The Morning Briefing: Smoke Signals from South Capitol St.?

Well, the Washington Nationals made some "news" last night when they announced that they had avoided salary arbitration and agreed to a one-year contract for 2025 with Mason Thompson.

While the Baseball world waits and wonders where former Washington Nationals outfielder and fan favorite Juan Soto signs, the fact that the Nationals aren't even considered to be the front-runner should tell how the team wants to move away from the past and move toward theFuture. It is obvious by now that ownership and the front office have yet to make a big move (so far), not by accident. Hmm... We will monitor the story, try to figure it out and share any updates we find with you.

Good Friday Morning, Washington Nationals fans,

Here is your Friday Morning Briefing for November 22, 2024. The forecast for Sunday's Cowboys-Commanders game via Weather.com looks like a nice day for a football game. It is going to be a high of 54 and partly cloudy out in Landover.

This is still Richard! Yeah, I've been writing a lot of Morning Briefings!

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What have you been thinking about the new Morning Briefing format? I have enjoyed writing the Morning Briefings during the offseason, but I am looking forward to taking a bit of a break this Thanksgiving, so this might be the last one until the start of the MLB Winter Meetings. Hmm. We will see!

No DOUBT and historic. As expected, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge were awarded the AL and NL MVP awards, respectively. The unanimous decision by the Baseball Writers' Association of America highlights the exceptional performances of these two baseball superstars.

Ohtani, the two-way sensation relegated to DH duties due to elbow surgery, defied expectations with a historic 50-homer, 50-steal season. His unprecedented performance earned him his third MVP award and first in the National League. Meanwhile, Judge, the Yankee captain, continued his dominance with another extraordinary offensive season. Although he fell just short of breaking his own AL single-season home run record, his performance was still one of the greatest ever by a right-handed hitter, leading to his second AL MVP award in three years. Want the full story, continue reading here.

Welcome to theFUTURE

We are excited to welcome Bill Wade to the Nats Report! He will be exclusively covering the Rochester Red Wings this season. He will report on all things Rochester Red Wings. Last night, he wrote his first piece! Check it out. It is a closer look at the latest signing of reliever Clay Helvey.

Let's give Bill a great Nats Report welcome! It's all about theFUTURE!

What the Washington Nationals Front Office is Reading (we think!)

• Commissioner Manfred discusses the Rays' ballpark situation, expansion timeline, and more with MLB.com.
• White Sox star starting pitcher Garrett Crochet draws big interest from the Orioles, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Phillies, among others. John Heyman has the story in the New York Post
• The Blecher Report has a prediction for every MLB Team's 2025 Opening Day Lineup (Version One)
• The Athletic has the details about Major League Baseball's plans for new national TV packages for 2028, changes to revenue sharing, the crucial CBA, and more.

Our 2025 Top Prospect List

Nats Stat of the Day:

Here is today's Nats Stats for Friday, November 21, 2024.

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