The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms on a Major League contract with infielder/outfielder Kevin Frandsen, avoiding arbitration and securing the utility man for a second season in D.C. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Frandsen, 32, hit .259 with a team-leading 11 pinch hits for the Nationals in 2014 - ranking him 10th in the National League in that category. An exceptionally versatile player, Frandsen appeared in 105 games for the...

The Nationals have released touted left-hander Matt Purke, according to the team's transactions page. Purke, the Nationals' No. 10 prospect, had recently been activated from the 60-day disabled list. The current 40-man roster lists 39 players. Purke was a third-round selection out of Texas Christian University in the 2011 draft and had signed a major league deal worth close to $4.2 million. He did not pitch much at the pro level in 2014, going 1-6 with an 8.04 ERA in eight starts for Double-A...

The Nationals have re-signed one of their top bench performers from 2014, re-upping with Kevin Frandsen on a one-year, $1 million deal for 2015, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Per Crasnick, the deal also contains incentives that could pay Frandsen an additional $300,000. Frandsen hit .259/.299/.309 with the Nats in 2014, hitting one home run and driving in 17. Frandsen was the Nats' top pinch-hitter this season, delivering 11 pinch-hits, which tied for 10th-most in the National League...

The price of pitching in Major League Baseball is high. Three pitchers in the current free agent class could head into next season with new contracts of at least $100 million. Former big league general manager Jim Bowden published his projections on ESPN.com for some free agent deals this winter. He projected that Max Scherzer could get a seven-year deal worth $189 million, Jon Lester a six-year deal worth $138 million and James Shields a five-year deal worth $100 million. Those are big...

Anthony Rendon's stellar 2014 campaign got noticed across the baseball landscape. The Nationals third baseman finished fifth in the National League Most Valuable Player voting tonight, this in just his first full big league season. This is the highest a Nationals player has ever landed on the NL MVP ballot. Rendon got a total of 155 points in the balloting, and received one third-place vote. He was listed on 29 of the 30 ballots. The 24-year-old finished behind Clayton Kershaw (who won...

Now that the general managers' meetings are done, we can look forward to my version of Hell Week, more commonly known as baseball's Winter Meetings. They're so important, we use uppercase letters. The meetings will be held next month in San Diego. Beautiful weather, but it hardly matters when you spend all five days inside a hotel. You sit in the workroom, you walk around the lobby, you meet each day with Orioles officials and you wait for agent Scott Boras to make an appearance. The Rule...

Angels outfielder Mike Trout ran away with the BBWAA's Most Valuable Player award in the American League, the announcement coming tonight on MLB Network. Trout is no longer a bridesmaid or baseball's version of Susan Lucci. It wasn't enough to be nominated. He finally won - the 10th player in baseball history to be a unanimous selection. Trout batted .287/.377/.561 with 39 doubles, nine triples, 36 home runs, 111 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 157 games. He did lead the AL in strikeouts with...

MASN, the region's leader in live sports entertainment, will broadcast more than 160 men's and women's Division I college basketball games during the 2014-15 season, offering its viewers a lineup featuring local rivalries, Top 25 teams and tournament action. The regional sports network's hoops schedule will air on both MASN and MASN2, and features games from 13 men's conferences and some of the top women's programs in the nation, as well as action from the BB&T Classic in December. ...

More awards will be announced tonight on MLB Network with the unveiling of the Most Valuable Players in both leagues. The Angels' Mike Trout, the Tigers' Victor Martinez and the Indians' Michael Brantley are the American League finalists. Trout is expected to win handily. I'll check whether Orioles outfielders Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz received any votes. That's the assumption. Jones finished sixth in 2012 and 13th in 2013. Cruz hasn't crashed the MVP party, but 40 home runs should get...

The Double-A Harrisburg Senators have announced their 5th annual Hot Stove Dinner will be January 24, 2015, at the Best Western Central Hotel and Conference Center in Harrisburg. Headlining the event will be former Senators Josh Johnson, Steven Souza Jr. and Michael A. Taylor, as well as a special appearance by Doug Harris, the assistant general manager and vice president of player development for the Nationals. Johnson played with the Senators from 2010-2013. In 2012 and 2013, he split time...