Patrick Reddington: Decision to shut down Strasburg in 2012 played key factor in extension

Patrick Reddington: Decision to shut down Strasburg in 2012 played key factor in extension
Think what you will about the decision the Washington Nationals made back in 2012, when they shut down a then-24-year-old Stephen Strasburg late in the season, as planned from the start that year, but the decision GM Mike Rizzo and the front office made played a part in the 27-year-old signing a seven-year extension with the team that drafted him with the No.1 overall pick of the 2009 Draft. They also came within a strike of the 2012 NLCS without him, of course. But the Nats' choice to shut...

Patrick Reddington: Rizzo flourishing in role of building Nationals into contenders

Patrick Reddington: Rizzo flourishing in role of building Nationals into contenders
Before Mike Rizzo was hired as Washington's full-time general manager on Thursday, August 20, 2009, after serving on an interim basis for the Nationals throughout the '09 season, there was a bit of drama in the nation's capital. For a time, at least according to published reports, it appeared as if someone else might get the job. Once he was officially announced the full-time GM, Rizzo was asked about the week he went through leading up to the final decision and the published reports which...

Patrick Reddington: Walking a fine line with Bryce Harper

Patrick Reddington: Walking a fine line with Bryce Harper
Twins closer Kevin Jepsen challenged Bryce Harper and lost. Harper hit a ninth-inning home run to straightaway center field in Nationals Park to tie Sunday's game up and send it to extra innings. In an MLB Network Radio interview on Monday, Nationals manager Dusty Baker was asked about the Twins' decision to pitch to the Nats' 23-year-old slugger with a one-run lead. "The thing about it is you couldn't put the tying run on base when you've got the top of the order coming up behind him...

Patrick Reddington: Like Stephen Strasburg, focus on each of right-hander's outings

Patrick Reddington: Like Stephen Strasburg, focus on each of right-hander's outings
Stephen Strasburg's agent Scott Boras told FOXSports.com's Jon Morosi this spring that the Washington Nationals and their 2009 No. 1 overall pick were not actively discussing a deal that could keep him in the nation's capital beyond 2016 and weren't likely to talk about one until the season was over. Strasburg and the Nationals avoided arbitration this winter, agreeing on a 1-year/$10.4M deal, but beyond that, there were no discussions about a long-term deal. "We amicably agreed to a...

Patrick Reddington: The adaptable Dusty Baker

Patrick Reddington: The adaptable Dusty Baker
Jonathan Papelbon's first few appearances haven't been necessarily lights out, but the 35-year-old Nationals closer is a perfect 5-for-5 in save opportunities after Wednesday night's inning of work against the Braves. Braves hitters lined pitches to right and center for an out and a single before Papelbon got an inning-ending double play and his fifth save, and Nationals skipper Dusty Baker told reporters after the game that getting the save, or the final result, at least in this case, was...

Patrick Reddington: Tanner Roark is back where he wants to be

Patrick Reddington: Tanner Roark is back where he wants to be
With his lost season in the Washington Nationals' bullpen in 2015 behind him, Tanner Roark entered spring training on a mission. He wanted to return to the starting rotation. Roark told his new manager as much early in the process. "It was short," Roark said of the conversation with Dusty Baker this spring. "I told you guys once before that I wanted to start and I'm telling you guys again that I want to start, and I feel like I'm a competitor on the mound and I know that the fight inside...

Introducing our Nationals guest blogger lineup for 2016

Introducing our Nationals guest blogger lineup for 2016
Back in 2005, when the Nationals arrived from Montreal, they filled a tremendous void in Washington, D.C. Generations of fans who had not had a team to call their own suddenly did, parents could take their children to games and a new crop of baseball fans was born. So was a new kind of fan - those with keyboards at their disposal and opinions that flowed like frosty beer at the Red Porch. Fervent Nationals fans descended upon the blogosphere in numbers that made other baseball towns envious....

Patrick Reddington: Looking at Wilson Ramos' full season at the plate and behind it

Patrick Reddington: Looking at Wilson Ramos' full season at the plate and behind it
The question for the last few years has been, "What would Wilson Ramos do with a full season's worth of at-bats?" In his 113-game, 435-plate appearance campaign in D.C. in 2011, the then-23-year-old catcher put up a .267/.334/.445 line with 22 doubles and 15 home runs in a 2.6 fWAR run, but knee surgery, a string of hamstring injuries and hamate bone surgery limited Ramos to a total of 191 games and 760 PAs between 2012 and 2014. He did, however, manage to put up a .269/.309/.428 line over...

Patrick Reddington: Harper walking toward a franchise record

Patrick Reddington: Harper walking toward a franchise record
The second of three free passes Bryce Harper took in the series opener of Washington's three-game set with the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night gave the Nationals' 22-year-old slugger 117 walks on the year, one more than the Nationals' previous single-season record holder, Adam Dunn, took in 2009. In the first of his two seasons in the nation's capital, Dunn, then 29, put up a .267/.398/.529 line on the year, with 29 doubles, 38 home runs, 116 walks and 177 strikeouts in 159...

Patrick Reddington: Could Zack Greinke be free agent target for Nationals?

Patrick Reddington: Could Zack Greinke be free agent target for Nationals?
In discussing the Washington Nationals' approach to negotiations of contract extensions with pending free agents like Jordan Zimmermann (a free agent this winter unless he re-signs) and 2009 No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg (under team control through 2016), both of whom are on their "second elbows" after having Tommy John surgery, Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell suggested last winter that in Zimmermann's case, previous talks likely centered around a deal similar to what Ian...

Patrick Reddington: Nationals prospect Erick Fedde making strides after Tommy John surgery

Patrick Reddington: Nationals prospect Erick Fedde making strides after Tommy John surgery
The reports from general manager Mike Rizzo and assistant general manager and vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline after they selected Erick Fedde out of UNLV with the 18th overall pick of the 2014 Draft were glowing to say the least. "He's a plus-stuff guy," Rizzo told reporters. "We've scouted him intensely over the last three years. He's got two plus plus pitches and his third pitch, the changeup, is on the come. We think that's going to be an above-average pitch. Big...

Patrick Reddington: Have Nats put themselves in too big a hole?

Patrick Reddington: Have Nats put themselves in too big a hole?
Coming off a division title and a postseason run that ended in a disappointing loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, the 2013 Washington Nationals had high expectations. A disappointing start, an 11-16 July and a 48-47 first half put them in a hole, however, which eventually proved too much to recover from despite finishing strong, going 32-16 over the final 48 games. The Nationals finished ten games out in the National League East and four games out in the wild card standings. "I...

Patrick Reddington: Innings, pitches piling up for rookie righty Ross

Patrick Reddington: Innings, pitches piling up for rookie righty Ross
At some point in the near future, and no one's saying exactly when, Nationals right-hander Joe Ross will reach his innings limit/pitch count for the season and he'll be shut down for the year. The concern in his case is that the right-hander has never thrown this many innings in a season before. Ross threw six innings on Thursday night, leaving him at 66 2/3 so far in the majors and 142 2/3 overall on the year between Double-A, Triple-A and the Nationals. Ross went up to 122 1/3 innings in...

Patrick Reddington: Gio Gonzalez hoping to rebound at home

Patrick Reddington: Gio Gonzalez hoping to rebound at home
Gio Gonzalez was on a roll before he took the mound last week in San Francisco's AT&T Park. He was on a streak of eight straight starts in which he had allowed two earned runs or less, dating back to June 15th in Tampa Bay. In those previous eight starts, the Washington Nationals' 29-year-old left-hander was 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA and a .245/.296/.326 line against in 48 2/3 innings pitched. Gonzalez was coming off an eight-inning outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine, in...

Patrick Reddington: Time winding down for Denard Span to return and make impact

Patrick Reddington: Time winding down for Denard Span to return and make impact
Before Denard Span suffered a setback last week, he'd progressed to full workouts, live batting practice and taking fly balls and line drives in the outfield in Nationals Park as he worked his way back from a back issue that landed him on the disabled list. Washington's 31-year-old center fielder and leadoff man worked his way back from two surgeries this winter/spring - after he put together a line of .302/.355/.416, with 39 doubles, eight triples, five home runs, 31 stolen bases and a +4.0...

Patrick Reddington: Opposing batters paying price of Drew Storen's role change

Patrick Reddington: Opposing batters paying price of Drew Storen's role change
Drew Storen faltered some in Thursday afternoon's win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He walked a batter. It was his first walk in seven appearances and 28 at-bats. Washington's 27-year-old set-up man stranded the runner he put on, but snapped a streak of consecutive batters set down at 19. What's wrong with Drew? Nothing. Nothing at all. Though he gave up the walk, Storen did go on to complete another scoreless inning of work, extending his streak of scoreless appearances to 14 for 13 1/3...

Patrick Reddington: Bryce Harper's patience paying off

Patrick Reddington: Bryce Harper's patience paying off
Tom Koehler threw his arms up in anger. Or maybe disbelief. Or both, probably. With runners on first and third and two out in the fifth inning of Wednesday night's game in Miami, the Marlins' starter got ahead 1-2 on Washington's 22-year-old slugger, Bryce Harper, but the 93 mph fastball he threw up high inside ended up sailing out to right field in Marlins Park for Harper's seventh hit and sixth home run in 21 at-bats against Koehler in their respective careers. Harper's second hit, after...

Patrick Reddington: Is trading for late-inning option worth cost of prospects?

Patrick Reddington: Is trading for late-inning option worth cost of prospects?
There have been plenty of rumors involving the Washington Nationals as the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline approaches, and Nats GM Mike Rizzo has heard the chatter. One report after another says the Nationals are in the market for relief help. So are they looking for a set-up man? An eighth-inning option? "That seems to be the popular opinion," Rizzo joked in an MLB Network Radio interview this week, "that our bullpen needs more depth, although, going into last night's game, I think we...

Patrick Reddington: Enjoy Jordan Zimmermann while you can

Patrick Reddington: Enjoy Jordan Zimmermann while you can
The Washington Nationals made three selections in the 2007 draft before their second-round pick came up at No. 67. At that point they had a decision to make, but they couldn't come to an agreement. There was a difference of opinion among the front office executives and scouts gathered in the nation's capital, as now-former general manager Jim Bowden explained in a 2011 segment of his show on MLB Network Radio. "Everybody's lists are different," Bowden explained. "We got to the point of...

Patrick Reddington: Taking a look at Doug Fister's struggles

Patrick Reddington: Taking a look at Doug Fister's struggles
While plenty of digital ink has been spilled examining what's wrong with Stephen Strasburg, Nationals rotation mate Doug Fister has struggled as well, though a little more quietly. Before Washington's 31-year-old sinkerballing right-hander landed on the DL with forearm tightness in mid-May, the free agent-to-be put up a 4.31 ERA in seven starts and 39 2/3 innings over which opposing hitters had a .291/.331/.456 line. In four starts since he's returned to the rotation, Fister has put up a...