Good Morning Washington Nationals Fans, from Durham, NC. Home of the Durham Bulls, the triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for February 17, 2022. Thank you for starting your day with us.
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Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Nationals Offer Juan Soto 13-year $350 Million Dollar Contract. I have mixed feelings about this offer and news, which I will get into later today on the site, but for those who might have missed the news that broke yesterday afternoon here is the latest:
- According to ESPN's Enrique Rojas, the Washington Nationals offered Juan Soto a 13-year $350 Million dollar contract back in the fall of 2021 before the lockout happened. Juan Soto came out and said that this, in fact, did happen: "Yes, they made me an offer a few months ago, before the lockout," Soto said in the ESPN article. "But right now, my agents and I think the best option is to go year by year and wait for free agency. My agent, Scott Boras, has control over the situation."
- Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, reports the contract that the Nationals offered DID NOT have any deferrals in money! [Twitter Link]
We will just have to wait and see what's going to happen next. It's going to be a long ride for Nationals fans to see what is going to happen next in the Soto sweepstakes. Read the full article.
Ryan Zimmerman Announces his retirement. Ryan Zimmerman announced his retirement from MLB and the Washington Nationals this week. Zimmerman played for the Nationals his entire career and was the National's first-ever draft pick back in 2005. Read the full article here.
Cool Zimmerman Giveaway: Our friends at TalkNats are partnering with Playbook Product to give away a Greatest Plays mug from Ryan's 2008 walk-off HR to open up Nats Park. Click here to enter the giveaway.
Trending Now on the Nats Report: Are you the Ultimate Ryan Zimmerman fan? Take our quiz to see how much you know about "Mr. National," and don't forget to share your results with us by tagging us on Twitter. Take the quiz today.
More Ryan Zimmerman Coverage:
- Should the Nationals officially name Ryan Zimmerman “Captain” of the team for this season?
- Player Profile: Ryan Zimmerman aka “Mr. Washington Nationals”
- This walk-off is not a goodbye, but Ryan Zimmerman announces his retirement as a player today! via TalkNats
- The biggest moments of Ryan Zimmerman's career with the Washington Nationals. An interactive piece in the Washington Post
Employee #11 T-shirts from the Nats Report T-shirt store. Celebrate Ryan Zimmerman and his amazing career with the Washington Nationals by purchasing your Employee #11 t-shirt here.
Former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Harvey discusses MLB's painkiller culture in the Tyler Skaggs case and more. Former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Harvey took the stand in the Eric Kay case on Tuesday afternoon, discussing his old teammate Tyler Skaggs’ unfortunate passing. Read the full article here.
Latest Lockout News: The players and owners are set to meet for another negotiating session this afternoon. According to reports the MLBPA and MLB are set to meet for another negotiation session this afternoon. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the owners and players are expected to meet later this week to discuss “core economic issues.” This meeting later this week will mark the fifth time that the two sides have met in person since the start of the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history started back on December 2, 2021.
MLB seeks the ability to reduce the size of the Domestic Reserve List in the latest labor offer to players' union. According to a report on ESPN, Major League Baseball is seeking the ability to eliminate hundreds of minor league playing jobs in its latest labor offer to the MLB Players Association. Jeff Passan says: "MLB, according to a league source, has no plans to reduce the size of the list in 2023 but wants the flexibility to do so in future seasons. The league previously had proposed controlling the size of the Domestic Reserve List multiple times, each of which was rejected by the MLBPA, a union source said. While the union has not formally responded to the most recent version of the plan, the source said, the players intend to reject it and any future proposals that could cut minor league jobs." Read the full article here.
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