42 minutes ago, Nats Insider's Mark Zuckerman (@markzuckerman) sent the following message out to his followers via Twitter:

"The #Nats just announced they've unconditionally released Elijah Dukes."

There have been questions all winter about whether or not Elijah Dukes could finally live up to the expectations which have accompanied him onto the field since he was drafted out of high school by the Tampa Bay then-Devil Rays in the 3rd Round of the '02 Draft, and have the sort of breakout year that would establish him as an everyday presence in right field in Washington, D.C., potentially earning himself a significant raise in the process...but not once did the possibility that he wouldn't make the Opening Day roster get raised? 

At the moment, the Nationals are saying it's a "baseball decision" with MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling twittering that the Nationals, "...feel they can get better production from combo of others." 

More news when it's available...(More news after the JUMP)

While the Nationals aren't saying anything about the release of Elijah Dukes, the former DC GM Jim Bowden (@jimbowdenXMFOX) saw fit to weigh in on the situation, posting the following messages to his own Twitter account: 

"E.Dukes was given opportunities most people dream about. He was given support and understanding at high levels."

"After latest incident, credit Nats for making the right decision. They told him zero tolerances and followed their word."

Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) responded to the Former DC GM:

"Disregard Jim Bowden's tweet. There was no latest incident. The #Nats believe they can get better production from the mix of others."

I don't know what to make of this all? How about you? (ed. note - "And please save all the usual stupid Dukes quotes for some other Nationals-related site. Or I'll erase them for you.")