Wire Taps: Washington Nationals’ offseason plans; Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo from GM Meetings + more...

Mike Rizzo is scheduled to talk to reporters at the GM Meetings today, so there should be some news, though what, if anything, you’ll get out of the Washington Nationals’ General Manager that isn’t the standard “irons in the fire”-type comment is unclear. He did talk to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, however, as you’ll see below. And there is a bunch of talk about some of the Nationals who are now on the free agent market. Go read your links...

NATS BEAT:

Despite broken finger, Turner put up big numbers this year - (MASN)
"It took only five days for Turner’s season to hit its first major speed bump."

The Nationals moved fast at the start of last offseason. This one is already different - (WaPost)
"By the time Mike Rizzo arrived in Carlsbad, Calif., for last year’s general managers meetings, he had already added two players to step ahead of a slow-moving market."

Victor Robles finishes sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting - (MASN)
"Robles finished sixth in the race for 2019 National League Rookie of the Year, an award that went to Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in overwhelming fashion."

WS clinch headlines Nats' top moments of '19 - (MLB.com)
"MLB.com is counting down the top 10 moments for each club, including this historic Nationals season, which featured a ton of emotional highs and lows on the pursuit of a title..."

Book Review: Why Strasburg, Rendon shouldn’t be afraid to win in free agency - (WTOP)
"Fresh off their World Series run, Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg opted for free agency over potential extensions of team control and testing the open market this offseason."

Sharp focused on slider and sinker during AFL work - (MASN)
"In part one of our sit-down with [Sterling] Sharp (Twitter: @DatDude_Ster42), we will focus on his return from an oblique injury and his time in the AFL."

LOCAL BEAT:

Artist creates Washington Nationals word art with date, score and opponent of every game - (WSET)
"An artist created Washington Nationals word art with the date, score and opponent of every game during the Nationals season."

World Series champion Ryan Zimmerman visits Woodford Reserve Distillery - (WLKY)
"Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and a group of friends spent the weekend in Versailles touring the Woodford Reserve Distillery."

NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

Washington Nationals: World Series champs face crucial winter - (USA TODAY)
“'There’s nothing that has changed, at least in my mind,' Rizzo says. 'My incentive, my willingess to win, my crazy appetite to win a championship, to win another World Series, is the same.'"

Draft Compensation For 8 Teams That Could Lose Qualified Free Agents - (MLB Trade Rumors)
"And in 2019, seven of the eight teams that issued qualifying offers fall into the same bucket: teams that neither exceeded the luxury threshold nor received revenue-sharing benefits. This applies to the Astros, Nationals, Giants, Mets, Cardinals, White Sox and Braves."

This free agent's market is already heating up - (MLB.com)
"The former American League MVP already has more than a half-dozen teams on his trail, with the Rangers, Phillies, Braves and Nationals chief among them, according to sources."

Brian Cashman signals interest in Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg - (ESPN)
”’Of course, we’re going to talk to Strasburg. We’ll talk to Cole. We’ll talk to the higher-end guys, clearly, and have conversations, and we’ll also talk about some surprise guys, I’m sure,’ Cashman told reporters...”

MLB free agency: Why reliever Daniel Hudson, A's might be good fit - (NBCS Bay Area)
"Daniel Hudson is one of Feinsand's pitching free-agent targets for the A's and for good reason."