Bryce Harper might not have a chance to break camp with the big club after Spring Training, but that doesn't mean he won't be the center of attention. --Mark Zuckerman at csnwashington.com
Everyone's favorite racing president said, "To speak softly and carry a big stick," and so far Bryce Harper has half of that down. --nationalsenquirer.com
Justin Maxwell traded to the Yankees for Adam Olbrychowski*. --Dave Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com
*I worried so much about spelling it correctly today that I actually didn't have to look it up.
Justin Maxwell will always look back fondly at his time with the Nationals, but is excited about joining the most storied franchise in baseball. --Byron Kerr at masnsports.com
The human good luck charm, Orlando Cabrera, is still unsigned, but the human cursed necklace, Felipe Lopez, is now a Tampa Bay Ray. --Ben Nicholson-Smith from mlbtraderumors.com
There are two storylines I have been rather dubious of this Winter. The first is that the Orioles had an amazing off-season that is much better than the Nats. --Harper from natsbaseball.com
And the second is that the Royals are poised to be contenders in a couple years. In 2006 the Marlins had four players finish in the top ten in ROY voting, in 2009 they had the ROY, and in 2010 they once again had multiple players in the top ten in a loaded year for rookies, and none of it has lead to anything, all because the owner still needs to spend money on veteran cogs to make the young player gears turn. The Royals payroll is set to be low this season, and that might be a good thing as it will give them financial flexibility to sign draft picks and those important veterans when the time is right. --Rob Neyer at sbnation.com
When Spring Training begins so will the battle for positions, and the Nationals have three guys that can catch in the major leagues. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com
Derek Norris' future is tied in directly to how Ramos does. If Ramos succeeds as the Nats catcher then the choice is to trade Norris or move him to first base, but for now he is a catcher and until Ramos succeeds Norris will remain a catcher, but is catching really in his future. --William Yoder from thenatsblog.com
Why is it that every minor league deal always comes with a surprise? We heard about Cora a week or so ago, but not a peep about Cla Meredith and then when the Cora deal is made official Meredith is tacked on. --Bryan Hoch at nationals.com
Ryan Tatusko isn't just one of the players the Nats got for Cristian Guzman he might be a pitcher on the verge of breaking through. --mlbreports.com
The one thing that is certain about the Caribbean Series is that Alex Cora is an inspiration. --Jesse Sanchez at mlb.com
I have watched many a game and cursed the rookie strike zone, but there is also a veteran strike zone and Livan Hernandez benefits from it greatly. --J-Doug at beyondtheboxscore.com
It isn't very fun to think about, but Stephen Strasburg most likely would have had a dominating season in 2011. --William Yoder from thenatsblog.com
I don't think Nyjer regressed to the mean last season. What he regressed to was far, far below the mean, but Brett Gardner is a player that looks likely to be the 2011 Nyjer Morgan, but probably not. As a normal regression to the mean is expected and no temper tantrums in the outfield, and fights with Marlins. --Matt Klaassen at fangraphs.com