Pete Kerzel

Glover leveraging first big league camp into a learning experience

February 19, 2017, 12:12pm

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Under normal circumstances, a rookie pitcher in his first major league spring training would be a fly on the wall. He'd say little, listen a lot and hope he lasted long enough in camp to glean something from the older veterans with something to offer him. But nothing about Nationals right-hander Koda Glover is ordinary. Not his imposing look on the mound. Not the way he fires bullets at a catcher's mitt. Not the fact that he jumped from high Single-A Potomac, through...

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Baker's message before first full-squad workout: "It's going to be tougher"

February 19, 2017, 11:16am

Nationals

Baker's message before first full-squad workout: "It's going to be tougher"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The first full-squad workout of spring training is old hat for Nationals manager Dusty Baker. Baker doesn't feel it's necessary to see every player each day. So if he missed Bryce Harper taking batting practice - or the barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat sent to him by the folks at "The Walking Dead" that the slugger toted to the practice field this morning - he will have plenty more days to watch Harper terrorize pitchers with more traditional lumber. Nor does Baker...

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Unfinished business motivates Werth in final year of deal

February 19, 2017, 10:40am

Nationals

Unfinished business motivates Werth in final year of deal

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Last May 11, Jayson Werth was batting .196 and wondering whether his thrice-broken left wrist was ever going to be strong enough to help him power through his swing. Six years into the seven-year, $126 million contract he signed in December 2010, Werth often looked overmatched, and some wondered whether he'd ever be a regular contributor again. "After like the first six weeks, I was somewhat happy that Dusty (Baker) stuck with me," Werth recalled Sunday after the...

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Eaton craves opportunity to ignite offense for Nationals

February 19, 2017, 5:10am

Nationals

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - He's yet to take part in an official spring training workout, and his first Grapefruit League game is still six days away, but new Nationals center fielder Adam Eaton is already feeling comfortable enough in his new surroundings to dream about what might me. From his stall at the end of veterans' row in the Nationals clubhouse, he peers to the right and sees some big sticks - first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, second baseman Daniel Murphy, right fielder Bryce Harper and...

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Kelley on Nats' search for a closer: "Everybody started somewhere"

February 18, 2017, 1:26pm

Nationals

Kelley on Nats' search for a closer: "Everybody started somewhere"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Shawn Kelley understands the intense scrutiny Nationals manager Dusty Baker faces as he tries to come up with a plan for who will close games. But Kelley wishes the fans up in arms about the possibility of an inexperienced closer taking over the ninth inning would keep one thing in mind. "Everybody wants the big innings, but there's a lot of big innings in the game now," Kelley said. "Sometimes when you come in in the sixth or seventh when there's guys on after the...

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No lack of ideas for fixing Zimmerman's offensive woes

February 18, 2017, 11:32am

Nationals

No lack of ideas for fixing Zimmerman's offensive woes

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Everyone seems to agree that Ryan Zimmerman has some work to do to rebound from the worst offensive year of his 12-year major league career. Teams need power from first base, and Zimmerman's .218/.272/.2370 slash line, 15 homers and 46 RBIs left something to be desired. Problem is, there are different thoughts as to what Zimmerman should do. Dusty Baker thinks the 32-year-old needs to be more aggressive instead of employing a selective approach. Last season, Baker...

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Baker on Harper: "I'm not worried about Bryce"

February 18, 2017, 9:20am

Nationals

Baker on Harper: "I'm not worried about Bryce"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - One of the reasons the Nationals selected Dusty Baker as their manager two offseasons ago was the veteran skipper's pedigree of successfully dealing with high-profile, young sluggers. For Baker, working with Bryce Harper on a daily basis is no different than his past relationships with Barry Bonds in San Francisco or Ken Griffey Jr. in Cincinnati. Maybe that's why Baker has a significant insight into whether Harper will rebound from a marked downturn last season after...

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Eager Harper committed to living in the moment

February 18, 2017, 6:00am

Nationals

Eager Harper committed to living in the moment

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As a season's worth of whispers about what was wrong with Bryce Harper - whether he had an injured shoulder, a kink in his neck, whether his swing was irreparably broken - leaked into the offseason, the Nationals slugger couldn't care less. Instead of paying any attention to his critics or their omnipresent theories, Harper had a busy offseason of deadlifting 505 lbs. during weight training sessions, sporting new swag from Las Vegas' new National Hockey League team,...

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Goodwin trying to build on breakout campaign, cement roster spot

February 17, 2017, 4:25pm

Nationals

Goodwin trying to build on breakout campaign, cement roster spot

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Brian Goodwin's status in the Nationals organization has changed since this time last year, when he was still viewed a somewhat raw prospect yet to realize his potential. That's what a seven-week cup of coffee at the end of the season does for a player's standing, especially when the player holds his own offensively, displays good defensive tendencies and turns on the jets when he reaches base. The 26-year-old Goodwin, a former first-round pick (34th overall) in the...

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Joe Nathan's new goal: "Give them confidence to give you the ball"

February 17, 2017, 12:11pm

Nationals

Joe Nathan's new goal: "Give them confidence to give you the ball"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Baseball's circle of life has brought Joe Nathan - whose 377 career saves are the second-most among active major leaguers - to a curious corner of the Nationals clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The number on his locker stall nameplate and uniform jersey - 74 - matches the year he was born, and he's grouped with other guys wearing the digits of football offensive linemen who are bold enough to dream of a chance to make a ballclub even though the odds may...

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Latecomer Lind happy for shot at Nationals bench role

February 17, 2017, 10:01am

Nationals

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When the call finally came after a long offseason of waiting and wondering, Adam Lind was only too happy to join Nationals spring training with an opportunity to carve out a new niche as a productive bench player. "To sign this late with this quality of a team, you couldn't ask for anything else," Lind said Friday. "I'm real excited to watch these guys play every day. I've had the opportunity to watch some really good hitters and I'll have that opportunity again...

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Turner on returning to short, Murphy on his new double play partner

February 17, 2017, 9:30am

Nationals

Turner on returning to short, Murphy on his new double play partner

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals will have a new double play combination this season, with Trea Turner moving from center field to shortstop to team with second baseman Daniel Murphy. Murphy is as eager to play alongside Turner, who returns to his natural position. "Trea and I will do some work together," Murphy said Friday as position players reported to Nationals camp at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. "We worked together already. We worked together last spring training early. And...

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Harper and Zimmerman report, plus notes on Kieboom's kitchen

February 17, 2017, 5:02am

Nationals

Harper and Zimmerman report, plus notes on Kieboom's kitchen

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Position players are required to report to Nationals camp at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches today, and a few newcomers have been trickling into the clubhouse this morning. The room became a beehive of activity, with players searching out and moving into their locker stalls, shaking hands and hugging teammates. Ryan Zimmerman, fresh off a family trip to Disney World, arrived today and spent the better part of an hour unpacking boxes and chatting with reporters. A little...

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Norris on learning a new staff and pitch framing metrics

February 16, 2017, 11:56am

Nationals

Norris on learning a new staff and pitch framing metrics

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - With a new staff to learn about and only a few weeks to forge those relationships, you'd expect catcher Derek Norris to be working the Nationals clubhouse like a lobbyist works a D.C. fundraiser, making sure he spends a few minutes with every pitcher in camp to get a read on who they are, how they approach the game and how he can mesh his talents with theirs. But Norris, reacquired by the Nationals in December to be the starting catcher, isn't daunted by the 34...

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Strasburg on first workout, offseason training regimen and slider

February 16, 2017, 10:09am

Nationals

Strasburg on first workout, offseason training regimen and slider

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The 10 minutes that Stephen Strasburg reared back and fired a baseball at catcher Derek Norris on Thursday morning will quickly be forgotten. There's just too much baseball left between now and October to focus too heavily on however many pitches the right-hander could cram into 600 seconds. But for a pitcher whose 2016 season ended prematurely in early September because of a torn pronator tendon in his pitching arm, cutting loose under warm but cloudy Florida skies had...

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Slow-healing knuckle puts Scherzer's opening day start at risk

February 16, 2017, 9:19am

Nationals

Slow-healing knuckle puts Scherzer's opening day start at risk

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - While some of his Nationals mound mates threw bullpen sessions on the first day of spring training workouts for pitchers and catchers on Thursday, right-hander Max Scherzer played catch. Scherzer is still dealing with the aftermath of a stress fracture in the knuckle on his right ring finger, and the injury that has confounded hand specialists and frustrated the Nationals ace and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner may have an even longer lasting...

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Early notes from the first workout day (with video)

February 16, 2017, 4:50am

Nationals

Early notes from the first workout day (with video)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Nationals pitchers and catchers will go through drills for the first time today at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. But there's a notable absence among the 32 pitchers scheduled to participate in the first spring training workout. Right-hander Max Scherzer, recovering from a stress fracture on the knuckle of his right ring finger, is not listed among the pitchers who will throw bullpen sessions and take part in drills covering first base, and fielding popups,...

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Lind agrees to one-year deal with Nationals

February 15, 2017, 3:40pm

Nationals

The Nationals have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with a mutual 2018 option with first baseman/outfielder Adam Lind. Lind, 33, will receive a base salary of $1 million, with a $500,000 buyout on the option. By adding Lind, the Nationals beef up their bench and add a left-handed hitting complement to first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who is coming off the worst offensive season of his career. The move also sets up a spring training competition between Lind and incumbent southpaw swinging...

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Workmanlike Fedde not taking his first major league camp for granted

February 15, 2017, 1:09pm

Nationals

Workmanlike Fedde not taking his first major league camp for granted

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When Erick Fedde's 2016 season ended, the right-hander was no better than the third man in the Nationals' prospect pecking order. Splitting time between Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg, Fedde logged 23 games, including 22 starts, in his first full season coming off Tommy John ligament replacement surgery performed three days before the Nats snagged him with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The...

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Treinen's thoughts on closing (and a peek at Nats' new digs)

February 15, 2017, 10:16am

Nationals

Treinen's thoughts on closing (and a peek at Nats' new digs)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - At first blush, the Nationals' new spring training facility is, in a word, impressive. The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the $148 million complex they share with the Astros, will have that new-car smell for a while, especially considering the hoards of workers clad in reflective neon vests that lurk around every corner and move in packs throughout the place. It's big enough that you barely even notice that another major league team inhabits the other side of the...