is on there, probably at the top, with Stephen Strasburg right behind him. Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper most likely round out the top five, in one order or another. Ryan Zimmerman certainly deserves a spot. Then you'll start getting some diverging opinions as supporters make the case for the likes of Jordan Zimmermann and Daniel Murphy and Ian Desmond...
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Nationals finished with seventh-highest payroll in 2020

Nationals finished with seventh-highest payroll in 2020
The Nationals finished the 2020 season with the seventh-largest payroll in Major League Baseball, down three slots from their position during their World Series run the previous year but still leaving them among the sport's biggest spenders. The Nats paid out a grand total of $76.2 million to all players on their 40-man roster this season, according to figures obtained and published by the Associated Press on Saturday evening. That ranked seventh in the majors, behind the World Series champion...
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Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021

Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021
As Aug. 31 arrived earlier this year, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo faced a dilemma he never wanted to face. Rizzo's team had just completed an abysmal month of baseball, albeit during the unprecedented circumstances of the 2020 season. Now, as trade deadline day arrived, the Nats were 12-19, three games out of the final wild card position in the National League and staring up at six teams ahead of them in the standings for that last-ditch ticket to October. If they felt they still had...
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What do Nats expect from Kieboom and García in 2021?

What do Nats expect from Kieboom and García in 2021?
Had you asked anyone affiliated with the Nationals on opening day which rookie would garner the most big league plate appearances in 2020, the answer would've been Carter Kieboom every single time. Luis García? Well, perhaps the 20-year-old would make his debut at some point, but he wouldn't see significant action. Certainly not more than Kieboom, who had been touted as the club's everyday third baseman from the first day of spring training. A quick glance at the Nationals' season-ending...
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Nats prepping for on-time spring, but know there will be hurdles

Nats prepping for on-time spring, but know there will be hurdles
On this cold, wet mid-December morning, here's a warm thought to boost your spirits: Exactly two months from today, Nationals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training. Emphasis, of course, on the "are scheduled to" portion of that statement. Anyone who definitively says spring training will begin as scheduled is merely hoping that comes true. "We're planning for an on-time spring training, Feb. 17, and a 162-game major league schedule," Nats general manager Mike...
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Nationals plan for Gomes to catch majority of games in 2021

Nationals plan for Gomes to catch majority of games in 2021
Mike Rizzo notoriously doesn't tip his hand when it comes to offseason targets, but if you're willing to take him at his word, it appears the Nationals general manager intends to go into the 2021 season with Yan Gomes catching more than 50 percent of his team's games and a still-to-be-acquired veteran backing him up. During Tuesday's Zoom session with reporters, his first since late September, Rizzo indicated the Nationals are prepared to have Gomes start a majority of games begin the...
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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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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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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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