Top stories of 2018: Harper's up-and-down contract year

Top stories of 2018: Harper's up-and-down contract year
As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we've revealed one per day, concluding now with ... No. 1: Harper's walk year It had been looming since ... well, to be honest, since the day the Nationals drafted Bryce Harper and everybody started wondering what would happen once he became...
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Top stories of 2018: The late-summer roster teardown

Top stories of 2018: The late-summer roster teardown
As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we'll reveal one per day, continuing with ... No. 2: The late-summer roster teardown Daniel Murphy, Matt Adams, Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler all opened the season as major pieces of the Nationals roster. And there was little...
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Top stories of 2018: Soto's dazzling debut

Top stories of 2018: Soto's dazzling debut
As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we'll reveal one per day, continuing with ... No. 3: Juan Soto's arrival The Nationals had long touted a prized prospect of theirs, a young outfielder who signed out of the Dominican Republic and had since been dazzling in the minor leagues,...
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Sánchez grateful for contract, confident success will continue

Sánchez grateful for contract, confident success will continue
Aníbal Sánchez had recently turned 34 when he made his 2018 debut for the Braves (against the Nationals, for what that's worth). He was the not-so-proud owner of a 10-20 record and 6.09 ERA over the previous two seasons with the Tigers. He had to have at least some doubts deep inside his head that he might never get another significant big league contract. When he makes his 2019 debut for the Nationals, Sánchez will be 35 and the proud recipient of a two-year deal that guarantees him...
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Top stories of 2018: Martinez's first year in charge

Top stories of 2018: Martinez's first year in charge
As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we'll reveal one per day, continuing with ... No. 4: Davey Martinez's first season as manager Whether you were a fan of his hiring or not, you had to admit Davey Martinez was thrust into a situation last year that was more likely to end...
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Top stories of 2018: All-Star Week in D.C.

Top stories of 2018: All-Star Week in D.C.
As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we'll reveal one each of the next five days, beginning with ... No. 5: The All-Star Game in D.C. From the day Nationals Park opened, Mark Lerner lobbied Bud Selig to give an All-Star Game to Washington. It took a decade, not to mention an...
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What's still on your Nationals wish list?

What's still on your Nationals wish list?
The Nationals went shopping early this winter. They made a bunch of moves in November and early December to address most of their glaring roster needs, leaving only a few remaining items left to cross off during this holiday season. But they're not entirely done yet. There are still acquisitions to be made, vacant positions to be filled. And, of course, there's the biggest prize of all still out there, unsure whether he'll be returning to Washington in 2019 or heading elsewhere for the next...
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Would anyone support "Expos Day" at Nationals Park?

Would anyone support "Expos Day" at Nationals Park?
The Carolina Hurricanes wore Hartford Whalers uniforms Sunday for their home game against the Boston Bruins. And if that isn't the strangest lede I've ever written to a blog post about the Nationals, I'm trying to remember something else that would top it. You see, the Hurricanes' throwback night on the ice reminded me of something I've long pondered in my own mind: Would the Nationals ever wear Expos uniforms? And how would fans, both from Washington and Montreal, feel about that? I think...
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Updating some Nats' winter ball performances

Updating some Nats' winter ball performances
After a furious Friday of hot stove action, the baseball world is now taking holiday break. That includes the winter leagues, where several Nationals have been playing. Atop that list, of course, is Michael A. Taylor, who has been in the Dominican Republic putting some swing changes into practice in an attempt to come to spring training a new hitter. Taylor isn't off to a great start. In seven games so far for Gigantes del Cibao, he's batting just .143 (4-for-28) with one double, two RBIs,...
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Harper to L.A. just makes too much sense for both sides

Harper to L.A. just makes too much sense for both sides
If you think the Dodgers aren't interested in Bryce Harper ... well, you haven't been paying close enough attention. Long before they pulled off Friday's blockbuster trade that sent Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood to the Reds to create a sudden opening in their outfield, the Dodgers have loomed as a prime potential destination for Harper. Remember, this is the franchise that actually claimed Harper off waivers - per multiple reports back in late August - only to watch as the Nationals...
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Why the Nats placed their bet on Sánchez, not Roark

Why the Nats placed their bet on Sánchez, not Roark
Place your bets now. Who will have the better season: Aníbal Sánchez or Tanner Roark? You know the comparisons are inevitable after the Nationals traded Roark to the Reds last week and then signed Sánchez Thursday evening to take his place as the club's No. 4 starter. As everyone said at the time, the Roark trade could only be judged after it was known who would occupy the spot he held for the better part of five seasons. This is the bet Mike Rizzo and the Nationals made, that...
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Source: Sánchez gets two-year deal from Nats, plus 2021 option

Source: Sánchez gets two-year deal from Nats, plus 2021 option
The Nationals, in need of a No. 4 starter since last week's trade of Tanner Roark, have agreed to terms on a two-year deal with veteran right-hander Aníbal Sánchez, according to a source familiar with the signing. The deal is pending a physical and also includes a club option for 2021. The Detroit Free Press reported Sánchez will make $19 million over the two guaranteed seasons (2019-20). A longtime Nationals nemesis during a 13-year career with the Marlins, Tigers and Braves,...
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Thursday morning Nats Q&A

Thursday morning Nats Q&A
The Winter Meetings have come and gone. Tanner Roark is no longer a National. Matt Adams is again a National. Bryce Harper still hasn't decided what he's going to be in 2019 and beyond. There are a few more shopping days until Christmas, so perhaps the Nats could get something done before everyone breaks for the holidays. But more and more it looks like any big news - certainly any news involving Harper - is going to have to wait until January. We, of course, never stop discussing baseball...
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In appreciation of Tanner Roark

In appreciation of Tanner Roark
Because the trade occurred late in the Winter Meetings last week, and because the Nationals have made more news since, Tanner Roark's departure for Cincinnati perhaps hasn't received as much attention as it deserves. Consider this, then, one final acknowledgement of Roark's career in Washington. Because it was significant, it was very good at times and it may not be as easy to replace as some would like to believe. Did Roark have his faults? Sure. Especially over the last two seasons, he...
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Adams jumped at chance to re-sign with "A-class organization"

Adams jumped at chance to re-sign with "A-class organization"
From the moment he departed Washington for St. Louis (via a late-August waiver claim) Matt Adams made it clear he'd be interested in returning to the Nationals next season. He wasn't just saying it to be nice to his former employer. Adams officially rejoined the Nats today after passing a physical, the last step toward finalizing a one-year, $3 million contract that also includes a $4 million mutual option for 2020 (or a $1 million buyout). And the big slugger explained why he was so...
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Nationals' luxury tax bill is nearly $2.4 million

Nationals' luxury tax bill is nearly $2.4 million
The Nationals' luxury tax bill this season is slightly less than $2.4 million, a not-insignificant amount to pay for exceeding Major League Baseball's pseudo-salary cap, but probably not a steep enough penalty to deter the club from making an offer to Bryce Harper that would catapult it over the threshold again in 2019. The Nationals' final payroll for luxury tax purposes was roughly $205 million, according to a report over the weekend by the Associated Press, $8 million above MLB's 2018...
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Infielder from Murphy trade is player to be named in Gomes deal

Infielder from Murphy trade is player to be named in Gomes deal
The Nationals completed their trade for Yan Gomes today when they announced minor league infielder Andruw Monasterio as the player to be named in their deal with the Indians. Monasterio, 21, was the prospect the Nationals acquired from the Cubs for Daniel Murphy in August. He wound up playing in only 13 games with the organization, all for Single-A Potomac, hitting .308 with a triple and 5 RBIs. The Nationals already had sent right-hander Jefry Rodriguez and minor league outfielder Daniel...
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Aggressive moves show four NL East teams trying to win now

Aggressive moves show four NL East teams trying to win now
The National League East hasn't been decided by fewer than seven games since 2012, and the division race hasn't come down to the season's final weekend since 2008. We have no way of knowing yet how it'll play out in 2019, but this much is safe to say: Right now, four of the division's five clubs are acting like they expect to be in the mix. No division has been more aggressive so far this winter than the NL East, with the Nationals, Phillies, Mets and reigning champion Braves all making...
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Reunion with Adams made too much sense for both sides

Reunion with Adams made too much sense for both sides
The trading of a player months before he becomes a free agent often comes with an important caveat: "We can always re-sign him over the winter." Truth is, it rarely happens. Whether it's the bad blood a player feels toward an organization for dealing him away or a genuine lack of interest from the club in bringing said player back, these reunions just don't take place very often. In the case of Matt Adams and the Nationals, though, this always felt like a distinct possibility. For one...
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Adams returning to Nats for 2019, with mutual option for 2020

Adams returning to Nats for 2019, with mutual option for 2020
Even after he was traded to the Cardinals as the Nationals' season collapsed in August, Matt Adams spoke glowingly of Washington as an organization and a city and said he'd be interested in returning. Turns out he'll be coming back next season. The Nationals and Adams have agreed to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2020, pending a physical, according to two sources familiar with the signing. The deal, which was first reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, guarantees Adams $4...
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