The Morning Briefing: D.C. First Responders receive Nationals Gear in appreciation for all their hard work

D.C. First Responders receive Nationals Gear in appreciation and the Trevor Bauer Sweepstakes Ends. Here are the headlines for Feburary 6, 2021

by Richard Wachtel

Updated February 06, 2021

Good Saturday Morning, Washington Nationals Fans.

Thank you for starting the day and Superbowl Weekend with us!

Quick trivia question to start Superbowl Weekend: What Major League Baseball Team drafted Patrick Mahomes out of high school? (Scroll to the bottom of the email to find out the answer)

Countdown Clock

Pitchers and Catchers Report: 10 Days

Exhibition Games Begin: 21 Days

Countdown to Opening Day 2021: 54 Days

Washington D.C. First Responders receive Washington Nationals Gear in appreciation for all their hard work

Just in case you needed another reason to love the Washington Nationals, well, we have you covered this great story.

We all love our first responders, especially here in the Washington D.C. area; between dealing with the Coronavirus, protests during the summer of 2020, and recently handling the Capitol riot last month have had a rough year plus enter the Washington Nationals.

Click here to read the full article on the Nats Report

Washington Nationals Leaders of the Pack

Steven Mears of Talk Nats.com has interviewed the top-15 Washington Nationals prospects. They are all great profiles of the upcoming Washington Nationals prospects.

Click here to read all the Interviews via Talk Nats.com

ICYMI: The Return of Baby Shark

Gerardo Parra and the Washington Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal for the 2021 season. The agreement means that he will have to fight for a spot on the major league roster come Spring Training. Last year, Parra spent the season in Japan playing for the Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants.

Parra started the 2019 season with the San Francisco Giants but was signed by Washington on May 9th after he was released. Parra batted .250/.300/.447 after joining the Nats and finished the season hitting a combined .234/.293/.391 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs in 274 at-bats for the two teams.

During his time with the Nationals, at the suggestion of his children, Parra changed his walk-up music to the popular children's song "Baby Shark" and quickly became a fan favorite in Washington.

Lastly, according to Stephen Mears of TalkNats.com, if the Nationals have fans back in the stands during the upcoming season, they plan a sunglasses giveaway similar to those worn by Gerardo Parra, Anibal Sanchez during the 2019 season and playoffs. We can't wait to hear Baby Shark at the stadium.

In the coming days, we will publish an article highlighting Parra and what he brings to the 2021 Washington Nationals. From the looks of comments on social media, Nationals fans are excited about the return of "The Shark."

Click here to read the full article on the Nats Report

While You Were Sleeping....Outfielder Marcell Ozuna returns to Atlanta Braves on four-year, $64 million deal

Last night, the Atlanta Braves announced that the 2020 National League home run and RBI leader signed the slugger to a four-year, $64 million contract. The contract includes a fifth-year club option for $16 million that would take it to $80 million with a $1 million buyout, which would yield Ozuna $65 million in guaranteed money. ESPN.com shares analysis: "Ozuna took a gamble on himself after the 2019 season, turning down a $17.8 million qualifying offer from the St. Louis Cardinals, and signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Braves in late January.

The move paid off handsomely, as the slugger finished sixth in NL MVP voting after leading the league with 18 home runs, 56 RBIs and 145 total bases. He was third in the NL with a career-best .338 batting average and .636 slugging percentage. The bet? The $17.8 million qualifying offer by the Cardinals would've represented 41% of his career earnings to that point. While considered somewhat of a defensive liability after suffering a shoulder injury in 2018, Ozuna, who turned 30 in November, did see some action in left field for the Braves while playing all 60 games during the pandemic-shortened season. However, most of his at-bats for Atlanta came as the team's designated hitter, slotted after Freeman in the lineup as the Braves won the NL East title while putting up some of the best offensive numbers in team history."

Click here to read the full article via ESPN

Trevor Bauer Sweepstakes Ends; Joins the Los Angeles Dodgers

Well, the Trevor Bauer Sweepstakes ended afternoon yesterday, when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner agreed to a three-year, $102 million deal; a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The club has not announced the agreement, but Bauer revealed his decision on his YouTube channel. According to sources, Bauer has opt-outs after each of his first two years, and he will be paid $40 Million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022. Additionally, Bauer will become the highest-paid player in Major League History in 2021 and again in 2022.

Paying Bauer will push the Los Angeles Dodgers payroll close to $240 million, which will be way above the $210 million Competitive Balance Tax threshold, meaning that Los Angeles would have to pay a 20% tax on all overages. For the next $20 million over $230 million, the Dodgers would be taxed 32%.

Bauer joins Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Julio Urías, and David Price. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are also available and could start the season out of the bullpen. Josiah Gray, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Dodgers' top prospect, is also an option.

What does this mean for Justin Turner? According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, the Dodgers remain in negotiations with Turner; however, since the Dodgers are way over the CBT, they might be inclined to leat Turner walk. Could this be an opening for the Washington Nationals to bring Turner out east? Would it even make sense for the Nationals to sign Turner? According to Dodger Blue.com, "Turner recently was said to have pared down his list of teams to four, though it was unclear who the finalists are. He reportedly has a preference to play for a contending team."

Stay tuned, Nationals Fans; it could be a very interesting week as we head towards Spring Training.

Podcast Alert: In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report

This week, we have a great guest coming up on the "In the Clubhouse" podcast. Richard sits down with Graphic design artist Todd Radom. Todd has created the world's most visible sports brands for 25 years, including a Washington Nationals design. We will be publishing the interview on Monday!

Thank you for listening! In a short time, "In the Clubhouse" has had over 1k downloads, we have had 73 unique listeners over the past seven days. Richard has sat down with many great guests to talk about Washington Nationals Baseball and Major League Baseball. Subscribe today to the podcast to get us in your feed, and don't forget to tell your friends about the podcast!