Mark Zuckerman

Eaton should be healthier in 2019, but Nats still face decision

October 15, 2018, 11:39am

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Adam Eaton, who was briefly sidetracked in his return from a major leg injury but wound up healthy and productive by season's end. PLAYER REVIEW: ADAM EATON Age on opening day 2019: 30 How acquired: Traded from White Sox for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo LÃ³pez and Dane Dunning, December 2016 MLB service time: 6 years, 30 days 2018 salary: $6...

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Brilliant as a rookie, what can Soto do for an encore next year?

October 14, 2018, 5:47pm

Nationals

Brilliant as a rookie, what can Soto do for an encore next year?

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Juan Soto, who made his major league debut far sooner than anyone expected and then performed well beyond anyone's expectations. PLAYER REVIEW: JUAN SOTO Age on opening day 2019: 20 How acquired: Signed as an international free agent, June 2015 MLB service time: 143 days 2018 salary: $545,000 Contract status: Under club control, likely...

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Did Kieboom show enough to merit No. 2 catching job in 2019?

October 13, 2018, 6:09pm

Nationals

Did Kieboom show enough to merit No. 2 catching job in 2019?

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Spencer Kieboom, who was supposed to be in D.C. short-term but wound up sticking around most of the season. PLAYER REVIEW: SPENCER KIEBOOM Age on opening day 2019: 28 How acquired: Fifth-round pick, 2012 draft MLB service time: 149 days 2018 salary: $545,000 Contract status: Under team control, arbitration-eligible in 2021, free agent in 2024 2018...

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Veteran Reynolds proved valuable in-season addition

October 12, 2018, 12:56pm

Nationals

Veteran Reynolds proved valuable in-season addition

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Mark Reynolds, who joined the club in May out of necessity and wound up contributing the rest of the season. PLAYER REVIEW: MARK REYNOLDS Age on opening day 2019: 35 How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, April 2018 MLB service time: 11 years, 120 days 2018 salary: $1 million Contract status: Free agent 2018 stats: 86 G, 235 PA, 206 AB, 26 R,...

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Is Wieters' time in D.C. over, or is there any chance of a return?

October 11, 2018, 11:55am

Nationals

Is Wieters' time in D.C. over, or is there any chance of a return?

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Matt Wieters, who finished strong after a slow start followed by a significant injury. PLAYER REVIEW: MATT WIETERS Age on opening day 2019: 32 How acquired: Signed as free agent, February 2017 MLB service time: 9 years, 129 days 2018 salary: $10.5 million Contract status: Free agent 2018 stats: 76 G, 271 PA, 235 AB, 24 R, 56 H, 8 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 30 RBI,...

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After extended look, Difo still hasn't earned everyday job

October 10, 2018, 6:34pm

Nationals

After extended look, Difo still hasn't earned everyday job

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Wilmer Difo, who received extensive playing time this season and tried to make the case for himself as a long-term starting second baseman. PLAYER REVIEW: WILMER DIFO Age on opening day 2019: 26 How acquired: Signed as international free agent, June 2010 MLB service time: 2 years, 110 days 2018 salary: $557,900 Contract status: Under club control in...

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Nats acquire reliever Barraclough from Marlins for slot money

October 10, 2018, 9:08am

Nationals

Nats acquire reliever Barraclough from Marlins for slot money

The Nationals got a jump on the Hot Stove League today and sought to begin making over their bullpen, acquiring Kyle Barraclough from the Marlins in exchange for international bonus slot money, a rare October trade that brings an experienced late-inning reliever to Washington. Barraclough, 28, has spent the last four seasons in Miami's bullpen, and though he struggled when given an opportunity to close this year, he had been a successful setup man prior to that. The hard-throwing right-hander...

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Will pressure of free agency bother unflappable Rendon?

October 09, 2018, 11:07am

Nationals

Will pressure of free agency bother unflappable Rendon?

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Anthony Rendon, who yet again quietly put together an all-around season that merited consideration on the National League MVP ballot. PLAYER REVIEW: ANTHONY RENDON Age on opening day 2019: 28 How acquired: First-round pick, 2011 draft MLB service time: 5 years, 130 days 2018 salary: $12.3 million Contract status: Arbitration-eligible in 2019. Free agent...

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After strong all-around year, Turner now just needs to fine-tune

October 08, 2018, 11:26am

Nationals

After strong all-around year, Turner now just needs to fine-tune

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Trea Turner, whose first fully healthy big league season featured more home runs but fewer stolen bases. PLAYER REVIEW: TREA TURNER Age on opening day 2019: 25 How acquired: Traded with Joe Ross from Padres for Steven Souza Jr. and Travis Ott, who went to the Rays in three-team deal, December 2014 MLB service time: 2 years, 135 days 2018 salary:...

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Health, not production, will again be key for Zimmerman in 2019

October 06, 2018, 6:31pm

Nationals

Health, not production, will again be key for Zimmerman in 2019

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We begin today with Ryan Zimmerman, who once again produced when he was healthy but once again wasn't healthy as much as the Nats needed him to be. PLAYER REVIEW: RYAN ZIMMERMAN Age on opening day 2019: 34 How acquired: First-round pick, 2005 draft MLB service time: 13 years, 32 days 2018 salary: $14 million Contract status: Signed for $18 million in 2019. Club holds $18...

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Why Joaquin Benoit never threw a pitch for the Nationals

October 06, 2018, 5:12pm

Nationals

When Koda Glover reported to spring training and immediately had a recurrence of the shoulder pain that ended his 2017 season, the Nationals wasted no time acquiring a replacement right-hander for their bullpen. On Feb. 19, they signed Joaquin Benoit to a one-year major league contract that guaranteed the veteran reliever $1 million. The insinuation was clear: They weren't confident in Glover's health, and they were confident Benoit would instantly take over a significant role in their...

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Revisiting those opening day media predictions

October 05, 2018, 1:50pm

Nationals

Revisiting those opening day media predictions

We spent all week holding everyone with the Nationals - players, the manager and coaching staff, the front office, ownership - accountable for their disappointing season. Now it's time to hold someone else accountable for a disappointing season: ourselves! Yes, it's time to revisit those opening day predictions made by all of us who cover the Nationals. It has become an annual tradition, and I want to take a moment to thank my colleagues (even those who are no longer on the beat) for...

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Rizzo, Martinez vow to improve "attention to detail" next year

October 04, 2018, 11:56am

Nationals

Rizzo, Martinez vow to improve "attention to detail" next year

Shortly after noon on Sunday, Mike Rizzo stood in the dugout at Coors Field and gave his end-of-season assessment of the 2018 Nationals, a team that had received plenty of elite performances from individual stars, outscored the opposition by 89 runs and yet barely finished over .500. What prevented the Nats from winning more games, Rizzo believes, was poor execution of "the little things" that make all the difference in a close contest. "I think that we have to work on the small aspects of...

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Looking at the Nationals' positions of need this winter

October 03, 2018, 8:33pm

Nationals

The Nationals' biggest offseason need may be in the starting pitching department, but it's far from their only roster need heading into 2019. Between free agent departures and other areas that simply need an upgrade, there's no shortage of items on general manager Mike Rizzo's to-do list this winter. Let's run through the positions that are likely to be addressed in the coming months ... CATCHER It shouldn't have surprised anyone that this was a problem area in 2018, because it was a...

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Nats must find way to improve rotation, internally and externally

October 02, 2018, 11:22am

Nationals

Nats must find way to improve rotation, internally and externally

If you had to pick one - and only one - defining characteristic of the Nationals during their seven seasons as a contender, the answer would be simple: a good, often great, rotation. This didn't happen by accident. Mike Rizzo's No. 1 goal in building a roster is to assemble an elite rotation. He saw firsthand what a difference that makes when he was farm director for the Diamondbacks during their run to the 2001 World Series title, and he has tried to duplicate it in his decade as general...

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A primer on Bryce Harper's pending free agency

October 01, 2018, 8:16pm

Nationals

A primer on Bryce Harper's pending free agency

As we transition into offseason mode around here, we're going to spend a few days looking at the most pressing offseason storylines for the Nationals. And there's no debate that the single most pressing storyline involves the guy who was the pre-eminent storyline of the entire season. You know the deal with Bryce Harper by now. No sense rehashing his wild 2018 campaign. Or trying to read the tea leaves from what he said over the last week as he simultaneously gushed about the only...

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After 82-80 season, Nationals admit there's work to be done

September 30, 2018, 9:23pm

Nationals

In 2018, Max Scherzer had what the already three-time Cy Young Award winner considered the best season of his career. Juan Soto produced one of the greatest seasons in history by a teenager. Anthony Rendon essentially duplicated his numbers from the previous season when he finished sixth in National League MVP voting. Bryce Harper, despite a dismal first half, finished with 34 homers, 100 RBIs, 103 runs and 130 walks. Adam Eaton hit .301 with a .394 on-base percentage. The team's first basemen...

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Season ends for Harper, Nats with blowout loss (updated)

September 30, 2018, 2:15pm

Nationals

Season ends for Harper, Nats with blowout loss (updated)

DENVER - The Nationals wrapped up their 14th season of baseball in the District this afternoon. That this particular season, already a disappointment, ended with a 12-0 pasting at the hands of a Rockies club that now heads to Los Angeles for a Monday tiebreaker game to decide the National League West didn't mean much in the larger picture. No, what meant the most was the question that loomed over this game at Coors Field and really loomed over the entire 2018 season. Was this Bryce Harper's...

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Turner reaches 162-game mark for first time (Nats down 7-0)

September 30, 2018, 12:17pm

Nationals

Turner reaches 162-game mark for first time (Nats down 7-0)

DENVER - Trea Turner wanted to play every day, and he indeed did play every day for the Nationals this season. Upon stepping up to bat in the top of the first this afternoon at Coors Field, Turner officially appeared in his 162nd game of the season, and in the process became only the second player in Nationals history to reach that mark. Ryan Zimmerman, who started all 162 games as the Nats' third baseman in 2007, had stood alone in the club's 14-season history until Turner matched him this...

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Rizzo says he expects Martinez and full staff to return

September 30, 2018, 10:47am

Nationals

Rizzo says he expects Martinez and full staff to return

DENVER - As we saw one year ago, Mike Rizzo doesn't necessarily have the final say on this, but the Nationals general manager did reiterate today before the finale of his team's disappointing season he expects Davey Martinez and his entire coaching staff to return in 2019. "Nothing's changed," Rizzo said about an hour before the Nats faced the playoff-bound Rockies in Game 162. "We haven't considered anything else." Rizzo had already expressed a similar sentiment about Martinez last...