Good Morning Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, December 20, 2023.

Hi, this is Richard and I am writing today’s Morning Briefing as Hayden has the day off.

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: 99 Days to Opening Day

There is very little news coming out of South Capitol Street these days, so the biggest story around Major League Baseball is where Japanese SuperStar and the top free agent remaining at this point in the offseason is right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The 25-year-old NPB ace has previously been reported as having seven “finalists” for his services: the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Giants, Red Sox, Phillies, and Blue Jays.

Reporting on where he is signing has been all over the map on this, literally all over the map. In addition where Yamamoto signs, the amount of his contract has also been interesting to track. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports, it wasn’t until earlier this week that the right-hander hadn’t discussed specific years and dollars with clubs. I guess we are just going to have to wait until he signs to see the details of the contract and where he will kick off his Major League Baseball career.

Slow offseason …

With only 11 calendar days until the start of 2024, there are still a lot of great free agents still available. There are still a lot of top pitchers still available, and a lot of hitters still available. According to Jeff Passan, eight teams haven’t spent any money on free agents this winter as of December 17. The eight teams include the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Miami Marlins, San Deigo Padres, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, and the New York Yankees.

Also according to MLB Trade Rumors, only only 8-of-the-top-20 players have been signed, and that means 60 percent are still unsigned as of now. The Nationals aren’t the only team that hasn’t been involved in the signing of players. It is kind of crazy that this is occurring. Do you think that baseball has a problem that needs to be addressed? Remember Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on March 2, 2019.

Harper’s introductory press conference with the Phillies was held on the top of the dugout at their Florida spring training facility.

This isn’t a new baseball problem.  What do you think? Should Major League Baseball address this issue?

Click here for the latest off-season headlines, rumors, trades, and more.

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ICYMI: Latest articles on the Nats Report

Even though it is the offseason, we have been extremely busy producing a lot of great content here on the Nats Report. Here are just a couple of the articles that we have published recently that you might have missed:

• Podcast: In the Clubhouse (Nick Senzel and Dylan Floro signings)
• How does Dylan Floro’s signing with the Nationals impact the team’s 2024 outlook?
• Perspective: Juan Soto to Nats isn’t as Crazy as you Think.
• Perspective: When is Enough, Enough?
• Exploring the Impact of the Nationals Outfield on the Future

We are working on a lot of great Nationals-themed content all off-season so make sure that you are following us on all the major social media channels for the latest.

Featured Story of the Day

99 days to Opening Day! Do you know where your roster is? via Talk Nats

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