The Morning Briefing: Perspective: What to make of the Juan Soto Contract Talks and What’s Next

Good Morning Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for February 21, 2022. Thank you for starting your day with us.

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Happy Presidents Day!

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Perspective: What to make of the Juan Soto Contract Talks and What’s Next. With the news that the Nationals offered Juan Soto 350M and he turned the offer down, there are only two realistic choices on what's next right? Haden and I take a closer look at those options on what's next for the Nationals and Juan Soto. Read the full article here.

MUST-READ: In the end, both sides must agree to say “yes”. My good friends at TalkNats have a great perspective on the Juan Soto and Nationals, that is worth taking the time to read. From the article: "A baseball contract is like a marriage, except it always has an expiration date. No, the expiration is not necessarily like a divorce, but it could be if both sides do not see eye-to-eye in the end." Read the full article here.

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.

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.

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”1
• 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

Welcome to The Nats Report: The Soto Shuffle Pod. We just got a brand new author to the Nats Report: Henry from The Soto Shuffle Pod. He is going to be part of the Nats Report team and has already written two great articles that you should read: Five Nationals Prospects Who Could Contribute This Season1 & Ryan Zimmerman’s 2009 was the most underrated season of the century.

The latest on the MLB Lockout: MLB delays start of spring training until March 5; CBA negotiations resume Monday. If you weren't hiding under a rock on Friday you might have heard the news that Major League Baseball officially delayed the start of Spring Training until Mark 5th. Yeah, pretty big news and a big move for the owners and Major League Baseball. A statement by Major League Baseball said: "We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of spring training games," the statement said. "All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands. "We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners' bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the Players Association and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard towards starting the season on time."

In a follow-up statement, the Major League Baseball Players Association said on Friday in response to MLB: "MLB announced today that it 'must' postpone the start of spring training games. This is false," the MLBPA said in its statement Friday. "Nothing requires the league to delay the start of spring training, much like nothing required the league's decision to implement the lockout in the first place. Despite these decisions by the league, players remain committed to the negotiating process."  According to multiple sources, the two sides will meet today to hopefully avoid any further delays.  Follow the Nats Report on Twitter for up to the minute on the lockout.

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