nationals

Will the Nationals move some of their catching depth?

December 12, 2011, 6:35am

When building a solid major league system, a franchise can never have enough catching depth. The Nationals have demonstrated this on their 40-man roster, with four backstops. Jesus Flores, Derek Norris, Wilson Ramos and Jhonatan Solano represent the top four catchers protected on the Nationals' 40-man. It has been an emotional offseason for incumbent Ramos, who had to endure a horrible kidnapping. Despite that deeply traumatic event, Ramos is expected to be the starter heading into spring...

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Nats ink Carroll to minor league deal; Rijo a fugitive in Dominican

December 12, 2011, 10:51am

Nationals

Nats ink Carroll to minor league deal; Rijo a fugitive in Dominican

The Nationals added some outfield depth to the organization Monday with the signing of Brett Carroll to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training in Viera, Fla. The 29-year-old Carroll has spent parts of five seasons in the majors with the Marlins and Brewers. A 10th-round pick by the Marlins in the 2004 draft, Carroll is a career .203 hitter with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 175 games. The addition of Carroll helps the Nationals replace Erik Komatsu, who was taken by the...

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Gorzelanny, Slaten, Flores sweating out Monday's non-tender deadline

December 10, 2011, 1:03pm

Nationals

Gorzelanny, Slaten, Flores sweating out Monday's non-tender deadline

While Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo continues his search for a pitcher, a center fielder and some bench help, baseball's offseason calendar continues to move on. Next up is Monday's midnight deadline for teams to tender contracts to its arbitration-eligible players, and the Nationals have some decisions to make. Of the seven players eligible for arbitration, some decisions will be relatively easy. Outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse, left-hander John Lannan, and right-handers...

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A closer look at the Perry-for-Balester swap

December 09, 2011, 6:48pm

Nationals

A closer look at the Perry-for-Balester swap

On the surface, the Nationals' trade earlier today sending right-hander Collin Balester to the Detroit Tigers for right-hander Ryan Perry is a bit of a head-scratcher. But what looks like a straight-up deal of similar pitchers who had hit proverbial dead ends with the organizations that drafted them is actually more of a minute tweak for each club. Let's tackle Balester first. The 25-year-old was drafted by the Expos in 2004, and while he showed promise as a starting pitcher early in his...

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Pitchers Stammen, Slaten, Tatusko and Mandel could be bullpen fixtures in near future

December 09, 2011, 12:28pm

Nationals

Pitchers Stammen, Slaten, Tatusko and Mandel could be bullpen fixtures in near future

The Nationals are closer to pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in Viera, Fla., as the team sizes up what they could have in a talented and deep relief corps for 2012. New Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr, the former Syracuse Chiefs manager, was pleased with the staff he worked with in Triple-A last season. He sees some of those pitchers, either already with the Nationals or close to it, possibly becoming permanent fixtures in the bullpen this upcoming campaign. So who jumped...

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Nationals acquire right-hander Perry, ship Balester to Detroit

December 09, 2011, 1:08pm

Nationals

While the Nationals didn't make any headlines during the Winter Meetings, the team won't finish the week without at least one move. According to a press release, the Nationals have acquired right-handed reliever

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Big contracts put Zimmerman in line for huge payday

December 08, 2011, 5:55pm

Nationals

Big contracts put Zimmerman in line for huge payday

The Nationals came back from the Winter Meetings empty-handed, shut out in their quest to find a starting pitcher, a center fielder who can hit leadoff and some punch off the bench. Not that Ryan Zimmerman is happy that he doesn't have someone a few spots ahead in the batting order to drive in on a regular basis, but general manager Mike Rizzo's inability to cross anything off his shopping list in Dallas could pay some dividends for the third baseman. Rizzo hopes to re-sign Zimmerman to an...

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Nationals acquire right-handed reliever Perry from Tigers

December 09, 2011, 1:13pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today acquired right-handed reliever Ryan Perry from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Collin Balester. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Perry, 24, joins the Nationals after going 5-6 with 29 holds, two saves and a 4.07 ERA (73 ER/161.1 IP) in 149 relief appearances spanning three seasons with Detroit. Detroit's first-round selection (21st overall, University of...

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Nationals announce spring training reporting dates

December 09, 2011, 6:25am

Nationals

It may be chilly in the mid-Atlantic, but there are warm thoughts ahead. Like Florida-warm. Specifically, the planned community of Viera, home to Space Coast Stadium and spring training headquarters of the Nationals. The Nationals have announced their reporting dates for the 2012 edition of spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 19, position players are due in Feb. 23 and the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 23. Now, if the club will just announce its Grapefruit...

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Rizzo coy on whether Nationals will bid for Yu Darvish

December 08, 2011, 6:26am

Nationals

DALLAS - News that the Nippon-Ham Fighters have decided to post prize pitcher Yu Darvish created a frenzy of activity at the Hilton Anatole on the final day of baseball's Winter Meetings. Japanese media members swarmed team executives who have expressed an interest in Darvish, trying to establish an early field of teams who will enter the process to bid for the right to try an negotiate a contract with the 25-year-old, a two-time Pacific League Most Valuable Player. The Nationals have...

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Nats GM Rizzo upbeat as Winter Meetings end

December 08, 2011, 7:04am

Nationals

Nats GM Rizzo upbeat as Winter Meetings end

DALLAS - He thought he had the pitcher he wanted only to fall tantalizingly short of signing free agent Mark Buehrle, who opted for more money, a longer contract term and a reunion with former manager Ozzie Guillen in Miami. He talked to multiple teams about center fielders in trades, but couldn't find a deal that worked. He was so busy courting Buehrle and trying to find a center fielder that his attempts at beefing up the Nationals' bench got shuffled down the priority list. Yet general...

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Nats don't make a pick, but lose Komatsu, Meyers in Rule 5 draft (updated with Rizzo quotes)

December 08, 2011, 5:18am

Nationals

Nats don't make a pick, but lose Komatsu, Meyers in Rule 5 draft (updated with Rizzo quotes)

DALLAS - The Nationals didn't make a pick in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft Thursday morning, but they lost two players from their Triple-A Syracuse roster. With the 22nd pick, the Cardinals selected outfielder Erik Komatsu, who was acquired from the Brewers in the trade for Jerry Hairston Jr. Komatsu hit .277 with seven homers and 48 RBIs between Double-A Huntsville and Harrisburg in 2011. "We were prepared for the possibility that he would be (picked)," Nationals general...

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Would Nats ever consider Moore or Marrero in a utility role?

December 07, 2011, 11:06am

Nationals

Would Nats ever consider Moore or Marrero in a utility role?

Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr did not have first baseman Tyler Moore much last year, but realizes what an asset the Mississippi State star can be and why he resides on the 40-man. With the recent injury to Chris Marrero, it is likely that Moore will see a ton of time in Triple-A Syracuse at first base. 'You just can't deny the numbers of the year," Knorr said. "They are incredible. Some people just have the knack for driving in runs. They just know how to do it. He hits a home run when...

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Notes from the Winter Meetings

December 08, 2011, 5:26am

Nationals Orioles

DALLAS - The Winter Meetings at the Hilton Anatole will be remembered for the free-spending Miami Marlins and the Albert Pujols contract, but there was plenty of other baseball talk: * After coming within a strike twice of winning the World Series, Texas manager Ron Washington likely will never hear the end of the second-guessing. It came up again in Dallas, when Washington was asked whether right fielder Nelson Cruz was playing too shallow when St. Louis' David Freese's two-out, two-strike...

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Ex-Nat Bacsik trying to talk his way into permanent radio gig

December 07, 2011, 10:35am

Nationals

Ex-Nat Bacsik trying to talk his way into permanent radio gig

DALLAS - When he etched his name in baseball history on Aug. 7, 2007 by giving up Barry Bonds' 756th career homer in San Francisco, then-Nationals lefty Mike Bacsik basked in the spotlight. He's never really grown tired of talking about the pitch that will forever link him with the game's most prolific home run hitter. Bacsik, now 34 and retired for three seasons since he last threw a ball in anger, is still talking. He's a sports talk host on a Dallas-area radio station and has been...

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Nationals weighing making Rule 5 pick

December 07, 2011, 1:52pm

Nationals

DALLAS - The Nationals will have to change their plans for the Rule 5 draft, which will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, the last activity at baseball's Winter Meetings. The Nationals, who have picked first in the past two Rule 5 drafts, will have the 16th selection. General manager Mike Rizzo said the Nationals are weighing whether to make a selection. At the Orlando Winter Meetings last year, they took relievers Brian Broderick from the Cardinals (with the 16th pick in the first round) and...

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Buehrle's decision forces Rizzo, Nationals to fallback plan

December 07, 2011, 3:00pm

Nationals

DALLAS - Mark Buehrle was the guy the Nationals wanted. However, in the wake of the left-hander's decision to spurn a three-year offer for between $42-$45 million from Washington to sign a four-year deal with the Marlins on Wednesday, Nats general manager Mike Rizzo isn't too heartbroken that the deal never came to fruition. "We weren't - I wasn't - comfortable going four years on him as a starting pitcher," Rizzo said Wednesday night, less than two hours after finding out that weeks of...

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Boras: I. Rodriguez not returning to D.C. (and lobby leftovers)

December 08, 2011, 4:08am

Nationals

Boras: I. Rodriguez not returning to D.C. (and lobby leftovers)

DALLAS - Apparently, the Winter Meetings must, by decree of longstanding baseball law, include at least one full-out media scrum with super agent Scott Boras, a guy who frustrates the other 29 clubs that do not have a curly W on their caps. This year's happened last night, while Nats general manager Mike Rizzo was pondering exactly what Plan B - and the B doesn't stand for Buehrle - means for his team. Boras held court for a smaller-than-usual number of reporters, who still thrust tape...

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Outfield talks stall, Nats maintain interest in Cespedes, would use Desmond at leadoff

December 07, 2011, 1:21pm

Nationals

Outfield talks stall, Nats maintain interest in Cespedes, would use Desmond at leadoff

DALLAS - Twins center fielder Denard Span apparently is off the market, the Nationals continue to express an interest in Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and if they don't land the leadoff hitter/center fielder they've established as a priority for the offseason, the Nats are confident Ian Desmond can handle the job at the top of the lineup. General manager Mike Rizzo covered a lot of ground during his afternoon briefing with reporters - just like the swift flychaser he wants patrolling the...

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Rizzo, Nats fail to land Buehrle, who signs with Marlins

December 07, 2011, 12:08pm

Nationals

Rizzo, Nats fail to land Buehrle, who signs with Marlins

DALLAS - Mike Rizzo told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the Nationals had pretty much made their best and final offer to free agent Mark Buehrle and that the team was awaiting an answer from the left-hander. The Nationals didn't have to wait long for a response: Buehrle has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $58 million deal to join the Miami Marlins. That gives the Marlins three high-profile, big-money free agents - closer Heath Bell, shortstop Jose Reyes and Buehrle - along with new...