Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, February 5, 2024.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing. Haden here, let’s talk some baseball.

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: The offseason continues to be slow while the trade market gets more action

Last Wednesday I wrote about how few free agents were signing in recent weeks. And of course, over the past five days, we have seen six major league signings and four trades for major league players. But five of the signings were relievers and the Mariners completed a trade for a reliever. So while we are seeing one group of players fly off the board, outside of Corbin Burnes being traded to the Orioles, no major contributors are going anywhere.

Rosters are at the point where free agents only fit on a few teams. Someone like Michael A. Taylor projects to outproduce three current starters in CF, but how likely are the Rockies or the Phillies to dish out money for him when they have players that they like the upside of or the cheaper production that they provide? Someone like Cody Bellinger, the premier position player of this free agent class, only fits the Cubs because of the financial restrictions from other clubs or their numerous younger, cheaper options that are close enough in production.

The Burnes trade is huge for the team north of the Nationals. The Orioles deal from a surplus, as they can grow top-100 infield prospects in a lab and have many relievers coming up in their farm system. So they trade from that surplus and get a slam dunk top 10 pitcher in baseball, filling the biggest hole on their roster.

The Brewers get their shortstop of the future in Joey Ortiz, who could be a very good player if he improves his pitch recognition and a left-handed arm that throws in the upper 90s with two plus secondary pitches in D.L. Hall. If Hall can start this is a slam-dunk win for the Brewers as they trade a season of Burnes for an everyday middle infielder, a reliever who has a chance to be a starter if he can overcome health concerns, and the 69th overall pick.

The O’s still come out of this trade happy, even if they lose the trade on value. They have an ace to pair with breakout arms Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez. Even after trading these top prospects, the Orioles still have one of the best farm systems in baseball.

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

ICYMI: Latest articles on the Nats Report

Even though it is the offseason, we have been extremely busy producing great content 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 (Gallo and Top 30 Discussion)
• How does Dylan Floro’s signing with the Nationals impact the team’s 2024 outlook?
• Washington Nationals tease new uniform for 2024
• Perspective: When is Enough Enough?
• How can the Nats’ offense improve in 2024?

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

Mets sign left-handed reliever Jake Diekman via MLB Trade Rumors

Giants dump Ross Stripling’s salary on the Athletics via MLB Trade Rumors

Cardinals sign Keynan Middleton via MLB Trade Rumors

Twins sign first baseman Carlos Santana via MLB Trade Rumors

Mariners acquire setup man Gregory Santos via MLB Trade Rumors

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