The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, ESPN’s Buster Olney, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman all reported on Saturday afternoon that they’d heard from sources who said the Washington Nationals were interested in free agent closer Craig Kimbrel, who seems like the next one to sign a new deal after Manny Machado’s contract with the San Diego Padres and Bryce Harper’s with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Rosenthal, while noting that the Nats don’t necessarily need to sign someone in response to Harper’s deal with the Phillies, wrote that major league sources said the Nationals, “maintain interest in signing free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel, a move that would cap off their efforts to construct a powerhouse bullpen and further escalate the competition in the NL East.