As the market for lefty relievers turns

As the market for lefty relievers turns
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Yup, another entry on left-handed relievers. This is what happens when the team you cover has addressed pretty much every other area of its roster. You write entry after entry about the search for a left-handed reliever. One of the Nationals' top targets when it came to left-handed relief, Eric O'Flaherty, could be close to coming off the market. And it certainly appears that he won't be landing with the Nats. Multiple outlets have reported that there's a good...

Williams meets the press

Williams meets the press
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - I passed along some quick-hit notes from Matt Williams' session with reporters earlier today, but now that our meeting with general manager Mike Rizzo is done and I've had a chance to settle in a bit, I can provide some more in-depth quotes from the Nationals' new skipper. Since being named Nats manager more than five weeks ago, Williams has tried to hit the ground running. He's met with a handful of Nationals players, integrated himself in organizational meetings...

Heard in the lobby ...

Heard in the lobby ...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Nationals are a team generating a bunch of chatter in the lobby here at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, with a few players being discussed by various teams as potential trade targets. Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday that the Nationals are shopping Danny Espinosa, and while there are teams that have had conversations with the Nats about Espinosa, I've been told that general manager Mike Rizzo is not actively looking to deal the 26-year-old infielder. As one source...

Evaluating some trade rumors, plus Rizzo on extensions for Desmond, Zimmermann

Evaluating some trade rumors, plus Rizzo on extensions for Desmond, Zimmermann
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A bit ago, a tweet from Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports came across my laptop saying that the Nationals are currently shopping infielder Danny Espinosa. The timing of this report was a bit ironic, given that Nats general manager Mike Rizzo had just finished his session with local reporters, during which he talked up Espinosa and his ability to serve as a quality backup at multiple infield positions, including third base. This much is clear: the Nationals still hold...

A couple of interesting updates on the lefties, plus a cool note

A couple of interesting updates on the lefties, plus a cool note
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - We're scheduled to meet with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo in less than an hour, but I've got a few notes from the lobby to pass along before we head up to Rizzo's suite to quiz him on the Nats-related happenings during Day One of the Winter Meetings. The Nats continue to monitor the market for left-handed relievers, and as they do so, they might have to take one interesting wrinkle into account. I've heard that Boone Logan, a lefty who has spent the last...

We're off for Orlando

We're off for Orlando
Well, here we go. The most hyped four days of the offseason officially begin tomorrow, and so for myself and the rest of the MASNsports.com staff, it's off to Orlando today, a day ahead of the start of the Winter Meetings. Don't let the location of the meetings fool you, however. If I see sunlight for a total of 30 minutes during the entirety of the Winter Meetings, I'll consider it a victory. This isn't exactly the trip you take if you're interested in working on your tan or hitting the...

Fister on joining Nats: "There's a lot of excitement for me"

Fister on joining Nats: "There's a lot of excitement for me"
Since July 2011, Doug Fister has been with the Detroit Tigers, a team that made the postseason in each of the last three years and made it to the World Series in 2012. He's built friendships there and has pitched in a strong starting rotation. The 29-year-old is now eager to have some of those same experiences in D.C. Fister found out last night that he had been traded to the Nationals, who will now be his third organization in six major league seasons. Both he and fellow Tigers right-hander...

Nats trade Abad to Athletics for minor leaguer Wooten (Robertson outrighted)

Nats trade Abad to Athletics for minor leaguer Wooten (Robertson outrighted)
The Nationals and Athletics have collaborated on a trade yet again. This time, the Nats are sending left-handed reliever Fernando Abad to Oakland for minor league outfielder John Wooten, a source confirms. MLB Network's Peter Gammons was first to report the trade. Abad was designated for assignment by the Nationals last week, giving the team 10 days to trade or release Abad, or assign him to the minor leagues if he cleared waivers. By sending Abad to the A's, the Nats got back Wooten, a...

Saying bye-a to Maya

Saying bye-a to Maya
The Nationals officially cut ties with Yunesky Maya this weekend, releasing the right-hander who general manager Mike Rizzo viewed as a top-of-the-rotation type of starter when he signed the Cuban defector to a four-year, $6 million deal in 2010. Maya's release was first reported by Baseball America's Matt Eddy. This move ends the Nationals' experiment with the 32-year-old righty, a guy who the Nats trumpeted as a major international signing a little more than three years ago. Maya had...

A glimpse into just how dominant Tyler Clippard was this season

A glimpse into just how dominant Tyler Clippard was this season
We're all aware of how good Tyler Clippard has been since joining the Nationals in the trade that sent Clippard to D.C. and Jonathan Albaladejo to the Yankees. Fairly lopsided deal there, huh? Wonder how the Yanks are feeling about that one. In his five years with the Nats, Clippard has appeared in 337 games (an average of 67 per season) and pitched to a 2.72 ERA with a 1.036 WHIP and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Yeah, decent numbers. This season, however, Clippard was so good that...

This is 40: Sammy Solis

This is 40: Sammy Solis
Left-hander Sammy Solis was back. He had recovered from Tommy John surgery. He was pitching again in the game he loved. But something still wasn't quite right. And he was starting to get nervous. "It was one day at a time," Solis said on his May return to high Single-A Potomac. "Every day was different with my arm. One day, it would feel great, the next day it was like, 'Oh, my. Do I need surgery again?' The biggest thing on field to overcome was just my arm tightening up between every...

Nationals announce front office promotions

Nationals announce front office promotions
In the wake of former assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Roy Clark leaving the Nationals to join the Dodgers, the Nats announced a host of front office promotions today, highlighted by Doug Harris and Kris Kline both being named assistant general managers. Harris, who has spent the last four seasons overseeing the Nats' farm system, will now have the official title of assistant general manager and vice president of player development. Harris was a fourth-round...

Going over all of yesterday's happenings

Going over all of yesterday's happenings
Yesterday turned interesting in a hurry, huh? At first, we just had a run-of-the-mill offseason day, with teams quietly making tweaks to their 40-man rosters ahead of the midnight deadline to do so. The Nationals added Sammy Solis, Michael Taylor and Aaron Barrett to their 40-man roster and designated left-handers Fernando Abad and Tyler Robertson for assignment, leaving them with a full 40-man roster. Then, minutes later, I had a bunch of people in my Twitter timeline talking about how...

Nats hire Bob Henley as third base coach

Nats hire Bob Henley as third base coach
Needing a new third base coach, the Nationals have decided to promote from within, and have hired Bob Henley for the position. Henley has previously served as the Nationals' minor league field coordinator. The 40-year-old Henley has been with the Nationals/Expos organization for the last 11 years. He managed the Nationals' Gulf Coast League affiliate in 2009 and led that team to the GCL title, and has also managed high Single-A Potomac. Henley has been the Nats' minor league field...

Eating Right: Nationals have made nutrition a top priority

Eating Right: Nationals have made nutrition a top priority
The Nationals recently completed their first strength and conditioning camp for prospects at their training facility in Viera, Fla. As I reported earlier, this camp was administered by the Nationals' strength coaches and personnel and was focused on preparing prospects for their individualized offseason conditioning regimen. A major factor in this camp was the importance of nutrition for each prospect, re-emphasizing the standards the organization set for its 250 players during the season...

Roy Clark leaves Nationals for Dodgers

Roy Clark leaves Nationals for Dodgers
A day after losing their third base coach, the Nationals have lost a key member of their front office. Roy Clark, who has served as assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel for the last four years, has left the organization to take a position with the Dodgers, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law. Update: A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed that Clark is leaving the Nationals and that he is indeed joining the Dodgers. In Los Angeles, Clark will...

Jewett joins Mariners (updated)

Jewett joins Mariners (updated)
It turns out that new Nationals manager Matt Williams might need to tweak his coaching staff a little more than we originally thought. The Nats have granted permission for third base coach Trent Jewett to interview for the Mariners' bench coach position under new manager Lloyd McClendon, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Jewett was expected to return to the Nats as third base coach, but when McClendon was hired as the new skipper in Seattle, Jewett's name immediately began being...

Taking a look at the latest Nats rumor

Taking a look at the latest Nats rumor
Just a couple of days after Denard Span was named the Nationals' recipient of the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award, there's a report that the Nats might be open to trading their speedy center fielder. According to CBSsports.com's Jon Heyman, officials from competing teams say that the Nats "appear willing" to listen to offers for Span, who hit .279/.327/.380 this season and was a finalist for a Gold Glove this season after going the entirety of the 2013 campaign without allowing...

Lookin' at some lefties

Lookin' at some lefties
General manager Mike Rizzo has admitted that he erred when he decided to put just one left-hander in the Nationals bullpen going into the start of the 2013 season. Rizzo and the Nationals looked around for left-handed relievers last winter, but instead of adding a new face or retaining Sean Burnett, Michael Gonzalez or Tom Gorzelanny, they opted to break camp with starter-turned-reliever Zach Duke as their lone southpaw in the 'pen. That didn't exactly work out as planned. Duke pitched to...

Ian Desmond wins second straight Silver Slugger award (updated)

Ian Desmond wins second straight Silver Slugger award (updated)
For the second straight season, Ian Desmond has been selected as the top offensive shortstop in the National League by managers and coaches. Desmond won the 2013 Silver Slugger Award among NL shortstops after hitting .280 with a .331 on-base percentage, a .453 slugging percentage, 20 home runs and 80 RBIs this season. Desmond beat out the Rockies' Troy Tulowkitzki, the Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez and the Brewers' Jean Segura for the award. Desmond led all National League shortstops in total...