Going Deep with The Nats

Photo by Laura Peebles for TalkNats

For the Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, the $199 million he spent in salaries this off-season to acquire Kyle Barraclough, Trevor Rosenthal, Kurt Suzuki, Yan Gomes, Patrick Corbin, Matt Adams, Anibal Sanchez and Brian Dozier has pushed his payroll to $195 million before incentives and bonuses. For all intents and purposes, the payroll is tapped out except for a few million dollars which puts the team near the $206 million CBT cap. If there is any good news, the Nationals could start the season with what they have and piece together the fifth starters spot in the rotation. Last year, Rizzo acquired Jeremy Hellickson on a minor league deal just like he has done for this season with Henderson Alvarez and could do with other starters.  Continue reading →

There is certainly a lot going on with the Washington Nationals with the arbitration filing deadline yesterday at 1 p.m., and all of the machinations with the arbitration eligible players and the free agent situation.

PAYROLL

The Nationals payroll after the Brian Dozier acquisition and all of the arbitration moves will be approximately $10 million from the CBT cap of $206 million, but with bonuses and incentives the Nationals have about $3 million of buffer to either spend now or wait for the July 31 trade deadline -or- they can make a couple of moves like a creative extension of Ryan Zimmerman‘s contract and possibly a trade which makes things more complicated — but not outside the realm of possibilities.  Continue reading →

MLB Network

The Washington Nationals have been spending money by the tens of millions, and on Thursday the Nats hit the cash register again signing another big free agent with Brian Dozier. The Nationals actually spent over $10 million on Thursday by inking Dozier and Joe Ross to one-year deals. Ahead of the arbitration filing deadline, the Nationals are at $196 million based on the CBT calculation. The Nationals still need to come to terms with Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Michael Taylor, and Kyle Barraclough who are all arbitration eligible. With both Joe Ross and Sammy Solis already settling on their 2019 salararies, general manager Mike Rizzo needs to come in below $28 million combined on the remaining four players to have some room under the $206 million CBT cap. Remember, that $196 million figure does not include bonuses or incentives, and Rizzo gave out some big incentive-laden contracts to both Trevor Rosenthal and Anibal Sanchez. Continue reading →

If teams are looking for pitching in free agency, the remaining pickings are slim past Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, and Adam Ottavino. There are some interesting bounceback candidates as well as some regression candidates, but there is usually one or two positive surprises every year. Finding those surprises can also be credited to analytics as well as some good fortune. Some would call it luck while others believe you make your own luck. Who will exceed expectations from the remaining free agents?  Continue reading →

With the free agent market at nearly a standstill except for relievers, some teams might head to their Spring Training destinations with the roster they currently have. Others will make a few changes, and some other teams will do as they did last season and add free agents after Spring Training camp opens in February. With just 35 days until camps open on February 12th for some teams, there is not much time left for a market that seems to be waiting for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper to choose their new destinations which will allow other teams to spend their cash on other targets.  Continue reading →