<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ZHKkP_0vjQvpVP00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ZHKkP_0vjQvpVP00" width="1600" height="900" >Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo recently said that his club <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/09/rizzo-nationals-looking-for-middle-of-the-order-bats.html">will be looking</a> <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/09/rizzo-nationals-looking-for-middle-of-the-order-bats.html">for middle-of-the-order bats</a> this offseason to supplement a growing young core. The Nats <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/09/juan-soto-rumors-nationals-reunion-free-agency.html">would reportedly “love”</a> a reunion with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&amp;search=Juan+Soto&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Juan Soto</a> — unsurprisingly so; who wouldn’t at least be interested? The free agent market will have big-name bats ranging from corner infielders <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alonspe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Pete Alonso</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bregmal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Alex Bregman,</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkech02.shtml">Christian Walker</a> to shortstop <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/adamewi01.shtml">Willy Adames</a> to slugging corner outfielders like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santaan02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Anthony Santander</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hernate01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Teoscar Hernandez</a>.Multiyear free agent deals of any real magnitude haven’t been a focus for the Nationals throughout the past three years of their rebuild, but Rizzo suggested in his weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan’s “Sports Junkies” show that a return to the deeper waters of free agency could be possible this winter (<a href="https://www.audacy.com/podcast/the-sports-junkies-249dd/episodes/mike-rizzo-reacts-to-the-cj-abrams-demotion-9f312?action=AUTOPLAY_FULL&amp;actionContentId=201-64243de0-f951-4177-9d25-77ef5b22bedc">Audacy link to the entire 14-minute interview</a>). Asked if ownership “will be open to going out and giving bigger money to guys who are established” (as opposed to the recent run of one-year deals and reclamation-project hitters), Rizzo replied:<blockquote>“I think if the opportunity arises and the right fit arises, I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t. They’ve done it in the past when there’s players out there that are available that fit what we’re looking for.”</blockquote>The Lerner family, which owns the Nats, has indeed been willing to spend at top-of-the-market levels in offseasons past. Washington has doled more than $200M on single free-agent deals twice: <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scherma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Max Scherzer</a>’s seven-year, $210M contract and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/strasst01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Stephen Strasburg</a>’s seven-year, $245M pact. Of course, the latter of those two signings did not pan out — the former stands as one of the best and most successful major free-agent signings. The Lerners have also given the green light to another pair of nine-figure signings in <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/corbipa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Patrick Corbin</a> (six years, $140M) and, way back in 2010, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/werthja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Jayson Werth</a> (seven years, $126M — a massive contract at the time).Indeed, the Nationals haven’t spent at the level required to sign Soto this offseason, but Soto figures to command a historic contract. No team has gone to that length — arguably not even the Dodgers, given the unique and deferral-laden structure of the 10-year contract they gave to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Shohei Ohtani</a> last winter. (MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald and I discussed the possibility of a Nationals pursuit of Soto <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/09/mlbtr-podcast-final-days-in-oakland-the-surging-tigers-and-if-the-nats-will-pursue-soto.html">on Wednesday morning’s episode of the MLBTR Podcast</a>, which was recorded before Rizzo’s comments.)Concerning the rest of the free agent class, none of Bregman, Alonso, Santander, Hernandez or any of the other big bats in free agency figure to exceed the limits at which the Nationals have spent in the past. That doesn’t ensure that the Nationals will pay for a top-of-the-market bat, but there’s precedent for spending at or in excess of most of those levels. Add in the fact that the only guaranteed contracts on the Nationals’ books beyond the current season are the remaining two seasons of that Strasburg deal and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruizke01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Keibert Ruiz</a>’s eight-year, $50M extension (spanning the 2023-30 seasons), and there’s room for the Nats to engage with any free agent they deem a fit — Soto included.Rizzo noted that expenditures to bolster the lineup needn’t only come on the free-agent side. He listed both the trade level and the “development level” of player acquisition, noting that he expects an “active, interesting winter” for his club between the three. Rizzo stopped short of declaring the team’s rebuild entirely over and proclaiming the 2025 campaign a clear win-now season. Still, the general tone of his comments Wednesday painted a team on the rise with increased expectations of contending sooner than later.Much of that concerns the strides Washington has seen from its collection of in-house starting pitchers, for whom Rizzo praised. Right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/i/irvinja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Jake Irvin</a> and lefties <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gorema01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">MacKenzie Gore</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=parkemi01,parker001mit&amp;search=Mitchell+Parker&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Mitchell Parker</a> will all finish with 30-plus starts and more than 150 innings. Southpaw <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/herzdj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">DJ Herz</a> called up later in the season, will close out the year with 19 big league starts, in all likelihood.All four pitchers currently have an ERA between 4.04 and 4.30. Their earned run averages have ticked up late in the season as their workloads have reached previously uncharted waters. Each is already at least 27 innings past his previous single-season career-high mark. In Irvin’s case, his 183 1/3 innings are 40 more than his previous high-water mark. Some fatigue and growing pains are to be expected. Still, Rizzo made clear that the simultaneous development of that quartet is among the organization’s biggest successes this season and serves as “a great measuring stick going forward.”Presumably, the Nats hope that top pitching prospect <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cavalca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Cade Cavalli</a>, who missed the 2023 season and much of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, can join that group in 2025. It’s a solid-looking collection of arms. However, given pitchers' general volatility and attrition rate, it’s easy to envision Rizzo and his staff considering at least one veteran addition this winter to supplement the group and safeguard against injuries and/or regression. Rizzo didn’t specifically call out rotation support as an area of need. Still, virtually any team would be reluctant to head into a season with five starters under the age of 28 and with three or fewer years of big-league service atop the depth chart.Rizzo was also asked about the recent demotion of shortstop <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abramcj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">CJ Abrams</a>, whom the Nationals <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/09/nationals-option-cj-abrams-to-triple-a.html">optioned over the weekend</a>. At the time of the move, the team only indicated that it was for an off-the-field issue. Subsequent reports have suggested that Abrams’ demotion was a disciplinary measure <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41361547/nats-demote-all-star-cj-abrams-all-nighter">after he stayed out all night at a casino</a> the night before a day game against the Cubs. Rizzo unsurprisingly declined to delve into specifics but confirmed it was an off-field issue and voiced support for Abrams moving forward:<blockquote>“It was not performance-based. We felt it was in the best interest of the player and the organization to do so. It’s an internal issue that we’re going to keep internal. … It’s not the end of the world for CJ. It’s not the end of the world for the Nationals. It’s something that happens over the course of time, especially with young players. We love CJ. We care for CJ. We’re in constant communication with he and his agent, and we still have a great relationship.”“…We have a standard here. We’ve had it for a lot of years. When players don’t reach those standards, we have to do what’s in the best interest of the organization. … And when players fail to reach those standards, we have to do something to get them back into the mode of Nationals, and teammate, big leagues. We felt that it was warranted in this case. Like I said, not the end of the world. Not the end of CJ Abrams. Not the end of the Nats.”</blockquote>Abrams, who’ll turn 24 in a couple of weeks, came to the Nationals alongside Gore, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodja03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">James Wood</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hassel002rob&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Robert Hassell III</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=susana000jar&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-25_br">Jarlin Susana</a> in the trade, sending Soto to the Padres. The former top prospect looked to be amid a full-fledged breakout for the first half of the season, slashing .282/.353/.506 through early July. He’s since fallen into a protracted slump, hitting just .191/.254/.321 over his past 236 turns at the plate. (He’d picked up the pace again of late, going 11-for-28 with a pair of homers and three doubles in his past eight games.)The demotion to the minors won’t cost Abrams in terms of big-league service, arbitration trajectory, or free-agent timeline. When he was sent down, he’d already accrued a full year of service in 2024. He’ll finish the year with 2.130 years of service, making him a likely Super Two player eligible for arbitration four times rather than the standard three. Assuming he qualifies as a Super Two player, the first of those four will come this offseason. He’s under club control through the 2028 season.</div></body>

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Nationals GM names club's biggest offseason priority

Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo recently said that his club will be looking for middle-of-the-order bats this offseason to supplement a growing young core. The Nats would reportedly “love” a reunion with Juan Soto — unsurprisingly so; who wouldn’t at least be interested? The free agent market will have big-name bats ranging from corner infielders Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, and Christian Walker to shortstop Willy Adames to slugging corner outfielders like Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernandez.

Nationals GM names club's biggest offseason priority

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