Wire Taps: Was 2020 campaign any fun for Washington Nationals? Nats’ free agent targets + more...

Trea Turner had a good season at the plate, though he wasn’t happy with his work at short in 2020. He was asked before the season finale on Sunday if, in spite of all the COVID-year protocols, crowd-free ballparks, piped-in music, and everything else that went along with playing baseball during a pandemic, he and his teammates were able to enjoy the season, make the best of the situation, and have fun.

“I think for me especially being a team that was expected to win, I feel like this year was really tough from a having fun standpoint,” Turner admitted.

“I think a lot of teams that are winning or are in it,” he said, “can suck it up, or the old saying is winning cures all, and if you’re winning I’m sure this season would have been a lot more fun, but just all the things we had to deal with and how the season went for us on the field as well, I think it was just tough to come to the ballpark and be positive. You’re kind of faking it and you’re trying, but last year you can see that it wasn’t something we had to try to do, it was fun. And this year we had to try to have fun, and it’s hard to recreate that and it’s hard to actually having fun when you’re forcing it.

“But hopefully next year is a little bit more normal, and I feel like the last two weeks we’ve played better too.

“Obviously if we had more games we could say we feel better about going forward, but we just kind of ran out of time, and didn’t play well enough, quickly enough, but I feel like next year will be better for us all around.”

Here’s to next year.

Go read your links...

NATS BEAT:

Updates on Adon, Cate, Wells, Bourque and Williams - (MASN)
"Right-hander Joan Adon is in Florida at instructional league. Nationals minor league pitching coordinator Brad Holman said Adon has a couple of very good pitches that can show well against high-level competition."

Free agent targets for Nationals fans to watch during 2020 MLB playoffs - (NBC Sports Washington)
"Here are 10 players that Nationals fans might want to keep an eye on throughout this postseason, as they could end up in D.C. by 2021."

Could Trevor Bauer fit in the Nationals’ plans? - (NBC Sports Washington)
"The Nationals need a fourth starter, will probably work in-house for a fifth starter and are desperate to get back into the postseason mix after their 2020 flop."

Nats' hopes for 2021 rebound start with their starters - (MASN)
"Of course, the biggest factor in the Nationals’ 26-34 record this season was their underperforming rotation, which struggled like never before."

NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

Auburn Doubledays, perhaps done as a franchise, drop general manager - (syracuse.com)
"In a move that might foretell gloom for the franchise as a whole, the Auburn Doubledays will let go of general manager David Lindberg when his contract expires on Oct. 31."

NL EAST UPDATES:

Phillies managing partner John Middleton 'wrestles with some of the simplest decisions’ - (Philadelphia Inquirer)
"As a second day passed without a resolution on Matt Klentak’s status as the team’s general manager, a baseball source with close ties to a lot of people in the Phillies organization gave a glum description of the mood at One Citizens Bank Way."

Brodie Van Wagenen's Mets hits, misses and one 'ridiculous' move - (NY Post)
"The scope of Alderson’s duties has yet to be defined, but Van Wagenen is clearly in limbo."

Chicago Cubs lose Game 1 to Miami Marlins - (Chicago Tribune)
"There is no time for experimenting or any semblance of wiggle room as the Cubs face elimination after a stunning 5-1 loss to the Miami Marlins in the first game of their best-of-three National League wild-card series at Wrigley Field."

With a win, Braves can overlook the torrent of strikeouts - (AJC.com)
"The zeros kept replicating, like the world’s most basic computer code. The strikeouts kept coming and coming, at a record pace."