by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
Start the countdown. We are 11 days from the calendar turning to the year 2024, and 99 days until the Washington Nationals play in Cincinnati for Opening Day. But what about the roster? It just feels like it is missing the two most important additions that both manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo said that the team needed to add this offseason in a starting pitcher, and big middle of the order bat.
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The Lerners, the current owner of the Nationals since mid-2006, did not have input into the structural design of Nationals Park because the team was owned by MLB when the stadium was initially designed — and working with an initial construction budget of around $600 million led to corners being cut. There was little-to-no consideration of the views outside of the stadium.
There is a good chance the Lerners won’t even own the Washington Nationals when the 30-year lease expires on Nats Park after the 2037 season. The 20-year anniversary is a few years away, and you have to wonder if the stadium will get an extreme makeover like Camden Yards got at their 20-year anniversary in 2012.
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All signs point to a sudden truce between the MASN owners after the lawsuits came to a conclusion in favor of the Washington Nationals. While neither side was happy with the final numbers — they seemed to meet in the middle based on the RSDC valuations. But is there any other reason that John Angelos, the CEO of MASN, wanted to settle quickly this time? His baseball team has been rumored to be for sale — which he denied — but what about selling MASN to a third party?
Continue readingOn December 8th the Nationals filed a Stipulation and Proposed Order with the Supreme Court of the state of New York notifying the court that the Orioles have agreed to pay the remaining balance of the rights fees owed to the Nationals for the years of 2017-2021. By not protesting the second round of the rights fees five year resets the Orioles have effectively given up the case and agreed to live up to the terms of the original MASN contract.
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Get ready for four-days of top prospect baseball when all teams will showcase top prospect games with the inaugural SPRING BREAKOUT held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums. The Washington Nationals and New York Mets Spring Breakout game will be played on March 15 in a Friday afternoon showcase game at 3:10 PM EDT that is part of a doubleheader with a regular big league game.
The “Spring Breakout” game, which is a new concept this year, fields rosters of team’s future stars for a showcase in the middle of the Spring Training schedule. Teams are paired against nearby teams in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues, and the Nats prospects will travel to face the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.
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The Washington Nationals have made three acquisitions with reliever Dylan Floro, former top prospect, Nick Senzel, and a Rule-5 pick of Nasim Nuñez. Floro and Nuñez’s roles were easily defined quickly — but there was much doubt on the 28 year old infielder/outfielder who was non-tendered by the Reds … until he spoke to the media yesterday.
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Most of these MLB free agents are already millionaires many times over. Those who invested their money properly and have good financial planning will not have to worry about putting food on their table — ever. Of course some free agents need the work, and others have the strategy of knowing they are in high demand and believe the economics of scarcity will drive up their price — based simply on supply and demand in a finite market of limited assets. These assets are so limited that their wealthy buyers have blurred lines of the underlying auction as if they are bidding on one of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings which would make Shohei Ohtani the Mona Lisa.
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When a general manager speaks about not blocking prospects versus a manager’s desire for competition for roster spots, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Mike Rizzo, the Washington Nationals’ President of Baseball Operations, gave several interviews at the Winter Meetings earlier this week in Nashville, and a key point is that he was not going to make a free agent acquisition that would block a top prospect. But he has been clear in the past that he has no problem promoting prospects, even as teenagers, if they prove to be ready which would give his manager a better roster without regard to service time manipulation that many teams partake in.
Continue readingMeet Ted Leonsis, the man with ownership in pro basketball, hockey, and gaming, with his crown jewels of the NBA’s Wizards, the NHL’s Capitals and the WNBA’s Mystics — and he does not have an MLB baseball team, leaving a huge void in the summer months on his TV network. Priorities first. Leonsis wants to televise baseball games first and foremost. Next up, he would like to own a baseball team and has the patience to wait for that.
Our sources had told us that back in 2022 that he had tried to purchase the Nats’ portion of the MASN network with no luck. Leonsis was also a confirmed bidder for the Washington Nationals in 2022, and we broke the “No Sale” news months later.
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There were so few signings in Nashville at the Winter Meetings that most teams besides the Yankees (Juan Soto), Diamondbacks (Eduardo Rodriguez), Reds (Jeimer Candelario) were the only three deals that amounted to teams spending over $30 million. That was it. Nobody reached even over $80 million in the Winter Meetings even though we all know that the Shohei Ohtani $500+ million sweepstakes could be completed by this weekend. But in the end, 20+ teams did practically nothing — the Washington Nationals being one leaving Nashville on the light side. Sure, they were “in” on Candelario — but were trying to go two-years with a team option at most.
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"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
