WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – For the first time in four years, Carter Kieboom didn’t report to spring training as the Nationals’ leading candidate to start at third base on Opening Day. This time, Kieboom is just trying to show he’s healthy again after missing the entire 2022 season following Tommy John surgery.

That process continues, with Kieboom not yet fully recovered from the elbow ligament replacement procedure most commonly associated with pitchers, not infielders.

He has been making throws from his position at third base to first and second bases, but they’ve all been routine, overhand throws. He has yet to advance to sidearm throws while charging in on a ball, or the tougher overhand throw required after fielding a ball backhanded down the line.

Because of all that, it doesn’t appear Kieboom will be ready to play in games at the start of the Grapefruit League season, which begins Feb. 25. When he does debut, he’ll likely serve as designated hitter at the outset, delaying his debut in the field until later in camp.

“We’re going to see how his progression goes,” manager Davey Martinez said. “There may be some days when we get him into a game when we can, probably as DH just to get his at-bats. But in time we’ll get him back out there to third base. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but he’s definitely well on his way to getting back on the field really soon.”

With the Nationals retooling for next year, there’s a flurry of off-season activity. Fans can catch up on the latest news and analysis in a special new series: “The Hot Stove Show.”  

It airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. on MASN. Special segments will also be available on masnsports.com and the MASN app. The series will focus on analyzing the roster, trades and free agent signings.

MASN’s Brendan Mortensen and MASN Insider Mark Zuckerman will host the weekly 30-minute program. The MASN Hot Stove Show features interviews with Nationals front office executives, big league players and top prospects, and exclusive insights provided by MASN broadcasters and analysts as the Nats and the rest of Major League Baseball prepare their rosters for the 2023 season.

Contact:  Adam Martiyan amartiyan@masnsports.com

With the Orioles a contender in the American League East, there’s a flurry of off-season activity. Fans can catch up on the latest Orioles news in a special new series: “The Hot Stove Show.”  

It airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on MASN. Special segments will also be available on masnsports.com and the MASN app. The series will focus on analyzing the roster, trades, and free agent signings.

MASN’s Paul Mancano and MASN Insiders Roch Kubatko and Steve Melewski will host the weekly 30-minute program. The MASN Hot Stove Show features interviews with Orioles front office executives, big league players and top prospects, and exclusive insights provided by MASN broadcasters and analysts as the Orioles and Major League Baseball prepare their rosters for the 2023 season.

Contact:  Adam Martiyan amartiyan@masnsports.com

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” — A.A. Milne, "Winnie The Pooh"

In December 2010, I walked through the doors of the MASN web studio on the fifth floor of the Camden Yards warehouse and into the best job I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a few jobs, from cleaning the bathrooms at a Dunkin’ Donuts to years in newspapers as a reporter and editor to a gig as a public relations executive and a soul-crushing stint in a publishing house, from which I was laid off as the economic downturn of 2008 was just beginning.

That exit from the publishing world, where I edited everything from travel guides to a compendium of lawyers and law firms in Philadelphia, was especially painful. It came out of the blue; I had misjudged the landscape, thinking that our three-person editorial staff that handled about 80 projects a year was safe. But with profits cratering and no one advertising, something had to go – and that something was me.

To make ends meet for most of the next three years, I retreated into baseball, my part-time vocation since 1993, working for anyone who would offer a job and a few bucks – The Associated Press, MLB.com, out-of-town daily newspapers. I worked all of spring training on my own dime and 13 of every 14 days during the regular season, praying that the paychecks arrived in time to cover the mortgage, car payment and health insurance bills. Most times they did, but I had to be creative.

Creativity has never been a challenge for me. Nor has following the national pastime, which was always my intended path, even if I took a roundabout route to get there. But the 14-year-old kid who went to junior high school an hour early to pore over the box scores in the morning paper, the youngster who played APBA Baseball and then in Rotisserie leagues, the guy who made his major league press box debut at 33 and marveled at the opportunity to step onto the field of a big league ballpark and talk to managers and players wasn’t deterred.

It’s been noted more than once over the last week that only two members of the Nationals lineup have consistently been producing: Juan Soto and Josh Bell. It’s probably time to add a third name to that list: Yadiel Hernandez.

Hernandez hasn’t played as much as the other regular members of the lineup, but the 34-year-old outfielder is earning more playing time because of his bat. After homering, singling and driving in all three of the Nats runs during Sunday’s loss to the Giants, he now sports a .333 batting average, .a 485 slugging percentage and an .846 OPS that actually outpaces Soto’s .841 mark at the moment.

“He can hit,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I’ve always said that. He’s got a good swing.”

Hernandez’s two-run homer was an opposite-field blast that landed in the visitors’ bullpen at Nationals Park, the kind of swing that has always intrigued club officials about him since they signed him in 2016 after he fled Cuba.

He hasn’t shown that power stroke a ton, but he has totaled 11 homers in 353 major league plate appearances since debuting late in the 2020 season.