Mike Rizzo will tell you he doesn't make a single offseason decision based on what other clubs are doing to their roster. The Nationals general manager's sole focus is on improving his team, no matter what anyone else around the league is doing.
It's an admirable philosophy, of course, and it has served Rizzo well in his decade-plus in charge of the Nats. It also may be increasingly difficult to adhere to this winter, because there's reason to believe every other club in the National League...
The offseason is now in full swing. Not that there's much of any news of consequence involving the Nationals so far. If anything, this first portion of the offseason has raised more questions than provided answers.
So perhaps it's a good time to take some questions and attempt to provide some answers. I can't promise I've got a good reponse for every query, but I'll try my best to offer some insight on free agency, changes to the coaching staff and the state of the baseball industry as a...
The Nationals are in the market for bullpen help this winter. Just like every winter. Guess you have to admire their consistency, right?
The good news is, they're in less of a bind this winter than they've usually been in the past. With Daniel Hudson, Will Harris, Tanner Rainey and Kyle Finnegan all returning, they've got a solid core group of right-handers already on the staff.
What they don't have is a left-hander, now that Sean Doolittle is a free agent. So that's probably priority No....
The Nationals need a big bat, someone to hit behind Trea Turner and Juan Soto, and the most logical position for that person to play is a corner outfield position.
But it doesn't have to work out quite like that. Just as, let's say, a presidential candidate has more than one path to 270 electoral votes, general manager Mike Rizzo has more than one path to try to boost his club's lineup.
The state of the Nationals infield is very much in flux as the offseason begins. We know Turner is...
Juan Soto's massive offensive numbers in a shortened season weren't enough to earn the Nationals star left fielder a top-three finish in the MVP race, but they were enough to earn him a Silver Slugger Award.
Soto's victory was revealed tonight, the first of a career that figures to include plenty more of these awards and perhaps an MVP or two as well. He was one of three National League outfielders to win the honor, joining the Dodgers' Mookie Betts and the Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. atop...
Three mainstays in the Nationals organization will be back for another spring training with the club.
Aaron Barrett, Adrián Sanchez and Brandon Snyder are among the group of players who will receive non-roster invitations to West Palm Beach next spring, a source confirmed. All figure to face long odds of making the big league roster, but that's never been a deterrent for any of these veterans.
Barrett, who turns 33 in January, has participated in every Nationals spring training since 2011,...
It's perhaps not their No. 1 need this winter, but the Nationals absolutely need to add another catcher this winter. Unless they're willing to enter 2021 with Yan Gomes as the clear-cut starter and either Raudy Read or Tres Barrera as his backup, the Nats are going to have to acquire somebody.
That somebody could be a frontline starter who relegates Gomes to the bench. Or it could be somebody who shares the job with Gomes, much as Kurt Suzuki did the last two seasons.
The good news: There's...
We looked at potential free agent outfielders that might interest the Nationals on Tuesday. Today we turn our attention to their other big need this winter: a No. 4 starter to replace the departing AnÃbal Sánchez.
Some teams don't prioritize a No. 4 starter. The Nationals do. Look back at their best seasons over the last near-decade, and they've pretty much always had a good fourth starter. Look back at their worst seasons during this run, and they've pretty much always had a problem...
Rank the Nationals' most significant needs this winter and there's no debate what tops the list: a big bat.
Someone who can hit behind Trea Turner and Juan Soto. Someone who can lengthen the lineup. Someone who can fill the void created by Anthony Rendon's departure last winter. (And, yes, obviously this all could've been avoided if the Nats just re-signed Rendon, but there's no sense re-litigating that one now.)
This big bat could come in a variety of forms and could play one of several...
We raised the question Sunday of the Nationals' approach to this winter, whether they might be willing to go against the expected grain of most of the league and aggressively pursue free agents while everyone else attempts to drag the process out and save money.
We have no idea at this point if it's even within the realm of possibility, mostly because we haven't heard a word from the front office about the financial state of the organization at the end of a year in which there were no fans...
The start of free agency in baseball has long failed to live up to whatever advance hype comes along with it. If the first day of free agency in the NFL, NBA and NHL resembles Walmart on Black Friday, in Major League Baseball it looks more like a group of seniors strolling through the mall concourse at 9 a.m. on a random Tuesday.
Owners don't send their private jets out at the stroke of midnight to pick up potential big-name targets. Agents prefer to drag the whole process out and wait for the...
They celebrated the anniversary of the Nationals' Game 7 World Series victory Friday night, commemorating the moment at 11:50 p.m. when Daniel Hudson struck out Michael Brantley on a down-and-in slider to set off a wild celebration at Minute Maid Park in Houston, at Nationals Park in Washington, and in homes and bars throughout the region.
My god, has it really been a year?
It has. And so much of what we're experiencing today bears so little resemblance to that glorious moment on Oct. 30,...
Our offseason player review series continues today with Asdrúbal Cabrera, who struggled to consistently produce this season.
PLAYER REVIEW: ASDRÚBAL CABRERA
Age on opening day 2021: 35
How acquired: Signed as free agent, August 2019
MLB service time: 13 years, 27 days
2020 salary: $2,685,000 (prorated $1,110,926)
Contract status: Free agent
2020 stats: 52 G, 213 PA, 190 AB, 23 R, 46 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 19 BB, 40 SO, .242 AVG, .305 OBP, .447 SLG, .753 OPS, 98 OPS+, 1...
Our offseason player review series continues today with Howie Kendrick, who faces a big career decision after becoming a free agent Wednesday.
PLAYER REVIEW: HOWIE KENDRICK
Age on opening day 2021: 37
How acquired: Traded from Phillies for McKenzie Mills and international bonus slot money, July 2017
MLB service time: 14 years, 91 days
2020 salary: $4 million (prorated $1,481,481)
Contract status: Free agent after Nats declined $6.5 million mutual option (paid $2.25 million buyout)
2020 stats:...
The Nationals finalized their 2021 coaching staff today, filling the one vacancy that hadn't yet been publicly announced with one of the longest-tenured members of their organization.
Randy Knorr, who has been a player, coach or minor league manager with the Nats franchise since 2001 in Montreal, will join the big league staff for the fourth time in the last decade-plus, serving as first base coach for the first time.
Bob Henley, after a one-year stint at first base, will move back to the...
The end of the World Series last night meant the start of the offseason today, and the Nationals wasted no time making the first of many consequential decisions they'll face during what should be a busy winter.
The Nats declined to pick up the 2021 contract options they held on Adam Eaton and AnÃbal Sánchez and declined to pick up their portions of the 2021 mutual options on Howie Kendrick and Eric Thames. All four veteran players immediately become free agents and are allowed to begin...
Our offseason player review series continues today with Josh Harrison, who quickly made a positive impact after his early season acquisition.
PLAYER REVIEW: JOSH HARRISON
Age on opening day 2021: 33
How acquired: Signed as free agent, July 2020
MLB service time: 8 years, 168 days
2020 salary: $1 million (prorated $348,253)
Contract status: Signed for $1 million in 2021, free agent in 2022
2020 stats: 33 G, 91 PA, 79 AB, 11 R, 22 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB, 2 CS, 6 BB, 12 SO, .278 AVG,...
Our offseason player review series continues today with Luis GarcÃa, who unexpectedly became the Nationals' starting second baseman ahead of schedule.
PLAYER REVIEW: LUIS GARCÃA
Age on opening day 2021: 20
How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2016
MLB service time: 105 days
2020 salary: $563,500 (prorated $140,175)
Contract status: Under team control, arbitration-eligible in 2024, free agent in 2027
2020 stats: 40 G, 139 PA, 134 AB, 18 R, 37 H, 6 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI,...
Our offseason player review series continues today with Andrew Stevenson, who spent most of the summer at the alternate camp site in Fredericksburg, then wowed the Nationals after his late-season promotion.
PLAYER REVIEW: ANDREW STEVENSON
Age on opening day 2021: 26
How acquired: Second-round pick, 2015 draft
MLB service time: 1 year, 122 days
2020 salary: $563,500 (prorated $71,645)
Contract status: Under team control, likely arbitration-eligible in 2022, free agent in 2026
2020 stats: 15 G,...
Our offseason player review series continues today with Kyle McGowin, who emerged out of the blue this summer to be an at-times dominant reliever.
PLAYER REVIEW: KYLE McGOWIN
Age on opening day 2021: 29
How acquired: Traded with Austin Adams from Angels for Danny Espinosa, December 2016
MLB service time: 139 days
2020 salary: $563,500 (prorated $80,990)
Contract status: Under team control, arbitration-eligible in 2023, free agent in 2026
2020 stats: 1-0, 4.91 ERA, 9 G, 1 SV, 11 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6...