Is Rizzo willing to part with top prospects to bring trades across finish line?

Is Rizzo willing to part with top prospects to bring trades across finish line?
NASHVILLE - By now, most observers expected the Nationals to have gotten a lot futher in their bullpen makeover, perhaps swinging a trade for an eighth- or ninth-inning arm. But here we are, entering the second day of the Winter Meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, and the Nats have done nothing of significance. What's more, the once-promising plethora of shutdown relief arms has thinned out considerably in the past two days. Darren O'Day is apparently returning to...

Mike Rizzo: Nationals not hunting for starting pitching at Winter Meetings

Mike Rizzo: Nationals not hunting for starting pitching at Winter Meetings
NASHVILLE - A year ago at the Winter Meetings in San Diego, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo dismissed the idea of signing Max Scherzer, the best free agent available. A little more than a month later, the Nationals inked the ace to a then-record $210 million contract for a right-hander. Speaking Monday afternoon in a room at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Rizzo echoed the same sentiments from last year. "We're not coming here looking for a front-line starting...

Report: Free agent reliever Shawn Kelley heading to Nationals

Report: Free agent reliever Shawn Kelley heading to Nationals
NASHVILLE - It's no secret the Nationals' main focus this offseason is fixing the bullpen issues that haunted them throughout last season, especially down the stretch as they lost hold of first place and quickly descended out of playoff contention. 'Whatever way we can improve the ballclub - whatever way we can improve the bullpen specifically - we'll certainly do," Rizzo said Monday afternoon at the Winter Meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. According to a...

Report: Aroldis Chapman dealt to Dodgers, complicating Nats' plans

Report: Aroldis Chapman dealt to Dodgers, complicating Nats' plans
NASHVILLE - For the second straight day, the Nationals appear to have lost out on a possible prominent bullpen target. FOXSports.com was first to report the Dodgers agreed to send two prospects to the Reds for closer Aroldis Chapman. The deal is pending a review of medical records, according to the report. The Nationals had reportedly been in trade talks for Chapman, who pitched out of Dusty Baker's bullpen when the new Nats skipper managed in Cincinnati from 2010-2013. The Nationals'...

Rizzo on who will play shortstop, inquiries on Escobar, interest in Rollins and more (with video)

Rizzo on who will play shortstop, inquiries on Escobar, interest in Rollins and more (with video)
NASHVILLE - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo isn't averse to trading for a shortstop, but if tomorrow was April 4, he's sure there's someone on the current roster who would be trotting out to the space between third and second bases in the bottom of the first inning on the final opening day at Atlanta's Turner Field. "I have a comfort level that if today were opening day, we have a shortstop on the roster. ... There are several of them," Rizzo said this afternoon in his suite at the...

Despite grievance, Rizzo says Nationals would welcome Papelbon back (with video)

Despite grievance, Rizzo says Nationals would welcome Papelbon back (with video)
NASHVILLE - A report surfaced late Sunday night that closer Jonathan Papelbon had filed a grievance against the Nationals for withholding his pay during a team-imposed four-game suspension at the end of the season. FOXSports.com reported this afternoon that the Major League Baseball Players Association actually filed the grievance shortly after the Nationals announced the suspension. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced Papelbon's suspension on Sept. 28, a day after the veteran...

Winter Meetings: Day 1 comes and goes for Nationals

Winter Meetings: Day 1 comes and goes for Nationals
NASHVILLE - Day 1 of the Winter Meetings has come and gone after starting in a funny way. Once I was settled into the media room this morning, I received a text from my colleague Olivia Witherite saying she was lost in the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. 8:20 a.m. on the official Day 1 of #WinterMeetings and @Oliviawitherite is officially already lost in the Gaylord. Gonna be a fun week! -- Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) December 7, 2015 Well, it was a funny morning for me at...

Nats reportedly in contention to land versatile free agent Ben Zobrist

Nats reportedly in contention to land versatile free agent Ben Zobrist
NASHVILLE - The Nationals have reportedly made it to the final four in the sweepstakes for versatile free agent Ben Zobrist. The Mets, Giants and Dodgers are the other three teams contending for Zobrist, who won the World Series with the Royals this season after coming over from the Athletics in a trade deadline move. Multiple reports have the 34-year-old Zobrist seeking a four-year deal worth $60 million. He makes his home outside Nashville and is expected to meet with Nationals officials at...

It's time for Nationals to end the embarrassment with Jonathan Papelbon

It's time for Nationals to end the embarrassment with Jonathan Papelbon
NASHVILLE - Fifteen days ago, the Nationals tweeted a sweet happy birthday wish to Jonathan Papelbon, who turned 35. The felicitations seemed a bit bizarre from the Nationals, but they extend such nice sentiments to all their players. The move wasn't popular with the fan base that wants Papelbon's brief tenure in Washington annulled like a weekend Vegas wedding. Just forget about it and move on. The harmonious message apparently wasn't recognized by the disgruntled closer either. Papelbon...

Jonathan Papelbon reportedly files grievance against Nationals over suspension

Jonathan Papelbon reportedly files grievance against Nationals over suspension
NASHVILLE - Jonathan Papelbon's stay in Washington just gets messier for the Nationals by the minute. The veteran closer has reportedly filed a grievance against the Nats for withholding his salary during a team-imposed four-game suspension at the end of the 2015 season. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com in Boston reported the story Sunday night, citing multiple major league sources. The suspension resulted from Papelbon's dugout brawl with Bryce Harper on Sept. 28, which escalated to the reliever...

Keep an eye on Nationals' talks with Rangers

Keep an eye on Nationals' talks with Rangers
NASHVILLE - If the Nationals are willing to deal Stephen Strasburg - and all indications are that they are at least open to discussions, with the right-hander one season away from free agency - keep an eye on the Rangers as a possible trade partner. Texas had interest in Strasburg last offseason, though the Nationals were content to see how strong their rotation could be with the eventual addition of righty Max Scherzer via free agency. The teams talked extensively at the Winter Meetings in San...

Winter Meetings: Let's get started!

Winter Meetings: Let's get started!
NASHVILLE - Season's greetings from the Winter Meetings! I hope you're all as excited as I am for the start of this year's baseball Winter Meetings, as we are bringing everything to you live from the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The MASNsports.com crew is off to a good start to the week, as our flight from Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport landed in Music City about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We were able to grab lunch and settle into the...

Off to Music City for the Winter Meetings

Off to Music City for the Winter Meetings
In a few hours, the MASNsports.com contingent will be boarding a Southwest Airlines flight out of Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, bound for Nashville and baseball's Winter Meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. While the Winter Meetings get lots of attention for being the place major league executives and player agents meet and mingle to discuss possible trades and free agent signings, you might be interested to know that the real purpose...

Nationals won't land reliever Darren O'Day (O'Day says reports "premature")

Nationals won't land reliever Darren O'Day (O'Day says reports "premature")
We're an hour from liftoff at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, and the Nationals have reportedly already lost one of their primary targets before the Winter Meetings even begin. Per a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, right-hander Darren O'Day will likely remain with the Orioles. The Nationals had made the sidearming set-up man one of their chief targets in an expected bullpen makeover. No word yet on contract terms, but O'Day had been seeking a four-year...

The price of pitching continues to rise

The price of pitching continues to rise
NASHVILLE - Baseball's Winter Meetings return to Nashville, the place where Kevin Brown made contract history in December 1998, signing a seven-year, $105 million contract to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The news of Brown's contract, which beat the previous record of the Mets' seven-year deal worth $91 million for Mike Piazza a few months earlier, stunned the meetings and the general thought was that the industry was going broke. Brown also got 12 airline trips a year for his family to...

Nationals looking to make music at Winter Meetings in Nashville

Nationals looking to make music at Winter Meetings in Nashville
The next few days in Nashville figure to be fast and furious as baseball's brass converges on the famous Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center for the annual Winter Meetings. You're likely to find Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo in the middle of some aggressive wheeling and dealing, with several important decisions on the horizon following a disappointing 2015 campaign. Chief among the Nationals' concerns this offseason was overhauling the bullpen after a dreadful second...

If the Nats land a left-handed bat, where does he play?

If the Nats land a left-handed bat, where does he play?
Judging from the responses in our comments section and on Twitter, there's a significant portion of NatsTown that wants general manager Mike Rizzo to come back from next week's Winter Meetings in Nashville with an outfielder, preferably one who hits left-handed to break up the spate of righty sticks in the Nationals lineup. I'm not sure one will fit into his carry-on, and you know how those bag fees can add up. Just a guess here, but I don't think Rizzo is flying Southwest and paying the...

Nats reportedly leading race for Darren O'Day

Nats reportedly leading race for Darren O'Day
Last winter, the Nationals outbid everyone, landing the majors' top free agent starting pitcher, Max Scherzer, with a blockbuster $210 million contract. A year later, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo apparently is nearing a deal with the top reliever on the market. Multiple reports have the Nationals as the frontrunner to sign right-hander Darren O'Day. The submariner went 6-2 with a 1.50 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over 65 1/3 innings in 68 appearances for the Orioles as their chief set-up man...

Report: Nats agree to two-year deal with Oliver Perez

Report: Nats agree to two-year deal with Oliver Perez
The Nationals have agreed to terms on a two-year, $7 million deal with left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, an industry source has confirmed. The signing ahead of next week's Winter Meetings in Nashville is the first tangible move in general manager Mike Rizzo's expected bullpen makeover. Perez would presumably inherit the 25-man roster spot and duties of southpaw Matt Thornton, who was not re-signed and remains a free agent. The 34-year-old Perez went 2-4 with a 4.17 ERA in 70 games between...

What does Zack Greinke signing with Arizona mean for the NL West?

What does Zack Greinke signing with Arizona mean for the NL West?
Does Zack Greinke's signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks mean that we've seen the biggest shocker move of the offseason? Does it mean that the Winter Meetings next week in Nashville are going to be without drama? Hardly. The Diamondbacks have been hinting all offseason that they were going to make a push for pitching and subsequently a push to challenge the Dodgers and Giants in the National League West. And while the general consensus is that Greinke was choosing to sign with the Dodgers or...