Nats' most significant moves in January

Nats' most significant moves in January
As the calendar turns to a new year this January, a new baseball season is on the horizon. When it will actually begin, however, remains to be seen. The lockout is currently keeping teams from making any major league roster moves, which is a shame because Mike Rizzo is usually very busy during the year's first month. No matter the pace of an offseason's free agent market, we have seen the Nationals general manager put together a competitive roster well before the start of spring training year...

Tracking down some former Nationals position players

Tracking down some former Nationals position players
If you've been thinking this offseason has been awfully quiet so far, you're not alone. The World Series ended four weeks ago, with free agency officially beginning five days later, and there has been next-to-no significant news across the baseball world. Eventually, that will change, most likely in the days leading up to the Winter Meetings (which begin Dec. 11 in Orlando). Until then, we'll keep trying to fill the void around here with content on a variety of topics. Like this one. The...

Rizzo disappointed Heyward passed on offer, talks Escobar trade and adding depth

Rizzo disappointed Heyward passed on offer, talks Escobar trade and adding depth
Outfielder Jason Heyward was the latest of the marquee free agents passing on a lucrative offer from the Nationals, instead signing with another ballclub. Like infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, Heyward chose to take his talents to Wrigley Field next season. Right-hander Darren O'Day, the best reliever available on the free agent market, gave the Nats their first bit of bad news in free agency a week ago when he decided to stay with the Orioles. General manager Mike Rizzo was disappointed the...

Yunel Escobar traded to Angels for Trevor Gott and Michael Brady

Yunel Escobar traded to Angels for Trevor Gott and Michael Brady
NASHVILLE - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo waited until the end of the Winter Meetings to make a splashy move. Coming off arguably his best season at the plate, Yunel Escobar has been dealt to the Angels for reliever Trevor Gott. Gott was originally selected in the sixth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft before being traded to the Angels in July 2014. The 23-year-old made his made his major league debut last June and posted a 3.02 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 48 appearances. Gott, whose...

Nationals still looking for lefty bat, help up the middle (Shawn Kelley update)

Nationals still looking for lefty bat, help up the middle (Shawn Kelley update)
NASHVILLE - Multiple trips to the disabled list for Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman forced former Nationals manager Matt Williams to shuffle players around his infield throughout last season. Besides playing both middle infield positions, defensive wizard Danny Espinosa even appeared at first base and third base for the first time in his life. "I look at their infield defense, they had everybody on the infield out of position, and that's tough to do," new manager Dusty Baker said during...

Winter Meetings: Day 1 comes and goes for Nationals

Winter Meetings: Day 1 comes and goes for Nationals
NASHVILLE - Day 1 of the Winter Meetings has come and gone after starting in a funny way. Once I was settled into the media room this morning, I received a text from my colleague Olivia Witherite saying she was lost in the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. 8:20 a.m. on the official Day 1 of #WinterMeetings and @Oliviawitherite is officially already lost in the Gaylord. Gonna be a fun week! -- Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) December 7, 2015 Well, it was a funny morning for me at...

Rizzo on who will play shortstop, inquiries on Escobar, interest in Rollins and more (with video)

Rizzo on who will play shortstop, inquiries on Escobar, interest in Rollins and more (with video)
NASHVILLE - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo isn't averse to trading for a shortstop, but if tomorrow was April 4, he's sure there's someone on the current roster who would be trotting out to the space between third and second bases in the bottom of the first inning on the final opening day at Atlanta's Turner Field. "I have a comfort level that if today were opening day, we have a shortstop on the roster. ... There are several of them," Rizzo said this afternoon in his suite at the...

Nats reportedly in contention to land versatile free agent Ben Zobrist

Nats reportedly in contention to land versatile free agent Ben Zobrist
NASHVILLE - The Nationals have reportedly made it to the final four in the sweepstakes for versatile free agent Ben Zobrist. The Mets, Giants and Dodgers are the other three teams contending for Zobrist, who won the World Series with the Royals this season after coming over from the Athletics in a trade deadline move. Multiple reports have the 34-year-old Zobrist seeking a four-year deal worth $60 million. He makes his home outside Nashville and is expected to meet with Nationals officials at...

How interested should the Nationals be in Ben Zobrist?

How interested should the Nationals be in Ben Zobrist?
It wouldn't be the hot stove season if there weren't rumors swirling about. And with the Winter Meeting looming next week in Nashville, the Nationals continue to be strongly linked to one of the more popular free agents out there, utility man extraordinaire Ben Zobrist. See, that's what some fuel on the ol' hot stove fire feels like. Multiple reports over the past few days have indicated that the Nationals, Mets and Giants were among the 20 or so teams that were hot and heavy in pursuit of...

Could Yunel Escobar be one and done in D.C.?

Could Yunel Escobar be one and done in D.C.?
When the Nationals acquired Yunel Escobar from the A's in January, general manager Mike Rizzo said the veteran infielder's lure was his ability to play strong defense at both second base and shortstop, and promised that playing on natural turf at Nationals Park would be a better fit for the now 33-year-old than the unforgiving artificial surface that had hampered him at Tropicana Field, where he played the previous two seasons for the Rays. Escobar's .314/.375/.415 slash line in 139 games...

Identifying a leadoff hitter is among issues Dusty Baker faces

Identifying a leadoff hitter is among issues Dusty Baker faces
One of the Nationals' major deficiencies last season was the lack of a consistent offensive presence at the top of their lineup. Multiple injuries limited Denard Span, their normal table setter, to only 61 games before his season ended in late August. In Span's absence, former manager Matt Williams scrambled to find a leadoff man, using rookie Michael A. Taylor, Jayson Werth, Yunel Escobar and Anthony Rendon. With Span hitting the free agent market last week and unlikely to return to...

Ian Desmond rejects qualifying offer

Ian Desmond rejects qualifying offer
Ian Desmond won't play for the Nationals next year. The 30-year-old, who was drafted by the Expos and has played his entire career in Washington, declined the club's $15.8 million qualifying offer today. The Nationals are still waiting on right-hander Jordan Zimmermann to decide on his qualifying offer. The deadline is 5 p.m. today. Desmond enters the free agent market for the first time and is expected to command a multi-year deal worth at least $75 million. The Mets, Padres, Diamondbacks...

All talk about Trea Turner for 2016, but where will Danny Espinosa fit in?

All talk about Trea Turner for 2016, but where will Danny Espinosa fit in?
The Nationals will have to adjust their infield next season with the departure of longtime shortstop Ian Desmond. Of the in-house candidates, should Yunel Escobar, Trea Turner or Danny Espinosa take over? Escobar has played most of his career as a shortstop. Last season, he played third base for the Nationals with Anthony Rendon out to begin the season due to injury. Escobar played 134 games at third base and hit a career-high .314. He had last played third base in 2007 with the Braves for 22...

Max Scherzer nearly reached baseball immortality with two perfect games this season

Max Scherzer nearly reached baseball immortality with two perfect games this season
FLUSHING, N.Y. - Max Scherzer became just the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw two no-hitters in the same season in the game's storied history. But do you know how close he was to tossing two perfect games? How about Jose Tabata's dropped elbow and Yunel Escobar's skipped throw across the diamond. That close to baseball immortality. Of course you'll remember Scherzer just one strike away from perfection against the Pirates on June 20 at Nationals Park when Tabata...

Bryce Harper smacks 42nd homer in 3-1 win

Bryce Harper smacks 42nd homer in 3-1 win
FLUSHING, N.Y. -- Mets rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard has allowed just three baserunners through six innings. Matt den Dekker roped a leadoff double in the third but was stranded. Syndergaard walked Yunel Escobar and then hit Bryce Harper with two outs in the sixth but Jayson Werth struck out looking to end the inning. Harper took a 97 mph fastball of his left shin, knocking the 22-year-old to his knees. He remained in the game and is 0-for-2 with his batting average dropping to...

Max Scherzer loses battle with Manny Machado, Nats fall 4-3

Max Scherzer loses battle with Manny Machado, Nats fall 4-3
Just as he did in his last start, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer surrendered a two-run homer in the first inning of tonight's game. Scherzer retired Gerardo Parra and Manny Machado before walking Chris Davis. Steve Pearce then hammered Scherzer's 95 mph fastball over the left field wall for his 14th home run. The Nats answered in the bottom of the frame. After a leadoff double, Anthony Rendon scored on Yunel Escobar's single to center. Update: When Jonathan Schoop whiffed in the fourth,...

Tough night for Gio Gonzalez, Nats offense in 4-1 loss

Tough night for Gio Gonzalez, Nats offense in 4-1 loss
Both starters experienced early bouts with command problems in this game. The Orioles took advantage while the Nats did not. Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez issued consecutive free passes to Yunel Escobar and Bryce Harper with one out in the first. But Jayson Werth was caught looking at a third strike, and then Clint Robinson grounded out to end the frame. In the second, left-hander Gio Gonzalez walked Caleb Joseph and J.J. Hardy. Jimenez delivered a two-out line drive single to center,...

With Mets' recent struggles and pitching questions, Nationals have chance to catch NL East leaders

With Mets' recent struggles and pitching questions, Nationals have chance to catch NL East leaders
The Nationals start the week six games behind the Mets in the National League East with 13 games to play. The Mets' magic number is eight, which means the race ends with any combination of Mets wins and Nationals losses totaling eight. Mathematically, the Nationals' chances are slim. But the Mets aren't the same team that swept the Nationals in D.C. earlier this month, so that helps the Nationals. "We're playing perfect right now,'' Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar said after going...

Nats and Orioles set for Beltway Series with slim playoff hopes alive

Nats and Orioles set for Beltway Series with slim playoff hopes alive
The Nationals and Orioles enter their Beltway Series clinging to slim playoff hopes. Baltimore is coming off a crushing 7-6 loss at Tampa Bay where closer Zach Britton blew a save by surrendering two runs in the bottom of the ninth. The Orioles are 5 1/2 games back of the Astros for the second Wild Card spot with 13 games remaining, but they must also leapfrog three teams - the Angels, Twins and Indians - to get there. Meanwhile, the Mets dropped two of three in their Subway Series to the...

10 more strikeouts for Stephen Strasburg in Nats' 13-3 win

10 more strikeouts for Stephen Strasburg in Nats' 13-3 win
Widespread injuries are the main culprit for why the Nationals find themselves on the outside looking in to the playoffs with under two weeks remaining in the regular season. They also account for the primary reasons why Stephen Strasburg won't be mentioned in the Cy Young Award voting despite the dominant form the right-hander has displayed over the past three months. Strasburg's blazing fastball, nasty curveball and baffling changeup handcuffed the Marlins this afternoon. He fanned 10...