Good Morning Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today December 1, 2023. I am Haden and let’s dive into our topic for today

Upgrade your subscription to get our weekly round-up of the biggest Washington Nationals stories over the past week, minor league game notes, and more MLB headlines.

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Nationals hosting a spring exhibition against top prospects

After the end of spring training, the Nationals usually play a game at Nationals Park before Opening Day. This year, they will be playing against the future of the Nationals, a group of their top prospects. The Nationals announced the game on social media. This concept should certainly bring more fans than their typical pre-season games at Nats Park.

What would a lineup for that “future” squad look like? While many have offered ideas already, I have a few ideas. James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Robert Hassell III are locks to be roaming the outfield in this game. Daylen Lile should be the designated hitter. Yohandy Morales and Brady House will form that corner infield tandem. The middle infield and catcher is where it gets harder. Drew Millas might not qualify here, so Israel Pineda? Maxwell Romero Jr., who is coming off a stellar season at Low-A Fredricksburg could also fit. Darren Baker will probably get some sort of playing time, so maybe he starts at second base, leaving Trey Lipscomb at shortstop? Kevin Made and Armando Cruz are the only other options that make sense up the middle.

Jackson Rutledge, who maintained rookie eligibility, will probably start for this team.

Around the MLB

The Brewers are locking up their top prospect Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82M deal before he makes his major league debut. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported that the deal could end up as long as 10 years worth $140M.

The Reds bolstered their pitching staff by adding starter Nick Martinez and reliever Emilio Pagán, each to two-year deals. Martinez served as a swingman for the Padres, being one of those rare pitchers who started multiple games and also closed multiple games last season. Pagán struggled from 2020 to 2022, but put together a solid campaign in 2023 with the Twins, posting a 2.99 ERA in 69.1 innings.

The Mets improved their bench by signing former Marlin and Ray Joey Wendle, a left-handed hitting infielder to a one-year, $2M deal. They also added a buy-low candidate in the rotation in Luis Severino. Severino signed for one year and $13M guaranteed, with performance incentives.

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:

• Perspective: Crafting a Team Identity
• The Nats Report’s Free Agency Wishlist
• Perspective: Juan Soto to Nats isn’t as Crazy as you Think.
• Prospect Profile: Brady House
• Free Agent Profile: Marcus Stroman

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 Stories of the Day

Marlins hire Gabe Kapler to be an assistant GM via MLB Trade Rumors

Offseason rumors and rumbling via Jeff Passan on ESPN+

The Television Elephant in the Room via FanGraphs

If you haven’t already, please consider supporting this publication with a paid subscription so you don’t miss a thing:

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with both free and paid subscriptions and not affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.