Mark Zuckerman

Nats claim Ford from Rays, prepare to face young Marlins

August 23, 2021, 7:13pm

In their continued quest to improve organizational depth, the Nationals claimed Mike Ford off waivers from the Rays on Monday, hoping the former Yankees first baseman can produce at Triple-A and perhaps help out at the big league level at some point. Ford, 29, has spent parts of the last three seasons in the majors with the Yankees, first making a name for himself as a rookie in 2019 when he hit .259 with 12 homers, a .350 on-base percentage and .909 OPS in 50 games. He failed to reproduce...

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Monday morning Nats Q&A

August 22, 2021, 5:59pm

Nationals

Well, it was kind of an ugly weekend in Milwaukee for the Nationals, but these last two losses shouldn't completely overshadow the three wins that preceded them last week. Nor the continued positive developments involving several young players who are starting to make a name for themselves as long-term parts of the plan around here. We're nearly four weeks removed from the trade deadline now, and as painful as it's been at times, there does seem to be some legitimate optimism surrounding the...

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With flurry of walks, Nats hand series finale to Brewers (updated)

August 22, 2021, 2:06pm

Nationals

With flurry of walks, Nats hand series finale to Brewers (updated)

An inexperienced pitching staff is going to make mistakes. Davey Martinez understands and accepts that. What the Nationals manager has a harder time accepting is a pitching staff that is killing itself not by getting hit by more accomplished hitters, but by handing them free bases over and over and over. It happened during Saturday's loss in Milwaukee, and it happened in even more mind-numbing fashion during today's 7-3 loss to the Brewers. Five Nationals pitchers combined to issue 11 walks...

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Voth, McGowin rejoin bullpen; Guerra, Stevenson off roster

August 22, 2021, 8:56am

Nationals

Voth, McGowin rejoin bullpen; Guerra, Stevenson off roster

An ever-changing Nationals bullpen saw the return of two familiar right-handers today, with both Austin Voth and Kyle McGowin activated off the injured list. And an ever-changing Nats roster saw the departures of two familiar faces as a result, with Javy Guerra designated for assignment while Andrew Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. The transactions, announced about 90 minutes before today's series finale in Milwaukee, give the Nationals a couple of moderately experienced arms, in...

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Game 123 lineups: Nats at Brewers

August 22, 2021, 8:30am

Nationals

The Nationals' winning streak ended Saturday in Milwaukee, but they've still got a chance to win the weekend series if they can bounce back in this afternoon's finale. All things considered, that's not a bad position to be in. They're going to need to get some quality innings out of Sean Nolin, who gets the start as Joe Ross' replacement for now. Nolin, the 31-year-old journeyman left-hander, made one other start for the Nats 10 days ago in New York and gave up four runs on eight hits in...

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Young catching tandem learning on the fly

August 20, 2021, 9:49pm

Nationals

Young catching tandem learning on the fly

For 2 1/2 seasons, the Nationals had nothing but veteran catchers on their roster. Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki joined forces to win a championship in 2019, then returned to work together in 2020. And after Suzuki departed as a free agent last winter, the Nats brought in Alex Avila to back up Gomes this season, again ensuring they'd have two seasoned guys behind the plate. These days? Well, the Nats' catching position couldn't look any more dramatically different. With Gomes traded to the...

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Young and old lead Nationals to third straight win (updated)

August 20, 2021, 7:20pm

Nationals

The Nationals' rebuild will be a success if they can get more than a few of the young players who now make up the majority of their roster to develop into legitimate contributors. It'll be an even bigger and faster success if they can also get their few remaining veterans to return to the form they displayed while winning the World Series two years ago. So consider tonight's 4-1 victory over the Brewers a best-case-scenario kind of night. They not only got contributions from a host of...

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Nolin will get Sunday's start as Ross' rotation replacement

August 20, 2021, 2:36pm

Nationals

Nolin will get Sunday's start as Ross' rotation replacement

The Nationals didn't need to utilize a fifth starter until next weekend, but they've decided to go ahead and plug Sean Nolin into their rotation now. Nolin, the 31-year-old left-hander who has been available out of the bullpen for the last week since making one spot start against the Mets, will start Sunday's series finale against the Brewers, manager Davey Martinez said. Nolin takes over the rotation spot that opened up with Joe Ross had to be shut down for the rest of the season with a...

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Game 121 lineups: Nats at Brewers

August 20, 2021, 12:12pm

Nationals

Fresh off a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays, the Nationals now embark on a nine-game road trip that kicks off with a tough challenge: a weekend series in Milwaukee. The Brewers have won eight of 10 and now hold a commanding 8 1/2-game lead in the National League Central. They're doing it with elite pitching, especially from an imposing threesome atop their rotation (Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta) that should give them a chance to beat anybody come October. (Sound...

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Soto content for now to take walks, keep raising OBP

August 19, 2021, 8:13pm

Nationals

Soto content for now to take walks, keep raising OBP

From the moment he arrived in the big leagues in 2018, Juan Soto's ability to reach base has outshone every other baseball skill of his. And he's got plenty of elite skills. For all his prowess hitting for power, hitting to the opposite field, just hitting in general, Soto has always made a name for himself first and foremost because of his batting eye. That, more than anything, has led to his .422 career on-base percentage, a mark that during that four-season span has been bested by only one...

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Hand thankful for brief time with Nats, new chance with Jays

August 17, 2021, 8:40pm

Nationals

Hand thankful for brief time with Nats, new chance with Jays

Amid the chaos of his move from the Nationals to the Blue Jays just prior to last month's trade deadline, Brad Hand couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed where one of his new team's first road trips would take him. "Right when I got traded, I looked at the Toronto schedule and knew that we were coming here in two weeks," Hand said Tuesday near the visitors' dugout at Nationals Park. "I left my golf clubs here, so I'll have to pick those up." It was a convenient - or perhaps in some...

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Adams delivers against Jays, Nats snap losing streak (updated)

August 17, 2021, 6:31pm

Nationals

Adams delivers against Jays, Nats snap losing streak (updated)

The opportunity was too good for Davey Martinez to pass up. Though it was probably Tres Barrera's turn to catch tonight's series opener against the Blue Jays, the Nationals manager wanted to give Riley Adams a chance to face the team that traded him three weeks ago. Adams, Martinez would reveal in the dugout before the game, was notably excited when his manager told him he'd be starting tonight. And then the 25-year-old took his latest step in making his case to be part of this rebuilding...

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No surgery for now, but Ross will miss rest of season

August 17, 2021, 1:46pm

Nationals

No surgery for now, but Ross will miss rest of season

Joe Ross won't need Tommy John surgery for now, but the Nationals right-hander will miss the rest of the season after getting examined by the Dallas-area orthopedist who performed his first elbow ligament replacement four years ago. The diagnosis from Keith Meister was a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, which is consistent with the team's initial MRI results last weekend that showed a partial tear. A full tear would've guaranteed Tommy John surgery. The partial tear leaves some leeway for...

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Game 119 lineups: Nats vs. Blue Jays

August 17, 2021, 11:25am

Nationals

After a string of games against the National League East's remaining contenders, the Nationals now take a break for a quick interleague series. They'll host the Blue Jays tonight and Wednesday afternoon (weather permitting), which means a little bit of a reunion. It was just a few weeks ago that Brad Hand was dealt to Toronto in exchange for Riley Adams. We don't know if we'll see Hand out of the Blue Jays bullpen tonight or not, but we will see Adams in the Nats lineup. The rookie catcher...

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Nats will win again when rotation is ready to lead the way again

August 16, 2021, 7:52pm

Nationals

Nats will win again when rotation is ready to lead the way again

It had been the one constant around these parts for the better part of the decade. When you thought of the Nationals, you thought first and foremost of one thing: a dominant rotation. Max Scherzer. Stephen Strasburg. Patrick Corbin. Jordan Zimmermann. Doug Fister. Gio GonzÃ¡lez. AnÃbal SÃ¡nchez. Those are the starters who defined the Nats' consistent pitching success over a prolonged stretch of winning baseball. And the correlation was legitimate. Take the Nationals rotation's six best...

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How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?

August 15, 2021, 7:59pm

Nationals

How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?

On Sunday afternoon, Lane Thomas became the 54th player to appear in a game for the Nationals this season. That's an exceptionally high number, only three shy of the club record set way back in 2006. And with 44 games still to go, and more players likely to join the roster before this is over, it's quite possible this year's team will establish a new record. The pertinent question right now, though, isn't how many guys will play for the Nationals in 2021. It's how many of the guys...

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Nats keep it close, but can't avoid sweep (updated)

August 15, 2021, 12:25pm

Nationals

Nats keep it close, but can't avoid sweep (updated)

As miserable as things have been lately for a Nationals team that has turned winning baseball games into an increasingly difficult task, one not insignificant truth has emerged: They've given themselves an opportunity to win just about every one of these games. Sure, there have been a few duds along the way, and Saturday night's blowout loss to the Braves was probably the worst of them all. But most of the time, the rebuilding Nats step to the plate in the ninth inning with a chance to turn a...

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Ross placed on IL with partial tear of elbow ligament

August 15, 2021, 9:29am

Nationals

Ross placed on IL with partial tear of elbow ligament

A summer of misery for the Nationals took another turn for the worse in the last 24 hours when Joe Ross reported forearm tightness following a bullpen throwing session and a subsequent MRI revealed a partial tear of his elbow ligament. The club hasn't finalized a plan yet for Ross, but he will be examined by Keith Meister, the Dallas-area orthopedist who performed Tommy John surgery on him four years ago, and a second major elbow procedure is possible. If that does prove to be the course of...

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Game 118 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Thomas called up)

August 15, 2021, 8:06am

Nationals

Game 118 lineups: Nats vs. Braves (Thomas called up)

Things are pretty bleak around Nationals Park these days. The home team has lost 11 of 12 and 29 of 39, and has fallen into a tie with the Marlins for last place in the National League East. Yes, this is the first step in a rebuilding project, and the club's record means a lot less now than it did three weeks ago. But that doesn't make this any easier to watch. Or, for those involved personally, to experience. But the Nationals have no choice but to press on, and today they'll try to snap...

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How the eight players Nats traded are faring with new clubs

August 14, 2021, 9:44pm

Nationals

How the eight players Nats traded are faring with new clubs

More than two weeks have now passed since the craziest trade deadline in Nationals history. And that means all of the players involved in the club's sell-off have had ample time to start making a name for themselves with their new teams. Some have risen to the occasion and become instant fan favorites. Some are still trying to figure things out. Here's a look at the eight players the Nats traded away at the deadline, and how they're performing so far ... MAX SCHERZER The biggest name of them...