nationals

How the Nationals' 2021 lineup looks for now

December 25, 2020, 6:12pm

The Christmas Eve acquisition of Josh Bell gives the Nationals a much-needed, middle-of-the-order bat. General manager Mike Rizzo said that was his No. 1 priority of the winter, and the general manager even dropped a hint last week it could come in the form of a first baseman. But where exactly does Bell - who is tentatively scheduled to speak to reporters this afternoon, by the way - figure to bat in the Nats lineup? The idea all along was to provide protection for Juan Soto, who sorely needed...

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Nats get big bat for Christmas, acquire Josh Bell from Bucs

December 24, 2020, 9:54am

Nationals

Nats get big bat for Christmas, acquire Josh Bell from Bucs

General manager Mike Rizzo found a much-desired big bat to stuff into the Nationals' stocking just hours before the sun sets on Christmas Eve: Josh Bell. The Nats have acquired Bell, an All-Star first baseman in 2019, from the Pirates in exchange for pitching prospects Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean in a rare (but not unprecedented) Dec. 24 move announced by the club this afternoon. The switch-hitting Bell, 28, clubbed 37 homers and drove in 116 runs while posting a .936 OPS and earning his first...

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Bell trade can't be Nats' only big move of the winter

December 24, 2020, 7:10pm

Nationals

Bell trade can't be Nats' only big move of the winter

The initial reaction to the Josh Bell trade was overwhelmingly positive. A Nationals club that desperately needed to acquire a big bat did so without spending gobs of money and without dealing away top prospects. What's not to like about that? Well, as with all trades, it's best not to jump to any conclusions just yet. Let's see how this plays out. There's a good chance Bell proves to be everything the Nationals need him to be, and that neither Wil Crowe nor Eddy Yean amounts to much with...

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Kendrick's immeasurable impact on the Nationals

December 23, 2020, 7:31pm

Nationals

Ask someone to create a list of the best players in Nationals history, and you're going to find plenty of consensus. Max Scherzer is on there, probably at the top, with Stephen Strasburg right behind him. Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper most likely round out the top five, in one order or another. Ryan Zimmerman certainly deserves a spot. Then you'll start getting some diverging opinions as supporters make the case for the likes of Jordan Zimmermann and Daniel Murphy and Ian Desmond...

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#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Ghosts of Natsmas past

December 19, 2020, 8:55pm

Nationals

'Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house ... the sets were tuned to MASN for lots of great baseball action on "Nationals Classics." OK, so it's not Clement Moore. It's not even Dinty Moore. But clunky poetry aside, if you're holed up for a low-key holiday season, there's nothing like a few ghosts of Natsmas past to brighten up your yuletide. You'll see a couple of Nationals stars when they were mere lads announcing their presence in a very un-Tiny-Tim-like fashion....

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Nationals acquire Josh Bell from Pirats

December 24, 2020, 9:40am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals acquired first baseman Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe and right-handed pitcher Eddy Yean on Thursday. Bell, 28, joins the Nationals after five seasons with the Pirates including the 2019 season in which he was named a National League All-Star. In those five seasons, he hit .261 with a .349 on-base percentage and a .466 slugging percentage with 105 doubles, 13 triples, 86 home runs and 309 RBI across 552 games. "We...

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Nationals finished with seventh-highest payroll in 2020

December 19, 2020, 6:16pm

Nationals

The Nationals finished the 2020 season with the seventh-largest payroll in Major League Baseball, down three slots from their position during their World Series run the previous year but still leaving them among the sport's biggest spenders. The Nats paid out a grand total of $76.2 million to all players on their 40-man roster this season, according to figures obtained and published by the Associated Press on Saturday evening. That ranked seventh in the majors, behind the World Series champion...

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Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021

December 18, 2020, 7:30pm

Nationals

Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021

As Aug. 31 arrived earlier this year, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo faced a dilemma he never wanted to face. Rizzo's team had just completed an abysmal month of baseball, albeit during the unprecedented circumstances of the 2020 season. Now, as trade deadline day arrived, the Nats were 12-19, three games out of the final wild card position in the National League and staring up at six teams ahead of them in the standings for that last-ditch ticket to October. If they felt they still had...

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What do Nats expect from Kieboom and GarcÃa in 2021?

December 17, 2020, 6:22pm

Nationals

What do Nats expect from Kieboom and GarcÃa in 2021?

Had you asked anyone affiliated with the Nationals on opening day which rookie would garner the most big league plate appearances in 2020, the answer would've been Carter Kieboom every single time. Luis GarcÃa? Well, perhaps the 20-year-old would make his debut at some point, but he wouldn't see significant action. Certainly not more than Kieboom, who had been touted as the club's everyday third baseman from the first day of spring training. A quick glance at the Nationals' season-ending...

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Nats prepping for on-time spring, but know there will be hurdles

December 16, 2020, 6:54pm

Nationals

Nats prepping for on-time spring, but know there will be hurdles

On this cold, wet mid-December morning, here's a warm thought to boost your spirits: Exactly two months from today, Nationals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training. Emphasis, of course, on the "are scheduled to" portion of that statement. Anyone who definitively says spring training will begin as scheduled is merely hoping that comes true. "We're planning for an on-time spring training, Feb. 17, and a 162-game major league schedule," Nats general manager Mike...

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#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Stoking the hot stove with retro wins

December 14, 2020, 4:27am

Nationals

Admittedly, the hot stove has been, well, a tad chilly so far this offseason. Sure, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is talking to other executives, but we've yet to see anything resembling a big move out of him. Which is OK, given that some of Rizzo's splashiest deals seem to come out of nowhere. So what's a baseball-starved Nats fan to do? Between online shopping excursions and gift-wrapping marathons, check out this week's bevy of "Nationals Classics" on MASN. They will warm your...

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Nationals plan for Gomes to catch majority of games in 2021

December 15, 2020, 6:44pm

Nationals

Mike Rizzo notoriously doesn't tip his hand when it comes to offseason targets, but if you're willing to take him at his word, it appears the Nationals general manager intends to go into the 2021 season with Yan Gomes catching more than 50 percent of his team's games and a still-to-be-acquired veteran backing him up. During Tuesday's Zoom session with reporters, his first since late September, Rizzo indicated the Nationals are prepared to have Gomes start a majority of games begin the...

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Rizzo: Big bat is No. 1 priority, owners willing to pay for it

December 15, 2020, 10:28am

Nationals

Rizzo: Big bat is No. 1 priority, owners willing to pay for it

The Nationals have a clear No. 1 priority this winter: Acquire a big bat to complement Trea Turner and Juan Soto in the heart of their lineup. And Mike Rizzo says ownership has assured him he'll have the resources to acquire that kind of big-ticket item. "It's no secret we're a pitching-oriented team," the Nats general manager said during a Zoom session with reporters today, his first since late September. "We've got three great strong starting pitchers coming back. We've got a bullpen...

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Nats take a shot on veteran lefty Avilan with minor league deal

December 14, 2020, 6:13pm

Nationals

Nats take a shot on veteran lefty Avilan with minor league deal

If Major League Baseball reverses course and puts an end to the three-batter-minimum rule it instituted for pitchers this season, Luis Avilan might prove to be a savvy addition for the Nationals in 2021. There's been no indication MLB intends to do that, however, so the challenge for Avilan to be a successful reliever for the Nats will be immense. The Nationals signed the 31-year-old left-hander to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training Monday night, a source familiar...

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Thinning market for catchers leaves Nats with few options

December 12, 2020, 6:33pm

Nationals

Thinning market for catchers leaves Nats with few options

The Nationals need another catcher. The number of appealing catchers available on the free agent market this winter was minimal all along. And now one of the few who might've fit that description is off the board after signing a surprisingly lucrative deal with a division rival. James McCann, widely regarded as the second-best available catcher behind star J.T. Realmuto, reportedly agreed Saturday to a four-year, $40 million deal with the Mets. That's hardly a minor investment for New York,...

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Monday morning Nats Q&A

December 13, 2020, 6:52pm

Nationals

Well, we've reached the third week of December, and the hot stove remains pretty cold from the Nationals' perspective. All of the significant roster holes they knew they had a month ago remain significant roster holes. They've made a handful of fringe transactions, but nothing all that consequential yet. Perhaps that will change before this week is over. If nothing else, we're finally going to hear from general manager Mike Rizzo and manage Davey Martinez on the record. Both men are...

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Updating Robles' winter ball performance

December 11, 2020, 6:25pm

Nationals

Updating Robles' winter ball performance

The most prominent National currently playing winter ball is getting plenty of opportunities to refine his game. And to bat at the top of his lineup. Victor Robles, who is spending the early portion of this winter playing in his native Dominican Republic, has been leading off for Ãguilas CibaeÃ±as. And so far, he's doing the two things most clubs want out of their leadoff man: He's getting on base, and he's scoring runs. Through 12 games played, Robles has posted a .352 on-base...

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Nats' 2019 roster could be a distant memory come 2021

December 10, 2020, 6:51pm

Nationals

Nats' 2019 roster could be a distant memory come 2021

Nothing lasts forever in baseball. Change is inevitable. No roster, good or bad, stays intact from year to year. So this isn't unusual. But it's still somewhat striking when you pause to think about it: More than half of the Nationals' 2019 World Series roster isn't going to be part of their 2021 roster. At the moment, only 11 of the 25 players who were in uniform for Game 7 in Houston a mere 13 1/2 months ago remain employed by the Nationals. Only four of those 11 are position players:...

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Rule 5 draft success stories are few and far between (updated)

December 09, 2020, 7:31pm

Nationals

Rule 5 draft success stories are few and far between (updated)

The first virtual Rule 5 draft is set to be held today at noon Eastern, and who isn't excited about that? Well, hardly anyone's excited about it. Unless you work for a major league club's player development unit, are a rabid follower of third-tier minor league prospects or are one of the players whose livelihood is actually at stake today, you really have no good reason to pay more than glancing attention at this event. This is especially true for the Nationals, who essentially have been...

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#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Long live the new king

December 06, 2020, 9:44am

Nationals

The days keep getting shorter, and maybe your mood - already frayed by pandemic fatigue - is getting darker. Fret not, because MASN can help with that. For a baseball fan (which you must be, or you wouldn't be on this site), there's no better morale booster than watching your team pull off a thrilling win. And "Nationals Classics" keeps them coming at you throughout the void we call the offseason. Among this week's offerings, you'll watch the longtime face of the franchise do his hero...