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Wire Taps: Nationals Links; Stephen Strasburg's Elbow; Sammy Solis In AFL Action

Stephen Strasburg's agent said the chips in his elbow were a problem for the right-hander for a "good amount" of the 2013 campaign. Strasburg had surgery after the season ended. More below. The Nats' prospects in the Arizona Fall League will play in the AFL Championship Game...

By Patrick Reddington

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Scott Cunningham

In the wake of Rick Eckstein's firing this past July, Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell wrote about some of the issues that existed between Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo and Nats' skipper Davey Johnson, one of which dealt with Johnson's willingness to share medical information with the press. "Rizzo has been annoyed at Johnson for his off-the-cuff, not always correct comments to the media about injuries," the WaPost columnist wrote. "The GM thinks that’s proprietary info; Davey believes in candor — and he’s a blabbermouth, too."

Johnson talked openly about Stephen Strasburg having a forearm issue unrelated to his surgically-repaired right elbow early in the season which was tied to an electronic stimulus machine. The Nationals' 25-year-old, '09 no.1 overall pick went to the DL with a lat strain in June and missed two turns in the rotation in September with forearm tightness, but there were never any reports about the right-hander dealing with bone chips in his right elbow until after the season when he underwent surgery to remove them. In a Washington Post article by Adam Kilgore on Thursday, Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, revealed that the issue was one that bothered Strasburg longer than had been previously reported. It's today's BIG STORY. After that, links and lots of them, starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!:

• "Stephen Strasburg pitched with discomfort in his forearm, the result of small bone chips in his right elbow, for a 'good amount' of the 2013 season..." - "Boras: Stephen Strasburg pitched through discomfort" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• NATS BEAT:

• "In the end, there appeared (at least in my mind) three obvious top candidates: Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina and Paul Goldschmidt." - "Mark Zuckerman’s 2013 National League MVP ballot" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "Zimmermann has indicated that he's not going to give the Nats a steep hometown discount and wants to be given a contract that he feels is fair." - "Nationals Pastime: Thoughts on how Zimmermann could impact Nats' offseason plans" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "Werth has finished with MVP votes three times now in his 11-year MLB career, this being his second highest finish. In 2009 he placed 17th after his lone All-Star appearance, and in 2010 he came in 8th." - "Washington Nationals OF Jayson Werth places 13th in NL MVP voting" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "Werth finished 13th in the NL MVP vote, which was won by Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen." - "Nationals Pastime: Werth finishes 13th in NL MVP voting" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "In fact, in the Nationals’ brief history, Werth’s season was historic." - "Wrapping up awards season, Jayson Werth’s finish in MVP voting" - James Wagner, Washington Post

• "This was merely the continuation of a stellar fall for Solis, who went 5-2 with a 2.17 ERA in seven starts. He struck out 29 batters while walking only seven in 29 innings of work." - "Nationals prospect Sammy Solis impresses in Arizona Fall League" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "When the Nationals' 2013 season came to a close, it was clear that their No. 1 priority was to find a new manager." - "Nationals Pastime: Ranking the Nats' remaining offseason priorities" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "Gomez intends to play next season in Japan and, according to a Japanese-language report, appears to be working on a deal with the Hanshin Tigers." - "Nationals request release waivers for infielder Mauro Gomez" - James Wagner, Washington Post

• "The Nationals announced today that they have requested release waivers on corner infielder Mauro Gomez, who has told the team that he plans to play the 2014 season in Japan." - "Nationals Pastime: Nats request release waivers on Mauro Gomez" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "Gomez, 29, briefly joined the Nats organization late this season, but he never appeared in a game after being claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays on Sept. 5." - "Nationals request release waivers on Mauro Gomez" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News

• "The 2013 MLB offseason is just two weeks old and already the Nationals have found themselves involved in a variety of rumors." - "Adam LaRoche involved in latest Nats trade rumor" - Chase Hughes, Comcast SportsNet Washington

• "So last week, Knorr flew from Tampa, where he spends the offseason, to Phoenix, where Williams lives, to do just that." - "Randy Knorr on his visit to Arizona to hang out with Matt Williams" - James Wagner, Washington Post

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama):

• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

• "The Washington Nationals, for example, covered none of the costs of their new stadium..." - "Location, location, location for the Braves in their move" - Ray Glier, USA TODAY Sports

• "Led by former Expos outfielder Warren Cromartie, Montreal is making a push to bring major-league baseball back to Quebec." - "For now, Montreal not drawing MLB's eye" - John Perrotto, USA TODAY Sports

• NATSTOWN/NATS MINORS:

• "'He was awesome,' Bryant said about Solis. 'He was throwing first-pitch strikes every time. He was really competing and making it real easy to play defense behind him.'" - "Bryant, Solis boost Mesa to AFL final" - Jake Seiner, MiLB.com

• "An intriguing suggestion has been floated around that Sammy Solis, minor league SP prospect, could spend some time in the pen as a lefty specialist a la what the Cardinals might do." - "Do the Nats see what I see?" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is well under construction, with three baseball fields and an 18,000 square foot training facility nearing completion at Ward 7's Fort Dupont Park in Washington, D.C." - "Nationals Youth Baseball Academy nearing completion in D.C." - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Get To Know A Stat: BA/RISP (and what’s wrong with it)" - Nationals 101

• "The Nationals on Thursday provided a tour of the sprawling Southeast D.C. academy, which is slated to open in January to benefit the underserved youth population of the city's 7th and 8th Wards." - "Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in final stages" - Andrew Simon, nationals.com: News

• "Wednesday's Uni Watch, showed several photos of a prototype 1950 Washington Nationals road jersey from the collection of Tony Cocchi." - "1950s prototype Washington Nationals jersey discovered" - William F. Yurasko, William World News

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Mets: "According to a major league source, team executives secretly met with free-agent Jhonny Peralta on Tuesday night..." - "Mets officials meet with shortstop Peralta" - Mike Puma, New York Post

• Phillies: "Yesterday's rumor du jour came courtesy of a late-night report on Tuesday, from Fox-29, that the Phillies were in serious talks to acquire Toronto slugger Jose Bautista with All-Star Domonic Brown as the key part of the trade bait." - "Fact and fiction in baseball offseason" - Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Daily News

• Marlins: Dern You, Loria! For One Minute I Didn't Hate You! - "Video of Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez being reunited with grandmother during an interview" - Manny Navarro, Fish Bytes

• Braves: "Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman finished fifth in the balloting for this year's National League Most Valuable Player Award." - "Freddie Freeman finishes fifth in National League MVP standings" - Mark Bowman, braves.com: News

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