Eaton was exactly who the Nationals needed him to be

Eaton was exactly who the Nationals needed him to be
We don't know at this point if Adam Eaton has played his last game for the Nationals, and we won't know for a while longer. The club will decide after the season whether to pick up the outfielder's $10.5 million option for 2021 or take a $1.5 million buyout instead, making him a free agent. But there's certainly a decent chance Eaton's time with the Nats is done after the club placed him on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left index finger Thursday evening. He won't have time to...

Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks

Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks
The Nationals built a contender - and ultimately, a World Series champion - on the strength of an impressive run of first-round draft picks who developed into superstars. Ryan Zimmerman. Stephen Strasburg. Anthony Rendon. Bryce Harper and Drew Storen (aside from the champion part). All were top-10 selections during the Nats' first seven drafts. All had a hand in the franchise's ascension. The first three had a major hand in the franchise's title run. But if they want to continue this run of...

Nationals again look to build depth through draft

Nationals again look to build depth through draft
Sean Doolittle, Adam Eaton and Yan Gomes. All three players are prime examples of where the Nationals needed top-flight major league talent to compete for a title, but did not necessarily have that guy in their system at the time. All three made significant contributions on their road to winning the 2019 World Series. In the middle of 2019, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo brought in relievers Roenis Elías and Hunter Strickland through trade. Rizzo sent minor league left-handers Taylor...

Nationals will have eye on pitchers again in draft

Nationals will have eye on pitchers again in draft
Over the last five First-Year Player Drafts, the Nationals have focused on stockpiling pitchers. Thirty of their first 49 selections since 2015 have been pitchers. The Nats have built up their minor leagues with these hurlers and used some of them in big trades that brought players that helped to bring a world championship to D.C. In the 2019 draft, the Nationals selected five pitchers in their first 10 rounds, along with one catcher, one shortstop, one third baseman and one outfielder. The...

Revisiting the trade that brought Adam Eaton to the Nationals

Revisiting the trade that brought Adam Eaton to the Nationals
It was one of the big trades of the 2016 winter meetings at National Harbor, Md. The Nationals sent three pitchers to the White Sox for outfielder Adam Eaton. In exchange, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dane Dunning were traded to Chicago. Fast-forward to April 2020. Here is a quick look at how this trade in late 2016 affected both teams. The Nationals were in dire need of a starting outfielder who could be a workhorse at the top of the lineup. Eaton fit that bill. But a major injury to...

Nats prospect watch: Denaburg building strength back in shoulder

Nats prospect watch: Denaburg building strength back in shoulder
A promising future awaits right-hander Mason Denaburg, who is looking to get back to full health and get back to baseball once the season (hopefully) gets back on track. The 20-year-old Denaburg was a first-round 2018 selection for the Nationals, but has been recovering from shoulder issues this offseason and had most recently started throwing again in spring training. MLB Pipeline has Denaburg at No. 7 in their Nats Top 10 list. No. 7 Mason Denaburg "I see him a lot, but I have not seen him...

Giolito returns to D.C. with new team, just misses matchup with Nats

Giolito returns to D.C. with new team, just misses matchup with Nats
Former Nationals right-hander Lucas Giolito is back in D.C. for the first time with his new team since he was traded in December of 2016 to the Chicago White Sox. After an up-and-down 2018 campaign, Giolito is off to his best start in his young career, winning a career-high seven games in a row since April 12, now 8-1 with a 2.54 ERA. It is a far cry from where Giolito was in 2016 with the Nats when he was called up for six appearances, including four starts. In that run with the Nats he went...

Expect Nats to go for arms early in MLB's First-Year Player Draft

Expect Nats to go for arms early in MLB's First-Year Player Draft
The Nationals look to stockpile their team for the future as the 2018 First-Year Player Draft gets underway tonight. The club has the No. 27 and No. 65 selections in the first two rounds. According to Baseball America, the Nationals will have a bonus pool of $5,603,800 to work with, which ranks 27th in allotted monies league-wide. Due to the team's on-field success in recent campaigns, they have selected in the lower half of each first round: Erick Fedde (18th, 2014), Carter Kieboom (28th,...

For first time in six years, Nats lacking top 100 pitching prospect

For first time in six years, Nats lacking top 100 pitching prospect
Monday's release of Baseball America's top 100 prospects list for 2018 was notable, from the Nationals' perspective, for two reasons: Victor Robles' ascension into one of the sport's best prospects is complete, given his No. 5 overall ranking, and for the first time in a long time, the Nats have no pitching prospects on the list. Nope, no pitchers. Robles and fellow outfielder Juan Soto (ranked 56th) are the only Nationals in this year's top 100 at all. And that's quite unusual for this...

No. 7 Nats prospect: Wil Crowe

No. 7 Nats prospect: Wil Crowe
It is good that this list finally has a top 10 Nationals prospect who is a starting pitcher. With the likes of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dane Dunning traded away, some new arms needed to take those pitchers' places in the system. The Nats are always keen on Southeastern Conference pitching and a team with College World Series experience like South Carolina is always a good place to start. Wil Crowe, a second-round selection in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, is No. 7 on the list...

Nats know Roark and Ross key to series win

Nats know Roark and Ross key to series win
A lot of the talk to begin the season was about how important the likes of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman are to the Nationals' chance at repeating as National League East champions. But this week, some different names stepped to the forefront to try to snap a trend of two series losses in a row at Pittsburgh and at Atlanta. Tanner Roark and Joe Ross pitched well to begin the series against the Mariners, paving the way for two victories in a...

No. 2 Nats prospect: Erick Fedde

No. 2 Nats prospect: Erick Fedde
With Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning traded to the Chicago White Sox, one remaining pitching prospect who had his name brought up a lot in offseason trade talks takes center stage. Right-hander Erick Fedde appears to be close to making a big splash with the Nationals after gaining momentum with a solid 2016. The 23-year-old pitched in 18 games (17 starts) with high Single-A Potomac, then was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg. Fedde pitched well in five starts for the Senators....

Bryce Harper can stamp his D.C. legacy by staying with Nats

Bryce Harper can stamp his D.C. legacy by staying with Nats
I get the questions a lot. And they center around Bryce Harper. Will he get half a billion dollars on his next deal? Will he stay in Washington and play for the Nationals after 2018? Those were questions posed to me and callers on Tuesday night's "Sportstalk" on NewsChannel 8, as a guest of ABC 7's Robert Burton for the half-hour show. Burton asked me the question on air. I told him I believe Harper would re-sign with the Nats in part because of the long standing relationship between...

No. 10 Nats prospect: Austin Voth

No. 10 Nats prospect: Austin Voth
Accelerating thanks to an incredible end to his Arizona Fall League play, right-hander Austin Voth comes in at No. 10 on the recently released released Baseball America Nationals top 10 prospects list. No. 10: RHP Austin Voth Voth tossed 15 scoreless innings to wrap up his season with the Glendale Desert Dogs. Teddy Cahill, Baseball America's national writer, said Voth's overall numbers this season in the Nationals system, plus his ability to accumulate a ton of innings, gives reason to...

Breaking down what the Nationals surrendered in Eaton deal - and why

Breaking down what the Nationals surrendered in Eaton deal - and why
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Lucas Giolito didn't waste any time in embracing his new team after being traded to the White Sox in a deal that netted the Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton. Fans, media and baseball executives were still processing this afternoon's trade - right-handers Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning for Eaton - when Giolito changed his team affiliation on his Twitter account and posted a heartfelt goodbye to the organization that drafted and developed him. "Today is both an...

Rizzo on trade: "We certainly got what we wanted in Adam Eaton"

Rizzo on trade: "We certainly got what we wanted in Adam Eaton"
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Nationals knew all along the price tag to acquire the kind of impact players they were seeking in trades would be steep. And so when the opportunity arose this week to acquire one of their primary outfield targets, Adam Eaton, they knew they'd have to make the tough call to deal away not one, not two, but three of their most prized possessions: Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning. "You've got to give to get," general manager Mike Rizzo said in formally...

Nationals acquire Eaton for Giolito, Lopez, Dunning

Nationals acquire Eaton for Giolito, Lopez, Dunning
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Nationals are about to acquire their much-desired new outfielder in a trade, but it's not the guy who has drawn most of the headlines over the last week. The Nats and White Sox have agreed to a deal that would bring Adam Eaton to Washington in exchange for pitching prospects Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning, according to a source familiar with the talks. The trade's completion is still contingent upon the review of all players' medical records, but...

More McCutchen trade news, notes on Ross, Agustin and Robles

More McCutchen trade news, notes on Ross, Agustin and Robles
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Nationals and Pirates continue negotiations for a potential trade of center fielder Andrew McCutchen to D.C. Last week, right-hander Reynaldo Lopez and minor league center fielder Victor Robles appeared to be a part of the initial talks between the clubs. Fast-forward to this week and the deal that sent Chris Sale from the White Sox to Boston. The latest is the Nationals apparently balked at an offering that included Robles and right-hander Lucas Giolito, a source...

MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis sees big value in Nats' starting pitching prospects (video)

MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis sees big value in Nats' starting pitching prospects (video)
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Despite losing out to the Red Sox in the Chris Sale sweepstakes, the Nationals are still bargaining from a position of strength as far as minor league starting pitching prospects go here at the Winter Meetings. One big question after last season: Had the Nationals' top pitching prospect, right-hander Lucas Giolito, lost some of his luster because of some lukewarm starts in the majors? MLBPipeline.com writer Jim Callis believes that Giolito is still an extremely coveted...

Nationals hopeful they're closing in on trade for lefty Sale

Nationals hopeful they're closing in on trade for lefty Sale
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Nothing is done until it's done. And nothing is done in this case. But the Nationals front office went to bed late Monday night hopeful they were closing in on a blockbuster trade for White Sox left-hander Chris Sale, one that would likely cost them at least two of their top four prospects. Club officials spent a good part of Day One of the Winter Meetings engaged in talks with the White Sox and by early evening had made significant progress toward a deal for Sale,...