What if ... the Nationals hadn't signed Jayson Werth?

What if ... the Nationals hadn't signed Jayson Werth?
The beauty of "What If?" Wednesdays is that we can either go deep into the past or delve into the not-so-distant, er, distance. Regardless of when the space/time continuum is disturbed - just recently or long-term - there are always potential ramifications to be pored over and pondered, discussed and dissected. Today, we set the way-back machine for just over a year ago, Dec. 5, 2010, to be exact, with a destination for Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (better known to casual observers as the site of...
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O's announce changes to FanFest autograph lineup

O's announce changes to FanFest autograph lineup
The Orioles have announced some changes to the previously released autograph lineup for Saturday's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. Most of the changes were necessitated by the fact that previously scheduled participants Brian Roberts, Josh Bell, Kyle Hudson and Bill Swaggerty are unable to attend FanFest. At ESSKAY Autograph Station 1, Pedro Strop and Joe Mahoney have replaced Bell and Swaggerty for the 11:20 a.m. session. At ESSKAY Autograph Station 2, fans can get signatures...
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Zimmermann, Gorzelanny bypass arbitration, agree to terms

Zimmermann, Gorzelanny bypass arbitration, agree to terms
The Nationals scratched two more names off their list of arbitration-eligible players this morning, agreeing to terms with left-hander Tom Gorzelanny and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann on 2012 contracts. The deals were announced on the Twitter feed of the team's public relations department. Gorzelanny received $2.7 million, while Zimmermann got $2.3 million. The 29-year-old Gorzelanny, acquired in January from the Cubs for three minor leaguers, was 4-6 with a 4.03 ERA in 30 appearances,...
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Flores avoids arbitration, inks one-year deal with Nats

Flores avoids arbitration, inks one-year deal with Nats
The Nationals have avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Flores, signing him to a one-year contract. The news was issued in this tweet from the team's public relations department. Flores will receive $815,000, a modest raise from his 2011 salary of $750,000. He can earn another $50,000 in bonuses tied to games played. The 27-year-old Flores hit .209 with one homer and two RBIs in 30 games with Washington last season, finally returning to the majors after missing most of two campaigns with...
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MASN will be at center of FanFest activities Saturday

MASN will be at center of FanFest activities Saturday
FanFest is Saturday at the Baltimore Convention Center, and MASN will once again be at the center of Orioles baseball's mid-winter celebration. You'll have the opportunity to pick up some great giveaways at the MASN booth, premiums you can't get anywhere else. Want to get your photo taken with an Orioles player? We'll make it happen, and post the proof of you rubbing elbows with Adam Jones and Brian Matusz on our MASN Orioles Facebook page. You can meet and greet MASN talent and...
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Nationals' present as important as their future

Nationals' present as important as their future
The next 24 hours will be busy ones for the six Nationals who are eligible for arbitration: right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jordan Zimmermann; left-handers Tom Gorzelanny and John Lannan; outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse; and catcher Jesus Flores. They need to exchange arbitration figures with the team by noon Eastern time Tuesday, though their representatives will also be working on deals to avoid the arbitration process. Those deals can be signed right up until an independent...
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Nationals sign Gonzalez to extension through 2016 (updated)

Nationals sign Gonzalez to extension through 2016 (updated)
One down, six to go. The Nationals on Sunday signed left-hander Gio Gonzalez on a long-term contract extension. The five-year, $42 million deal includes team options for 2017 and 2018. It's the largest guaranteed deal ever for a pitcher eligible for arbitration for the first time and comes three weeks after Gonzalez joined Washington in a six-player swap from the A's. If the Nationals exercise both their options, the value of the pact could be pushed to $65 million. With the deal, the...
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Nationals, Fielder still talking about deal

Nationals, Fielder still talking about deal
Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Nationals are again making a strong pitch to sign free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. The on-again, off-again talks with Fielder and agent Scott Boras are apparently on again, according to a baseball source. Actually, there's some difference of opinion on whether the two sides ever stopped talking or whether the supposed impasse from earlier this week was just a means for Nationals owner Ted Lerner and general manager Mike Rizzo to have some...
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Seven Nationals file for salary arbitration

Seven Nationals file for salary arbitration
All seven of the Nationals who are eligible have exercised their right to file for salary arbitration. According to the Major League Baseball Players Association, Friday was the deadline, and the sides must exchange figures by Tuesday. Right-handers Jordan Zimmermann and Tyler Clippard, catcher Jesus Flores, first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse, and left-handers John Lannan, Tom Gorzelanny and Gio Gonzalez beat the deadline. The period for filing began Jan. 5 and MLBPA reports that 142...
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Nationals missing from Cespedes' short list of interested suitors

Nationals missing from Cespedes' short list of interested suitors
Courting a coveted free agent used to be so easy. You invited him to your city, wined and dined him with the ownership at a swanky restaurant, had him tour your stadium and waited for the ooohs and aaahs as you put his photo on your larger-than-life scoreboard with your logo superimposed on his ball cap. Sometimes, you had the contract ready for his signature, hoping to convince him to avoid the next city on his tour itinerary. Of course, those were the days before players came from such...
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Advocates' Cardboard to Leather campaign benefits youths in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico

Advocates' Cardboard to Leather campaign benefits youths in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico
Any day now, a ship will chug into a port in Puerto Rico and a 40-foot container will be unloaded. Inside are items that will change the lives of kids who don't have the rudimentary basics to play baseball - balls, bats and gloves - that youths in the United States take for granted. Later this month, the scene will be repeated in Nicaragua. Last summer, another delivery was made to Mexico. Under the auspices of the Cardboard to Leather program started by the Oriole Advocates in 1992, generous...
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The Fielder-Nationals impasse - and what it might really mean (updated)

The Fielder-Nationals impasse - and what it might really mean (updated)
The Nationals and Scott Boras, the agent for Prince Fielder, have reached an impasse in negotiations for a long-term contract that would bring the slugging first baseman to D.C. A baseball source has confirmed that the Nationals are balking at the length of the deal, not wanting to commit seven or more years to the 27-year-old Fielder, who has been rumored to want 10 years and more than $240 million. While NatsTown is understandably unhappy with this turn of events, fans should realize that...
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What if ... Tim Raines had played longer in Montreal, boosting Hall credentials?

What if ... Tim Raines had played longer in Montreal, boosting Hall credentials?
The annual announcement of the Baseball Writers' Association of America balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame always brings polar opposites in emotions: elected candidates thrilled yet humbled to be recognized among the game's immortals and the lamentations of those bypassed or ignored who don't understand why. In that way, voting results are much like the game - there are clear winners and losers. But debate about those not elected goes on long after the lucky party - in this case, Barry...
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Which arbitration-eligible National is most deserving of an extension?

Which arbitration-eligible National is most deserving of an extension?
The offseason is chugging along and we'll soon be talking about guys arriving at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla. The next step for the Nationals is to come to contract terms with their six arbitration-eligible players: right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jordan Zimmermann, left-handers Tom Gorzelanny and John Lannan, outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse and catcher Jesus Flores. Clippard and Zimmermann are first-timers in the arbitration process, while Lannan and Morse are getting their...
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Orioles sign Wei-Yin Chen; Hudson designated for assignment

Orioles sign Wei-Yin Chen; Hudson designated for assignment
The Orioles today announced that they have signedleft-hander Wei-Yin Chen (pronounced Way-Ying) to a three-year contract with a club option for 2015. He will wear number 16. Chen, 26, will be the first Taiwanese-born player in Orioles history. The 6-foot, 195-pound left-hander went 36-30 with a 2.48 ERA (631.1IP, 174ER) and 1.06 WHIP in 117 games (88 starts) over the last four seasons with the Chunichi Dragons in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. "Chen works off of a...
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Barry Larkin gets call to Cooperstown (updated)

Barry Larkin gets call to Cooperstown (updated)
It will be a while before a Nationals player gets the call to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. But this afternoon, a former major leaguer who spent three years in the Nationals' front office will likely be welcomed into the hallowed hall of baseball's immortals. Barry Larkin, a 12-time All-Star shortstop and the 1995 Most Valuable Player during a 19-year big league career spent entirely with the Cincinnati Reds, is favored to get the required 75 percent of the vote on...
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What lies ahead for Stephen Strasburg

What lies ahead for Stephen Strasburg
We interrupt our regular, seemingly daily, examination of the possibility that free agent first baseman Prince Fielder will eventually hammer out a long-term deal with the Nationals to bring you other news and opinions related to all things curly and W ... One of the most enjoyable parts of working at MASNsports.com is the interaction with our readers and regular viewers of our broadcasts. Whether we're debating something on the MASN Nationals Facebook page, checking comments on this blog or...
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Cubs' trade for first base prospect means market for Fielder is thinning

Cubs' trade for first base prospect means market for Fielder is thinning
By acquiring promising prospect Anthony Rizzo in a four-player deal with the San Diego Padres on Friday, the Chicago Cubs not only got their first baseman of the future, they also probably took themselves out of the Prince Fielder derby. That's good news for the Nationals, who are working to sign the free agent slugger. Who else remains in on Fielder? Quite frankly, the list of suitors is dwindling, a development that could work in Washington's favor as they negotiate with agent Scott Boras...
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O's set FanFest autograph lineup; vouchers now on sale

O's set FanFest autograph lineup; vouchers now on sale
The Orioles have released their autograph schedule for FanFest on Saturday, Jan. 21. You can go over the particulars about the autograph policy and purchasing autograph vouchers here. The procedure is identical to the system introduced at last year's FanFest. Vouchers go on sale at www.orioles.com/fanfest at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7. Last year, all vouchers sold out before FanFest, so plan accordingly, using the following schedule of player, manager and alumni appearances: ESSKAY...
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If Fielder doesn't pan out, healthy LaRoche a solid option

If Fielder doesn't pan out, healthy LaRoche a solid option
For the sake of discussion, let's assume that Prince Fielder doesn't end up in D.C. in 2012. No majestic home runs reaching the second deck in right field. No snide comments about his weight the first time he goes into a slump. No spring training negotiations between Fielder and Jayson Werth - for cash, vintage automobiles, jewelry, etc. - over who gets to don jersey No. 28. If Fielder doesn't sign with the Nationals, could you stand to have a healthy, productive Adam LaRoche at first...
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