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In what seemed like a do-or-die season just six months ago, Gerardo Parra's "Baby Shark" movement has brought light-hearted fun back to Washington's clubhouse, propelling the Nationals to enjoy victory at every occasion.

In an exclusive 1-on-1 interview with NBC Sports Washington, Davey Martinez called veteran outfielder Parra "A good clubhouse guy. He brings a lot of fun. A lot of energy. But yet, he’s a professional." 

“That’s me," Parra confirmed to NBC Sports Washington's Todd Dybas. "Try to bring positive every time to the clubhouse. It’s life. My job, your job. We have bad days. You have bad years.”

As the fans embraced Parra and his walk-up song of choice (thanks to his daughter), the Nationals embraced more fun, including dugout dances... every chance they get.

After sweeping the Chicago Cubs for the first time since 2005, Martinez truly got in on the fun with some shark shades, pictured below.

View this post on Instagram

Fun for the whole gam. 🦈

A post shared by Washington nationals (@nationals) on Aug 27, 2019 at 8:47am PDT

If you're looking to rock the manager's look, you can order yourself a matching pair of shark sunnies from Amazon for a whopping $8.39 (and yes, they're available via Amazon Prime).

At the end of the slideshow, you'll find one big happy gam (group of sharks). 

That wasn't the only Players' Weekend fun had on the team — Juan Soto had a subtle celebration on field as well.

The @Nationals sweep the Cubs at Wrigley for the 1st time since 2005.

Juan Soto was 7. pic.twitter.com/xU3TqMbso7

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 25, 2019

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Only one player in the major leagues threw a pitch while over the age of 40 last season. Fernando Rodney, who in fact is 42 and coming off his first ever World Series title, has appeared in at least 50 games each of the last eight years and 10 of the last 11.

For a player who’s three years older than the second-oldest active pitcher, taking the offseason off wouldn’t just be expected—it’d probably be recommended. But Rodney is taking no such break, reportedly signing up for the Dominican Winter League this offseason.

Fernando Rodney cares not for your offseason.

The 42-year-old is reportedly preparing to suit up with the Leones del Escogido as soon as next week, according to several Dominican sources.

He’s doing this 38 days after winning a World Serious title.

Arrowshot.gif

— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) December 7, 2019

Leones del Escogido plays in his hometown of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This will actually be the fifth time Rodney will suit up for the team, most recently doing so last winter.

Rodney is a free agent after being picked up by the Nationals midseason. He’s played 17 years in the majors and ranks 17th all-time in saves with 327.

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When the Nationals entered the offseason, they had significant needs at seven different areas of the roster: catcher, first base, second base, third base, rotation, bullpen and bench.

Washington made strides toward solidifying the first two by inking catcher Yan Gomes and first baseman Howie Kendrick to separate deals over the first five weeks of the offseason. But with former stars Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon both still on the board, there are still many different directions the Nationals could go this winter.

On this week’s episode of the Nationals Talk podcast, NBC Sports Washington’s Todd Dybas sat down with Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post and MLB.com’s Jamal Collier to talk about the team’s offseason plans. With the needs the Nationals have in so many areas, the writers agreed Washington didn’t need to prioritize second base.

“Second base, to me, feels like it would probably be the last thing on my checklist if I’m the Nats,” Collier said. “You’re going to operate on some kind of budget and you have to spend money on re-signing [Stephen] Strasburg, figuring out whatever you’re going to do at third base…and you have to do something with this bullpen as well.”

Right now, the Nationals have top prospect Carter Kieboom as a potential option to take the starting job out of Spring Training. They also have veteran utility players Wilmer Difo and Adrian Sanchez on the roster, but neither has been able to produce consistently on the offensive end.

“I would probably band-aid it with probably a cheaper option than Brian Dozier,” Dougherty said. “Maybe even give Carter the shot but have a veteran behind him…César Hernández makes a ton of sense to me. He’s a switch hitter, he can play multiple positions, you have a hole at utility player.”

Dybas also mentioned Starlin Castro as a potential option. Castro played all 162 games for the Miami Marlins last season, hitting .270 with a career-high 22 home runs. He’ll be 30 years old on Opening Day and was lauded by his former club for his clubhouse presence.

One potential option that came off the board in recent weeks was Mike Moustakas, who inked a four-year, $64 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. A natural third baseman, Moustakas played 47 games at second for the Milwaukee Brewers last season and is now entrenched there for the Reds moving forward with Eugenio Suarez playing third.

“I hate that Moustakas deal,” Collier said. The Reds are “putting him out of position. He’s not a second baseman. So you’re getting worse defensively for a guy who’s pretty much all power. We don’t know what the shape of the ball is going to be [and] he’s only getting older.”

It was certainly a high price tag, which likely took the Nationals out of the running if second base is an area the team is hoping to save money on. But they also could’ve signed Moustakas to play third, a position that is remarkably light on talent in free agency.

For the full episode, which also includes discussions about Rendon and Strasburg’s prospects of returning to Washington, you can find the Nationals Talk podcast at Art19, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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