Mark Zuckerman

Progress in latest round of talks, but no deal quite yet

Progress in latest round of talks, but no deal quite yet
Is it possible? Is it possible Rob Manfred and Tony Clark are close to a deal and the 2020 season is nearly upon us at last? Well, yes and no. After a Wednesday that featured a whirlwind of emotions, from brief moments of joy to forceful words of caution, here's where it appears things stand: Manfred and Clark, after meeting in person (and in secret) in Arizona, seem to have made significant headway toward a deal. But not a completed deal, both because they didn't sign any formal papers and...
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Steve Melewski

MLB takes a step toward a 2020 season

MLB takes a step toward a 2020 season
Will we hear the cry to "Play ball!" in July? One day after I wrote in this space about how bad it looked and how we had a right to be disappointed in both the players and owners, it seems an actual deal may be getting closer. The players held firm to get 100 percent of prorated salaries and they will reportedly get that. But just for 60, 65, or 66 games, something in that neighborhood, although they could negotiate for more. The owners didn't want to pay full prorated salaries for much more...
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Roch Kubatko

Optimism on the rise for a 2020 season (plus notes)

Optimism on the rise for a 2020 season (plus notes)
This is going to happen. There's going to be a baseball season. At least until I refresh Twitter. Truth be told, I'm so certain of it that I'm already deciding whether to eat dinner at home before heading to the ballpark or packing a sandwich. We'll always wonder why commissioner Rob Manfred and Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, didn't meet face-to-face a long time ago and hammer out an agreement. A couple of weeks ago would have sufficed. We...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats have a lot to lose in shortened or canceled season

Nats have a lot to lose in shortened or canceled season
It's June 17, and we still don't know when (or if) the Major League Baseball season is going to begin. But at this point, it's pretty safe to say that however long the potential season is, it won't be long. It won't equate to one-half of a normal season. It might not even equate to one-third of a 162-game slate. And that could have some significant ramifications for the Nationals, not necessarily positive ones. I've been thinking about what 2020 is going to mean for the Nats as a whole...
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Steve Melewski

A hope that baseball can quickly get it together

A hope that baseball can quickly get it together
Here are a few - but certainly nearly not all - of the reasons that baseball has gotten to the point where there is a chance there will not be a 2020 season. * The Major League Baseball owners and players negotiated an agreement on March 26. But now they can't even agree on what they negotiated or agree on the language in said agreement. * The agreement failed to address the economics of how the sport would return if there were going to be MLB games played with no fans, which was a real...
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Mark Zuckerman

Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball

Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball
When baseball owners approached Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis in 1920 and asked him to become the first commissioner in professional sports, the then-U.S. District Court judge insisted he be given a very specific power. Landis insisted he be allowed to make major decisions on his own, without approval of owners or players, for matters he believed were "in the best interests of baseball." Exactly one century later, that phrase remains written into Major League Baseball's constitution, and every...
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Byron Kerr

Nationals reportedly sign undrafted infielder Gio Diaz of St. Mary's

Nationals reportedly sign undrafted infielder Gio Diaz of St. Mary's
The Nationals reportedly made at least one Sunday signing of an undrafted free agent. Infielder Gio Diaz of St. Mary's College confirmed through a school release that he had joined the Nationals for the $20,000 signing bonus. Diaz played mostly second base and third base, slashing .396/.442/.417 in 13 games during the shortened 2020 campaign for the Gaels. The .396 batting average was sixth-best in the West Coast Conference. He only struck out two times in 53 plate appearances, good for...
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Mark Zuckerman

Tales from the clubhouse: Bonds and Bacsik

Tales from the clubhouse: Bonds and Bacsik
With no news on the state of the 2020 season expected until sometime today, the baseball world was left Sunday with nothing else to do but wax nostalgic and watch a documentary about the breaking of one of the sport's most hallowed records 22 years ago. The Great Home Run Chase of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was beloved by everyone at the time, cringed at now because of the added layer of context we now have for what took place. Watching it, though, reminded me of the breaking of...
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Mark Zuckerman

Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players

Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players
Whatever sliver of hope remained that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association might find a way to come together and negotiate a reasonable settlement to their ongoing fight over salary structure appeared to go up in smoke Saturday night after both entities issued nasty statements accusing each other of ruining any chance of a reasonable 2020 season. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark all but gave up further negotiations and essentially demanded that Rob Manfred tell the players...
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Roch Kubatko

Orioles to pay minor leaguers through end of season

Orioles to pay minor leaguers through end of season
The 2020 Minor League Baseball season is likely to be canceled as the sport remains shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Orioles have made the decision to continue paying the players' stipends through the rest of the schedule. The team made the announcement earlier today. The final day of the regular season would have been Sept. 7, but the spring training camps closed on March 12 and there's been no activity. The Orioles already had agreed to $400 weekly payments through...
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Steve Melewski

Negotiation fatigue is real for the fans of baseball

Negotiation fatigue is real for the fans of baseball
At a time when turning on the news can be depressing in so many ways, baseball had the chance to be our hero in recent weeks. We turn to sports for enjoyment and entertainment. It is a great diversion from life's issues for a few hours. Baseball had the chance. But so far, baseball has failed. The constant bickering between the players and owners, I believe, has had an opposite effect. I call it negotiation fatigue. Fans are tiring of the back and forth and tired of hearing another day when...
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Roch Kubatko

Hudson Haskin: "Couldn't think of a better fit"

Hudson Haskin: "Couldn't think of a better fit"
When Hudson Haskin's world shut down in March, lives changing in drastic measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, he had no idea whether he'd play college baseball again. And whether the impact on his status in the First-Year Player Draft would be minimal or severe. Like so many other people around the world, all he could do was wait through it and count his blessings. Haskin wouldn't see another pitch at Tulane University, but the Orioles made it clear that they wanted him in their minor...
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Roch Kubatko

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)
Two days of the First-Year Player draft provided the ideal distraction from the back and forth between ownership and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Barely a peep about the length of a proposed season, percentages of prorated pay and an expanded playoff format that could shove 16 teams into October. And now, back to our regularly scheduled bickering, already in progress. Selecting players from the college and high school ranks is followed by negotiations on contracts, with the...
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Mark Zuckerman

Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A
Another week down, another week without resolution to the seemingly important question of: "When will the 2020 Major League Baseball season begin, and how long will it last?" Despite proposals and counter-proposals, the league and the MLB Players Association don't appear to be close to a deal at this point. We can only continue to hope cooler heads will prevail - and soon. There was baseball news this week, though, in the form of a condensed, five-round draft that began Wednesday night and...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nationals Day 2 draft tracker (updated)

Nationals Day 2 draft tracker (updated)
It's day two of the draft, and the Nationals have much more to consider than they did last night when they waited around for their one and only pick (No. 22), which they used on Oklahoma right-hander Cade Cavalli. Tonight, the Nats will make five selections, one apiece in rounds two through five, plus a compensatory pick after the second round they received for losing Anthony Rendon to free agency. Yep, that's a big one. The whole thing begins at 5 p.m. with the start of the second round. The...
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Mark Zuckerman

In strange draft year, Nats confident early scouting will pay off

In strange draft year, Nats confident early scouting will pay off
When they gathered Wednesday night - each individual secluded in his own home - for the first night of this year's draft, Mike Rizzo, Kris Kline and the Nationals scouting department would have been excused if they felt less prepared than they had any previous year they gathered for the first night of the draft. Nobody had been able to scout anybody in person in three months, which under normal circumstances would be a ludicrous way to try to create a draft board. Instead, these men insist,...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks

Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks
The Nationals built a contender - and ultimately, a World Series champion - on the strength of an impressive run of first-round draft picks who developed into superstars. Ryan Zimmerman. Stephen Strasburg. Anthony Rendon. Bryce Harper and Drew Storen (aside from the champion part). All were top-10 selections during the Nats' first seven drafts. All had a hand in the franchise's ascension. The first three had a major hand in the franchise's title run. But if they want to continue this run of...
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Mark Zuckerman

Players, owners can't try to fight 2021 battle in 2020

Players, owners can't try to fight 2021 battle in 2020
There are problems with Major League Baseball's economics system. Big problems. Yes, the sport brings in as much as $11 billion a year, but that doesn't mean the economic state of the sport is healthy. Players have been making this argument for two years now. How can owners be making so much money while free agency remains stagnant? How can so many teams be profitable while still claiming they need to cut payroll as part of a long-term rebuilding plan? And how can the best players in this...
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Roch Kubatko

Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias

Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias
The latest Major League Baseball economic proposal sent yesterday to the MLB Players Association assures that the 2020 season won't start before July 10. And it heightens suspicions that we're facing a 50-game schedule that, in the immortal words of heavyweight boxer Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," is going to produce a paper champion. As first reported by ESPN's Karl Ravech, ownership is now seeking a 76-game season, concluding on Sept. 27, that pays players 75 percent of their prorated...
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Roch Kubatko

Elias says Orioles to choose among five players for first pick

Elias says Orioles to choose among five players for first pick
With two days remaining before the start of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles have reduced the number of possibilities with the second overall selection but aren't ready to pinpoint their preference. Speaking to the media today on a Zoom call, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said the Orioles are "actively discussing" five players and probably won't make a final decision until the day of the draft. It's a fairly typical stance for a team positioned in such a high...
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