Washington Nationals

With his free agency not so far on the horizon in 2023, Washington Nationals star Trea Turner signaled a desire to remain in the nation's capital for the long haul.

"I would love to play my entire career here," Turner told reporters Tuesday.

The 27-year-old added that negotiations over an extension "have happened in the past, hopefully will happen in the future."

President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo said in September the two sides held talks during 2020 spring training and called Turner "a guy we want to build around."

The Nationals did not retain Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon when they hit the open market, but the franchise has shown a willingness to pay top dollar under the right circumstances.

Washington has committed $595 million to Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, and Ryan Zimmerman put pen to paper on a six-year, $100 million deal in 2012.

Turner has consistently delivered since becoming an everyday player in 2016. He boasts a career slash line of .296/.353/.480 with 75 home runs and 257 RBI. He's also third behind Billy Hamilton and Mookie Betts in FanGraphs' base running runs above average.

The 2020 season was the best of Turner's career. He finished fifth among position players in WAR (2.7), per FanGraphs, while compiling a .413 weighted on-base average. His .588 slugging percentage was nearly 100 points higher than it was in 2019 (.497).

The Nationals have every reason to keep Turner in 2023 and beyond, but Rizzo might have to make difficult decisions depending on how much ownership will spend. Corbin, Victor Robles and Juan Soto will be eligible for free agency in 2025, and Scherzer is due to hit the open market next offseason.

Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg opened up about the season-ending surgery he had back in August.

Strasburg, who was named World Series MVP in 2019, had a 15-minute surgery to address carpal tunnel that immediately solved the numbness that would take over whenever he threw a baseball, according to Associated Press. 

The 32-year-old said the injury symptoms "basically would go from numbness in my thumb to numbness in my whole hand."

Strasburg pitched just five innings in 2020, landing on the 10-day injured list before he was moved to the 60-day IL, ending his time in the pandemic-shortened season. 

Through those five innings, which were spread out across two games, he had just two strikeouts and was 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA.

He said the sudden stoppage of the season during spring training, then months off before the season restarted in July, attributed to his injury, as he spent time in the interim working on throwing into a net, which he said "ended up hurting me more than helped me." 

With such a stat line, it was obvious that something was troubling Strasburg, who had gone 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA through 33 regular-season starts en route to baseball's ultimate prize just a year earlier. Throughout the postseason, he went 5-0 and amassed a 1.98 ERA with 47 strikeouts.

But the procedure has helped him prepare for a more impactful season in 2021. He began playing catch and throwing bullpen sessions earlier than usual. 

"Endurance-wise, stamina-wise, I feel like I'm a lot further along than I have (been) in years past," he said. 

He'll return to slot into a rotation alongside Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin as the Nationals look to improve on their 26-34 campaign. 

The Washington Nationals reportedly signed left-handed closer Brad Hand to a one-year, $10.5 million deal.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the news Sunday, with Mark Feinsand of MLB.com adding the deal does not include any option years nor any incentives.

Hand led Major League Baseball with 16 saves in 2020 for Cleveland. The three-time All-Star went 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in 22.0 innings.

The 30-year-old has been in MLB since 2011 when he got the call to join the then-Florida Marlins. He stayed in South Florida until 2015 before the San Diego Padres claimed him off waivers in 2016.

Hand led the majors with 82 appearances that year, going 4-4 with a 2.92 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 89.1 innings. He became the Padres closer in 2017, earning 21 saves while posting a 2.16 ERA.

The southpaw was a hot name before the 2018 trade deadline due to the Padres' struggles. He eventually landed in Cleveland, where he became the team's closer. He managed a career-high 34 saves in 2019 before following up with his league-high mark in 2020.

Hand can throw a fastball, sinker and slider, per FanGraphs. He opts for the slider most often at 51.4 percent of the time. In addition, 57.1 percent of the batted balls in play against him in 2020 resulted in fly balls.

Hand is a fantastic free-agent signing for Washington, whose bullpen receives an immediate and significant boost.

After opting out of the 2020 MLB season, Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is reportedly returning to the diamond.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Zimmerman and the Nationals are expected to agree on a one-year, $1 million deal.

Should a deal wind up being finalized, the Nationals will once again have the greatest player in franchise history back on the roster.

Zimmerman was the first pick in Nationals history when he was drafted fourth overall in 2005. He made his MLB debut that September and became an everyday player for the team the following year.

He has spent the entirety of his 15-year MLB career in the nation's capital, posting a slash line of .279/.343/.475 with an OPS of .818. He ranks first in franchise history in hits (1,784), home runs (270), doubles (401), total bases (3,039) and RBI (1,015).

He ranks second in franchise history in games played (1,689), trailing only longtime Montreal Expo Tim Wallach (1,767).

Zimmerman has achieved a number of individual accolades during his time in Washington. Along with one Gold Glove and two Silver Sluggers, he finished runner-up for the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year award, earned two All-Star selections and received NL MVP votes in four seasons.

Though the team missed the playoffs for the first seven years of Zimmerman's career, the Nationals have been contenders during the back half of his career. They have reached the postseason in five of his last eight seasons, winning their first-ever World Series in 2019.

Zimmerman was a contributor to Washington's postseason success in 2019, hitting .255/.317/.418 with two home runs and seven RBI.

Although retirement was an option after the 2019 season, he wound up signing a one-year, $2 million deal to play in 2020. He did not suit up for the Nationals in 2020, however, as he opted out of the season because of COVID-19 concerns.

Zimmerman, who earned more than $139.8 million during his career, made it clear at the time of his opt-out that he was not retiring at that point. With the 2021 season right around the corner, it appears the 36-year-old is ready to give it another go.

The Washington Nationals reportedly added a three-time World Series champion to their rotation.

Washington and left-handed pitcher Jon Lester agreed to a one-year deal Monday, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the deal is "thought to be for close to" $5 million in guaranteed money.

Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post added more details:  

This comes after Ken Rosenthal and Jon Greenberg of The Athletic reported that the southpaw was in talks with the Nationals. That seemed to indicate Lester's time with the Chicago Cubs was over after six seasons.

The writing was on the wall in October when the Cubs declined the $25 million club option on Lester's deal and instead paid him a $10 million buyout.

That freed him to sign elsewhere, and the Nationals seized the opportunity to add a veteran leader and five-time All-Star to their rotation even if he is past his prime at 37 years old.

There is no doubting Lester's status as one of the best pitchers of his generation. 

He started his MLB career in 2006 with the Boston Red Sox and pitched there until they traded him to the Oakland Athletics in 2014. He won two rings in Boston and finished his time there with a 3.64 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

Chicago's decision to sign him prior to the 2015 campaign signaled a new era for the franchise that had not won a World Series since 1908. The Cubs went to the National League Championship Series in Lester's first season with the team, finally snapped the championship drought in his second season and advanced to the playoffs in five of his six years.

Lester was a two-time All-Star with the Cubs and cemented his status as a franchise icon by becoming the 2016 NLCS MVP in the same year Chicago won the World Series.

He has always been known as a dominant and reliable force in the postseason, as evidenced by his 2.51 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 154 innings spread out across 26 games. He has worked on short rest and come out of the bullpen if called upon in October and is a major reason both the Red Sox and Cubs won titles with him on the roster.

The Nationals hope he will help them do the same even at this stage of his career.

While he was inconsistent in 2020 on the way to a 5.16 ERA, Lester also won't be counted on to anchor the rotation like he did so often in his prime. If he can be a solid veteran option on the back end of a staff that includes Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer, this deal would be worthwhile.

After a quiet start to free agency, free-agent left-hander Jon Lester reportedly has another team interested in his services for 2021.  

According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Greenberg of The Athletic, the Washington Nationals are "in talks" with the veteran who spent the past six seasons with the Chicago Cubs. 

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported in November that the San Francisco Giants were interested in the 37-year-old. 

The Cubs declined Lester's $25 million option for the upcoming season after he tossed 61 innings with a career-worst 5.16 ERA during the pandemic-shortened season. But his best days aren't that far behind him given that he earned his fifth All-Star selection in 2018 when he led the National League with 18 wins. 

Before joining the Cubs, Lester spent eight full seasons with the Boston Red Sox, where he won a pair of World Series championships before adding his third with the Cubs in 2016. Back in October, when the team elected to buy him out rather than exercise his option, Lester noted that he wanted to negotiate a new deal with the Cubs. 

Per ESPN's Jesse Rogers, Lester had previously expressed interest in reaching 200 wins as a member of the Cubs. He had 193 wins at the end of 2020. 

In Washington, Lester would slot into the back of a rotation that includes Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Austin Voth and Erick Fedde are options already rostered behind them. 

The Washington Nationals are opening a sportsbook at Nationals Park for the 2021 season. 

The team announced Monday a multiyear deal with BetMGM that includes the addition of a sportsbook at their home stadium, as well as a mobile app for fans to place bets while inside the stadium.

According to the Washington Post's Scott Allen, BetMGM will have betting windows and kiosks to place wagers at the stadium. Per the team's release, the sportsbook won't be accessible to fans inside the ballpark. Those in attendance and around Nationals Park will have the option of betting through BetMGM's app.

The partnership also includes branding opportunities for BetMGM in the stadium and on social media.

This will be the first such sportsbook at an MLB stadium, though Allen noted Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. already houses one for William Hill.

MLB struck a deal with MGM Resorts International in November 2018, breaking down the wall between the sport and legalized sports gambling. The Detroit Tigers were the first team to capitalize on the development last July after agreeing to a deal with PointsBet.

For the first time in his major league career, Kyle Schwarber will be on a different team than the Chicago Cubs.

The Washington Nationals announced Saturday that they agreed to terms with Schwarber on a contract. The New York Post's Joel Sherman reported the one-year deal is worth $10 million.

The Cubs announced Dec. 2 their decision to non-tender the slugger. That made him a free agent after he established himself as a fan favorite and key cog in the core that helped snap the franchise's World Series drought in 2016. Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reported the Cubs could still bring Schwarber back.

Washington will hope the 2020 version of Schwarber was a small-sample-size blip because he struggled with a .188/.308/.393, 11 home runs and 24 RBI. He has never hit for a high average, but he was much better in a career year in 2019 with a .250/.339/.531 slash line, 38 home runs and 92 RBI.

Anything close to the 2019 Schwarber would be a significant addition to the Nationals lineup. He also hit a combined 56 home runs during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns and figures to be a key source of power even if his batting average lags.

Schwarber is best known for his efforts during the 2016 Fall Classic, when he came back from a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee suffered that April and slashed .412/.500/.471 in a memorable performance on the game's biggest stage.

His efforts were a key reason the Cubs ended their 108-year championship drought.

If he also helps Washington win a World Series, this will be one of the most important signings of the offseason.

The Washington Nationals will have dual-threat power at the plate when they take the field this spring following a trade that brought first baseman Josh Bell to the nation's capital.

The team announced Thursday that it acquired Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for a pair of right-handed pitching prospects: Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean.

Bell spent the past five seasons with the Pirates, who drafted him in the second round in 2011. 

Last season, the Nationals turned to former Milwaukee Brewer Eric Thames at first base. But the 34-year-old struggled at the plate, hitting .203/.300/.317 with 12 RBI and 42 strikeouts in 41 games.

Here's a look at what the lineup could like when the Nationals open the season: 

1. Andrew Stevenson (LF)

2. Trea Turner (SS)

3. Juan Soto (RF)

4. Josh Bell (1B)

5. Starlin Castro (2B)

6. Yan Gomes (C)

7. Victor Robles (CF)

8. Carter Kieboom (3B)

Washington's lineup wasn't ideal in the shortened 2020 campaign, with No. 2 prospect Luis Garcia filling the void left by an injured Starlin Castro, who only appeared in 16 games. It was a loss for the 2019 World Series champions, since the four-time All-Star had slashed .270/.300/.436 with 22 home runs and 86 RBI for the Miami Marlins in 2019. But Garcia did well in Castro's stead, batting .276/.302/.366 with 16 RBI and two home runs in 40 games. 

This offseason, the team also lost Adam Eaton to the Chicago White Sox in free agency, which means Andrew Stevenson will see more time than the 15 games he was afforded last season. That's not necessarily bad news for the Nationals, considering he slashed .366/.447/.732 with 12 RBI last year.

In the switch-hitting Bell, who earned an All-Star selection in 2019 while posting a .277/.367/.569 slash line with 37 homers and 116 RBI in 143 games, the Nationals instantly gain power and versatility, which will only deepen a lineup that ranked fourth in batting average (.264) and 10th in OPS (.769) leaguewide.

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals for pitching prospects Eddy Yean and Wil Crowe on Thursday. 

Crowe was the third-ranked prospect in the Nationals organization, and Yean ranked sixth, per MLB.com. 

Jeff Passan of ESPN and Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported the deal and the players involved. 

Bell has spent his entire career with the Pirates, emerging as a power-hitting All-Star during the 2019 season. He struggled during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, hitting .226/.305/.364 with eight home runs and 22 runs batted in, but the Nationals are banking on a bounce-back in a stronger lineup.

The Pirates are moving on from Bell in what amounts to a long-term cash-saving measure. He has one year of arbitration remaining before he reaches free agency after the 2022 season.

The Pirates regularly have one of the lowest payrolls in the sport. Bell likely would have been out of their price range once he hit the open market, so they're getting ahead off the curve by trading him—receiving more in return and punting on a 2021 campaign in which they were not expected to compete.

The Nationals could be more likely to pay Bell over the long term, especially if he returns to 2019 form. If not, the opportunity cost is relatively low. He's a dangerous power bat who can hit in the Nos. 4-6 slots but doesn't bring much (if anything) defensively. 

Washington desperately needed help at first base after Eric Thames struggled to fill the spot in 2020.