All rebuilds have a face attached to them. Usually one of a young, up and coming player - whether a high draft pick or fast-rising prospect - that signifies the hope of what's to come. The light at the end of the tunnel. The success of the future.
I know Nationals manager Davey Martinez said he doesn't like the term "rebuild," but for our purposes, let's just stick to calling it that, even if this new direction for the franchise is more of a retooling or reloading. Whatever "re-" you...
Hey, don't forget: There's still a baseball game to be played tonight!
After the Nationals made six franchise-altering trades over the last 24 hours that netted them 12 new prospects for eight veterans, manager Davey Martinez's new-look team now has to turn its attention to a three-game series against the Cubs, who will also have a new-look roster.
Originally, it appeared that Jon Lester was tonight's scheduled starter, but since he was traded to the Cardinals at the last minute, Paolo...
Would you believe me if I told you this morning that the Nationals would have a very good chance to sweep the Phillies in today's doubleheader after a COVID-19 outbreak in the visitors' clubhouse, trade rumors heating up about Washington's first starting pitching, an ominous forecast all day in Philadelphia and blowing a 7-0 lead in the second game?
Well, they did have a chance, but that's not what happened after the Nats followed up a strong win in the first game with a complete collapse...
The last 24 hours for the Nationals have been hectic, to say the least. But they are just the latest episodes in what has been a chaotic and unprecedented start to the second half for the fading ballclub.
With a COVID-19 outbreak, trade rumors swirling, bad weather approaching and a doubleheader to play, what message did manager Davey Martinez deliver to his players this morning as they arrived at Citizens Bank Park, still unsure what the roster would look like or if they were even going to...
All eyes will be fixated on the transaction wire over the next 30 hours or so, not only as we get closer to tomorrow's 4 p.m. trade deadline, but also because the Nationals had to make a number of roster moves this morning after 13 members (four players, nine staffers) tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. Not to mention the potential of needing to fill other roster spots if some players depart later today via trade.
As if that weren't enough of a wrench thrown into today's plan, the...
Andrew Stevenson has played an important role for the Nationals since debuting in 2017. A left-handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions with a great glove and speed that also poses a threat on the basepaths is a manager's dream player off the bench.
The only role Stevenson hasn't played is that of a regular starter, aside from filing in for players dealing with long-term injuries.
Could that possibly be changing as we see him get more starts in center field over Victor...
It's been an up-and-down season for Patrick Corbin so far in 2021. After struggling out of the gate, he seemed to have fixed his issues for a couple of starts. Then they resurfaced before a couple of strong outings ahead of the All-Star break.
But Corbin did not get the second half off on the right foot after giving up six runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Padres last Saturday. And although it looked like Corbin was going to redeem himself with strong command early Friday night,...
A frustrating 21 months since being named the 2019 World Series Most Valuable Player continues for Stephen Strasburg, who once again experienced neck pain while throwing during his latest bullpen session.
The veteran right-hander was able to throw a bullpen session and then long toss earlier this week, but his second bullpen session caused more discomfort in his neck and forced the Nationals to keep him from throwing for now while they try to work out the next steps.
"So Strasburg, once again,...
This season's edition of the Battle of the Beltways concludes this weekend in Baltimore after the Nationals swept the Orioles in D.C. in May.
Manager Davey Martinez has been asked a lot recently about how he can use Josh Bell and Ryan Zimmerman in the same lineup, with Bell getting some reps in left field during batting practice recently and Zimmerman trying to get his swing back from earlier in the year.
That won't be a problem this weekend, though, in an American League ballpark. Bell is...
Although the American League won its eighth straight All-Star Game 5-2, the Nationals were well represented on the National League side Tuesday night.
In taking the mound to kick off the game at Coors Field in Denver, Max Scherzer went from one of the last players named to the NL roster to making his fourth Midsummer Classic start. He is now one of just six pitchers in the game's history to make that many starts.
Scherzer started the game by getting opposing starting pitcher and leadoff...
Just because it's the All-Star break that doesn't mean teams can't make roster moves and trades this week, although Major League Baseball probably prefers no major moves are made to take attention away from its midsummer showcase of the sport's best players.
Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn't have to worry about that because this move won't be headline news as the All-Star Game gets underway later tonight: The Nationals have traded left-hander Kyle Lobstein (who was designated for...
The 2021 First-Year Player Draft concludes today with the 11th through 20th rounds, as the Nationals continue to fortify their farm system with young talent.
With picks in each of the first 10 rounds, the Nationals have strayed away from their traditional approach of stocking up on pitchers by selecting seven position players and only three hurlers over the first half of this draft, headlined by high school shortstop Brady House with the No. 11 pick Sunday night.
"We accomplished what we kind...
It might be easy to look at the recent body of work and be down on the Nationals entering the All-Star break: a four-game sweep at home at the hands of the Dodgers, a four-game series split with the Padres when winning three of four was right in their grasp, a loss in the first game against the Giants and a growing list of injuries.
But looking at the greater body of work shows that the Nationals are carrying some real momentum into next week's pause: Over their last 30 games, they are 18-12,...
Who said it couldn't get worse for the Nationals? Be honest, because I know you're out there.
After a tough loss Thursday night to end a four-game series in San Diego, and with an already jam-packed injured list, why would you say that knowing full well that it could, in fact, get worse?
Indeed, it did get worse for the Nationals in the form of a 5-3 loss to the Giants in front of 27,345 fans at Oracle Park to start the final series of the first half of the season, while also losing their...
Only three games stand between the Nationals and the All-Star break, starting with tonight's series opener in San Francisco against the Giants.
While Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber will stop in Denver next week for their first All-Star Game selections before returning home (though it's unclear whether Schwarber will attend or continue to rehab his hamstring injury), the rest of the team will be using the break to give some of their injured players more time to heal.
One of those...
The beauty of baseball is the everyday nature of the sport, making it easy to shake off bad losses and move on to the next game. So even though it wasn't a happy flight from San Diego to San Francisco following last night's heartbreaking loss to the Padres, the Nationals can put it behind them right away with tonight's opener against the Giants.
Paolo Espino will take the mound for his first road start of the season (and the first since his major league debut back on May 19, 2017 with the...
One of the hottest pitchers in all of baseball resides in the Nationals farm system and is going to be in the national spotlight a couple of weeks from now during Major League Baseball's All-Star festivities, testing his talents with the best prospects the sport has to offer.
Cade Cavalli has been selected to represent the organization in the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. The announcement was made earlier Wednesday morning on MLB Network's "MLB Central."
Cavalli, 22, leads all of...
It might not always show, but Austin Voth is a down-to-Earth guy. It's especially hard to notice when the majority of his meetings with the media over the past year and a half have been over Zoom conference calls.
It's always hard to get a read on someone's personality through a computer screen. Not to mention, how often do we get to interact with a fringe starting pitcher turned long-relief arm out of the bullpen, nonetheless in person?
Usually, not that often.
But that situation presented...
It hasn't been easy going for Erick Fedde over the last month. Almost a month ago, he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the coronavirus in Chicago. That was just three days after he turned in one of the best performances of his career in Arizona.
A little over three weeks after landing on the IL, he was reinstated after quarantining in Chicago and building his arm strength back up. That roller coaster stretch would be enough to throw any pitcher out of...
The Nationals started the weekend by making a flurry of roster moves ahead of their four-game series against the Mets on Friday. Manager Davey Martinez clarified the statuses of some players while providing other updates on some injured high-profile starting pitchers before tonight's opener.
First, the roster moves:
* Starlin Castro was returned from the restricted list* Austin Voth was reinstated from the 10-day injured list* Andrew Stevenson was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June...