Adam Dunn Hopeful He Will Remain A Washington National

Conventional wisdom as the clock ticks towards the end of another Nationals season is that Adam Dunn is unlikely to remain a member of the team past this season. As it stands, Dunn is without a contract and his productive year behind the plate could be parlayed into a lucrative contract with a more competitive team.

However, Dunn remains hopeful that he will remain a National next year. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post is reporting that while a deal between the team and Dunn has not been finalized, negotiations have move along to a point where Dunn can express a hopeful resolution to the contract issue. When asked about the status of negotiations, Dunn sounds like a player likely to stay, rather than one that is moving on:

"I do," Dunn said. "More than I did a month ago. Talks have picked back up. We'll see what happens. We're obviously talking. We're going to work something out, I think."

One of the key points of Kilgore's piece is that Dunn is unlikely to sign with an American League team, as he would rather not move to the designated hitter position. This is important, in that it takes many of Dunn's key suitors at the trade deadline, the White Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox, out of the running during free agency. So while this may remain talk for the moment, Nationals fans can hope for a quick resolution to the contract talks, and look forward to the possibility of another year of Dunn batting fourth.