Mark Zuckerman

Suero, ElÃas throwing but won't make opening night bullpen

July 22, 2020, 10:48am

Though Wander Suero and Roenis ElÃas have rejoined the Nationals and have been cleared to work out with the club, neither reliever will be ready to open the season on the active roster. Suero and ElÃas were among the group of 11 players who were not initially cleared to participate in summer training at Nationals Park, either because they tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to someone else who did. Both were placed on the 10-day injured list July 13. ElÃas, though, was cleared...

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Ready or not, exhibition season is over for Nationals

July 21, 2020, 5:28pm

Nationals Orioles

Ready or not, exhibition season is over for Nationals

Are the Nationals ready for what awaits them Thursday night, when the atmosphere inside Nationals Park will be no different than it was for tonight's exhibition finale - a rain-shortened, 6-4 victory over the Orioles - but the stakes will be ramped up by a factor of 10? It's impossible to know at this point, but here's what we do know after three exhibition games played in empty ballparks: * Many pitchers' velocity is down, some to concerning levels. * Some hitters are locked in despite the...

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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Orioles

July 21, 2020, 11:04am

Nationals Orioles

It has taken an extraordinarily long time for the Nationals' exhibition finale to arrive. And yet it still feels like it sneaked up on us without notice, doesn't it? Such is life when you've had a four-month hiatus in the middle of the exhibition season, then only three games upon returning to action. This is the last chance the Nats will get, though, before facing the Yankees for real Thursday night. So if there's anyone or anything Davey Martinez still needs to look at before then, this...

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Martinez still likes Castro as Nationals' new No. 3 hitter

July 20, 2020, 7:43pm

Nationals

Think back, if you can, to the offseason and one of the most pressing questions facing the Nationals as they prepared to defend their title in 2020: Who was going to replace Anthony Rendon as the No. 3 hitter? There never was a perfect answer to the question, but there were several potential answers, each earning a few weeks in the spotlight before getting replaced by another. Remember when we thought it might be Trea Turner? Forget about his blazing speed, the Nationals shortstop really was...

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Starting lineups: Nats at Orioles

July 20, 2020, 11:16am

Nationals Orioles

The Nationals passed their first test of the exhibition season, successfully hosting a game against the Phillies. Now they face their next important test: a road game. It's not really a road trip, just a short bus ride up to Camden Yards and back. No overnight stay in a hotel. No flights. But there are different protocols and considerations they must follow for tonight's game against the Orioles, and at the end of the night, they'll hopefully have a better idea what they're in for once they...

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With 72 hours to go, Nats facing final roster decisions

July 19, 2020, 8:54pm

Nationals

With 72 hours to go, Nats facing final roster decisions

They've played only one exhibition game, but the Nationals have no choice but to start thinking seriously about finalizing their opening night roster, which must be submitted 72 hours from now. In some ways, this is a trickier proposition than it usually is, given the lack of time and lack of performance to make such player judgments. And yet in some ways it's also a simpler task than usual, because they're allowed to keep 30 players on the active roster for the season's first two...

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Robles expects to be ready for opener, Suero rejoins camp

July 19, 2020, 10:05am

Nationals

Robles expects to be ready for opener, Suero rejoins camp

Victor Robles is convinced he'll be ready for opening night. The Nationals have four days to decide if they concur. Robles, who was cleared to participate in workouts Saturday for the first time this summer, said today that despite his lack of baseball activities while in quarantine, he expects to be good to go for the Nats' season opener against the Yankees. "Absolutely. I think I have the ability and the youth that helps me get ready quickly," the young center fielder said, via...

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Cabrera likely to start, Voth impresses, Toronto is out

July 18, 2020, 9:04pm

Nationals

Cabrera likely to start, Voth impresses, Toronto is out

Given an opportunity to write out what may very well be his opening night lineup for Saturday's exhibition opener, Nationals manager Davey Martinez included one mildly unexpected name: AsdrÃºbal Cabrera. Two weeks after suggesting rookie Carter Kieboom would be his everyday third baseman for this shortened season, Martinez offered a clue that probably won't be 100 percent true. Cabrera, not Kieboom, got the nod against the Phillies and appears the likely choice to start Thursday against the...

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Exhibition opener at Nats Park is both familiar and abnormal

July 18, 2020, 4:45pm

Nationals

Exhibition opener at Nats Park is both familiar and abnormal

They stretched and played catch in the outfield, just like they always do. Max Scherzer warmed up in the bullpen, just like he always does. After a moment of silence for late Rep. John Lewis, everyone lined up and listened to the national anthem, just like they always do. And then, as pump-up music blared over the sound system and PA announcer Jerome Hruska introduced the Washington Nationals, the defending World Series champions took the field to face an opposing team at Nationals Park for the...

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Robles joins camp, watches game from dugout (updated)

July 18, 2020, 3:43pm

Nationals

Robles joins camp, watches game from dugout (updated)

The final missing piece of the Nationals lineup has joined the club at last. Victor Robles was spotted in the home dugout during tonight's exhibition opener against the Phillies, the center fielder having completed his District of Columbia-mandated quarantine more than two weeks after Nats summer training opened. Robles was part of a large group of Nationals players that traveled to Washington from the Dominican Republic, one of whom tested positive for COVID-19 during Major League Baseball's...

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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

July 18, 2020, 10:33am

Nationals

And so, here we go again. When last we saw the Nationals on the field playing against another team, their biggest concerns were whether the pitching staff would suffer from all the extra innings they threw during the postseason, whether Carter Kieboom deserved to start at third base, how much playing time Ryan Zimmerman would get and whether Joe Ross would win the No. 5 starter's job. Those are not their biggest concerns tonight as they take the field to face the Phillies in the first of three...

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Nats ready to take next step with first exhibition game

July 17, 2020, 8:05pm

Nationals

Nats ready to take next step with first exhibition game

They've spent the last two weeks working first in small groups, then as a full (socially distanced) unit. They took grounders. They took batting practice. They threw off the bullpen mound. They simulated some game situations. And they played several intrasquad games. And now, at long last, the Nationals will take the field and play a baseball game against an opposing team for the first time in 127 days. It's not a real game, merely an exhibition. But this Saturday evening gathering with the...

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Kendrick will be ready for opener (MASN to air two exhibitions)

July 17, 2020, 2:59pm

Nationals

Kendrick will be ready for opener (MASN to air two exhibitions)

He's had only two days in camp after spending 14 days in mandatory quarantine. He'll get to play in only three exhibition games. But Howie Kendrick insists he'll be at Nationals Park on Thursday night, in the lineup as his team opens its title defense against the Yankees. "I'll be ready," the veteran hitter said today in his first Zoom session with reporters of the summer. "Whether I am or not, I'll be ready." Kendrick was ready to go when camp opened two weeks ago, but District of...

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Nationals release veteran reliever Abad

July 17, 2020, 6:58am

Nationals

The Nationals released Fernando Abad this morning, cutting ties with the veteran reliever, who had been among the group of players waiting the last two weeks to be cleared to participate in summer training. Abad, a non-roster invitee to big league camp back in the spring, had been a viable candidate to make the opening day bullpen, all the more so after Major League Baseball announced this abbreviated season will begin with 30-man active rosters. But the left-hander, a native of the Dominican...

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Summer training news and notes

July 16, 2020, 9:20pm

Nationals

Some news and notes for you on this Friday morning, the eve of the Nationals' first exhibition game against another club in four months ... * Though most of the attention - rightfully and deservedly - during Thursday night's intrasquad game was on Juan Soto and Howie Kendrick, there were other notable moments not involving the two big-name lineup regulars who made their summer training debuts after two weeks in mandatory quarantine. Patrick Corbin started for the home team and pitched four...

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Nationals in standoff with D.C. over quarantine rules

July 16, 2020, 3:18pm

Nationals

The Nationals and the District of Columbia are engaged in something of a standoff, the team trying to convince local authorities to grant an exception of its strict COVID-19 quarantine rules and suggesting it may move games away from Nationals Park if the city doesn't comply, a source familiar with the situation confirmed. Though D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser granted an exemption to the team earlier this month to hold workouts and games at Nationals Park despite the city's Phase 2 law restricting...

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Soto, Kendrick, GarcÃa cleared to work out (updated)

July 16, 2020, 1:13pm

Nationals

Soto, Kendrick, GarcÃa cleared to work out (updated)

Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick and Luis GarcÃa were cleared to participate in workouts at Nationals Park today after two weeks of quarantine required for those who either tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to someone who did. Soto and Kendrick were among the biggest names among the group of 11 Nationals players who had not initially been cleared to join the rest of the roster at Nationals Park when summer training opened two weeks ago. Second baseman Starlin Castro was cleared July 9...

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Fedde sharp in intrasquad game, makes case for No. 5 job

July 15, 2020, 8:10pm

Nationals

Fedde sharp in intrasquad game, makes case for No. 5 job

With only three weeks of summer training and only a few intrasquad or exhibition games to make evaluations, the Nationals are probably going to have to make their choice for No. 5 starter more off old information than anything they see right now. Still, Erick Fedde's chances for winning the job could only have improved Wednesday night, given the right-hander's performance against teammates in an intrasquad game. Starting for the visiting red team opposite Stephen Strasburg and the white team,...

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After some tinkering, Nats pleased with artificial crowd noise

July 15, 2020, 5:07pm

Nationals

After some tinkering, Nats pleased with artificial crowd noise

As Stephen Strasburg took the mound, "Seven Nation Army" blared over the public address system. The sort-of-familiar din of crowd noise could be heard in the background. And then as the leadoff batter stepped to the plate, there was Jerome Hruska's voice booming throughout Nationals Park, introducing "the shortstop ... Trea Turner!" as the crowd cheered. And then tonight's intrasquad game began, and a team of Nationals dressed in red jerseys beat a team dressed in white jerseys 4-0 in...

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Menhart "impressed" with pitchers' readiness after hiatus

July 15, 2020, 2:13pm

Nationals

Menhart "impressed" with pitchers' readiness after hiatus

After the entire team had departed West Palm Beach and spread throughout North America, the Nationals coaching staff was left to figure out what to tell each player to do to stay sharp until everyone could gather together again. The staff had to do this without having any idea when or where baseball would resume. And that meant nobody faced a challenge as difficult as Paul Menhart, the Nationals pitching coach tasked with creating and communicating the plan to several dozen pitchers. At the...