0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
LAS VEGAS -- The Nationals have until Friday at midnight ET to tender contracts to their six arbitration-eligible players. Pitchers Shawn Hill, Scott Olsen and Tim Redding, outfielders Willie Harris and Josh Willingham and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman must be offered contracts by Washington or they will become free agents. Entering the Winter Meetings, the Nationals had to make decisions on seven players, but the club released reliever Jesus Colome on Wednesday. He appeared in 61 games and had a 4.31 ERA while being used as a setup man last season. "Based on what the market is, with [Colome's] numbers, we just didn't feel that it made sense to allocate those dollars at that level -- that's why we made the decision to release him," general manager Jim Bowden said. As for the rest of the players, Olsen, Redding, Harris, Willingham and Zimmerman most likely will be offered contracts. However, Hill will be a tough decision. He has had elbow problems the past four years in Washington and has pitched in a combined 34 games.