Washington Nationals

There appears to be a disconnect within the Washington Nationals about Kris Bryant trade rumors. 

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters on Tuesday that the team hasn't "had a serious conversation about Kris Bryant in probably two years."

Earlier in the day, Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters that Bryant's name has "definitely come up in conversations."

The comments from two prominent members of Washington's brain trust come after Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported last month that the 2019 World Series champions were "exploring a trade" for Bryant. 

As the Chicago Cubs mull their options for 2021, Bryant's status with the organization seems very much in doubt. He is projected to earn $18.6 million next season in his final year of arbitration, per Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors. 

The Cubs are in an interesting spot. Theo Epstein left as team president, with Jed Hoyer taking over that role after spending the past nine seasons as general manager. They are projected to have a $136 million payroll, per Spotrac, and are coming off an NL Central title in 2020, but the Miami Marlins swept them out of the playoffs in the NL Wild Card Series. 

Bryant's value would seem to be very low. The 2016 NL MVP hit .206/.293/.351 with four homers in 34 games in 2020. 

The Nationals do need more help in their lineup after a disappointing 26-34 record last season. Their third basemen combined to hit .239/.326/.378 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI. 

While the Washington Nationals would benefit from adding some offensive reinforcements this offseason, they may not be in the market for two of the best hitters available.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal provided an update on the Nationals' situation:

"According to a source, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is scheduled to speak with team ownership on Tuesday. The discussion is expected to provide Rizzo with greater clarity on the club’s payroll for 2021, but the Nats remain unlikely to be a major player for a big-ticket item such as Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant or free-agent infielder DJ LeMahieu, sources say."

The Nationals were World Series champions, and they haven't exactly been thrifty over the past few years. Their year-end 40-man payroll hasn't fallen out of the top 10 since 2012. Washington signed Stephen Strasburg to a seven-year, $245 million extension ahead of the 2020 season.

However, Rosenthal alluded to how one or two marquee players may not salve what ails the Nats offense.

The team finished 10th in weighted on-base average (.330) and 13th in weighted runs created plus (103), per FanGraphs, but those numbers were skewed somewhat by Trea Turner and Juan Soto. They were the only two Washington players to post more than 1.0 WAR.

Rosenthal posited Rizzo might prefer to use whatever spending flexibility he has to cast a wider net and target multiple areas of need.

Bryant earned $18.6 million in 2020, and MLB Trade Rumors' Tim Dierkes projected him to earn that much again in 2021 before he becomes a free agent. The Mookie Betts trade showed how the going rate for star players on what are effectively expiring contracts may not be that high, but a possible extension for Bryant has to be factored in for any team pursuing the 2016 National League MVP.

LeMahieu, meanwhile, is one of the best position players in free agency. He's a career .305 hitter who can fill in at second, third or even first when the situation calls for it.

The 32-year-old almost certainly won't match the seven-year, $245 million contract Anthony Rendon signed with the Los Angeles Angels.

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, his home and road splits with the New York Yankees raise some concerns. He slugged .585 at Yankee Stadium and .459 on the road in 2019, per Baseball Reference. The gap was far more pronounced in 2020 (.784 home; .398 away).

Still, LeMahieu figures to get a healthy payday this winter given the dearth of middle infield options.

After missing the playoffs in 2020, the Washington Nationals are reportedly looking to upgrade their roster with one of the top free agents on the market.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Nationals are "showing continued interest" in second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

The Nationals figure to have stiff competition for LeMahieu.

Jim Bowden of CBS Sports reported the New York Yankees "have made it clear" that re-signing the three-time All-Star is their "top priority." He also said LeMahieu's preference is to remain in the Bronx.

Per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, the New York Mets "rank second" on LeMahieu's preferred list of destinations. The team has gained $20.25 million in salary after MLB suspended second baseman Robinson Cano for the 2021 season for violating its policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

When LeMahieu was a free agent two years ago, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported the Nationals had "a few discussions" with LeMahieu's representatives. He ultimately signed a two-year, $24 million deal with the Yankees.

Nationals second basemen hit .272/.303/.384 with five homers and 26 RBI last season.

LeMahieu led the majors with a .364 batting average and was tops in the American League with a .421 on-base percentage. He also slugged .590 with 10 homers and 27 RBI.

The Washington Nationals issued an invitation to President-Elect Joe Biden to throw out the first pitch at their 2021 home opener following his victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. 

We look forward to hosting President-Elect Biden on Opening Day of the 2021 season.@JoeBiden // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/n3YzL7olWA

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 8, 2020

"We look forward to hosting President-Elect Biden on Opening Day of the 2021 season," the team wrote. "We're excited to continue the longstanding tradition of sitting presidents throwing out the first pitch at the home of the national pastime in our nation's capital."

Trump did not throw out a first pitch during his four years in office, as the White House declined an invitation in 2017, citing a scheduling issue. President Barack Obama threw out a first pitch for the Nationals in 2010.

Biden, who served as Obama's vice president, was deemed the winner of the 2020 election by media outlets Saturday after winning Pennsylvania. While President Trump has vowed legal action and voter fraud, those claims appear unfounded, and it is widely expected that Biden will take over the office of president in January 2021. Trump is just the fifth president in the last century to not win his bid for re-election.

Kamala Harris, meanwhile, will serve as Biden's vice president, becoming the first woman to hold that office.

The Washington Nationals announced Wednesday they are declining Adam Eaton's $10.5 million club option for the 2021 season.

Washington is also declining Anibal Sanchez's $12 million option after he posted a 6.62 ERA and 5.46 FIP in 11 starts.

Eaton was coming off a career year when the Nationals acquired him from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016. His 5.9 WAR were 12th-best among position players. The veteran outfielder was also signed to a pretty modest five-year, $23.5 million extension to his 2015 contract. 

Washington included Lucas Giolito, who at the time was one of MLB's top prospects, in its trade package to Chicago, highlighting just how much value Eaton seemed to have in terms of on-field production and cost control.

The 31-year-old was on pace to be even better in his debut campaign with Washington, posting an .854 OPS through 23 games. Then he suffered a torn ACL, which presaged the years ahead. He was limited to 95 games in 2018, and his performance has steadily dipped since that injury.

Eaton finished 2020 with a .226/.285/.384 slash line along with four home runs and 17 RBI in 41 appearances. A fractured left index finger ended his season in September.

"For a 60-game season to settle my fate for next year is kind of crappy," he said, per NBC Sports Washington's Todd Dybas. "I try to be as consistent as I can for this team when I am on the field. It's unfortunate, but it's kind of how the year is going."

All signs pointed toward the Nats declining Eaton's option.

His days as an everyday center fielder ended when he tore his ACL, and he has struggled defensively in right field. If not an outright upgrade, Washington can at least find a replacement for less than what it will be paying Eaton.

Free-agent spending was trending downward before the COVID-19 pandemic put a serious strain on teams' finances. 

The upper echelon of stars (George Springer, Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, Marcus Semien, etc.) on the market will probably still command top dollar. Mookie Betts signed his 12-year, $365 million extension in July when the implications of the pandemic were clear for everyone to see.

Players on Eaton's level will probably be squeezed the most because they're not so good as to be totally irreplaceable. Marcell Ozuna had 29 home runs and 89 RBI with a .472 slugging percentage—and two All-Star appearances to his name—heading into last offseason, and all he could manage was a one-year, $18 million deal from the Atlanta Braves.

Ozuna is available once again, and any one of Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig or Michael Brantley would be a sensible target for Washington.

Assuming the Nats don't simply bring him back on a lower salary, Eaton's time in the nation's capital has drawn to a close, which will likely lead to retrospective analysis about the trade that got him there.

Giolito has turned into a top-of-the-rotation starter, while Dane Dunning is MLB.com's No. 98-ranked prospect and finished with a 3.97 ERA in 34 innings as a rookie.

The White Sox will continue to reap nice dividends from that deal. The Nationals, however, won a World Series in 2019 thanks in some part to Eaton's contributions. He slugged .560 with two home runs and six RBI against the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.

That alone was enough to make the trade worth it for Washington.

          

Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted

Juan Soto is 21 years old and has already won a World Series title and emerged as one of the brightest young stars in the game. 

So why wouldn't he become the youngest player in history to win the National League batting title? 

Juan Soto is the youngest player in @MLB history to win the NL batting title.#NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/0H8QaNvxqN

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 27, 2020

How's this for a third season? Soto hit .351 with 13 homers, 37 RBI, 39 runs and six stolen bases in 48 games. Translated to a full 162-game season, Soto was on pace for 43 dingers, 124 RBI, 131 runs and 20 stolen bases. This dude is a superstar. Had he not missed 12 games, he may have been the NL MVP, though that distinction will likely go to Mookie Betts, Fernando Tatis Jr. or Freddie Freeman. 

But again, he's only 21. Go have yourself a few beers, Juan—you've earned it. 

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Dave Martinez has agreed to a new deal with the Washington Nationals.

The club announced Saturday the two sides had reached a multiyear extension, though it did not disclose terms of the pact. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported it is a three-year deal worth $7.5 million.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman first reported the extension.

Martinez, who turns 56 on Saturday, signed a three-year, $2.8 million deal with a $1.2 million club option for a fourth season when the Nationals hired him as manager in October 2017.

General manager Mike Rizzo said earlier this month that signing Martinez was important.

"That's priority one, is to get Davey taken care of," Rizzo told reporters after signing his own three-year extension. "My plan is, and my preference is, to not pick up the option and to go beyond that. That's the plan going forward. See if we can get something done. Negotiate a longer-term deal with him that goes beyond just picking up the option."

Martinez took over for Dusty Baker, whose contract expired after the 2017 season. The Brooklyn, New York, native has a 198-183 record with the Nationals, including a 23-34 mark this year. He led the franchise to its first World Series title last year with a Game 7 victory over the Houston Astros.

Well, you don't see this one every day.

Umpire Joe West ejected Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo from Sunday's 10-3 loss against the Atlanta Braves, saying Rizzo was continuously hollering at the umpires from a luxury suite.

Mike Rizzo apparently was ejected from Sunday's matchup with the Braves. pic.twitter.com/NQFoF3Jiuj

— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) September 6, 2020

West—who said he had already talked to the commissioner's office Friday about Rizzo's running commentary during the series and told that office he would put a stop to it if it continued—had quite the quote about the decision after the contest.

"I wouldn't take that from a player. I wouldn't take that from a manager," he told reporters. "If it was Donald Trump, I'd eject him, too. But I'd still vote for him."

oh no it appears someone went too long without giving Joe West attention

— Michael Baumann (@MichaelBaumann) September 7, 2020

"He was saying 'you're brutal' and other things," West added. "We're in a pandemic situation, you can hear everything."

Major League Baseball said in a statement it had contacted the Nationals about the incident and would be following up with West and his crew.

General manager Mike Rizzo helped lead the Washington Nationals to the World Series title last season and will reportedly be rewarded accordingly with a contract extension.

On Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Nationals signed Rizzo to a three-year extension. Rosenthal noted Rizzo's previous contract was due to expire following the 2020 campaign.

Rizzo was the assistant general manager before he landed his current position in an interim role in March 2009 after Jim Bowden was dismissed. The Nationals made Rizzo the permanent GM later that year, and he also became president of baseball operations in 2013.

The Nationals also signed Rizzo to an extension in 2018, when he was also in the final year of his contract.

Washington has not finished with a losing record since the 2011 campaign.

In fact, the National League East team has made the playoffs five times in Rizzo's tenure, bolstered by moves such as drafting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper and signing Max Scherzer.

The issue was always advancing in October, as Washington lost in the National League Division Series the first four times it qualified for the playoffs since moving from Montreal after the 2004 season.

However, the 2019 campaign was different. The Nats broke through by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card Game, the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.

They then defeated the Houston Astros in a thrilling seven-game World Series.

The Nationals likely will not repeat since they are 13-24 and in last place, but they at least know the GM who helped them reach the mountaintop will still be around after this season.

Jazhiel Morel, an employee for the Washington Nationals, was fired by the organization for allegedly throwing hot coffee at a convenience store worker in the Dominican Republic.

Nationals general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo told ESPN's Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan and Enrique Rojas that Morel was fired Saturday:

"The Washington Nationals learned of this horrific incident earlier today and immediately terminated the employee," Rizzo said in a statement. "We do not tolerate this type of behavior in our organization."

Video of Morel allegedly throwing the coffee surfaced Friday on social media:

The Washington Nationals fired an employee in the Dominican Republic on Saturday after he allegedly threw two cups of hot coffee in the face of a female convenience-store employee.

News at ESPN with @kileymcd and @Enrique_Rojas1: https://t.co/7NuKANm6Nz

(Video via @OdeComunica) pic.twitter.com/vSYNhwleMP

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 22, 2020

Per Dominican Republic journalist Edith Febles (h/t ESPN), Morel has agreed to turn himself over to police Monday.

In the video, the man believed to be Morel is seen saying something to the clerk before throwing two cups of coffee in their face.

According to ESPN, Morel was the administrator for the Nationals academy in Boca Chica. He started with the organization in 2017 and was promoted to the job in November.

The academy opened in 2014. The organization has signed Dominican players such as Juan Soto and Victor Robles in recent years.