What moves would you make going forward for the #Nats?

Pitching Coach

That photo above is the actual Nationals G.M. in an armchair which gives the perfect image of the “armchair G.M.” that we can turn into the  “virtual armchair G.M.”, and we do it every off-season. The priorities for this team are clear, and — no — Bryce Harper is not a priority sitting in my armchair.

The Washington Nationals could start and outfield on Opening Day of Juan Soto LF, Victor Robles CF, and Adam Eaton in RF.

The infield could be set if Wilmer Difo is penciled in at 2nd base with Carter Kieboom available mid-season and a healthy Howie Kendrick available. If that is the case, the starting infield would be Anthony Rendon 3B, Trea Turner SS, Wilmer Difo 2B, and Ryan Zimmerman 1B to start the season. The Nationals now need a lefty bat to backup Ryan Zimmerman and we will discuss that below _____________.

The catcher position needs a 1A ____________. The Nationals now have a capable backup catcher with Spencer Kieboom.

The bullpen should be set with the acquisitions of Kyle Barraclough and Trevor Rosenthal, and manager Dave Martinez should have at least a dozen relievers to choose from. The five relievers that look to be part of the seven man bullpen is Sean Doolittle, Rosenthal, Barraclough, Justin Miller, and Matt Grace.

The starting rotation needs help beyond Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg where they could acquire three new pitchers and trade/non-tender Tanner Roark so that could make for _________, __________, _________ in the three spots or they could stick with Roark and Joe Ross and spend more money on a top of the rotation pitcher. Continue reading

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Sports Betting Could Be Coming to Nationals Park

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Mike Rizzo goes “quick strike” to bolster the bullpen with 2 former closers!

Already twice during the Natioanls’ off-season, they have been on “quick strike” to add to their bullpen. On October 10th, the Nationals added Kyle Barraclough to the bullpen via a trade, and today following that theme they made the first free agent signing of the official off-season. Usually general manager Mike Rizzo waits for the market to firm up during the Winter Meetings to start to make moves, and so far since the end of the season, Rizzo has not waited. Continue reading

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MLB Network has a full slate of live baseball coverage starting today!

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This week in the Nationals front office before this weekend’s GM Meetings

With the off-season chugging along, the Washington Nationals have quickly made two key decisions ahead of schedule. Yesterday, the Nationals activated Howie Kendrick off of the 60-day DL and moved him back to the active roster, and they picked up Sean Doolittle‘s team option. Those were both no-brainer and obvious moves. The Nationals have not decided on Jhonatan Solano who is the only player remaining on the 60-day DL. By Friday, Solano either has to be activated to the 40-man roster or receive a DFA. With the front office staff flying out this weekend for the General Manager’s meetings, the other decision is who gets a Qualified Offer of $17.9 million. We have been told by a source that only Bryce Harper will be QO’d by the Nationals.  Continue reading

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The off-season calendar is now set after the World Series ends!

Photo by Jeffery Salter

The off-season calendar officially began.  Below are some important dates for your off-season calendar which quickly begins with free agents declaring one day after the World Series ends. The Nationals have several free agents declaring led by Bryce Harper, Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds, Tommy Milone, Greg Holland, Tim Collins, and Jeremy Hellickson. In the category of “we barely knew ya” are free agents Kelvin Herrera, Joaquin Benoit, and Carlos Torres. Of all of those players, only Harper will be given a Qualified Offer which will be rejected by Harper, and if he goes to another team would net the Nationals a draft pick after the 4th round.

If you want to track the free agents, the only Nats’ free agents to make the Top 10 list from MLB is Bryce Harper who is #2 on the list and ex-Nat, Wilson Ramos, is #10 on the list. Soon MLBTR and other sites like Jon Heyman’s Fancred will do their lists of free agents and rate them.  Continue reading

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The World Series managers, Alex Cora and Dave Roberts, are not idiots!

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Alex Cora chose to pitch to Yasiel Puig instead of Austin Barnes

While many were sleeping past midnight in many parts of the country, extra innings are usually unforgiven of mistakes and especially in the postseason where one game can turn a series. The Red Sox took the lead in game #3 of the World Series by a score of 2-1 in the 13th inning which a chance to go up 3-games-to-0. On a 3-2 pitch, Max Muncy walked to start the bottom of the 13th inning then he advanced to second base on a bizarre foul-out that carried Eduardo Nunez into the stands. With first base open and two outs, Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was fresh with a pitch count of 35 before Yasiel Puig stepped up to the plate. With first base open, Red Sox manager Alex Cora decided to pitch to Puig, instead of intentionally walking him to face the weak hitting Austin Barnes who is the right-handed back-up catcher for the Dodgers. Continue reading

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Trea Turner is Super Two which will give him a windfall of millions!

While people all over the country were buying Mega Millions and Powerball tickets this week, Trea Turner by one calendar day of service time crossed the threshold of minimum salary player to Super Two status which gives him four years of salary arbitration instead of the typical three years and a windfall of millions. Continue reading

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Juan Soto is no longer a teenager as of today. Now he can be the 20 year old phenom!

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

You would be smiling too if you were Juan Soto who celebrates his 20th birthday today. He cashed his first lotto ticket when he signed a $1.5 million international free agent deal at the age of 16 with the Washington Nationals. That type of money puts you in the wealthiest 1% of Dominicans. In Soto’s case, that money will look like pocket change when his career earnings exceed a fraction of a billion dollars. He was only rated as the 22nd best international free agent back in 2015 when he signed with a low percentage chance of future success. Check back in a few more years to see how the 21 players ahead of him in those rankings do in their careers. Most of those players signed in international free agency will never sniff a major league field. Continue reading

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