It’s time for the third installment of our 20 Greatest Players in Nationals History series, which means we’ve reached the Top 10. If you missed the first two installments, be sure to click these links for No. 16-20 and No. 11-15.

It was no easy task finalizing the 20 greatest players in 20 years of Nats baseball, and it was no easier deciding who made the Top 10, and in what order. Reminder: This is a subjective exercise, so there’s no hard and fast rule or stat to determine the order. This is about both the player’s tangible performance and also his broader impact and significance within the history of the organization.

We’ll wrap things up next Sunday with the highly anticipated Top 5. But before we get to that, here’s No. 6-10, featuring some pretty big names who each played parts of at least seven seasons in D.C. …

NO. 10 – IAN DESMOND
Shortstop, 2009-15
Stats: 927 G, 3793 PA, 3480 AB, 424 R, 917 H, 185 2B, 21 3B, 110 HR, 432 RBI, 122 SB, 37 CS, 232 BB, 890 SO, .264 AVG, .312 OBP, .424 SLG, .736 OPS, 99 OPS+, 16.5 bWAR, 16.2 fWAR

In March 2005, the Nationals called up a 19-year-old shortstop drafted the previous summer by the then-Expos to play in a few big league spring training games. He immediately turned heads with some dazzling plays in the field, prompting Jim Bowden and Frank Robinson to declare him the organization’s “Shortstop of the Future” and give him a chance to play in the team’s first exhibition game at RFK Stadium.

PHILADELPHIA – No matter what the Nationals did on the mound tonight, they had to get more production at the plate. Even on a good pitching night, three runs is usually not enough to beat this daunting Phillies lineup that scored 13 last night.

The Phillies entered tonight averaging 7.0 runs per game over 47 games against the Nats since the nightcap of a doubleheader on July 29, 2021. So without an absolute gem from the Nats pitching staff, the offense would need to score a lot more.

After suffering through six strong innings from Zack Wheeler last night, the Nats had the pleasure of facing Aaron Nola in the second game of this four-game set. Although they had more chances against this veteran right-hander and their own pitchers did a much better job containing the Phillies hitters, the results looked similar. That was until the ninth inning, when the Nats rallied to score two runs to tie the game.

That rally was in vain, though, because the Phillies scored the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth to win 3-2 and send the boisterous crowd of 41,067 home happy.

Facing closer Kyle Finnegan, Brandon Marsh, who came in as a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth, hit a deep single to right field. But Alex Call’s throwing error allowed him to reach second easily. Then pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson put down a perfect bunt that wasn’t fielded by Finnegan nor third baseman José Tena due to some miscommunication in a loud Citizens Bank Park.

The Nationals were in search of two things Sunday afternoon: The first quality start by a starting pitcher and a win to avoid their first series sweep of the season.

They barely missed out on the first despite a strong performance by MacKenzie Gore, but did just enough to squeak out a 3-2 victory and salvage this three-game set against the Phillies before heading to the West Coast for 10 days.

“It was good,” Gore said after his first win of the season. “It was one of those days where we needed to figure out how to win a game. I thought everybody did a great job of that.”

After a somewhat disappointing start in Monday’s home opener against the Pirates, Gore regrouped to come one out short of a quality start against a tough Philadelphia lineup.

Utilizing a good mix of four pitches, Gore relied mostly on his fastball, which sat at 97 mph throughout the afternoon. Of his six strikeouts, four came on his heater, including his last one at 99 mph to Trea Turner in the sixth, the former Nats shortstop’s third strikeout of the day.

The Trea Turner Rule is finally getting amended. Not eliminated altogether, but amended in a way that should at least somewhat appease the star shortstop and Nationals manager Davey Martinez after both were burned by it multiple times in the past.

Major League Baseball announced a series of rule changes for the 2024 season Thursday afternoon, and the most notable one for anyone with current or recent ties to the Nats surely was the alteration to the first base running lane.

The runner’s lane will now be widened to include the dirt area between the foul line and the infield grass, MLB announced. In other words, a batter-runner will now be permitted to run in fair territory as long as he stays on the dirt and doesn’t venture onto the infield grass.

Because dirt cutouts aren’t universal across baseball, there will be some leeway for dimensions. The distance between the foul line and the infield grass will be between 18 and 24 inches in every MLB park, with some limited grace periods granted due to difficulty in modifying fields (such as ballparks that use artificial turf).

“Widening the lane allows batters to take a more direct path to first base while retaining protection from interference,” the league said in announcing the change.

New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz injured his right knee and may be out for the year. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has a fractured right thumb and will need surgery. The first injury happened during a World Baseball Classic postgame celebration and the second during a WBC game.

Those are two key players that will miss significant portions of the coming season – maybe most or all of it – and both were injured as a result of taking part in the WBC.

No doubt fans of those teams may not be that excited about the WBC moving forward. In the game where Altuve got hit by a pitch on Saturday night, the Orioles' Anthony Santander followed him in the batting order and it could have been him that was hit and injured but luckily for the Orioles, he was not.

Despite these injuries, the WBC has been great to watch this year.

It’s great to see the talent around the world in the sport of baseball and more importantly the passion for the sport around the world. The crowds and the cheering and the TV ratings outside of the United States show us how much fans and players alike care about this event. It is a huge deal, maybe more so than it is here.

These Winter Meetings got off to a fast start yesterday with Trea Turner agreeing to an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies and Justin Verlander agreeing to a two-year, $86 million deal with the Mets.

The Nationals will definitely feel the ramifications of two division rivals signing two of the biggest free agents on the market. And although general manager Mike Rizzo isn’t expected to dish out large contracts to other top free agents like Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Rodón and Dansby Swanson, that doesn’t mean this week will be uneventful for the Nats.

Today is the first of two major events for the Nationals this week in San Diego, with the first-ever MLB Draft lottery taking place at 8:30 p.m. ET.

After a 55-107 record this year, the Nats are one of three teams with the highest odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. Along with the Athletics (60-102) and Pirates (62-100), the Nationals have a 16.5 percent chance at the top selection in next year’s draft.

The first six spots in the draft will be determined by the lottery. All 18 non-playoff teams are eligible for the lottery, with declining percentages in reverse order of their records, down to a 0.23 percent chance at scoring the top pick. After that, picks 7-18 will be determined in reverse order of standings. So the lowest the Nats can pick is No. 7 overall, which, at 19 percent, they have a better chance of getting than the No. 1 pick.

SAN DIEGO – Another former Nationals star is signing another mega deal with another division rival.

Trea Turner has agreed to an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies, as first reported by ESPN and confirmed by multiple other outlets. It’s a huge payout for the free agent shortstop, now under contract through the 2033 season, during which he will turn 40.

In Philadelphia, Turner reunites with Bryce Harper (still under contract and due to earn $242 million through the 2031 season), not to mention Kyle Schwarber and hitting coach Kevin Long, all of them former Nationals.

And thus did yet another National League East rival lock up yet another former Nats star, leading to yet another decade of awkward return trips to South Capitol Street, where a demoralized fan base will have to decide whether to cheer or boo a once-beloved player who chose to sign long-term with a rival.

All of this came on the same day the Mets reportedly signed Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million deal, reuniting the two-time Cy Young Award winner with three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. The two previously were teammates in Detroit; now they headline the rotation in Queens, where the pressure to win the franchise’s first World Series since 1986 will be immense.

For the first time since 2019 in San Diego, the baseball Winter Meetings are full-go in person. And the biggest event of the offseason just so happens to be back in San Diego at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

It’s barely the afternoon on the West Coast and there has already been major news breaking on the free agent market. Two of the top available free agents this winter have reportedly agreed to terms on new deals. And both are with National League East teams outside of D.C.

The biggest contract handed out so far this offseason is sure to be heartbreaking for Nats fans to see. Trea Turner has reportedly agreed to an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies. The deal also reportedly includes a full no-trade clause, which will keep the shortstop in Philadelphia through the 2033 season.

ESPN was the first to report the Turner deal.

Turner, who played for the Nationals from 2015 until he was traded with Max Scherzer to the Dodgers at the 2021 deadline, reunites with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and hitting coach Kevin Long as former Nats in Philly.

It’s always tough for a fan base to see their favorite team miss out on the postseason.

For Nationals fans, this is the third straight year without playoff baseball in the District since the team won its first World Series championship back in 2019.

With that being the case, an important question must be asked: Who will Nats fans root for this October?

It’s not a simple question to answer if you’re going to continue being a baseball fan over the next month. Do you root for whole teams or just individual players? Do you root for league or divisional pride, or for anything but that?

The 2022 Major League Baseball postseason is set. In the first year of the new expanded format, six teams each from the American League and National League qualified (three division winners and three wild cards), with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye as the Wild Card Series starts this weekend.

ATLANTA – The rules say every team needs at least one representative in the All-Star Game, so despite a disappointing season, we knew there would be at least one Nationals player going to Los Angeles for this year’s Midsummer Classic.

That player is Juan Soto, announced on the “MLB All-Star Selection Show” on ESPN.

“It feels great to be part of it representing the Washington Nationals,” Soto said of his selection after today’s loss to the Braves. “It feels great to be out there and be on the list of all the All-Stars that the Washington Nationals have had in the past. And to be around those guys, it feels great.”

There was a lot of speculation as to whether Soto or Josh Bell or both would join Davey Martinez on Braves manager Brian Snitker’s National League team at Dodger Stadium. Now we know it will just be the left-handed slugging outfielder going to his second straight All-Star Game.

“It means a lot not only for me, but for the organization,” Soto said. “To represent the Washington Nationals out there and knowing that Davey is coming with me is gonna be great. We'll see how fun it's gonna be and how excited we will be.”

The Orioles host the Texas Rangers tonight in the second of a three-game series and seven-game homestand that will also include a series with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead on the Fourth of July and then fell behind 5-2 in the fifth. They tied the game 5-5, fell behind 6-5 on Marcus Semien's homer in the ninth but tied it 6-6 on Adley Rutschman's RBI double with two outs in the ninth. And they won it 7-6 when Jorge Mateo was hit by a pitch with no outs and the bases loaded in the last of the 10th.

The Orioles (37-44) reached the midpoint of the 162-game season with Monday's win. They have won two in a row and eight of the last 14 games. They are 10-7 over the past 17 games, 13-9 in 22 and 23-20 since they were 10 games under .500 on May 19. They are 30-30 since May 1 and are 19-17 at home.

Most walk-off wins in MLB:

10 - New York Yankees
6 - Orioles, San Diego Padres
5 - Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays
4 - 7 teams tied 

The Nationals woke up exactly one year ago feeling as good about themselves as they had, quite possibly, since they won the World Series.

On the morning of July 1, 2021, the Nats owned a mediocre 40-38 record but had just won 14 of their last 17 games to climb back over .500 and thrust themselves into the National League East race. Kyle Schwarber was on fire at the plate. Trea Turner had just hit for the cycle for the third time in his career. Max Scherzer was still the ace. Stephen Strasburg was supposed to return from the injured list within a matter of weeks. Mike Rizzo would probably be a buyer at the trade deadline.

And then over the course of that holiday weekend, which included a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, injuries to Turner and Schwarber and Alex Avila starting a game at second base, the foundation began to crack. And by the end of a disastrous month that saw the franchise suffer all manner of calamity, the Nationals were well under .500 and Rizzo had traded away eight key veterans, signaling the end of an era of contention in D.C. and embarking on a massive franchise rebuild.

What has happened since hasn’t been pretty, at least not in terms of wins and losses on the field. The Nats have played exactly 162 games in the last 365 days, and their record is a woeful 54-108. That’s a .333 winning percentage, worst in the majors during that time frame. (Next worst are the Cubs at 59-98, a .376 winning percentage.)

One year ago, there was genuine optimism about the state of the franchise, reason to believe a run at another World Series title wasn’t far-fetched. At the very least, this organization would be in a position to try to win a title for several more years, between the big league talent already in place and the ability to spend on more to fill roster holes.

As the latest tribute video for a pair of key members of the 2019 World Series team wrapped up just prior to Monday night’s game at Nationals Park, the crowd of 22,423 applauded and Trea Turner and Daniel Hudson each waved back in appreciation to the fans.

It was a nice moment, but hardly anything that gave anyone in the park goosebumps.

Nor was the moment a short while later when Turner stepped to the plate to bat for the first time as a visiting player in his former home ballpark. Some in the crowd stood and applauded. Some remained seated and barely moved a muscle.

The ovation, if you want to call it that, wasn’t loud enough or sustained enough to provoke Turner to step out of the box and tip his helmet to everyone.

Not that fans here don’t like Turner. Not that he left the team on bad terms. Quite the contrary. He always expressed an interest in staying here long term, but when the Nationals front office decided to sell last July, Turner was lumped in with Max Scherzer and traded to the Dodgers for four prospects.

Trea Turner sat in the third base dugout at Nationals Park, a visiting player here for the first time, and considered how few former teammates of his still call the first base dugout home.

“You look at the box score, and you see so many different names that I never played with,” the Dodgers shortstop said this afternoon. “A lot has changed, but that’s what happens in the business of baseball. There is turnover, and there’s guys trying to prove themselves and earn their spot, and that’s what’s going on over there.”

That is indeed what’s going on over there, the championship Nationals franchise Turner used to play for now a shell of its old self, with a handful of young players joining a bunch of placeholder veterans in slogging their way through a miserable opening two months to a rebuilding season.

Over on Turner’s new side, the Dodgers remain stacked with the most star-studded roster in the majors, going all-in once again in pursuit of another World Series title two years after they ended a 32-year championship drought.

The disparity could not have been more striking than it was during tonight’s series opener, which saw the Dodgers rock Joan Adon and Austin Voth for nine combined runs while the Nationals couldn’t so much as produce a single baserunner against Tyler Anderson until the sixth inning during a 10-1 steamrolling.

Reunion Month continues for the Nationals this weekend. Already in May they’ve faced Anthony Rendon and Dusty Baker for the first time as opponents, and now they’ll be facing Trea Turner and Daniel Hudson over the next three days with their new club.

Turner, as you’d expect, is smack dab in the middle of the Dodgers lineup, batting third behind Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. (Avert your eyes if seeing a 1-2-3 like that makes you shudder.) Hudson, meanwhile, continues to pitch well, with a 2.57 ERA and 0.857 WHIP in 14 appearances out of the bullpen, with two saves to his name as well. Both members of the 2019 World Series roster should receive a lot of love from the Nationals Park crowd all weekend.

As for the home team, Davey Martinez is sticking with most of the lineup that scored eight runs Sunday in Milwaukee, with Keibert Ruiz (facing the Dodgers for the first time) again batting second and Juan Soto batting third. Nelson Cruz returns after departing Sunday’s game with a sprained right ankle.

The one significant change is atop the order, with Lane Thomas batting leadoff and César Hernández bumped down to the No. 8 spot. Thomas, as noted in this morning’s blog post, had a really nice weekend in Milwaukee, and it sounds like he could get more opportunities to hit leadoff moving forward, especially against left-handers like Los Angeles’ Tyler Anderson.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain arriving, 68 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field