Scott Olsen News

With the Nationals' signing of right-hander Jason Marquis to what's believed to be a two-year contract worth $15 million, the team has the veteran starter they've been after all winter.

Randy Wolf finalized his $29.75 million, three-year contract with the team, which also agreed to a $2.1 million deal with infielder Craig Counsell and struck a preliminary one-year agreement with reliever Claudio Vargas, pending a physical.

A thumb injury that Mike Lowell suffered near the end of last season is clouding the third baseman's trade from the Red Sox to the Rangers, the Boston Globe reported.

Thank goodness the Washington Nationals are finally acting like a real Major League Baseball team.

Just a few miscellaneous items that I wanted to post here, as well as a reason to call in sick tomorrow, sink into your La-Z-Boy and turn on the radio.

It's the night of the Non-Tendered, a scary, Halloween-like time when perfectly healthy baseball players are culled and cut from the body that loved and nurtured them.

Just one day after becoming a free agent, pitcher Scott Olsen re-signed with his old team, the first step in reestablishing himself as a healthy innings-eating starter and regaining his role as a central figure in the Washington Nationals' future. Olsen rejoined the Nationals on Sunday with a one-year contract worth $1 million, which could swell to just less than $4 million with incentives, a source familiar with the deal said.

The Nationals had non-tendered Olsen on Saturday, cutting ties with the arbitration-eligible left-hander who is attempting to come back from shoulder surgery. In July, after making 11 starts with Washington (2-4, 6.03 ERA), Olsen underwent season-ending surgery on his labrum. He is now fully rehabilitated, and the team expects him to be ready for spring training. But General Manager Mike Rizzo acknowledged earlier this weekend that such injuries make it difficult to predict future performance. Thus, Olsen will resume his career in Washington with a new contract -- which will increase only if he can succeed.

The Washington Nationals elected not to tender contracts to left-hander Scott Olsen or right-hander Mike MacDougal before Saturday's midnight deadline, choosing to cut ties, at least temporarily, with both players.

Former ace Chien-Ming Wang, power-hitting Jack Cust and closer Mike MacDougal joined an already saturated free agent market when they weren't offered contracts for next year by their teams on Saturday.

The Washington Nationals worked into the night Wednesday at baseball's winter meetings having yet to acquire the veteran pitcher they placed at the top of their offseason wish list.

After watching his team drop 103 games this past season, it's pretty clear what general manager Mike Rizzo has to do to improve the Nationals: acquire quality pitching.

Adam Dunn was the big news of last off-season, and should be a big focus of this one.

After as busy a first year as anyone could ask for, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has another decision to make.

Before the 2009 season started, the Nationals believed they would be better than last year's team, which lost 102 games.

Josh Willingham and the other Marlins due to receive hefty pay raises through salary arbitration knew that many would not be returning next season.

Ian Desmond is starting at second base -- a position he hasn't played since his junior year of high school.

The Washington Nationals ' much-anticipated September call-ups include a couple of names long suspected for promotion as well as a few surprises.

The Nationals designated right-hander Jorge Sosa for assignment on Tuesday. The news comes after Washington promoted pitchers Ross Detwiler, Marco Estrada, Logan Kensing and Zack Segovia, and shortstop Ian Desmond to the big leagues.

The Washington Nationals' pitching staff lost another starter to a season-ending injury Friday night when the team learned right-hander Craig Stammen will need arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow.

There may come a day -- the Nationals certainly hope so -- when mowing down big league hitters in the biggest of moments and in the biggest of stadiums will be the norm for Stephen Strasburg.