Monday morning thoughts on Dozier, Reynolds and Harper

A few thoughts as everyone wakes up this Monday morning and digs out from the weekend snowstorm ...

* We should be hearing from Brian Dozier soon, perhaps as soon as today, now that the veteran second baseman's one-year, $9 million contract with the Nationals has officially been announced. Dozier, who agreed to terms of the deal Thursday, passed his physical Sunday to finalize the process.

There will be plenty of topics to discuss with Dozier, but perhaps most interesting will be his explanation for his decline in production last season. Was it a bone bruise in his right knee that never forced him to the disabled list but still lingered for months? Was it the pressure of performing in a contract year? Was it something else, or a combination of everything? His answer could be telling.

The Nationals chose Dozier from a pool of plenty of viable second base candidates on the free agent market this winter. Obviously, the fact they could get him on a one-year deal that still leaves a path for Carter Kieboom to take over in the relatively near future was a key factor.

You can't help but wonder, though, if the Nats misread the market at least somewhat after watching DJ LeMahieu sign with the Yankees on Friday for two years and $24 million. Most expected the former National League batting champ to get a longer deal than that, and that may have been a major reason the Nationals didn't go harder after him.

Not that LeMahieu would have been a slam dunk better choice than Dozier. He's also coming off a down year, and there are questions about his ability to hit away from Coors Field. But he is one of the highest-rated defensive second basemen, certainly better than Dozier in that regard.

If the Nationals knew all along LeMahieu could be theirs for $24 million, might they have preferred him over Dozier? No matter the answer, it'll be fascinating to compare the two players' 2019 performance.

* Needing to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Dozier, the Nationals designated Matt Reynolds for assignment over the weekend. Thus ended the infielder's brief tenure with the organization, one that seemed like it might be more fruitful when he was first acquired.

The Nats signed Reynolds away from the Mets on the eve of spring training last year, believing he would be a strong candidate to make the roster as a backup infielder or at least be an oft-needed call-up at Triple-A.

Reynolds, though, barely made a blip with the Nationals. He opened the year in Syracuse, was promoted to the big leagues on April 7, but was sent back 17 days later. He returned once more, for only five days in late July.

All told, Reynolds went 2-for-13 with one RBI in 12 games for the Nats. He started one game at third base. He wasn't among the club's September call-ups.

Now he's available to any other organization that wants to claim him.

* The weekend saw more Bryce Harper rumors, with plenty of speculation about a positive meeting between the free agent and the Phillies in Las Vegas and USA Today going so far as to declare Philadelphia the "clear-cut favorite" to sign him.

Maybe Harper does indeed end up playing right field at Citizens Bank Park. We've known all along the Phillies were gearing up to spend a ton of money this winter and were going to go hard after both Harper and Manny Machado. But anyone who says he or she knows how this saga is going to end doesn't really know.

Anything that has been put out there for public consumption regarding Harper has been put there because someone wanted it put out there. That includes Scott Boras. It includes front office folks from clubs in the mix to sign Harper (including the Nationals). And it probably includes a few folks who work for other clubs and are hearing things through the grapevine.

The point is this: Everyone has a vested interest in this story. Everyone wants to get a certain message out there. Some teams want everyone to know they're all in on Harper. Some teams want everyone to think they're lukewarm, only to swoop in at the last minute and make a huge offer.

Having suffered through more than a few Boras-produced offseasons in the past, the only thing I feel confident saying is this: We don't really know everything that's been going on with Harper, only the parts of the story somebody wanted us to know.

In other words: Don't be surprised if and when Harper makes a decision that will be deemed a surprise by those who weren't paying close enough attention throughout the entire process.