Wire Taps: Remembering Frank Robinson; Phillies get J.T. Realmuto; Looking at Spring Training for the Nationals...

Frank Robinson represented an era for the Nationals—scrappy, willing to fight, and brand new. If you haven’t watched this video, you should to remind yourself of that time in Nats history. He will be sorely missed.

Here’s the news from Nationals Park:

Frank Robinson, Hall of Famer and first Nats manager, dies (MASN)
Robinson passed away yesterday morning at his home in California after a near-decade of working for MLB.

Boswell – The Frank Robinson I knew: The proudest, orneriest, most competitive man in baseball (WaPo)
Boswell provoked Robinson every now and then, but he recognized him for what he was: one of the last great managers who could get his team to win not based on chemistry but based on a strong voice at the top.

Frank Robinson, the Nats’ first manager, was D.C.’s treasure those first two seasons of baseball’s return (WaPo)
When Frank Robinson came to D.C., Barry Svrluga was a brand-new beat writer. He was anxious. Robinson jumped on it, shaking his hand in a bone-crushing fashion. But he was also shy, kept things close to the vest, and still always ready for a fight with an opinion on nearly everything. (Also buried in here: apparently the Nats mismeasured the distance to the fences at RFK.)

Bryce Harper’s possible landing spots outside DC, ranked (WaPo)
The best-case scenario: Chicago (AL). The worst-case: supposedly the Yankees, but we all know it's the Phillies.

Baseball world mourns the loss of Hall of Famer and ‘tremendous human being’ Frank Robinson (WaPo)
Robinson was remembered as a hard-nosed player and a friend in a hail of tributes on Thursday that poured in from Kurkjian to Zuckerman to Gammons; from Bill Russell to Brian Schneider.

An appreciation of Frank Robinson (Half Street Heart Attack)
"RFK Stadium was a mess. The network televising the team wasn’t even on tv in the majority of DC area homes. I traveled to Chicago that season to watch the Nats play and–I swear to God–several Cubs fans I met weren’t even aware the Nationals existed. But we had Frank Robinson. The Hall of Famer with 586 Home Runs. The first guy to win MVPs in both leagues. The first first black manager in MLB history. A legitimate baseball and Civil Rights legend."

Robinson helped lay the foundation for the Natonals in D.C. (The Athletic — $$)
"As D.C. built back up a franchise and an identity, Robinson’s presence gave them immediate authority, his pedigree and competitive nature helping revitalize an area starved for a local team."

MLB 'disabled list' to be renamed 'injured list'
"The new designation intends to reflect that injured players do not in fact, have a disability."

Barraclough, Nationals go to salary arbitration (AP)
Michael A. Taylor represents the only case in which a team won arbitration, while Blake Treinen, Tommy Pham, and Carlos Correa have all won their cases.

MLB reacts to Frank Robinson passing (MLB.com)
Hank Aaron, Ryan Zimmerman (who, according to Barbara Robinson, Frank Robinson considered like a son), Brooks Robinson, and Ian Desmond—who changed his number in honor of Robinson—all weighed in to remember a dear friend and a legendary leader.

Realmuto finally traded, heading to Philly
The Marlins sent three top-tier prospects and $250,000 in international slot money in exchange for Realmuto, who has two years left on his rather team-friendly contract.

Bill Ladson remembers late Frank Robinson (MLB.com)
Ladson, who, like a number of Nats reporters, got his start in Montreal, recalled being a pain in Robinson's butt, long conversations, his frank nature, and his refusal to listen to criticism.

Nationals' statements on Frank Robinson (MLB.com)
"His contributions to our team helped set us on a path to success and his continued presence helped remind us why we love this game. He was an ambassador for both the Nationals and the game throughout the city, but was especially fond of sharing stories with children from a nearby elementary school about his time in the big leagues. More than all of this, he was a dear friend to our family and will always be remembered as being an important part of the Nationals family."

Nationals Spring Training preview (MLB.com)
Having added Rosenthal, Barraclough, Gomes, Suzuki, Corbin, Sánchez, Dozier, and Hellickson, the Nationals are revamped and ready to go for 2019 in a division that has suddenly become much more competitive — and in a window that, with Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg perhaps on the way out, is ever-shrinking.

Frank Robinson was all that was right about baseball (Yahoo!)
"So, along with Frank Robinson, you may also say goodbye to a piece of the best part of the game, and then to a piece of what the game was before men such as Frank Robinson were asked to play it, to manage it, to love it, to trust it. Assuming, of course, it can yet be trusted."

To Steven, from Frank Robinson: A 10-year-old reporter gets an unforgettable letter (WaPo)
Steven Goff, the Post's MLS reporter, never got to tell Frank Robinson about this — his miniature sports newsletter that he got signed by familial coincidence,.

The Phillies landed J.T. Realmuto and could still sign a superstar. Think the NL East is scary yet? (WaPo)
Realmuto has finally left Miami, heading to Philadelphia to further accentuate the now-wildly competitive nature of a division that just two years ago was baseball's laughing stock. (Hell, the Braves now have Josh Donaldson, and the Mets got Robinson Cano, in case you forgot.)