The Winter Meetings are officially underway at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. On the first day, both Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez will speak to the media. Plenty of content is on the way.

They will be asked about the ownership situation, the current state of the roster, the rest of the offseason and players returning next year.

What about the players themselves? It would be nice to hear from some of them this offseason.

Lane Thomas, a key returning player who will be included in the Opening Day starting lineup in the outfield, was gracious enough to join the first edition of the “Nationals Hot Stove Show” on Friday to update his offseason and look ahead to the 2023 campaign.

“I kind of get back home and hang out with family and enjoy some Tennessee football for a few weeks,” Thomas said on MASN about his offseason. “And then it's kind of back to it. Just start moving around again. And we've got a good group down at the university that, you know, some young guys that just got drafted and even some guys like Mike Minor and some other guys who've been around for a while. So it's a good group. And it's fun to be back with these guys getting ready and getting prepared for another year.”

The first additions the Nationals made to the major league roster this offseason seem to be solid pickups. On Tuesday, they signed veteran third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a one-year, $5 million deal and added outfielder Stone Garrett on a league-minimum major league contract.

With his price tag and veteran experience, Candelario presumably will be the starting third baseman heading into spring training, while Garrett will compete for a spot on the roster as a depth piece.

Candelario figured to be a depth piece, as a switch-hitter who can play both third and first base, when the deal was first reported. But the Nats, in their current state, wouldn’t commit $5 million, plus another $1 million in incentives, to a potential backup in 2023.

That means Ildemaro Vargas becomes the versatile backup infielder, who can play all over the infield and maybe even the corner outfield spots in an emergency. Jake Alu, who was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from next week’s Rule 5 draft, will try to make the team out of spring training, but will likely start next season trying to build on his .323/.372/.553 slash line from this year at Triple-A Rochester.

So where does that leave Carter Kieboom?

This week’s signings of Jeimer Candelario and Stone Garrett left the Nationals with a full 40-man roster. Knowing more acquisitions are likely to come at next week’s Winter Meetings, they knew they’d need to clear some more roster spots.

The Nats took care of that Thursday, announcing outfielders Yasel Antuna and Josh Palacios each cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minors. That removed both players from the 40-man roster, leaving two open slots heading into the Winter Meetings.

Both Antuna and Palacios seemed to be on thin ice heading into the offseason, with both players in danger of losing their roster spots last month when the Nationals needed to add several players to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Though they both survived that round of cuts, they didn’t survive this one.

Antuna has been regarded as one of the organization’s better offensive prospects since he was signed out of the Dominican Republic in July 2016 for a hefty $3.9 million. But outside of a strong 2017 debut in rookie ball in which he batted .301/.382/.399, he hasn’t been able to hit consistently in the minors. Over the course of five professional seasons spanning 1,548 plate appearances, Antuna owns a .231/.329/.358 slash line with 65 doubles, 30 homers and 157 RBIs.

The Nationals hoped a position switch this year might help after Antuna was charged with 36 errors in only 96 games at shortstop in 2021. But even playing with less defensive pressure as an outfielder this season, he still struggled at the plate.

With the Nationals retooling for next year, there’s a flurry of off-season activity. Fans can catch up on the latest news and analysis in a special new series: “The Hot Stove Show.”  

It airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. on MASN. Special segments will also be available on masnsports.com and the MASN app. The series will focus on analyzing the roster, trades and free agent signings.

MASN’s Brendan Mortensen and MASN Insider Mark Zuckerman will host the weekly 30-minute program. The MASN Hot Stove Show features interviews with Nationals front office executives, big league players and top prospects, and exclusive insights provided by MASN broadcasters and analysts as the Nats and the rest of Major League Baseball prepare their rosters for the 2023 season.

Contact:  Adam Martiyan amartiyan@masnsports.com

The Nationals made their first major league acquisitions of the offseason today, signing free agent Jeimer Candelario to a one-year deal to add an experienced third baseman coming off a rough season to a lineup that needs plenty of added production, then signing power-hitting outfielder Stone Garrett to a major league deal.

Candelario contract guarantees the 29-year-old a $5 million salary, with another $1 million available in incentives, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Garrett, who appeared in 27 games for the Diamondbacks after making his major league debut this summer, gets a league minimum deal but is under the club's control for six years.

A switch-hitter originally signed by the Cubs in 2010 as an amateur free agent, Candelario went to the Tigers in a July 2017 trade deadline deal that sent veterans Alex Avila and Justin Wilson to Chicago. Over the ensuing six seasons, he hit .243 with 124 doubles, 65 homers, 245 RBIs and a .728 OPS.

Candelario peaked during the 2020-21 seasons, posting a combined slash line of .278/.356/.458 for a well-above-average OPS-plus of 125. He tied for the major league lead with 42 doubles to go along with 16 homers in 2021 and finished that season with 3.8 bWAR.

Candelario’s production dropped significantly this season, though. In 124 games, he batted just .217/.272/.361 with 19 doubles, 13 homers and 50 RBIs, his bWAR plummeting to 0.6. Entering his final year of arbitration and due to earn a raise from his $5.8 million salary, the Tigers chose not to tender him a contract at the Nov. 18 deadline, making him a free agent.

This offseason is already a nice change of pace from the previous two winters. It’s not even December yet and the hot stove is already heating up.

The Nationals made their first major league signings yesterday, announcing a one-year deal with veteran third baseman Jeimer Candelario and a major league deal with outfielder Stone Garrett. Both will compete for starting spots come spring training.

The Tigers non-tendered the 29-year-old, switch-hitting Candelario at the deadline a few weeks ago after a disappointing 2022 season in which he hit only .217 with a .633 OPS and -0.1 WAR by FanGraphs' reckoning.

But Candelario has a longer track record of success, particularly in the 2018, 2020 and 2021 seasons. He tied for the major league lead with 42 doubles and produced 3.9 WAR two seasons ago and hit a career-high 19 home runs to go along with 2.2 WAR in 2018, his first full season in Detroit.

Assuming he reverts back to a former version of himself, Candelario should be a solid pickup for this rebuilding Nats team. He brings seven years of major league experience and will reportedly make a $5 million base salary in 2023, with another $1 million in incentives. He was projected to make $7 million in arbitration before being non-tendered, per MLB Trade Rumors, so he’s coming at a low cost.

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with infielder Jeimer (JAY-mer) Candelario (can-duh-LAR-ee-oh) and a Major League contract with outfielder Stone Garrett on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Candelario, 29, has hit .240 with 126 doubles, 13 triples, 66 home runs, 248 RBI, 237 walks, seven stolen bases and 283 runs scored in parts of seven Major League seasons with the Chicago Cubs (2016-17) and Detroit Tigers (2017-22). In 2021, he tied for the Major League lead with 42 doubles while setting career marks in games played (149), hits (151), doubles (42), extra-base hits (61) and RBI (67).

A switch-hitter, Candelario combined to hit .278/.356/.458 with 53 doubles, six triples, 23 home runs, 96 RBI, 85 walks and 105 runs scored in 201 games between the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In his final season with Detroit in 2022, Candelario hit .217 with 19 doubles, two triples, 13 homers, 50 RBI, 28 walks and 49 runs scored in 124 games.

Defensively, Candelario has played 517 games at third base and 64 games at first base during his career. He played 117 games at third base and eight games as the designated hitter during the 2022 season.

Candelario signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent on October 2, 2010 and made his Major League debut on July 3, 2016 against the New York Mets. He was traded to Detroit in 2017 with Isaac Paredes in exchange for Alex Avila and Justin Wilson.

HOUSTON - It had to happen this way. It could not have happened any other way.

If the Nationals were going to win the World Series, if they were going to deliver Washington its first Major League Baseball championship in 95 years, they were going to have to do it the same way they had done it all season long - and especially all postseason long.

They were going to have to get a courageous pitching performance from one of their two aces. They were going to have to come from behind - and late - in a winner-take-all October classic. And they were going to have to trust the back end of their bullpen to hang on and finish off the biggest victory by a ballclub from Washington since 1924.

So when it happened, when it actually happened, when Max Scherzer gutted out five innings without his best stuff, when Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick homered during a stunning seventh-inning rally, and when Patrick Corbin and Daniel Hudson combined to pitch four innings of scoreless relief, when the Nationals mobbed each other at the center of the diamond upon sealing a 6-2 victory over the Astros in Game 7 of the World Series, it just felt right.

"This is the most 2019 Nats thing ever," reliever Sean Doolittle said. "Another elimination game. Another come-from-behind win."

Stephen Strasburg threw off a mound without pain, but probably won't make his season debut until the weekend.

Tanner Rainey leads the Nationals pitching staff with five appearances this season.

Paul Mancano and Mark Zuckerman discuss what to expect from Juan Soto and the Nats this week.

Juan Soto is not in the starting lineup, but Davey Martinez says the young star is available to pinch-hit Tuesday night.

Davey Martinez and Starlin Castro had a special relationship before the infielder signed with the Nationals.

Patrick Corbin and Dan Kolko look back at the Nats' World Series run while playing mini golf on the left-hander's personal course.

The Washington Nationals announced the following roster moves on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Tyler Clippard from the 15-day Injured List:

• Activated left-handed pitcher Jake McGee
• Optioned right-handed pitcher Andres Machado to Triple-A Rochester
• Optioned right-handed pitcher Mason Thompson to Triple-A Rochester (on Wednesday)

Clippard, 37, appeared in one game for the Nationals before being placed on the Injured List with a groin strain on July 22. He tossed 2.0 innings of one-hit, shutout relief on July 14 vs. Atlanta. Clippard appeared in three rehab games with Triple-A Rochester, tossing 4.0 innings of scoreless relief across the three outings.

McGee, 36, was claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 9. He appeared in 30 games between San Francisco and Milwaukee in 2022, going 1-2 with three saves and a 7.00 ERA along the way. A veteran of 13 Major League seasons, McGee has pitched to a 3.67 ERA with 79 saves in 638 career games. He recorded a career-high 31 saves with San Francisco in 2021.

Machado, 29, is 1-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 38 games for the Nationals this season.

For the first time in a long time, the bullpen was the Nationals’ biggest strength this season.

After so many years (in which they did win, I might add) of trusting unproven closers and acquiring top relief pitchers through trade deadline deals, general manager Mike Rizzo constructed a bullpen mostly through waiver claims and minor league deals that proved to be more than adequate for manager Davey Martinez.

Nine of the 11 relievers with at least 23 appearances out of the ‘pen produced a FanGraphs WAR of 0.1 or better. Only Andres Machado (51 appearances, -0.1 fWAR) and Steve Cishek (69 appearances, -0.3 fWAR) were left out of the bullpen’s top 10 in fWAR, which includes Sean Doolittle’s 0.3 in just six appearances.

Looking even further, they produced some impressive numbers.

Kyle Finnegan posted a 3.51 ERA and 1.140 WHIP with 11 saves in 66 ⅔ innings over 66 games. Carl Edwards Jr. had a 2.76 ERA and 1.226 WHIP in 62 innings over 57 games. Erasmo Ramirez recorded a 2.92 ERA and 1.077 WHIP in 80 ⅓ innings over 58 relief appearances en route to being named Nationals Pitcher of the Year. And Tanner Rainey had a 3.30 ERA, 1.300 WHIP and 12 saves before his season was cut short due to injury.

The Nationals made a flurry of roster moves last week to begin the offseason, thanks to two deadlines. Earlier in the week, they had to remove players from the 40-man roster and add eligible prospects they wanted to protect from the Rule 5 draft. Then a week ago today, they needed to tender or non-tender contracts to their 10 arbitration-eligible players.

In all, they removed seven players from the 40-man roster (Tres Barrera, Francisco Pérez, Seth Romero, Yadiel Hernandez, Jackson Tetreault, Evan Lee and Tommy Romero) and added six Rule 5-eligible prospects (Jake Alu, Jeremy De La Rosa, Jackson Rutledge, Jake Irvin, Matt Cronin and Jose Ferrer). They then agreed to terms with Ildemaro Vargas on his 2023 salary, tendered seven contracts to arbitration-eligible players (Lane Thomas, Victor Robles, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey, Tanner Rainey and Victor Arano) and non-tendered Erick Fedde and Luke Voit.

A lot of movement to keep track of in one week of the offseason.

Two of those moves, however, are the latest examples of an underlying issue the Nats have had in roster construction over the last decade. Fedde and Seth Romero are the newest names added to a growing list of failed first-round draft picks made under Mike Rizzo’s tenure as general manager.

Fedde was non-tendered in his second year of arbitration eligibility after parts of six seasons with the Nationals. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (just days after having Tommy John surgery) with expectations of being a part of the big league rotation for years to come.

The Nationals parted ways with Luke Voit, Erick Fedde and Tommy Romero this evening, electing not to tender contracts to one of the players they acquired in this summer’s blockbuster trade with the Padres and their 2014 first-round pick after underwhelming seasons.

The club did tender contracts before tonight’s 8 p.m. deadline to their seven other remaining arbitration-eligible players: Lane Thomas, Victor Robles, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey, Tanner Rainey and Victor Arano.

The Nats could still choose to re-sign Voit or Fedde if either is willing to return at a salary figure lower than they would’ve received through the arbitration process, such reunions are rare for players who aren’t attempting to come back from injuries.

Voit faced an uncertain future following his arrival in Washington as the lone experienced major leaguer the Nationals received along with five highly rated prospects from San Diego for Juan Soto and Josh Bell. Though he couldn’t become a free agent until after the 2024 season, the 31-year-old wasn’t viewed as a piece to the organization’s long-term plans. And after he hit just .226/.308/.402 in 135 total games split between the two clubs, his stock fell.

With a projected salary of $8.2 million, per MLB Trade Rumors, Voit would’ve been among the Nationals’ highest-paid players next season. If he performed up to his earlier career standards, that would’ve been a bargain. But if he duplicated this year’s numbers, it would’ve felt excessive.

The Nationals chose to protect six prospects from being lost in next month’s Rule 5 draft before today’s leaguewide deadline, which forced them to remove four more players from their 40-man roster, including outfielder Yadiel Hernandez.

Hernandez and right-handers Jackson Tetreault and Evan Lee all cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Rochester, so they remain in the organization, though off the 40-man roster. Right-hander Tommy Romero was designated for assignment to clear another opening for prospects who needed to be protected.

The Nats took those four openings, plus two they already had entering the day, and promoted six prospects to the 40-man roster: third baseman Jake Alu, outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa, right-handers Jackson Rutledge and Jake Irvin, plus lefties Matt Cronin and Jose Ferrer. All six of those players would have been eligible to be selected by other organizations in the Rule 5 draft.

The decision to demote Hernandez isn’t necessarily a shock, but it underscores the club’s desire to look for younger alternatives in the outfield who have a better chance of being part of the long-term plan.

Hernandez, 35, has been an above-average hitter across 644 major league plate appearances the last three seasons, with 27 doubles, 19 homers, 79 RBIs and a .727 OPS. But he spent the last two months of this season on the injured list with a calf strain, and the fact the Nationals never activated him in late September suggested they were already thinking about moving on from the veteran outfielder.

The Washington Nationals selected the contracts of infielder Jake Alu, left-handed pitcher Matt Cronin, outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa, left-handed pitcher Jose Ferrer, right-handed pitcher Jake Irvin and right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge on Tuesday. Additionally, the Nationals designated right-handed pitcher Tommy Romero for assignment while outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, left-handed pitcher Evan Lee and right-handed pitcher Jackson Tetreault cleared outright waivers and were assigned to Triple-A Rochester. On Monday, Nov. 14, the Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on left-handed pitcher Seth Romero. On Thursday, Nov. 10, catcher Tres Barrera and left-handed pitcher Francisco Pérez cleared outright waivers. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Alu, 25, led Washington’s Minor League system in average (.299), slugging percentage (.506), OPS (.871), doubles (40), extra-base hits (62) and total bases (254) and tied for first in RBI (81) in 2022. He ranked second in on-base percentage (.365) and hits (150) while appearing in 132 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester.

The left-handed hitting Alu finished the 2022 campaign on a season-high 20 game on-base streak, hitting safely in 19 of the 20 contests. He recorded two separate hitting streaks of 14 games from June 28-July 16 and Sept. 11-Sept. 27.

At third base, Alu led all of Minor League Baseball (infielders and outfielders) with 17 defensive runs saved, according to Baseball Info Solutions. In addition to his 114 games at third base, Alu also spent time at second base (9 games) and designated hitter (6 games).

Alu was selected in the 24th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Boston College. He was signed by Nationals scout John Malzone.