The Washington Nationals are finally starting to make some noise in the offseason, but there is still plenty of work to be done. 

For quite some time this winter, the Nationals were a very quiet team in free agency. However, that recently changed as the they signed pitcher Michael Soroka to a one-year, $9 million deal. 

The right-hander was an All-Star back in 2019, but has missed a ton of time because of injuries while bouncing back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Washington appears like they will be giving him a chance to be a starter in 2025, but it’s hard to expect anything from him after the last number of years. 

While the Nationals do have five starters under contract now and projected to be in the rotation to start the season, they are really lacking a reliable veteran to help lead this rotation. The starting pitching market has been wild, but if Washington is hoping to compete, they should be thinking about adding another arm, even after signing Soroka. 

Recently, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com wrote about the starting pitcher market and highlighted Jack Flaherty’s value on the rise, which could affect the Nationals. Passan pointed out that the “exorbitant” price of pitching helps Flaherty. And it’s not just deals for pitchers like Blake Snell and Max Fried.

He noted examples like Luis Severino’s $67 million, three-year deal and Frankie Montas’ $34 million, two-year deal, as examples. All of those, he wrote, lifts Flaherty’s potential value.

“However long Flaherty’s free agency takes to flesh out, he’s still bound to do well because every team needs starting pitching, and all it takes is one suitor to step up,” Passan wrote.

After seeing some of the other deals starters have received so far this offseason, it’s easy to understand why Flaherty’s value has gone up. While the right-hander isn’t an ace, he had a strong season in 2024 for both the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers. Also, he won a World Series, which never hurts a resume. 

The right-hander showed top-end of the rotation production with the Tigers in 2024, as he totaled a 7-5 record and 2.95 ERA before being traded. 

For Washington, they have to be thinking about adding a more established starter than Soroka this offseason. Besides MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, there are a lot of question marks in this rotation. 

Even though the price tag might be on the rise, the 29-year-old right-hander could be exactly what the Nationals need in their starting rotation to take a step forward in 2025 and beyond. 

Elder abuse is a growing concern throughout the country. It costs Americans billions of dollars and unfortunately encompasses a wide range of abuses, including physical, psychological and/or sexual harm, in addition to other concerns like neglect and taking advantage of seniors financially.

A new study conducted by personal finance website, WalletHub, recently listed the “States with the Best Elder-Abuse Protections”, and the Cowboy State was ranked in the top 15.

Wyoming was ranked 11th overall on the study.

WalletHub broke down the methodology for the study stating:

To identify where elderly Americans are best protected, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 16 key indicators of elder abuse protection in 3 overall categories. Our data set ranges from each state’s share of all elder abuse complaints to their laws concerning financial elder abuse.

A few of the key metrics illustrate why Wyoming scored so high (including the one that kept us from scoring even higher):

• Prevalence Rank – 19th
• Resources Rank – 5th
• Protection Rank –  47th

While overall Wyoming is doing considerably better than 80% of the country, there is definitely room for improvement. Considering some of the elderly horror stories that have made it to different news outlets around the state over the last couple of years, it’s nice to see us rising on this list.

San Jose State University has acknowledged a recent mass exodus of volleyball players who entered the transfer portal after a controversy-riddled season involving a trans athlete on the team. 

The university provided a statement to Fox News Digital in which it expressed “respect” for the recent wave of players who have opted to transfer. “Student athletes have the ability to make decisions about their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that,” the statement read.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that seven of the team’s players have entered the transfer portal. 

The seven players who are transferring will be leaving the team after a season that included eight forfeited matches, regular police protection, national scrutiny and internal turmoil between players and coaches. One player even received threats of physical harm amid the controversy.

Head coach Todd Kress even spoke about how the 2024 season was one of the “most difficult” of his life after the team’s loss in the conference final to Colorado State, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. 

“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced, and I know this is true as well for many of our players and the staff who have been supporting us all along. Maintaining our focus on the court and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of my players amid the external noise have been my priorities,” Kress said. 

The transgender player, Blaire Fleming, is out of eligibility after completing a fourth collegiate season in 2024. The team’s season ended in the Mountain West Conference championship game after it advanced to the title game by virtue of a forfeit from Boise State in the semifinal round. Boise State previously forfeited two regular season games to San Jose State amid the controversy involving Fleming, accounting for three of its seven conference wins via forfeit this year. 

A loss to Colorado State in the conference final ended the season and prevented the controversy from slipping into the NCAA tournament. The loss effectively ended Fleming’s collegiate career.

In September, co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging the program withheld knowledge about Fleming’s birth gender from her and other players on the team. Slusser alleged she was made to share changing and sleeping spaces with Fleming without knowing that Fleming was a biological male. 

Slusser, along with several other players in the Mountain West, filed a separate lawsuit against the conference and San Jose State in November over Fleming’s presence. That lawsuit included testimony from former San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson alleging they were passed over for scholarships in favor of Fleming. 

That lawsuit also alleges that San Jose State players spoke up about an alleged scheme by Fleming to have Slusser spiked in the face with a volleyball in a game against Colorado State on Oct. 3. Slusser was not spiked in the face in that game, and an investigation by the Mountain West concluded without finding sufficient evidence of the alleged plot.

SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT

Assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended by the program in early November after she filed a Title IX complaint against the university for showing favoritism toward Fleming over the other players, especially Slusser. Batie-Smoose’s complaint also included allegations of Fleming’s plot to have Slusser spiked in the face. 

Slusser previously told Fox News Digital that Batie-Smoose’s dismissal severely impacted the morale of the team.

“After we found out that she was released, a lot of the team just kind of broke down and was kind of freaking out, and even one of my teammates was like, ‘I don’t feel safe anymore,’ because there’s no one now that we feel like we can go and talk to about our concerns or our actual feelings and can actually speak freely in front of,” Slusser said.

Slusser added that she and other players lost trust in the coaches, including head coach Kress. 

“You can’t truly voice how you’re feeling without them just trying to cover it up or act like it’s all OK. With Melissa, you could voice how you felt, and she could comfort you and validate your feelings and at least make you feel heard compared to the other coaches,” Slusser said.

Kress also blamed the team that forfeited for igniting backlash against his team, as each forfeit brought about more controversy and media attention.

San Jose State Spartans players look on prior to the game against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on Oct. 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

“Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season. To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff and many associated with our program.” 

However, these issues did not stop the players from at least having some fun on what was their final road trip as San Jose State Spartans for most of them. 

Slusser previously told Fox News Digital that the team went out to a magic show together when they traveled to Las Vegas for the Mountain West tournament, and even had a team Thanksgiving meal together at the team hotel with takeout from a local diner with many of their families. 

However, that was not enough to keep the seven players who have entered the transfer portal attached to the program, as the team will be facing a major roster turnover as it looks to rebound on the court and in its reputation in 2025. 

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