The Morning Briefing: The Offseason has started for the Washington Nationals.

Even though the World Series is currently going on, the Washington Nationals aren't wasting any time making some moves.

by Richard Wachtel

Updated October 26, 2020

Good Monday Morning, Washington Nationals fans. Glad that you are starting the week with us!

Today is Monday, October 26, 2020.

Here is the latest in the World of Washington Nationals Baseball:

Josh Harrison, Resigns with the Nationals

During the summer, after the Phillies released Josh Harrison at the end of spring training, Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was quick to bring him to Washington, and it paid off for the team. Harrison had a batting average of .278 with two doubles, three homers, and 14 RBI's in 2020.

Therefore, it wasn't a surprise to many when the Nationals re-signed the veteran and utility player last week. Mark Zuckerman from MASN Washington has the details on the contract, "the nationals re signed Harrison to a one year deal. Harrison will earn 1 million dollars in base salary plus an additional 250,000 dollars in incentives according to a source fimilar with the terms of the agreement."

News about the MASN Dispute

We all know the ongoing saga between the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles controlled MASN network is never going to end in our lifetime, [joking of course but are we?] Last Thursday, October 22, a New York appeals court ruled in favor of the Nationals upholding a $100 million award. The Washington Post has the details about the latest twist in a years-long dispute between the two teams. " A New York appeals court ruled Thursday in favor of the Nationals in a dispute with Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, upholding a $100 million award for the team...An attorney for MASN, which is owned partially by the Nationals and Baltimore Orioles but controlled by the Orioles, said the network would appeal the decision to New York's appellate court." [Read the full article via Washington Post]

Kevin Long is Coming Back to the Nationals as the hitting coach.

The newly re-signed Washington Nationals Manager Davey Martinez has brought back hitting coach Kevin Long. Davey Martinez has been shaking up his coaching staff after the Nationals missed the playoffs. Martinez and the Nationals parted ways with Pitching Coach Paul Menhart earlier this month.

According to Talk Nats.com, many news outlets reported that hitting coach Kevin Long would not return even though the team was happy with his performance during the past year. Talk Nats.com goes in-depth about what happened and the impact of bringing back Kevin Long on the Nationals in the upcoming season. From the article, "Kevin Long should be back, and the offense does have room to improve. There is work to be done. One of Long's criticisms was that the improvement we saw with Andrew Stevenson upon returning to the team on September 18 came from mechanical adjustments with the minor league coaches." [Read the full article here].

Here are some of the other Washington Nationals Headlines.

From the Nats Report Archive: Our Interview with Andrew Stevenson
Washington Nationals' Davey Martinez continues learning on the job after three seasons in D.C. via Federal Baseball.
Our top-10 priorities were set back in September, and we check Josh Harrison off of the list! via Talk Nats
Triple Play: Who should the Nationals pursue in free agency? via NBC Sports Washington
What value does Josh Harrison bring to the Nationals? via Federal Baseball
Washington Nationals: Yadier Molina is not the answer either via District on Deck
Nats may have dodged a bullet with Randy Arozarena in 2019 via NBC Sports Washington.

Dodgers are one win away from a Championship

Last night, the LA Dodgers denied the Tampa Bay Rays a win in Game 5 of the 2020 World Series 4-2.

The play that might have changed the game came in the 4th inning when Rays Manuel Margot tried to steal home off of Dodgers Pitcher Clayton Kershaw to squash the Rays once-promising scoring threat. With a Manuel Margot on third with two outs in a 3-2 game, Kershaw managed to quickly step off the rubber - avoiding a balk and fired home to the Dodgers catcher Barnes for the third out and ended Tampa Bays threat and the inning.

Do you think that Manuel Margot was safe? Tell us in the comment section or tweet at us @TheNatsReport.

Here are some other MLB Headlines: