Washington Nationals not much to worry about as they go to Baseball Winter Meetings-MLB Update
Usually Washington Nationals enter into Winter Meetings with a lot of burden on the shoulders of their officials such as addressing outfield and infield issues and the need to have powerful starters in the rotation.
Apart from a vacant spot in the rotation and the requirement of a relief pitcher, the Nationals will have little to discuss during the meeting.
Their General Manager, Mike Rizzo will be pleased with the kind of comfort he can enjoy in Nashville while other teams in the Division find ways to improve their next year performance.
It took a couple of years for Rizzo to reach a level where he does not have much to do in the meeting. It all started back in 2009 when Rizzo took over as GM.
One-by-one he addressed almost every area of the roster. Through planning and long-term vision, he made available a reasonable supply of players for each department.
For example, the Nationals had to non-tender John Lannan and Jesus Flores, because they were simply not required by the team. Though they truly belong in the Major League, they could not find their place due to fierce competition in the team.
Flores did well in the last season but as the Nationals have Wilson Ramos and Kurt Suzuki for doing the catching job, it made his presence in the club look unnecessary.
For the same reason, he was not awarded a contract before the Friday deadline.
Commenting on his success in making the Nationals a competitive Major League Baseball team, Rizzo is of the view that both short and long-term perspective is taken into account before executing decisions.
“We haven’t wavered from it,” Rizzo said. “We’ve traded some young players, like a Meyer, but for a guy we have some control over in Span. I don’t think we’ve wavered at all from a long-term philosophy. You always have to think globally. You do what’s best
for the club for the immediate future, but you also have to think about not rushing things or tying your hands.”
One of the few points of discussion during the winter meeting will be the review of free agent starting pitchers by the officials.
Fans will be bracing for an important announcement in this regard.
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