Wire Taps: Nationals “starting to weigh” Bryce Harper extension; Max Scherzer or Stephen Strasburg for Cy Young?

Alright, finally, some news! The Hot Stove is officially lit! Get ready for the bombshell of the year!

We regret to inform you that the Hot Stove has been cancelled.

Here’s the news from Orlando.

Nationals starting to weigh Bryce Harper mega-deal
Mike Rizzo said that, at some point this winter, the Nats will probably sit down with Scott Boras and Bryce Harper and discuss if an extension is possible, or if Harper will indeed hit the open market.

Here's how the Nats and Cardinals accidentally switched pitching coaches
The Nats wanted to bring Mike Maddux back, but without a manager in place, they found it difficult to justify his return. The Cardinals decided they wanted to take a different direction than the groundball guru they had employed for the majority of the decade. Lo and behold...

The Nats have an outfield logjam, which will grease the wheels for a few trades
The Nats have said they're going to tweak before and then made big splashes. Victor Robles isn't going anywhere, but Brian Goodwin, Michael A. Taylor, Andrew Stevenson, and maybe even Juan Soto are all on the table.

Strasburg made his case in the second half for a Cy Young
Post All-Star break, Stephen Strasburg was beyond dominant, posting a meager 0.86 ERA with a streak of 35 consecutive scoreless innings. He may be stuck behind Max Scherzer, but it was his most dominant season yet nonetheless.

Scherzer has a strong case to repeat
Max Scherzer's 2017 was somehow better than his 2016 -- and he comes into this year's balloting as the clear favorite due to his advantage in innings pitched, WAR, and strikeouts.

Making the case for each Cy Young finalist
Clayton Kershaw allowed a lot of home runs but still allowed very few runs and struck out a ton. Strasburg was dominant for half the season. Scherzer dominated all year long.

Nats finalize staff by hiring Henry Blanco as bullpen coach
The Nats' coaching staff: Is it Joe Maddon's staff minus Joe Maddon, or are we just hallucinating?

Ten Players I’m Excited to Watch in 2018
"(Gio) Gonzalez has meant quite a bit to the Washington franchise. And, like his justifiably more famous teammate, Bryce Harper, 2018 will be Gonzalez's walk year."

AFL Update: Nov. 14, 2017 - Victor Robles continues to shine as Mesa marches to final
Victor Robles, our sweet, perfect Victor, is hitting .263 over 12 games. Kelvin Gutierrez also had a hit.

Speeding up games on MLB agenda for next season
Cutting down trips to the mound and pitch clocks could be on the docket for 2018.