Washington Nationals News: Ben Revere excited to join Nats, play with Harper
By Pablo Roa
Today’s District Daily features stories on new Washington Nationals outfielder Ben Revere and general manager Mike Rizzo defending Jonathan Papelbon.
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses new Nationals outfielder Ben Revere. As Ladson notes, Revere is excited to join the Nationals and help the team in 2016.
The Nationals acquired Revere last week in the trade that sent Drew Storen to the Blue Jays. In Revere, the Nationals fulfilled several needs they had this offseason: a left-handed hitter, a leadoff hitter and a centerfielder.
As Ladson writes in his article, Revere is excited to help the team return to the postseason and help the middle of the lineup drive in more runs. Specifically, he wants to help set up more RBI opportunities for Bryce Harper and help him win his second consecutive MVP award.
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With Revere’s consistent bat and explosive speed at the top of the order, players like Harper could see a lot more opportunities to drive in runs in 2016.
Also in today’s Daily, For the Win’s Ted Berg discusses some interesting comments made by general manager Mike Rizzo regarding closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. If you missed our stories from earlier today, be sure to read about how the Nationals have quietly had a stellar offseason and why the team shouldn’t trade Gio Gonzalez.
And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Revere excited to join Nats, play with Harper
WASHINGTON — It was 10:15 p.m. ET on Friday, and outfielder Ben Revere was ready for bed and looking forward to working out the next morning. Then the phone rang. It was Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, calling to inform Revere that he had been traded to the Nationals for reliever Drew Storen.
On Monday afternoon, Revere sounded like a man excited about playing in his new surroundings and playing for manager Dusty Baker.
Revere, 27, had arguably his best season in the big leagues in 2015, hitting a combined .306 with 45 RBIs, 31 stolen bases and .342 on-base percentage for the Phillies and Blue Jays. A leadoff hitter for most of his career, Revere has a .292 average while hitting in the top spot in the batting order. Read full article here.
Washington Nationals GM defends Jonathan Papelbon after trading Drew Storen
It has always seemed hard to believe the Washington Nationals would open the 2016 season with Jonathan Papelbon on their roster after the veteran closer tried to choke franchise superstar Bryce Harper in the team’s dugout in late September. Even after reports came out that Harper and Papelbon had made amends, it felt more likely they represented efforts to salvage some of Papelbon’s trade value. Just coming out and saying, “heck yeah, we want to deal the dude who tried to strangle our best player” is a really bad way to go about actually dealing that player, obviously.
But Papelbon’s situation is further complicated by the $11 million remaining on his contract, the no-trade clause that allows him to block trades to 17 teams, and the frustrating fact that he’s still, by and large, very good at his job. Read full article here.