Nats tender contracts to six, let Slaten go

Christmas comes early in NatsTown: Nationals non-tender Doug Slaten. Sadly, Slaten was at his most productive in 2011 during the 77 game stint he spent on the DL with left elbow ulnar neuritis. Meanwhile the Nats tender contracts to:  Tyler Clippard, Jesus Flores, Tom Gorzelanny, John Lannan, Michael Morse, and Jordan Zimmermann. Up above, relive the magic from June 2010...

When we last checked in with Michael Morse this offseason, he was getting engaged and blowing sh*t up in Taiwan (with his bat, of course), while wearing a moped helmet. And now, just in time for the Holidays: The Michael Morse Beast Mode Collection, via 22Fresh. Photo of the ad, and a description, via Morse's FB page: Hey guys! Exciting news: I've teamed up with...

While the Washington Nationals Hot Stove continues to burn white-hot (when Doug Slaten news is big news, you know you're in trouble) we'd be remiss if we didn't say *something* about Nats minor leaguer Ben Graham dressing up as Santa and proposing to his girlfriend (a Tenessee Titans cheerleader) this past Sunday. Bryce Harper approves, so we do to: (via DC Sports...

Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the road. The Nationals are last in the alphabet only as Mike Rizzo has managed to build a very good farm system that is just beginning to percolate. The Nationals were not particularly active during the Winter Meetings, but they have some important items on their to do list. More than anything, they have a hole in center field you...

In 2010, at the age of 35, Livan Hernandez had the third best ERA of his career, good for sixteenth in the NL. He was also the most valuable Nationals pitcher. His success continued in 2011, albeit diminished. His ERA was 4.47. Compared to 2008 and 2009, when his ERA was 6.05 and 5.44 respectively, 4.47 seems quite excellent. The sabermetric take It didn’t take long for sabermetricians...

The Washington Nationals cut ties with reliever Doug Slaten Monday night, choosing to non-tender the left-hander. Slaten was the only one of seven arbitration eligible players Washington did not offer a contract to for the 2012 season, tendering contracts to pitchers Tyler Clippard, John Lannan, Jordan Zimmermann and Tom Gorzelanny, ...

The Nationals continue to express interest in Yu Darvish, according to a baseball source. But the source was not sure if the Nationals will put in a bid on the right-hander. The Nationals have until 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday to make a bid on Darvish. The source believes the Rangers and Blue Jays will have two of the largest bids.

Baseball sources close to