Click to Read an Important Member Update Regarding Our Comment System
We recently upgraded our comment system to improve reliability, performance, and long-term control, and we’re currently running both systems during the transition. This shift moves us away from an external service to a system we run and control directly—meaning we own the content and can continue improving it over time. We’ve also reduced the comment refresh delay from about 30 seconds to 10 seconds, making it much closer to real-time.
We understand there have been frustrations and increased feedback, and we’re actively working to improve things. What we ask is simple: use the system and give it a fair shot. If you run into issues, please submit them through the support form so we can track and fix them properly. Repeated complaints without details don’t help us solve problems—we appreciate your patience as we continue refining the experience.
If you’d like a full side-by-side comparison of the platforms and the reasons behind this decision, please refer to the chart below. This change is being made with the long-term benefit of the entire community in mind.
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Don: OK Steve, let’s continue our discussion of upgrading the offense. I think we both agree that neither George Springer or Marcell Ozuna are going to be signed by Rizzo.
Steve: Overall, Ozuna looks to be a very expensive designated hitter — although he could be the new Nelson Cruz. While Springer would fit anywhere, the money just seems out of reach for the Nationals at this point.
Don: We’ve already discussed Nolan Arenado in Point-CounterPoint: Upgrading the Nats Offense and pretty much agreed it would be nice but terribly unlikely. And even more unlikely now that the Dodgers are supposedly interested in Arenado.
Scherzer earned his 175th career win, Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
When Max Scherzer put his Potomac River mansion up for sale, there was an uneasiness among some in the Washington Nationals fan base who felt it was a sign that the 3-time Cy Young award winner was going to be traded. While there have been no credible reports of any trade, it is part of “anything is possible” given that Scherzer is in the final year of his 7-year $210 million deal with the Nats. If you read enough on social media, you will find those self-described insiders that will tell you that it is legitimate that Scherzer will be traded. Continue reading →
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First two weeks are free and then you will be billed $3.99/month. Cancel anytime. Secure payments using Stripe.
If you are already a subscriber, simply log in using the form below.
When the music stopped in the 2018 carousel of musical chairs for Minor League affiliates, the Washington Nationals were without a chair for their Triple-A affiliate. Actually, they had no chairs, bench, or team bus. Their affiliation with Syracuse ended rather abruptly when the Chiefs struck a deal to be purchased by the New York Mets which simultaneously put the Nats affiliate in a homeless situation for months.
The Syracuse affiliation with the Nationals ran from 2008-2018 on the tombstone. While Nashville looked the most promising for a new affiliation, that did not happen nor did Round Rock. When the dust settled, the Nationals were stuck with the Fresno vacancy as their only option which placed that team 2,794 miles away and a logistical nightmare. Sure, the weather was better than Syracuse, but call-ups are best served when you can drive it within a reasonable amount of time when you have a moment of urgency for a call-up. Continue reading →
In another segment of dollars and sense, we discuss the arbitration decision deadline that is approaching at 8 pm ET on Wednesday, December 2nd. This occurs on the first business day of the month of December after December 1st. That is the time when teams will either tender a contract to an arbitration-eligible player or non-tender a player which means no contract is extended to the player who then is removed from the team’s 40-man roster and could become a free agent. If a player is tendered, the team then agrees to follow the arbitration route which is either a negotiated salary for the 2021 season or a decision to go to an arbitration hearing to determine the salary. Continue reading →
We are joined by Richard W. of The Nats Report. We did this point-counterpoint from last week as we discuss off-season spending.
Steve: Thanks Richard for joining us. It did not take a genius to figure out in these difficult times in the “live entertainment” sector that MLB teams would be struggling to make money when so much revenue is dependent on fans in the stands. Unfortunately for our Washington Nationals, they are more dependent on fans in the stands than almost any team because they have the WORST media deal due to the MASN debacle and ongoing lawsuit and they have no stadium naming rights sponsor. With zero attendance in 2020 and a strict DC Government, the outlook is bleak for the first half of 2021 attendance for Nationals Park with the hope by July that most fans have been vaccinated.
With that said, a team like the Nats cannot depend on fan revenue in 2021 and as such will cut payroll. Yes, nobody wants to hear that. Don’t fret, the Nationals without spending a dime are the 7th highest in payroll spent if they do nothing. That is because they have nearly $90 million invested in the trio of Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, and Patrick Corbin. That’s where 55% of the Nats money is tied up right now. Continue reading →
Mum’s the word. There has been little chatter from general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez of the Washington Nationals this offseason. Our sourced intel has produced little as to the direction of acquisitions as the information is being held close to the vest. We have had to rely on actions more than anything through the few roster moves and coaching changes. The rest is based on our own analytics as to how to fill the holes. Continue reading →
Personally, I absolutely love prospects. And in particular there are a couple of types of prospects who I consistently find myself gravitating toward. On the offensive side, some of my favorites are the prospects who are great defenders, with plus hit tools. I’m less concerned with power, and follow the philosophy that it’s easier for good hitters to develop power, than it is for power hitters to develop a hit tool. Continue reading →
MLB.com re-ranked their starters in top free agent order within all of the free agents in their Top-25. This was the original list back in mid-October that we referenced in our article on October 21.
They removed Robbie Ray and Jose Quintana from their top pitchers and oddly moved Paxton up to their 4th best free agent starting pitcher. Personally, I prefer the MLBTR free agent rankings better, and they won’t change this from their original. Why did MLB.com change their rankings? Supposedly it has to do with adding Charlie Morton whose option was rejected and that made him a free agent. They kept Stroman on their list while removing Ray.
My top picks from this list will stay consistent with Trevor Bauer, Kevin Gausman and Jake Odorizzi. Obviously Bauer is not coming to the Nats and Gausman was retained by the Giants with the Q.O. and that leaves just Odorizzi. While Paxton, Walker, and Morton are intriguing, Odorizzi should be 100 percent healthy for the start of Spring Training.
Currently, these are the remaining free agent starting pitchers and the list is fluid and can change with non-tenders, DFAs, retirements, and signings. Ages are in parentheses and alphabetized for ease of searching:
Keep in mind that there could be some non-tender pitchers to add to the current list of 46 free agent starting pitchers. That is almost exactly 1½ per team and some of them will be forced to go unsigned or take minor league offers. Here is the arbitration list from MLBTR and there are a few names like Steven Matz and Vince Velasquez who are not locks to be tendered. Matz’s odds to be retained on a $5 million deal got better when the Mets got new ownership, but personally I would non-tender him.
We recently upgraded our comment system to improve reliability, performance, and long-term control, and we’re currently running both systems during the transition. This shift moves us away from an external service to a system we run and control directly—meaning we own the content and can continue improving it over time. We’ve also reduced the comment refresh delay from about 30 seconds to 10 seconds, making it much closer to real-time.
We understand there have been frustrations and increased feedback, and we’re actively working to improve things. What we ask is simple: use the system and give it a fair shot. If you run into issues, please submit them through the support form so we can track and fix them properly. Repeated complaints without details don’t help us solve problems—we appreciate your patience as we continue refining the experience.
If you’d like a full side-by-side comparison of the platforms and the reasons behind this decision, please refer to the chart below. This change is being made with the long-term benefit of the entire community in mind.