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Wire Taps: Nationals' next move? More reactions on Nats, Padres, Rays trade

Tampa Bay Times' writer Marc Tompkin wrote last night that there was a delay in completing the three-team trade with the Nationals, Rays and Padres, but it's expected to get done... any minute now. While you wait, all the Nats links we could find...

By Patrick Reddington
Win McNamee/Getty Images

After the explosion of articles praising Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo's work in the three-team trade with the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday and Thursday, things died down a bit over the last twenty-four hours.

So far, the prospects Rizzo and co. have acquired in the Ross Detwiler and Steven Souza trades have addressed some needs within the Nats' organization, adding middle infield depth to the system, but questions remain about the major league roster.

Who's at second? Did the Souza deal open the door for Tyler Moore to return to the bench after a 2014 season spent mostly at Triple-A? Will the Nationals keep Michael Taylor on the bench in the majors in spite of his relatively quick ascent and quick stop at Syracuse?

What about all the Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann chatter? Is there still a trade coming this winter? Will the defending NL East champion Nationals go for one more run with the current roster and then figure things out later?

There's plenty of time to sort these things out, of course, and the moves the Nats have made thus far have been widely praised, but there is still that one big unanswered question on the major league roster.

While we wait for an answer at second, here's what's been written about the Nationals on the internet in the last news cycle...

NATS BEAT (More Souza trade reaction stories):

• "A deal between those two teams made sense. The Nationals somehow, however, inserted themselves into the proposed deal..." - "The implications of the Steven Souza Jr. trade" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

• "ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, SI’s Cliff Corcoran and our own Mark Zuckerman joined us to share their opinions on the Nats’ offseason so far." - "Podcast: ‘Baseball in the District’ – Kurkjian, Zuckerman & Corcoran" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "The Nationals’ general manager did it again — coming off the ropes before anyone laid a glove on him." - "By joining three-team trade, Mike Rizzo shoring up Nationals' future" - Thom Loverro, Washington Times

• "Still, by netting two former first-round picks in exchange for fourth outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and former 25th-round pick Travis Ott, the general consensus today is that the Nationals are the big winners." - "Mike Rizzo and the Nats ‘made out like bandits’ in three-way deal" - Scott Allen, The Washington Post

NATIONAL(S) BEAT: (Rizzo gets thumbs up from national press):

• "Could the Padres loan Trea Turner to the Nationals for the next four months while they wait to officially complete their three-team trade? It’s unlikely, but there is a precedent." - "Could The Padres Loan Turner To The Nationals? It's Happened Before" - J.J. Cooper, BaseballAmerica.com

• "Considering their bench has been a weakness the past two seasons, trading Souza could be an issue given Harper's injuries the past two seasons and Werth's age." - "Six thoughts on the Padres-Rays-Nats trade" - David Schoenfield, SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

• "Tampa is in clear rebuilding mode after losing Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon so they dealt an asset in Myers to gain even more potential assets including Souza, whom scouts are high on." - "Wil Myers Highlights a Three Team and Eleven Player Trade of Prospects and 'Who Knows?'" - Mike Cardillo, The Big Lead

• "They were on this list when I started writing it before they poked their heads into the Wil Myers deal, and that almost bounced them from the list." - "The 4 surprisingly quiet teams of the MLB offseason" - Grant Brisbee, SBNation.com

• "'I had just gotten off work and laid down for a nap, and my friend called me and told me I was traded,' Ott said about 1 p.m. Thursday." - "Shippensburg's Travis Ott traded to Tampa Bay Rays" - Shawn Michael, Chambersburg Public Opinion

• "The deal was agreed to Wednesday afternoon, but formal completion and the announcement of it was delayed Thursday as the Padres, who had several other deals going, finalized language over aspects of the trade with the Nationals." - "No obstacles as Rays work to finalize Wil Myers trade" - Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times

Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama on Twitter (@DalaiLama):

NATIONALS NEWS (Non-Trade Stories):

• "The Nationals, in hindsight, ran into the champs. They were defeated by a team in the middle of a title run." - "Nats recall NLDS, watching Giants win World Series" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "Scouts who watched the Nationals this year said it time and again: 'Rendon is their best player.'" - "Abreu, Stanton among 10 biggest MLB breakouts of 2014" - Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post

• "So what's important for a catcher defensively? A strong arm cuts down the opposition's running game. Good pitch framing has become an art." - "Nationals Pastime: By one metric, Ramos and Lobaton a formidable tandem behind the plate" - Pete Kerzel, MASNSports.com

• "'He's got all the potential in the world to be one of the elite pitchers at the major league level,' Mellen said." - "Baseball Prospectus No. 1 Nats prospect: Lucas Giolito" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

NL EAST UPDATES: Upton to A's? Marlins' additions; Sandy's plan; Hamels deal?:

• Phillies: "Talks between the Sox and Phillies have taken the form of a staring contest." - "No reason to rush into Cole Hamels deal" - Scott Lauber, Boston Herald

• Mets: "It may turn out that Sandy Alderson is taking the right approach to building a winner..." - "Mets GM Alderson could learn from Padres GM" - John Harper, NY Daily News

• Marlins: "As an organization, step one for the Marlins was assembling the necessary parts to make the team a contender." - "McGehee: Miami ready to face high expectations" - Joe Frisaro, marlins.com

• Braves:

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