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Latest On Nationals’ Sales Process, MASN Deal

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As the Lerner family continues to explore a sale of the Nationals, the franchise’s ongoing dispute with the Orioles over television rights fees looms. Major League Baseball has renewed its efforts to try to broker an agreement between the franchises, write Barry Svrluga, Chelsea Janes and Ben Strauss of the Washington Post. The Talk Nats blog first reported last month that MLB was getting involved in trying to bring the sides together.

As both the Washington Post and Talk Nats have covered during the sales process, the TV rights dispute presents a fair bit of uncertainty for prospective Nationals buyers. As part of the relocation efforts to move the franchise from Montreal to Washington nearly two decades ago, the Nationals agreed to tie their local broadcasting rights to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. MASN is jointly owned by the Nats and Orioles, but the Orioles’ ownership share is roughly 77% while the Nats own around 23%. That agreement, a condition of the franchise’s relocation into the Orioles’ geographic territorial rights, caps the Nationals’ TV revenue by making it impermissible for them to sell broadcasting rights to a regional sports network.

The Post notes the original agreement expressly stipulates that the Nationals’ obligations under the MASN deal would carry over in the event of a sale of a franchise. Thus, the unfavorable TV situation is a key consideration for those in discussions with the Lerners.

That’s all the more true in light of recent movement on that front. As Talk Nats and the Post have each reported, a group led by Ted Leonsis now appears to be the frontrunner in the sales process. Leonsis’ Monumental Sports & Entertainment also owns the NHL’s Capitals, the NBA’s Wizards and the WNBA’s Mystics, as well as having full control of NBC Sports Washington. Finding a way to broadcast games on NBCS Washington figures to be a key objective for Leonsis if his group eventually purchases the Nats, but they’d need to negotiate a settlement with the Orioles to buy out of their end of the MASN agreement to do so. Whether the Baltimore franchise would have interest in such an arrangement isn’t clear.

Of course, there’s a strong interest on MLB’s part in facilitating some kind of settlement. Both Talk Nats and the Post have suggested the TV rights uncertainty has slowed down the sale process, and it raises some questions about the franchise’s price point. The league would prefer to see the Nationals sold for a high price (and, to a lesser extent, to expedite the process). The Lerner family has reportedly sought around $2.5 billion.

Hanging over the potential negotiations is an acrimonious past between the Orioles and Nats that hasn’t been resolved. Disputes about the Nationals’ share of TV rights led to litigation that has been pending for nearly a decade. In 2019, an arbitrator ruled the network owed the Nationals around $105MM in unpaid rights fees. MASN appealed that decision, and the appeal has still yet to get on the docket for the New York Court of Appeals.

Interestingly, while an eventual sale to Leonsis still appears to be the likeliest outcome, one person familiar with the process tells the Post a number of paths remain possible. That source suggests the Lerners could still retain majority control in the long run, or perhaps bring in a minority owner initially with a longer-term path to majority ownership. (As an example of that sort of arrangement, the Guardians agreed to a sale in June that sees incoming buyer David Blitzer purchase roughly 25-30% of the franchise initially but have the right to purchase majority control six years down the line).

As the parties try to iron through the TV deal and potential sale, the Nationals’ on-field product is coming off an MLB-worst 55-107 season. They’re firmly amidst a rebuild and have cut back payroll dramatically. The franchise has approached $200MM on player payrolls in the past, but Roster Resource calculates their 2023 expenditures (including arbitration estimates) around $98MM. Svrulga, Strauss and Janes write that a few of the team’s baseball operations staffers have expressed some uncertainty about the organization’s spending capacity and overall direction this winter. Both manager Dave Martinez and GM Mike Rizzo will stick around, at least, with the club picking up 2023 options on each this past summer.

Ted Leonsis’ Group Emerging As Front-Runner In Nationals’ Ownership Sale

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Six months ago, the Lerner family announced they were exploring the possibility of a sale of the Nationals. As the offseason nears, some clarity has emerged on that process. David Aldridge, Britt Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic write that a group led by businessman Ted Leonsis is now the “clear front-runner” to eventually take over the Nationals. The Talk Nats blog first reported in late September the Leonsis group had broken through as the most likely party to buy the Nats.

Leonsis is already a key factor in the D.C. sports scene, as his Monumental Sports & Entertainment owns the NBA’s Wizards, the NHL’s Capitals and the WNBA’s Mystics. (The Lerners are a minority owner in that venture). Landing the Nationals would give Leonsis control over the D.C. franchises in three of the four major men’s sports leagues, The Athletic notes, a distinction currently only held by the Kroenke family that owns the Los Angeles Rams, Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. Leonsis isn’t mounting a solo ownership bid, however. The Washington Business Journal reported in August that private equity businessman David Rubenstein is also part of the group; it is unclear whether anyone else is involved.

Previous reports have also linked South Korean businessman Michael B. Kim and mortgage mogul Stanley Middleman to the sales process. There were reportedly upwards of five bidders in talks with the Lerner family at one point, but The Athletic reports that Leonsis’ group seized control roughly a month ago.

While it appears that Leonsis and company are now in the driver’s seat to push the deal across the finish line, the closing of the sale isn’t imminent. Aldridge, Ghiroli and Rosenthal hear the sale isn’t likely to be finalized before the December 4-7 Winter Meetings in San Diego. That appears to be the more optimistic end of the timetable, as The Athletic writes it’s possible the sale isn’t finished until after the calendar flips to 2023.

As The Athletic notes, Leonsis also controls his own regional sports network, NBC Sports Washington. Monumental Sports & Entertainment had previously purchased 33% of NBC Sports Washington, and it bought out NBCUniversal’s 67% share this past August. Not coincidentally, NBC Sports Washington holds the local broadcasting rights to Capitals, Wizards and Mystics games.

The Nationals’ local broadcasting contract currently runs through the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which it shares with the Orioles. The Orioles own approximately 75% of the network, while the Nationals own the remaining share. The two franchises have been embroiled in rights fees litigation for the better part of a decade. The Washington franchise won a major victory in 2019 when an arbitrator ruled the Orioles owed the Nats $105MM. The Baltimore organization appealed that decision, and the matter has still yet to be decided by the New York State Court of Appeals.

While The Athletic notes it’s unclear how or if the sale of the Nationals would affect the MASN dispute, Talk Nats tweeted in August that Leonsis’ group would be interested in reaching a settlement with the Orioles to buy out of the MASN deal. If that did come to pass, the Nationals would presumably then be broadcast on the NBC Sports Washington platform. That’d obviously be a complicated process that requires negotiations with the Orioles, but it does seem to offer a glimmer of hope for a resolution to the saga.

The Lerner family first bought the Nationals in 2006, paying $450MM. The specific prices under consideration in their sale aren’t clear, but Daniel Kaplan of the Athletic wrote last month they were seeking $2.5 billion.

Robert Hassell III Undergoes Hamate Bone Surgery

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  • Nationals outfield prospect Robert Hassell III underwent surgery to fix a broken hamate bone in his right hand, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports.  The Talk Nats blog reported last week that Hassell seemed to suffer the injury on a swing in Arizona Fall League play.  Since hamate surgeries typically take roughly 6-8 weeks of recovery time, the Nats expect Hassell to be ready for the start of Spring Training.  Hassell was one of the key pieces of the six-player package Washington received in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade with the Padres, as the outfielder entered the season as a consensus top-40 prospect in baseball.  While he struggled after the trade and the move to the Nats farm system, the 21-year-old is expected to begin the 2023 season at Double-A ball.

Offseason Outlook: Washington Nationals

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The Nationals’ 107 losses in 2022 tied the second-highest loss total in the franchise’s 54-year history in Washington and Montreal.  While the club hopes for some improvement next year, it may still be a relatively quiet offseason as the Nats continue their rebuilding path.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

  • Nelson Cruz, DH: $16MM mutual option for 2023 ($3MM buyout)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projected 2023 salaries via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

With the Lerner family expected to sell the Nationals, the ownership question is certainly the biggest-picture issue hanging over the team’s offseason.  Details about the potential sale have been in relatively short supply, which means that it could still be some time before a buyer emerges, and before the sale is officially approved by the league.

Until a new owner is officially confirmed, the Nats are in something of a limbo, though their direction was already clear even before the Lerners announced their exploration of a sale in April 2022.  The offloading of veteran talent began at the 2021 trade deadline (highlighted by the Nationals’ move of Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers), and Washington was again a big seller at the last deadline, with Juan Soto and Josh Bell dealt to the Padres in another headline swap.

Those two blockbusters and a collection of other deals brought a wealth of young talent into the District, to the point that the Nationals hope a good chunk of their next winning core is already in place.  Keibert Ruiz, CJ Abrams, James Wood, Lane Thomas, Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, and Robert Hassell III are all viewed as potential long-term contributors, and the progress of this group (plus other homegrown products like Luis Garcia and Cade Cavalli, among others) in 2023 may help president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo determine the rebuild’s timeline.

During the last two offseasons, Rizzo’s front office targeted veterans on short-term contracts, first in an attempt to return to contention in 2021, and then mostly about filling roster holes last winter.  That strategy is likely to continue this offseason, though it can’t be assumed that the Nationals will only pursue stopgap-esque players.  Even with the arrow directly pointed in the rebuild direction last offseason, the Nats still spent $15MM on a one-year guarantee for Nelson Cruz, as the club was hopeful that Cruz could at least be a trade chip come deadline time.

Unfortunately for Cruz and the Nats, time finally seemed to catch up to the veteran slugger, as Cruz’s .234/.313/.337 slash line over 507 plate appearances resulted in his worst OPS since 2007.  It is possible that Cruz’s upcoming eye surgery will correct the vision problems that certainly contributed to this decline, but the Nats aren’t likely to take the $13MM risk (the cost of exercising their end of Cruz’s mutual option) on Cruz bouncing back at age 42.

It also seems like Washington has its first base/DH situation somewhat settled heading into 2023, so there isn’t an ideal spot for Cruz on the roster.  Luke Voit was the most experienced player who came to the Nationals in the Soto/Bell trade, and though Voit didn’t excel after the deal, his 102 wRC+ (from 22 homers and a .226/.308/.402 over 568 PA) for the entire season was still slightly above the league average.

Voit’s projected $8.2MM arbitration price tag is a little hefty, and it isn’t out of the question that the Nationals might non-tender him in search of a cheaper first baseman/DH type.  Voit was such a productive bat with the Yankees in 2018-20 that even though he has been more average in the last two seasons, the Nats might give him another chance to bounce back and potentially become a July trade chip.

Remarkably, Voit is more of a question mark in next season’s first base/DH mix than Joey Meneses, a longtime journeyman whose career took him to Mexico, Japan, and several stops in the minor leagues.  Signed to a minor league deal by the Nationals last winter, Meneses made his MLB debut on Aug. 2, and then surprisingly took the league by storm.  From Aug. 2 until the end of the season, only 11 qualified hitters in all of baseball topped Meneses’ 156 wRC+, as the 30-year-old hit .324/.367/.563 with 13 homers.

Meneses did benefit from a big .371 BABIP, and 240 plate appearances isn’t a big enough sample size to suddenly tag the 30-year-old as a surefire superstar.  That said, Meneses’ numbers are hard to ignore, and his 47.1% hard-hit rate is a sign that his inflated BABIP wasn’t sheer luck.  His unexpected breakout is already a great story, and from the Nationals’ perspective, there isn’t really any reason not to go with Meneses as the projected Opening Day first baseman.

If Meneses keeps hitting, he could even be a late-blooming addition to the Nationals’ rebuild plans, or perhaps a sneaky-valuable trade chip at the deadline if the Nats wanted to sell high.  Trading Meneses this winter can’t be ruled out, if another team is enamored enough by those 240 PA and Washington gets a good enough offer.  Such a swap would leave the Nats looking for more first base depth, however, and Meneses’ 2022 performance was so strong that the Nationals surely prefer to hang onto him a bit longer to see exactly what they have.

Most of the other infield spots are set, with Ruiz behind the plate, Abrams at shortstop, and Garcia at second base.  Ildemaro Vargas played well over 53 games of infield duty, and the Nats might just retain him at a projected $1.1MM arbitration cost to either serve as the utility infielder, or to take at least a platoon role at third base.

Carter Kieboom missed the entire 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery, robbing the former top prospect of another opportunity to finally cement himself as a big league regular.  Kieboom has hit only .197/.304/.285 over 414 PA from 2019-21, and while that sample size still isn’t huge, he’s already 25 years old and now coming off a lost year.  The rebuild allows the Nationals some extra patience in giving Kieboom more time, and ideally, he’d return healthy and emerge as the top third base option over the course of the season.  Rizzo has already stated that Kieboom will compete for the job next spring.

If not Kieboom, Vargas is on hand to handle third base, and the Nationals could explore adding another multi-position veteran for further depth in both the infield and perhaps the outfield.  Jace Peterson, Donovan Solano, or old friend Josh Harrison could be options for this role on the free-agent market, and similarly lower-cost players could also be fits for D.C. in trade talks.  Re-signing Cesar Hernandez is a possibility, though he didn’t hit much in his first year with Washington.

Thomas is basically the only player assured of regular playing time in the outfield, though Thomas’ first full year in the District saw him deliver only a 96 wRC+ (.241/.301/.404 in 548 PA).  Meneses played some right field and could also be a factor on the grass, though defensive metrics suggest that Meneses is much better suited to a first-base role.  Late-season waiver claim Alex Call played well enough that the Nats will likely give him another look in a part-time role, and the Nats might simply just again pair Call and Yadiel Hernandez together as a left-field platoon.  Thomas’ ability to play center or right field gives Washington some flexibility in determining how they’ll address the other outfield spot.

This could include parting ways with former top prospect Victor Robles, who struggled at the plate for the third consecutive season.  Robles at least had an excellent defensive year, and at the cost of a projected $2.5MM arbitration salary, the Nationals might deem that an acceptable number for a plus glove in center field.  Robles’ defensive prowess would give the Nats something to market in trade talks before they consider a non-tender, and Robles’ prospect pedigree might interest a team who could view him as a change-of-scenery candidate.

Even if Robles was retained, the outfield still looks like a possible landing spot for a veteran hitter on a one-year deal, with any of Robles, Hernandez, or Call relegated to backup duty.  Again with an eye towards trading this player at the deadline, Washington could be a fit for such free agents as Michael Brantley, Tommy Pham, or Corey Dickerson.  Since the Nationals had the worst record in baseball, they also get some extra leverage in waiver priority to adding players who might get designated for assignment.

Moving to the rotation, Gray had a lot of struggles in his first full MLB season, allowing a league-high 38 homers over his 148 2/3 innings of work.  Gore got off to a great start in his rookie season, though started to struggle in June, and then didn’t pitch in the majors at all after July 25 due to elbow inflammation (and hasn’t officially made his debut in a Nats uniform).  Cavalli also had some shoulder inflammation late in the season, which limited him to a single outing in his first taste of the majors.

While not really a sterling year for any of the trio, the Nationals can only hope for better health and more improvement, as drastic improvement is needed from the starting pitching corps.  Washington had arguably the worst rotation in baseball in 2022, but the Nats into next season with a tentative top five already in place — Gray, Gore, Cavalli, Patrick Corbin, and Stephen Strasburg.

Naturally, there isn’t much certainty in this group.  Corbin ate 152 2/3 innings but posted only a 6.31 ERA and a blue-tinged Statcast page, although his 4.34 SIERA indicates that he was hurt to some extent by the Nationals’ porous defense.  Still, this marks three straight subpar seasons for Corbin, who is still owed $59MM over the final two years of his six-year, $140MM contract.  Unless the Nationals can move Corbin for another team’s undesirable contract, the veteran left-hander holds no trade value, leaving the Nats to hope he can regain any of his old form over the final two years of the deal.

The situation is even more dire with Strasburg, who appeared in just one game last season, and has pitched only 31 1/3 total innings since the start of the 2020 season.  As thoracic outlet syndrome continues to plague Strasburg’s career, it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to reliably pitch again, let alone pitch effectively or get anywhere close to his past All-Star form.

There is certainly plenty of cause for the Nationals to augment this projected rotation with some starting depth.  Erick Fedde might be tendered a contract simply due to this need for depth, though Fedde has also struggled to deliver results.  Advanced metrics didn’t care for Anibal Sanchez’s performance in 2022, but the veteran’s comeback had the solid bottom-line result of a 4.28 ERA over 69 1/3 innings.  He could serve as pitching depth on a minor league pact.  Whether Sanchez or another experienced pitcher or two, any new arms acquired would (once again) profile as possible deadline trade candidates, and would likely be on the more inexpensive side.

Some help will be needed for the bullpen, as Erasmo Ramirez and Steve Cishek are both free agents, and Tanner Rainey will miss most or all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery.  Kyle Finnegan pitched well in the closer’s role after Rainey was injured, so Finnegan probably has the inside track for ninth-inning work in 2023, though Washington might seek out a veteran with closing experience to provide Finnegan with competition.  Lefty Sean Doolittle has already expressed interest in a reunion with the Nats after missing most of the season due to elbow surgery.

Unexpectedly, the Nationals’ bullpen was something of a bright spot in the dismal 107-loss season, after the relief corps was so often a weak link for the Nats’ contending teams in the past decade.   They’ll return four relievers — Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey and Andres Machado — who had at least 39 innings with ERAs of 3.51 or better.  Anyone from that group could be considered a trade candidate this winter, but it’s unlikely any of the four would draw a massive return.

Without any top-tier trade options remaining on the roster, it could be that a lot of the heaviest lifting is over with the rebuild.  The Nationals will now have to play the waiting game and see which of their current young players emerge in the majors, and which longer-term prospects continue to develop and climb the minor league ladder.  Since any additions to the MLB roster are likely to be relatively mild in nature,  the results of the ownership search will probably generate the biggest headlines of the Nationals’ offseason.

NL Notes: deGrom, Estevez, Cishek

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SNY’s Andy Martino writes that righty ace Jacob deGrom’s openness to returning to the Mets is growing, with a friend of the pitcher saying that although he would’ve said the odds of deGrom returning to Queens were “zero” had he been asked during Spring Training, he would now say they are “50/50”.

deGrom is expected to opt-out of the remainder of his contract, joining teammates Brandon Nimmo, Chris Bassitt, Edwin Diaz, and Taijuan Walker as key players filing for free agency this offseason. While this leaves the Mets with plenty of holes to fill this offseason, retaining deGrom is sure to be a top priority. The two time Cy Young award winner has posted some of the best numbers in baseball over the past few years, with a 2.05 ERA and 2.14 FIP in 645 1/3 innings since the start of the 2018 season. As that low inning total implies, however, deGrom has struggled to stay on the field in recent years, making just 26 starts across the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Those health struggles have done little to damage his reputation as the best pitcher in baseball, however, and he should find a strong market for this services this offseason in spite of them.

With at least 3 starting pitchers set to hit the market this offseason, and the possibility of a fourth if the team declines Carlos Carrasco’s club option, re-signing deGrom to accompany Max Scherzer atop the rotation would seem like a no-brainer for the Mets. That hasn’t stopped both sides from considering other options, however, and Martino notes that the Mets have considered making runs at signing Justin Verlander or even a trade for Shohei Ohtani to replace their ace. While the sides clearly aren’t entirely committed to each other at this moment, the fit between the two is undeniable, and Martino reports that Scherzer has privately made his desire for deGrom to remain with the team clear. As for deGrom, Martino reports that he is “enjoying the vibe around the Mets more than ever” this season.

Elsewhere in the National League…

  • Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette took a look at Colorado’s pending free agents, and noted that the Rockies have particular interest in bringing righty reliever Carlos Estevez back into the fold next season. Estevez pitched to a 3.47 ERA and a 4.08 FIP in 57 innings for Colorado this season, good for an ERA+ of 135. With pitchers who can find success at Coors Field hard to come by and a need for veteran leadership in a mostly young, inexperienced bullpen, a reunion with Estevez would make a lot of sense for Colorado.
  • MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato reports that righty reliever Steve Cishek is contemplating retirement. Cishek just completed his age 36 season, where he posted a 4.21 ERA in 66 1/3 innings for the Nationals. While his 2022 season was largely unimpressive, Cishek has posted a 2.98 ERA over the course of a career spanning 13 seasons and eight organizations. A player with his track record would surely be able to find a job somewhere, though it’s possible he may need to settle for a minor-league deal should he decide to continue his playing career.

34 Players Become Free Agents

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The Wild Card round of the 2022 postseason begins today, but for the majority of teams and players, the offseason is now underway. With that will come plenty of roster formalities, including veteran players who’ve been outrighted off their respective teams’ rosters reaching minor league free agency. This week, there have been 34 such instances throughout the league, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.

None of these are a surprise, to be clear. Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of Major League service time, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minors has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group of players falls under that umbrella. The majority of the group will likely find minor league deals over the winter, although a few of the players in question could potentially find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

There will be several more waves of players of this ilk, and we’ll make note of them in bunches over the coming weeks as we await the launch of Major League free agency, when all unsigned players with at least six years of Major League service time will reach the open market. For now, here’s the first of what will likely be several waves of newly minted minor league free agents:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Nelson Cruz To Undergo Eye Surgery

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Nationals slugger Nelson Cruz tells Jessica Camerato of MLB.com that he will undergo surgery on his left eye at the end of October due to some inflammation that is blocking his vision (Twitter links). He expects to resume baseball activities in 6-8 weeks, which should give him plenty of time to be ready for Spring Training.

“Vision is everything for hitters,” Cruz says. “But the good thing is, it can be fixed.” Going into more detail, he says: “You can only see clearly with the right eye. When I close this one, it’s not clear. I need my eyes to be sharp, to be able to see the ball, especially see spins.” Cruz then adds that he estimates the issue has been affecting him for the past year and a half, though it got worse recently.

The estimated timeline that Cruz provides is an interesting one, as that aligns with his downturn at the plate. He was an above-average hitter for 14 straight years from 2008 to 2021, though he tailed off in the second half of last year. He began the year with the Twins and hit .294/.370/.537 for a wRC+ of 142. In July, he was traded to the Rays for Joe Ryan, Drew Strotman and Calvin Faucher. Unfortunately for Tampa, Cruz’s production fell off almost immediately and he ended up hitting .226/.283/.442 as a Ray for a wRC+ of 95.

Despite that sluggish finish to the season, the rebuilding Nationals gave Cruz a one-year, $15MM deal plus a mutual option. The Nats didn’t really have designs on competing but likely hoped for Cruz to act as a mentor to younger players and then play well enough to be flipped for prospects midseason. Leading up to the trade deadline, there were some rumors that the Mets were interested, but a deal for Cruz never came together, likely due to his subpar performance this year. His batting line for the season is .234/.313/.337 for a wRC+ of 85.

Going into the offseason, Cruz is destined for the open market since mutual options are almost never picked up by both sides. This news about his eye will make his free agency an interesting case to watch. On the one hand, he is now 42 years old and has been below-average at the plate for over a year. He’s strictly a designated hitter at this point, meaning that he holds no value for teams if he can’t produce at the plate. However, if it’s true that the eye issue was holding him back, it’s possible that he could return to being a feared slugger like he was in the first few months of last season. He’ll have the next few months to find out which clubs are willing to take a chance on him.

Nationals Shut Down Josiah Gray

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  • The Nationals also won’t start Josiah Gray again this year, as manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden) that Gray already talked his way into some extra work beyond his initial limit of 130 innings.  Gray finishes with 148 2/3 innings in his first big league campaign, though it was far from smooth sailing for the right-hander.  Gray has allowed a Major League-leading 38 home runs and an NL-leading 66 walks, en route to a 5.02 ERA over 28 starts.

Sean Doolittle Plans To Pitch In 2023

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Lefty reliever Sean Doolittle plans to continue his playing career in 2023, he old Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post earlier this week. Doolittle, a veteran of eleven big league seasons and a free agent at the conclusion of the 2022 season, expressed his hope he can return to the Nationals.

“I really would like a do-over,” said Doolitte, who only appeared in six games in 2022 before being shut down with an elbow sprain that would lead him to undergo an internal brace procedure in July. “I realize that there’s a lot that I have to do on my end to even have that be a possibility. But hopefully January or ahead of camp in February, I can show them that I’m healthy and come in and compete for a spot.”

Doolittle first became a member of the Nationals in 2017 when he was dealt from Oakland to Washington at the deadline. He departed via free agency in 2021 but returned last offseason on a new free agent deal. In parts of five years as a National, Doolittle has appeared in 153 games, compiled a 2.92 ERA, has struck out 28.5% of batters faced, and appeared as an All-Star in 2018.

Though he only threw 5 1/3 innings in 2022, he allowed merely one of the seventeen batters he faced to reach base. He told Dougherty that if his recovery goes according to plan, he will throw bullpen sessions in January in order to amass data that he intends to use to solicit interest from teams, including the Nationals.

It is unclear whether the Nationals, who are currently in no position to compete but should have ample opportunity in their bullpen, would be interested in a reunion. Doolittle, on the other hand, was very clear with Dougherty about where he would like to play. “That would be amazing,” Doolittle said of a potential sixth season in Washington. “That would be best-case scenario, for sure, for so many different reasons.”

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