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Wire Taps: How does Nolan Arenado affect Anthony Rendon?; Ryan Zimmerman supposed to debut today; Trevor Rosenthal hits 100...

Catch up on the last 24 hours in Nationals news before Ryan Zimmerman actually takes the field in a Spring Training game this afternoon...

MLB: Spring Training-St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest news in Washington today: Bryce Harper didn’t make it into the headline of Wire Taps for the first time in nearly forever. (That’s what everyone in this town is thinking about, right?)

Here’s the news from north of Miami:

Nolan Arenado chooses long-term extension with Rockies over free agency next winter (WaPo)
Arenado shook up the free agent market for next year, signing for another eight years in Denver to the tune of $260 million. Anthony Rendon is now the most coveted potential free agent on the market next year — though apparently, it's an expectation that the Nats will engage Rendon seriously on extension talks the moment Bryce Harper signs a dotted line.

Zimmerman scheduled to play Wednesday (Nats lose 6-1) (MASN)
Ryan Zimmerman will make his spring debut today, now trying the unheard of strategy of actually participating in Spring Training. (He'll get 50 ABs and do the rest of the work in the back fields.)

Rosenthal wows with triple-digit fastball in return from surgery (MASN)
Trevor Rosenthal tore an elbow ligament 18 months ago. Most guys who do that don't hit triple digits in their first game back, much less their first Spring Training game back. It happened for Rosenthal, and he wasn't trying all that hard to do it.

Trevor Rosenthal impresses in return to mound (MLB.com)
“I was kind of surprised at how hard I was throwing,” Rosenthal, who pitched a 1-2-3 fifth yesterday, said. “I didn’t really want that, either. I just wanted to kind of ease into it. But I guess it happens.”

Death, Taxes, and an injured Koda Glover: Nationals reliever Koda Glover is shut down with forearm strain (WaPo)
(The UCL is fine, but the forearm isn't doing too hot. We'll see him by the start of the season, which means August.)

Glover has forearm strain, has "no doubt" he'll be ready (MASN)
“Just a forearm strain,” Glover said. “Nothing crazy. UCL was great. That’s good news. It’s just one of them things where we think maybe some weakness in there or some fatigue. But I’ll be fine. I’m really not that worried about it at all... I think I'll be ready for the season, no doubt."

Nationals’ bullpen cart driver tryouts draw diehard fans, experienced motorists (WaPo)
The Nats allowed anyone and everyone to take a trial cart for a spin on Tuesday, so long as they were licensed and experienced behind the wheel. Darren Haynes, WUSA9's sports anchor, made the, uh, interesting decision of flooring the golf cart and skidding through turns, but the team should make a more conventional call by the end of the week.

Nolan Arenado's $260M deal: Affects Rockies, Yankees, Dodgers (NYPOST)
The Yankees always wanted Arenado, not Machado. And in the meantime, Bryce Harper will now aim to top the average value Arenado received.

Detroit Tigers' Mike Ilitch would have signed Bryce Harper by now (Detroit Free Press)
If Mike Ilitch were still around today, it's safe to say he would have pounced on Harper—sitting idle in the free agent market—months ago. Instead, the Tigers are focusing on putting together young talent, in a long, boring situation. (Mr. I would not have stood for this — though it's probably smart to not jump in on Harper right now for Detroit.)