The story of Georgetown’s basketball exodus is still being written, as is the story of the team that remains and whether it can find enough wins in conference play to make a case for the NCAA Tournament.

The foursome of James Akinjo, Josh LeBlanc, Myron Gardner and Jalen Alexander were combining to average 27.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game, with Akinjo starting and playing more than 30 minutes per game at point guard. The other three all left the program in early December after being accused of burglary and harassment — Akinjo left separately, and will head to the University of Arizona.

The departure of all four, midseason, following a tough home loss to UNC Greensboro, looked potentially crippling to a Georgetown squad sitting at just 4-3 in the early season. Then the Hoyas took their short-handed show on the road, capturing big road wins at Oklahoma State and SMU before returning home to beat rival Syracuse, prompting some choice remarks from Orange head coach Jim Boeheim.

“They got rid of a guy that wouldn’t pass the ball to anybody and just shot it every time, and that’s why they’re good now,” he said, clearly referring to Akinjo. “Patrick [Ewing] can’t say that but I can. He lost two games for them by himself.”

The Hoyas managed just a then season-low 11 assists against UNC Greensboro, then went for 16, a season-best 26, and 20 more in the three big wins. In all, the Hoyas rattled off six straight wins.

Mac McClung — the remaining half of what appeared to be the backcourt of the future — suffered an eye injury against American, causing him to miss Big East opener, a 76-60 loss at Providence. He returned to score 20 at Seton Hall which … brought Georgetown to a nearly identical final score line, a 78-62 loss. That was a game in which seven-footer Omer Yurtseven really struggled, shooting just 3-13 from the field. The Hoyas trailed by 17 at the half and never really threatened to make the game competitive.

The big man continued to draw attention Wednesday night, getting double-teamed on a number of occasions. But that just led to more opportunities for others, McClung in particular, especially in the early going. The sophomore scored seven of Georgetown’s first nine points and poured in 21 of his 24 before the break.

The Hoyas showed everything they still can be this season, as well as everything to which they could fall victim Wednesday night. The 87-66 final score in a win over St. John’s — Georgetown’s first Big East victory this year — indicates neither just how dominant the Hoyas were in the first half, nor how close things got to coming undone after the break.

Georgetown broke through the St. John’s pressure and lit up the Johnnies from outside the arc, shooting 8-14 from deep in the first half. Thanks to smothering man defense and cold Red Storm shooting, the Hoyas built a lead as big as 29 and entered the break up 53-26.

But St. John’s turned up the defensive pressure again and saw their traps actually create turnovers and rushed shots to start the second half. The Red Storm came out of the locker room on an 11-0 run, immediately putting the game back within reach. In all, they forced 12 second-half Georgetown turnovers and watched the Hoyas go just 1-9 from deep in the final 20 minutes, but the hole was too deep to climb out of.

“It was a great win,” said head coach Patrick Ewing. “Especially coming off of the two losses that we had.”

But still, for Georgetown, knowing they won’t get that kind of start most games and the cushion to play with, the second half has to be disconcerting, both for the performance itself and for the blueprint of game tape they’ve handed the rest of the Big East.

“I’m sure, especially when teams look at the way that we played in the second half, a lot more teams are going to do it,” said Ewing of the pressure. “We would be one of those teams that would be pressing, we’re just short-handed right now … We work on it every day, so I would think our guys would be used to it.”

The lack of depth doesn’t allow the Hoyas to apply that same kind of pressure on defense, which in turn puts that much more pressure on their offense. The Hoyas were already susceptible to a high-pressure defense, like UNC Greensboro’s, which clamped down for a 65-61 win back in late November, before the defections. That’s only more true now.

They have also proven susceptible to offensive lulls, like the one that saw them score just 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. After scoring 80+ in each of the six wins during their streak, they were held to just 60 and 62 points in their first two conference affairs.

“We still have to finish the game the way that we need to finish if we’re going to continue to win games,” said Ewing.

Aside from some final garbage time minutes Wednesday night, Georgetown rolled with the seven-man scholarship rotation to which they are limited by circumstance right now. Every starter scored in double figures and played at least 30 minutes, with all but Yurtseven — who missed several minutes with a cut above his right eye — playing 35 or more. It’s a tall ask to make night in and night out, both for the fatigue that can lead to fatal mistakes down the stretch, but also for staying 100 percent healthy all season long.

But that’s where Georgetown finds itself: A talented, motivated group that can play with anyone, but that will walk a tightrope each and every game from here on out. It’s a team that can’t afford an off day from its two stars or another injury if it wants a reasonable chance to win any game.

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This is a strategy setting them up with more options and flexibility in the roster, but less high end talent entering the 2020 season as they look to repeat as champions.

It’s no secret where Washington has pooled its resources. The Nationals have committed just shy of $100 million to the top four starters in their rotation for 2020.

That was the strength of the team throughout the postseason last year, and with a likely diminished offense, will be looked to again to shoulder the load this year.

, FanGraphs’ Steamer projections expect just four Nationals batters to produce better than league average offense, with Juan Soto (145) far outpacing Howie Kendrick (117), Trea Turner (111) and Adam Eaton (109).

Baseball Reference is even less optimistic, with lower projections for everyone above, other than Kendrick.

The Nats were sixth in the NL in home runs, but lost Rendon’s 34 from last year. Maybe more crucially, they led the league in on-base percentage, but are replacing Rendon’s .412 mark over 646 plate appearances with a collection of players that have historically reached at a much lower rate.

Before we get into salaries, it’s important to state clearly, once again: The Nationals can afford any player on the market. They could have afforded to keep Rendon. Doing so might have put them over the luxury tax threshold, but again, that is something they could have afforded to do, if they chose to.

That being said, the following salary constraints will be discussed within the framework of the team staying under that mark, as that seems to be an organizational goal, for better or for worse.

Once Rendon left for Anaheim, the Nationals became frequently mentioned as heavy suitors for free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson, as well as potential trading partners with the Chicago Cubs for Kris Bryant or the Colorado Rockies for Nolan Arenado.

While any of the above would go a long way toward replacing Rendon’s production at third, they would all carry significant salary obligations. Combined with the moves already made, any of the above additions seem like they would all push the Nats up to or north of the luxury tax threshold, barring some Major League salary going the other way in a trade.

That leaves essentially one more Major League infield roster spot for Ryan Zimmerman, who just about everyone seems to think will return on a short deal. It also leaves the team with a small amount of flexibility to operate and take on salary in-season, as contending teams often need to do in order to add pieces at the trade deadline.

Here’s a look at the major free agent signings so far:

SP Stephen Strasburg: 7 years, $245 million

The first big splash of the offseason featured the return of the World Series MVP to Washington, on a much heftier contract than the remaining four years of his prior extension. It always seemed like Strasburg would return, and the bet on himself in opting out of his guaranteed $100 million paid off handsomely.

It represents more money in the first year of the contract alone than the Nats have given to every other free agent combined for 2020.

C Yan Gomes: 2 years, $10 million ($4M in ’20 / $6M in ’21)

Gomes’ return keeps the same backstop tandem in place from 2019. After an offensive drop-off from his 2018 All-Star campaign, there’s reason to hope Gomes might provide a little more at the plate this season, and he continues to rate as a good catcher behind it.

INF Howie Kendrick: 1 year, $6.25 million

Kendrick remains a bargain and a needed bat in the lineup. He’s slashed .325/.373/.516 over the last three seasons. You know who else has put up numbers that good in each triple slash category since 2017? Nobody.

RP Will Harris: 3 years, $24 million

Harris may be best remembered in Washington for surrendering the Game 7 home run to Howie Kendrick, but he’s been one of the most reliable relievers in baseball, posting a 175 ERA+ over the last five years in Houston. He also gives the Nats a different look in relief, something they haven’t always had.

INF Asdrubal Cabrera: 1 year, $2.5 million

Cabrera gives the Nats a familiar face off the bench and a low-cost player with the potential to get hot in stretches. In 38 games in Washington last year, he slashed .323/.404/.565 — he won’t approach that again, but he gives Davey Martinez another glove at several infield positions.

INF Starlin Castro: 2 years, $12 million

Castro brings a glove that can fill in at second, third, or short, but questions about his offensive production. He slugged a career high 22 home runs last year, with the lower-drag baseball, but also walked just 28 times in 676 plate appearances, with an OBP of an even .300. If he regresses back to his career power averages (13 HR), it’s hard to see him starting most days.

RP Daniel Hudson: 2 years, $11 million ($1 million in potential bonuses)

Bringing back Hudson on top of the Harris signing gives the Nats three dependable, veteran relievers at the back end of the bullpen, along with Sean Doolittle. After posting the , the Nats will have reason to believe they can make a massive improvement and possibly even field a top flight relief unit.

1B/OF Eric Thames: 1 year, $3 million (mutual option for 2021, $1 million buyout)

Thames fills the left-handed power bench bat role that Matt Adams has held down the last few years. He continued to thump righties (. 877 OPS, 23 HR in 346 AB) and slashed .265/.383/.633 coming off the bench, which is encouraging considering that’s likely how he’ll primarily be used, barring other injuries.

In all, the Nats have added around the edges and given themselves depth, especially around the infield and bullpen, that they haven’t had in years past. But they’re also lacking the kind of impact bats that Washington teams have become accustomed to seeing in the lineup every day, outside of Juan Soto.

They’ve left themselves the space to make another midseason addition or two come the trade deadline, and they could always blow right through the luxury tax ceiling and make another big splash.

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The Washington Nationals made a second free agent signing Monday afternoon, bringing in first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames on a one-year, $3 million deal with a $1 million buyout on a mutual option for a second year, to .

The 33-year-old power-hitting lefty slugged 72 home runs over 383 games with Milwaukee the last three seasons after a prolific stint in South Korea revived his career.

Since losing free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon, the Nats have re-signed Howie Kendrick and added free agent infielders Starlin Castro and AsdrĂşbal Cabrera, along with Thames.

Ryan Zimmerman, who has been with the organization since its inaugural year in D.C. in 2005, remains a free agent.

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The Washington Nationals re-signed free agent relief pitcher Daniel Hudson to a two-year contract Monday, to . The right-hander will earn $11 million over the course of the contract, with in performance-based incentives.

Hudson, who will be 33 years old on Opening Day, made 24 regular season appearances for the Nats after a midseason trade from Toronto, logging a 1.44 ERA and six saves with a 3-0 record.

He collected four more saves in the playoffs, with a 3.72 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched.

He recorded the final three outs of Game 7 of the World Series.

Hudson rejoins a bullpen already strengthened by the addition of Will Harris.

The Nationals had the worst bullpen ERA in MLB (5.66) last year.

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Baseball is in crisis.

Sure, a quick look at revenues shows a sport pulling in more money than ever. But it also belies two impending battles, major conflicts the man responsible for stewarding the game into the future has shown himself perhaps incapable of resolving without serious damage to the game.

After a contested election, commissioner Rob Manfred was given a five-year term starting Jan. 2015. That was through 2024 after the 2018 season. But MLB’s owners may want to rethink that vote.

The gains Manfred has made appear to be more than offset by continued attrition of attendance, unnecessary labor strife and now, the long-term reduction or even outright dissolution of the backbone of baseball in small towns and cities all around America that MLB won’t touch: the minor leagues.

This is not normal. It’s a breach of the founding values upon which baseball has grown and spread as an American institution. It’s the same kind of shortsighted, corner-cutting, win-at-all-cost approach that seemed like a good idea when the Houston Astros won the World Series a couple years ago, but now looks a lot less brilliant in retrospect.

Did you know there is ? And it was drafted well before any of his latest outbursts and missteps.

But ultimately, only the owners have the power to do something before things get immeasurably worse.

Such a move wouldn’t be unprecedented. Former MLB Commissioner William Eckert was forced to resign in 1968 staring down an impending labor strike for which he was wholly unprepared, just three years into a seven-year term.

At the end of the day, the commissioner serves the owners, and if he isn’t actually promoting their best interests, in the long term as well as the short, they have the power to remove him.

Manfred inherited a good economy from his predecessor and has lived off the successes of that administration. was from the partial sale of BAMTech, a venture started well before his tenure.

His new deal with the umpires opens up the possibility of implementing an electronic strike zone, as MLB tested out in the Atlantic League last season. But that league used Trackman, a system with enough inaccuracy that .

Manfred has had at least a year (longer, if you’ve been paying attention) to steel himself for the impending labor unrest at the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. And yet, despite 17-straight record-breaking revenue years — — average MLB salaries dropped for the second-straight year.

A year later, we’re no closer to peace at the end of the tunnel.

Just last month, as the MLBPA extended an unusual early olive branch, two years before the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, Manfred responded , saying there is “not going to be a deal where we pay you in economics to get labor peace,” and that “maybe Marvin Miller’s financial system doesn’t work anymore.”

That’s the Marvin Miller that was just elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His system is free agency, the one that’s brought those previously unfathomable record revenues.

Perhaps such a response shouldn’t surprise us, given that . That childish, blustery bargaining tactic foreshadowed his even more immature comeback to a detailed, measured response by the minor leagues to his attacks.

Minor League Baseball just came out with a very lengthy response to MLB in re: PBA negotiations. Here are some highlights:

— Josh Norris (@jnorris427)

What did Manfred do in response? Threaten , to dissolve a century of mutually beneficial partnership between the majors and minors, just because he was accurately called out.

That’s not leadership. It’s the kind of posturing bullies use on the playground, not responsible adults leading one of America’s biggest businesses and most cherished pastimes.

Maybe it’s jealousy. The MLB has declined in attendance , down more than 7% overall in those five years.

Meanwhile, Minor League Baseball topped 40 million fans for the 15^th straight year, rebounding from a dip last year to . That’s remarkable stability in the face of a declining product at the major league level.

Under Manfred’s watch, baseball has seen record revenues, all while refusing to spend that money on the labor generating the interest that sells those lucrative TV and sponsorship deals.

Now he’s threatening to refuse to support the pipeline that sculpts and nurtures the next generation of talent that makes the game great. It’s almost as if he has no idea how this industry works, or of the collective bargaining process to which he and the league are bound.

During his tenure, so many teams have punted on even pretending to field a competitive team that the sport reached historic levels of inequality this season.

It honestly doesn’t even seem like he enjoys the job, or the privilege and honor of leading such an American institution. His policies are shortsighted, and while some owners have benefited in the short-term, it’s come at long-term expense to the game and everyone who works in and loves it.

Perhaps most disconcerting, Manfred has shown his words have no meaning. Only days after complaining that minor league officials were waging a public PR campaign, he took to the microphone at the Baseball Winter Meetings … .

It’s become clear that these actions aren’t aberrations — they represent who he fundamentally is. So, for the good of the game, not just today but for generations to come, it’s time to remove Manfred from his post.

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The award, from the College Sports Information Directors of America and The Associated Press, has never been given to a Division III player before.

The other winners include Oregon State’s Jake Luton and Georgia Southern’s Drew Wilson.

After his freshman season at Mount Union, Wilson was diagnosed with pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining around the heart. Later, as a result of the initial illness, he was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a disease resulting from brain and spinal cord nerve damage, which was causing his body to attack itself.

Wilson was sick and unable to play football for two years, leading him to multiple attempts to end his own life. (If you or someone you know is in distress, the 24/7 Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.)

But he made both physical and psychological gains in recovery, eventually enrolling at Salisbury in 2019 to finish his degree in physics/engineering and to return to the football field.

Wilson led the Sea Gulls with 23 catches for 398 yards and three touchdowns, helping Salisbury to the Elite Eight of the Division III Football Championship Tournament.

Salisbury will receive a $10,000 donation to the school’s general scholarship fund in Wilson’s name for his accomplishments.

Wilson will be honored, along with the other winners, during an on-field ceremony at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, one of the College Football Playoff Semifinals, on Dec. 28 in Glendale, Arizona.

You can learn more about Wilson’s story below.

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While NCAA President Mark Emmert posed for a pre-event photograph with Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, the two did not sit down to speak together. Instead, Emmert was interviewed solo by longtime college sports reporter and current editorial director of Aspen’s Sports and Society Program Jon Solomon.

The issue at hand has played out in the courts over the last several years, and revolves around whether college athletes should be able to make money from their own NIL, as any other college student — or adult — in America can.

The NCAA has long held an exception to those NIL rights and has profited handsomely from it, for the first time a few years ago. But Emmert didn’t bring any solutions to the stage Tuesday, just promises that the NCAA was working toward them.

Following the interview, Emmert — who met with senators Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., before his appearance at the Aspen Institute — walked offstage, dodged the press gaggle gathering to speak to him and bolted, saying he had a plane to catch.

He was out of the building before the next set of speakers could begin to challenge and dismantle every point he’d laid out.

Athlete compensation for NIL seems to be a rare instance where conservative embrace of the free market and liberal affinity for labor protections collide, giving Washington a rare bipartisan coalition of support.

One of the people who followed Emmert was Rep. Mark Walker R-N.C., who recently introduced in Congress. After watching the NCAA try to avoid the halls of power, Walker seemed reticent to believe the organization actually wants to bring about change.

Walker cited ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, quoting the frequent NCAA critic’s words from a conversation the two had: “The NCAA will talk a good game, but rarely will they actually get things done.”

Walker said Tuesday that Emmert has refused multiple requests to meet with him personally on the issue.

The NCAA has largely done its utmost to avoid reform except where states have forced action, like with California’s recently-passed NIL bill, set to go into effect in 2023. A number of other states have similar bills in the works, provoking the NCAA to turn to federal lawmakers to step in and create national statutes instead.

But Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, warns that any participation the NCAA has in the process will be to the detriment of the athletes.

“If Congress rolls anything NIL back, that’s an NCAA bill,” said Huma.

When asked if money would be a permissible benefit, Emmert said maybe — under the condition that “it can be done in a way that can fit within those principals.”

But Huma said these ideas are at odds with one another, and further, that those principals aren’t properly enforced even now, with Olympic athletes operating under different structures that allow them to take home large sums of prize money while still competing in college.

“For the NCAA to pretend that there’s uniformity now, it wouldn’t hold up in court,” said Huma.

Emmert also insisted that any payment structure must avoid an employee/union model. But in a later panel, University of New Hampshire sports law professor and Sports Illustrated contributor Michael McCann threw some water on that idea. Instead, he put forth the concept of a trade association for athletes that would not require them to be classified as university employees.

For now, Walker’s bill is tabled, awaiting the next move from the NCAA, which may come after member presidents meet before the NCAA national convention in January. But he won’t wait long — he’s not running for reelection in the House, which means he’s got only 13 months to see to it that it passes.

Whatever happens next, it seems likely that it will come through Washington one way or another.

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Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley struck his first major recruiting coup Wednesday, as five-star wide receiver recruit Rakim Jarett flipped his commitment from Louisiana State University.

Jarrett, a St. John’s College High School standout and former ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp Player of the Week winner, was rated as the No. 2 wide receiver recruit in the 2020 class by both ESPN and the 247Sports Composite rankings.

The 6-foot, 190-pound senior was also The Washington Post All-Met football Offensive Player of the Year and the Washington, D.C. Gatorade Player of the year after catching 60 passes for 950 yards and seven touchdowns.

… and that’s how you break the internet.

— Michael Locksley (@CoachLocks)

IT. IS. HOME. x

— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball)

Staying at the crib with it

— Rak (@RakimJarrett)

Huge pass downfield to Rakim Jarrett, carrying tacklers near the red zone

— Noah Frank (@NoahFrankĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp)

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Before the NBA season began, ESPN NBA writer Zach Lowe , citing a number of factors from highlight potential to relevance to style and more. He ranked the Wizards dead last. And while they don’t provide a particularly compelling above-the-rim set of nightly throwdowns, they’ve clearly outplayed that projection.

The team is off to an 8-17 start with a largely-new cast around All-Star Bradley Beal, while John Wall attempts to make his way back from knee and heel surgeries. But through their first 25 games, the Wizards have posted the second-most prolific offense in the Eastern Conference, all while allowing more points than any other team.

That’s not “good,” but it’s certainly not boring, either. The average Wizards game includes more than 240 points. No other team is all that close to such a combined total. The Houston Rockets are closest at 234 combined points per game. Compare that to the putrid New York Knicks who, before a win Tuesday night, were averaging just 101.2 points per game and combining for just 212.3.

A young cast has meant more deference than a standard NBA offense, leading to extra passes setting up better shots. They’re a top five three-point shooting team in the league (37.6 percent), a top five free throw shooting team (81 percent), and their 28.1 assists per game are second-most in the NBA.

They’ve only failed to clear the century mark once, in a 97-85 road win at Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, they’ve scored at least 120 a dozen times, nearly half their games.

THE CAPS won the Cup
THE MYSTICS won the Finals
THE WIZARDS are trying their best
THE FOOTBALL TEAM
THE NATIONALS won the Series

— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson)

Obviously, there are things they don’t do well. They rank 28^th in defensive rebounding percentage and allow the highest effective field goal percentage in the league. But it’s impressive that they’ve been able to continue to put an entertaining product on the floor, despite rampant health issues.

The depleted Wizards return home for their last home game before Christmas Wednesday, when they’ll face the Chicago Bulls at Capital One Arena. They’re missing Wall, of course, but also top pick Rui Hachimura for at least a handful of games after a “groin contusion,” which honestly, the less we know, the better. Thomas Bryant has been out with a stress reaction since early December, and fellow big man Mo Wagner has been nursing an ankle injury that has cost him the last two games.

The Wizards opened the fourth quarter of Monday’s win in Detroit with a five-point lead and the five-man combination of Isaac Bonga, Troy Brown Jr., Garrison Mathews, Admiral Schofield and Ish Smith on the floor. That combination kept Washington in front during that stretch and Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans — perhaps the brightest spot on this year’s club, averaging 15.4 points and 45.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc — came back to put the game away, the Wizards outscoring the Pistons 31-20 the rest of the way (with Beal and Bertans combining for 18 of those points).

It’s a shame, in some senses, that the club decided to make a change in broadcast partners right before such a season. The team’s as of early December, meaning fewer people are getting to enjoy what’s been arguably the most entertaining club in several years. Clearly, the in-person demand isn’t exactly raging, either. Seats to Wednesday night’s game are on the secondary market.

Which is a shame. Because, contrary to the predictions, they’ve actually been an enjoyable team to watch, win or lose.

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Given the animosity between the two sides, provoked by MLB’s now public plan to slash more than a quarter of all minor league affiliates, that might not be such a bad thing.

The two factions met officially on Friday and more informally again on Saturday. Sources tell ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp that despite some of the more public bickering through the press, the proceedings were cordial and productive, with some even issuing apologies for some of the rhetoric.

Based on conversations around the sport this week though, it seems we’re still a ways off from any substantive ground being ceded by either side. But at least on the minor league side, even if they are currently , interested parties seem willing to wait to get to a better solution.

If there was any thought that this issue might quickly blow over and wane from the public eye, Elizabeth Warren joined Bernie Sanders as the . Congressional offices of those backing MiLB have been reaching out to representatives in the minor leagues all Winter Meetings long, some checking in more than once a day for updates, despite a process that will likely take months to reach a final agreement.

There have been other good signs on the minor league side as well. MLB owners initially voted 30-0 in favor of the contraction plan earlier this spring, but developments this week may indicate some cracks in MLB’s solidarity.

MLB organizations typically come together for a dinner each year, with Major League representatives hosting all of their minor league affiliates. Ken Young, who owns a number of minor league clubs including the Baltimore Orioles-affiliated Frederick Keys, one of the 42 proposed cuts, said he spoke with top team officials at the Orioles’ organizational dinner and came away with the sense he had their support.

“I really believe the Orioles, who I met with, they want to stay in Frederick,” he told ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp. “They love the proximity of all their [minor league] ballclubs, and they do have an ideal situation.”

Another source said chatter following the Friday and Saturday meetings suggested that, at least privately, MLB was “backpedaling” off its initial stance.

As these higher level conversations play out, the trade show in the convention center between the hotels felt quieter and more subdued this year. As always, there were vendors of all types there looking to sell their wares and services to teams, from pitching machines to promo jerseys to probiotics to pizza cones. That last one, Chank’s Grab-N-Go, is a business started in February by a trio of young men from New Jersey, selling premade, frozen portable cones with different fillings, such as cheesesteak and crab cake, to be reheated in convection ovens and sold as concessions at stadiums.

Chank’s broke into the sports market this year by supplying a number of different entities, including a pair of minor league teams. But both of those teams are in the New York-Penn League, nine of whose 14 teams are on the hit list.

As one minor league GM whose team isn’t under threat of elimination explained, the loss of 42 teams trickles down to everything from the front office jobs eliminated to the hotel rooms booked, from the taxes teams pay to the food service contracts, like those pizza cones. The baseball-adjacent industries at the trade show could suddenly see their potential minor league market slashed by more than a quarter.

The plan also hampers the affected teams’ ability to secure the kinds of multi-year sponsorship and ticket partnerships that are the backbone of the minor league economy, with the current Professional Baseball Agreement set to expire in September 2020. While that deadline is still more than nine months away, the pressure to find a better long-term solution sooner rather than later will continue to mount.

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This offseason, with Boras representing top three free agents, he took full control of the scene on the first day in San Diego. Boras cannonballed into the middle of the pool, with a seven-year, $245 million deal for Stephen Strasburg, who will return to the Washington Nationals after guiding them to a World Series title.

Like last year, as the baseball world converged on Bryce Harper’s childhood home in Las Vegas, for the second straight year a Nationals’ No. 1 overall pick saw the Winter Meetings come to his hometown; this time just down the block from a potential suitor at Petco Park.

But the San Diego Padres were never really in the Stephen Strasburg sweepstakes. More to the point, there were no sweepstakes. He was always coming back to D.C. — the only question was for how long, and for how much.

The answer was a lot.

Approximately $145 million more than he had been guaranteed for the four years he opted out of, and for three more years. They’re important numbers, not just historically and for Strasburg’s future great grandchildren, but for where they leave the Nationals right now.

“We couldn’t be happier that we’ve signed him long term,” said Nats GM Mike Rizzo at a press conference Monday afternoon. “He’s a wonderful person, a wonderful player, and a true champion. So we’re very happy to have him in the fold for the next seven years.”

It’s the kind of deal that seems to make everyone happy. Strasburg gets more money, the Nats get their star pitcher back, and Boras gets the headlines and sets a new bar for Gerrit Cole, the top pitcher on the market.

It also gives Boras a chance to puff his chest about the much-discussed 2012 shutdown, now that Strasburg sits as the World Series MVP, and the Commissioners Trophy on South Capitol Street.

“I think the Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg built a trust based upon an early position by Ted Lerner and the D.C. organization and Mike Rizzo about the protection of a player,” said Boras.

“And I think that Stephen Strasburg has rewarded the Nationals with a championship, his performance, the World Series MVP, because of the position this organization took to take the medical advice and protect the player long term, even though the immediate effect caused a great deal of animus among the club and the fans.”

Davey Martinez spoke to media later Monday afternoon.

“For me, it’s an early Christmas present,” said Martinez, who mentioned he was confident Strasburg wasn’t going to leave after opting out. “I really felt, if things go alright, he’d be back.”

By all accounts, Strasburg was always Washington’s top priority this offseason. He’s now locked up through his 38^th birthday, all but cementing him as a lifetime National. But now he’s been addressed — and handsomely so — the full attention shifts to the massive void that will exist at third base if the club doesn’t bring back Anthony Rendon.

Martinez said that he hasn’t spoken with Rendon, preferring to let the process play out between the interested parties. , Jim Bowden said the Strasburg deal “takes the Nationals out of the Anthony Rendon Sweepstakes.”

Rizzo wouldn’t make any such proclamations, despite Mark Lerner’s words last week about the club not being able to afford both, but he was also cryptic with his words Monday.

“I think Mark (Lerner) realizes there’s ways to fit players in, there’s ways that you can field a championship caliber roster,” said Rizzo. “And again, the resources have always been there, so I don’t expect that to change.”

On some level, generic responses, and even obfuscation of intent, is part and parcel with a GM’s responsibilities at this point in the offseason. After speaking with such clarity about what Strasburg meant and continues to mean to the organization, Rizzo left the crowd to draw its own conclusions about Rendon.

“He’s a guy that we love,” said Rizzo, saying Rendon is “near and dear to my heart.” He also said that “ownership has always given us the resources to field a great team, and we’re always trying to win.”

But all that falls somewhere short of the transitive property of that love translating to a contract for Rendon.

There were hints the structure of Strasburg’s deal might allow for some creativity on the remaining free agent market, but not necessarily that such moves would include Rendon. Deferrals don’t have any impact on luxury tax implications, which are based on average annual value (which does not change with deferrals).

With the $35 million/year going to Strasburg, that leaves the team roughly $35-$40 million under the tax threshold, with several roster spots other than third base still open.

As to whether the tax threshold was something the Nats were willing to surpass, well, “we haven’t discussed those parameters yet,” Rizzo said.

Taking care of business with Strasburg early in the week answers a big question and provides a sigh of relief for all involved. It also means we’ll spend the rest of the time in San Diego waiting to find out what’s going to happen with Rendon.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Noah Frank reported from the Winter Meetings in San Diego.

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