nationals

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

February 17, 2017, 12:11pm

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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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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Sitting down with Ross Detwiler

April 24, 2016, 7:59am

Nationals

Ross Detwiler is a 24-year-old left-handed pitcher drafted in the first round of the 2007 MLB Draft. He is back from offseason hip surgery and in the Nats' rotation. He and Rob Dibble sat down to discuss a variety of topics including the health of his hip, the impact of catcher Ivan Rodriguez and the young staff of the Washington Nationals, now and in the future. Watch the video below to see the whole interview between Rob and Ross.

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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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Baker able to hit ground running in second season with Nats

February 15, 2017, 5:55am

Nationals

Baker able to hit ground running in second season with Nats

It is a brand new spring training facility for the Nationals, but the good thing for Dusty Baker is it's not a brand new team and new job for him as the manager. Baker arrived at the new spring facility in West Palm Beach with the knowledge and experience of working with this roster, with general manager Mike Rizzo and with the coaching staff already for an entire season - a season in which the Nationals returned to the postseason as National League East division champions. Baker said not...

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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...

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Nats finalizing deal with veteran first baseman Adam Lind

February 13, 2017, 9:35am

Nationals

Nats finalizing deal with veteran first baseman Adam Lind

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals are finalizing a deal with veteran first baseman/outfielder Adam Lind, adding another left-handed bat to their options off the bench and some insurance behind Ryan Zimmerman. The major league contract won't be complete until Lind passes a physical, according to a source familiar with the deal, which was first reported by ESPN's Jim Bowden (the former Nats general manager). Lind, 33, is a career .271/.328/.462 hitter in 11 big league seasons with the Blue...

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Breakdown of Nationals' 2017 spring training broadcast schedule

February 14, 2017, 4:43pm

Nationals

Here is a breakdown of the recently announced Nationals spring training broadcast schedule for 2017. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and 106.7 The Fan will broadcast a total of 16 Nationals spring training matchups in 2017. The Nationals' spring schedule features seven games televised by MASN and a combined 12 games airing on 106.7 The Fan and partner station CBS Sports Radio WJFK 1580 AM. The games on MASN are as follows: Feb. 28 vs. Houston, 1:05 p.m. March 7 vs. Boston, 1:05 p.m. March 12...

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Dusty Baker returns to West Palm Beach

February 14, 2017, 5:08pm

Nationals

Nationals manager Dusty Baker is known for his experience in the major leagues as both player and manager, the people he knows, and the things he's done and seen. Baker has so much experience that his briefings with the media are more so known as "story times" than actual press conferences. Everything from his time with Hank Aaron and the Braves to playing for the Dodgers and winning a World Series to his relationship with rock legend Jimi Hendrix is fair game at any given moment during a...

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Nationals agree to terms with first baseman/outfielder Adam Lind

February 15, 2017, 3:21pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with a mutual 2018 option with first baseman/outfielder Adam Lind. Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Lind, 33, owns a .271 batting average, .328 on-base percentage and .462 slugging percentage in a career that has spanned 11 major league seasons. The left-handed-hitting Lind has hit 20 or more home runs in six of the last eight seasons, including reaching the 20-homer...

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Baker addresses closer situation as pitchers and catchers report

February 14, 2017, 11:50am

Nationals

Baker addresses closer situation as pitchers and catchers report

With Nationals pitchers and catchers finally reporting to spring training at their new facility in West Palm Beach, baseball season is officially back, meaning a couple of things. First of all, you have obvious returns of the crack of the bats and that beautiful sound of ball meeting mitt. But it also means the return of many phrases ballplayers and managers love to use with the media, such as: "Next man up." Well, we here at MASNsports.com are taking that phrase quite literally over these...

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Live from West Palm Beach ... it's reporting day!

February 13, 2017, 2:16pm

Nationals

Live from West Palm Beach ... it's reporting day!

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - And so the big day has arrived at last. Nationals pitchers and catchers officially report to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches for the start of spring training. Now, as any of you who have followed these things closely over the years know, not a whole lot actually happens on reporting day. Players aren't even required to set foot in the building in order to report. They simply have to arrive in town, or notify club officials that they're on their way. As long as...

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Nats' most pressing spring question: Who's the closer?

February 12, 2017, 1:07pm

Nationals

Nats' most pressing spring question: Who's the closer?

The final countdown to spring training has arrived, and so we're spending the final days of the offseason counting down the Nationals' top storylines of the spring. We conclude today with the team's most pressing question in West Palm Beach: Who's the closer? When they departed the ballpark 122 days ago, dejected from yet another first-round loss in the postseason, the Nationals knew there was a chance they would have a different closer when they reconvened again in West Palm Beach. They...