nationals

Darvish deal done, Fielder returns to front burner

January 18, 2012, 12:05pm

Yu Darvish is a Texas Ranger, agreeing to a six-year deal worth $60 million about 25 minutes ahead of the 5 p.m. Eastern time deadline for the sides to agree on a contract. The Rangers will pay a hefty price - a $51.7 million posting fee to the Nippon Ham Fighters, in addition to the terms of the contract - to secure the Japanese right-hander, while Darvish's signing will allow the rest of the free agent market to return to the business of hammering out deals for players who have been reduced...

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Senators' Hot Stove Dinner slated for Feb. 4

January 17, 2012, 8:55am

Nationals

Senators' Hot Stove Dinner slated for Feb. 4

The Double-A Harrisburg Senators recently added former Washington Senators great Frank Howard to their guest list for their second annual Hot Stove Dinner, which is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4. More from the Senators' press release: The dinner will be at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel. For the second year in a row, the dinner is supporting the Harrisburg Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) program. Here is the guest list for the event (with possiblities of more being...

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Stephen Strasburg tweets he's back on the mound

January 18, 2012, 6:27pm

Nationals

Stephen Strasburg tweets he's back on the mound

Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg used Twitter on Wednesday to announce he has started throwing his first bullpen sessions of 2012. "Threw first bullpen today felt great just like riding a bike!" Strasburg tweeted. This is positive news for the Nationals that their franchise arm is warming up on schedule for spring training, which begins next month in Viera, Fla. Strasburg returned last season from successful Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow and went 1-1...

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Mondry-Cohen represents Nationals in MLB Network's "Baseball IQ"

January 19, 2012, 5:38am

Nationals

When a memo calling for representatives to test their baseball knowledge on a new game show was sent out to every major league team, it didn't take long for the Nationals to choose their guy. They needed someone with drive, someone who would compete, and of course, some knowledge on the game of baseball couldn't hurt. Enter Samuel Mondry-Cohen. Mondry-Cohen, the Nationals' baseball operations analyst, was chosen to represent the organization on MLB Network's new game show, "Baseball...

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Clippard, Nats agree on one-year deal, avoiding arbitration (updated)

January 17, 2012, 10:14am

Nationals

Clippard, Nats agree on one-year deal, avoiding arbitration (updated)

The Nationals have just announced that they've agreed to a one-year deal with right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard, leaving only two unsigned, arbitration-eligible players: outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse and left-hander John Lannan. Clippard appeared to be a candidate for a long-term extension after earning his first All-Star Game nod and going 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA and a franchise-record 38 holds in 72 games last season. He struck out 104, second-most in the National League behind...

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

January 17, 2012, 9:19am

Nationals

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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Nats get some prime time treatment on ESPN in 2012

January 18, 2012, 7:10am

Nationals

Nats get some prime time treatment on ESPN in 2012

Don't look now, but the Nationals' national profile - at least in the eyes of those people responsible for putting together nationally televised baseball schedules- is on the rise. ESPN released its preliminary 2012 "Sunday Night Baseball" schedule this morning and the slate includes two games involving the Nationals. The Phillies' visit to Nationals Park on Sunday, May 6 will air in prime time, as will the Nats' game at Turner Field in Atlanta on Sunday, May 27. It's possible the...

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Nationals swap salary figures with Morse, Lannan (plus Gonzalez contract details)

January 17, 2012, 4:20pm

Nationals

The Nationals and their remaining two arbitration-eligible players - left-hander John Lannan and outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse - have exchanged salary figures in preparation for arbitration hearings which will be scheduled during February in St. Petersburg, Fla. This is the next step in the arbitration process and doesn't preclude the parties from reaching an amicable settlement right up until the third-party arbitrator rules for one side or the other. In any case, the Nationals...

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How Bryce Harper is dealing with success and failure

January 16, 2012, 3:36am

Nationals

How Bryce Harper is dealing with success and failure

Triple-A Syracuse manager Tony Beasley said outfielder Bryce Harper has made excellent progress on and off the field in his first year in professional baseball and is learning what every minor league player learns at this level: how to deal with success and failure. Beasley skippered the Nationals' No. 1 prospect from July 4 until the end of the season at Double-A Harrisburg and may see Harper soon in his new job as Syracuse's manager. The 19-year old Harper certainly did not disappoint...

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Zimmermann, Gorzelanny bypass arbitration, agree to terms

January 17, 2012, 6:31am

Nationals

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

January 16, 2012, 10:42am

Nationals

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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Nationals sign Gonzalez to extension through 2016 (updated)

January 15, 2012, 9:03am

Nationals

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

January 14, 2012, 3:00pm

Nationals

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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Beasley ready for unique challenge as Triple-A skipper

January 13, 2012, 11:17am

Nationals

Beasley ready for unique challenge as Triple-A skipper

Tony Beasley, who guided the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in 2011, takes over the reins as manager of the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs for 2012, and is ready for a big difference in the players he coaches and their mental approach to being one call away from Major League Baseball. Beasley moves from managing what are usually the top prospects for a franchise at Double-A to Triple-A, where the players are either one step away from Washington, D.C., or are in a holding pattern, ever so close to the...

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Nationals missing from Cespedes' short list of interested suitors

January 13, 2012, 3:08pm

Nationals

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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Nationals agree to terms with Gio Gonzalez on long-term contract extension through 2016

January 15, 2012, 8:52am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms with left-handed starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez on a contract extension through the 2016 season, with options for the 2017 and '18 campaigns, thus avoiding salary arbitration. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The Nationals acquired Gonzalez from Oakland as part of a six-player trade on Dec. 23, 2011. The 26 year-old Gonzalez is coming off his finest big league season...

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Is Detwiler ready to become the Nationals' fifth starter?

January 12, 2012, 5:20pm

Nationals

With good reason, the center of attention in the Nationals' starting rotation are the three frontline pitchers: Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and newly-acquired Gio Gonzalez. Then there are veterans like John Lannan, and rebounding pitchers Chien-Ming Wang and Ross Detwiler. But who is the key to this rotation for all of 2012? This season could be the time Detwiler finally makes his move. With a clean bill of health and the opportunity to begin the season with Washington, many...

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Seven Nationals file for salary arbitration

January 13, 2012, 5:01pm

Nationals

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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The Fielder-Nationals impasse - and what it might really mean (updated)

January 11, 2012, 1:31pm

Nationals

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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P-Nats' Hot Stove banquet coming Jan. 29

January 12, 2012, 10:55am

Nationals

P-Nats' Hot Stove banquet coming Jan. 29

The Potomac Nationals will hold their 17th annual Hot Stove Banquet Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Hyatt Fairfax at Fair Lakes. Newly hired manager Brian Rupp will be introduced and speak at the event. Also a keynote speaker will be announced at a later date. Last year, Nationals assistant general manager Bryan Minniti and director of player development Doug Harris spoke and went over the state of the system and looked towards the future. There could also be appearances by players either past or...