nationals

Tracking down former Nats pitchers

January 07, 2017, 7:12pm

Yesterday, we tracked down some former Nationals position players to see what has become of them since we last saw them. Today we look at former pitchers, with some particularly notable and memorable names in this bunch. ROSS DETWILER The sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft had a few big moments during his Nationals career - most notably, he tossed a gem in the must-win Game 4 of the 2012 National League Division Series against the Cardinals - but he never could sustain it. The Nats decided...

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Tracking down former Nats position players

January 06, 2017, 4:10pm

Nationals

Tracking down former Nats position players

Baseball rosters are a constantly changing entity. Teams make moves throughout a season and offseason, calling up this player, sending another player down, trading this one away, signing this one off the open market. In the process, a lot of players who become well-known and popular among fans, teammates and media alike disappear, never to be heard from again in these parts. The Nationals, like every other team in baseball, have parted ways with plenty of once-popular players over the years....

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Relive "Nationals Classics": Beating up on the Phillies and Marlins

January 05, 2017, 8:51am

Nationals

We're inching closer and closer to the arrival of spring training! Can you believe that Nationals pitchers and catchers report to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in 37 days, with position players arriving just three days later? While you countdown the days to baseball's return, MASN continues along with our "Nationals Classics" series this week with some memorable NL East victories over the Phillies and Marlins. This would be the week to tune in if you hold special animosity to the Nats'...

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Nats hire longtime scout De Jon Watson as special assistant

January 06, 2017, 8:28am

Nationals

Nats hire longtime scout De Jon Watson as special assistant

The Nationals have made an addition to their pro scouting staff, hiring De Jon Watson as a special assistant to the general manager. Watson spent the last two seasons as senior vice president of baseball operations for the Diamondbacks, overseeing the club's scouting and player development programs. Arizona let him go in September, electing not to pick up his contract option for 2017, one of several moves the franchise made in a front office shakeup. A veteran of 31 seasons in professional...

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No. 3 Nats prospect: Juan Soto

January 07, 2017, 4:23am

Nationals

We hear a ton about Victor Robles, but there are more and more Dominican players that the Nationals are building who are going to start making names for themselves each passing season. This season that breakout player could well be outfielder Juan Soto. Soto absolutely tore through the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and then didn't miss a beat with an outstanding showcase week with the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays. Baseball America also noticed the work of Soto, as he is in their...

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Has the Nats lineup improved from last year?

January 05, 2017, 12:10pm

Nationals

Has the Nats lineup improved from last year?

Though the Nationals' offseason is only about two-thirds complete at this point - for these purposes we're talking about from when the postseason ended until the day pitchers and catchers report for spring training - barring a surprising turn of events, they already know who's going to be in their opening day lineup. Of course things can change between now and then, whether injuries or trades or late signings, but the Nationals by all accounts aren't actively seeking anybody at this point...

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Thursday morning Nats Q&A

January 04, 2017, 5:36pm

Nationals

It's been an awfully slow-news couple of weeks for the Nationals, who haven't announced a roster transaction since Dec. 13, when they signed Emmanuel Burriss and three pitchers to minor league contracts. They haven't made a move involving a member of the 40-man roster since the Dec. 10 trade of Danny Espinosa to the Angels. This isn't unprecedented. Most major league clubs go mostly silent over the holidays, and there hasn't been much news made anywhere in the sport since late December....

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Bobblehead featuring MASN's Kolko, Werth among P-Nats' Fans' Choice finalists

January 04, 2017, 9:23am

Nationals

Bobblehead featuring MASN's Kolko, Werth among P-Nats' Fans' Choice finalists

The Single-A Potomac Nationals always put out one of the most impressive slates of giveaway items each baseball season, and we've got our eye on a possible 2017 bobblehead with a MASN connection. For a second consecutive season, the P-Nats are planning a bobblehead giveaway based on a fan vote, sponsored by Loyal Hygiene Solutions. Best of all, you don't even have to attend a game in Woodbridge, Va. (actually, the voting will be completed by the time the new season opens at Pfitzner Stadium)...

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Let the countdown to spring training begin

January 03, 2017, 6:17pm

Nationals

Let the countdown to spring training begin

It may not feel like it, not with bitter cold temperatures coming later this week, but we actually aren't all that far away from baseball season. We're only 41 days away, to be precise. Yes, only 41 days from now, Nationals pitchers and catchers will officially report to their new spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., the club announced yesterday. That's Feb. 14, for those who have trouble counting. Not a bad way to spend Valentine's Day, though my wife may beg to...

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After injury-plagued 2016, Ross seeks consistency in 2017

January 02, 2017, 6:03pm

Nationals

After injury-plagued 2016, Ross seeks consistency in 2017

There was no shortage of domino effects from last month's trade for Adam Eaton, which cost the Nationals three top pitching prospects, including two hurlers who figured to be the club's first options for rotation depth in 2017. In dealing Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the White Sox, general manager Mike Rizzo thinned his organization's pitching ranks in order to acquire a dynamic outfielder who could make a major impact on a daily basis. But the Eaton trade also puts added pressure on...

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Will D.C. sports finally get over the hump in 2017?

January 01, 2017, 5:45pm

Nationals

Will D.C. sports finally get over the hump in 2017?

And so 2017 has officially arrived at last. And not a moment too soon for many people who won't have fond memories of 2016. Leaving politics, celebrity deaths and other topics aside, 2016 was a particularly frustrating year for Washington sports fans, who once again had countless opportunities to get their hopes up only to have those hopes dashed in cruel fashion. The Nationals, of course, enjoyed another fantastic regular season, winning 95 games and a division title. Then they were knocked...

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A few thoughts on the Nationals and the WBC

December 30, 2016, 6:17am

Nationals

Coming off of minor offseason elbow surgery, Luis Ayala was a key member of the Nationals bullpen heading into the 2006 season. He had gone 8-7 with a 2.66 ERA and a save in 68 appearances in the team's first season in D.C. since relocating from Montreal and had cemented himself in an important setup role in front of closer Chad Cordero. The Nationals wanted Ayala to spend all of spring training with them in Viera, Fla., gradually building up strength in his elbow under the watchful eyes of...

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Murphy reportedly agrees to join Team USA for WBC

December 30, 2016, 5:30pm

Nationals

Murphy reportedly agrees to join Team USA for WBC

Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy has reportedly agreed to join Team USA for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, making him the first of the team's position players to commit to the international tournament. Murphy would join right-hander Max Scherzer, who previously accepted an invitation from Team USA manager Jim Leyland, who managed him with the Tigers. The only other Nationals player committed to play in the WBC is left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, who will pitch for his native...

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Relive "Nationals Classics": Some heroics to get you closer to spring training

December 22, 2016, 8:41am

Nationals

OK, let's face it: Once New Year's Day passes, the want for a new baseball season really sets in. You're ready to pitch snow, cold and frigid wind chills for warm thoughts of pitchers and catchers reporting to West Palm Beach, Fla., where the Nationals will hold their first spring training at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Well, we're still about six weeks away from the day that hardcore baseball fans consider the starting point of a new season. In the interim, we've got some warm...

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Battle already brewing for Nats' final reserve outfield spot

December 28, 2016, 10:22am

Nationals

Battle already brewing for Nats' final reserve outfield spot

One of the more interesting positional battles to watch when spring training convenes in six weeks at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla., will be the second reserve outfielder's spot on the 25-man roster. Barring an injury, it's a pretty good bet that Chris Heisey will be on the roster as a pinch-hitter and a backup to left fielder Jayson Werth, center fielder Adam Eaton and right fielder Bryce Harper. The Nationals will also have shortstop Trea Turner available to play...

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When will Nationals extend Dusty Baker?

December 27, 2016, 8:30am

Nationals

Dusty Baker has been the manager of the Nationals for roughly 14 months, so it's a little hard to fathom how he could already be a lame duck skipper. But he is. The two-year deal that he signed in November 2015 runs through 2017, meaning that Baker has now entered a period of limbo that's treated other Nationals managers rather poorly. Remember the end of the 2013 campaign, Davey Johnson's last at the helm? It was already prearranged that Johnson would manage through 2013 and then move into...

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Bryce Harper can stamp his D.C. legacy by staying with Nats

December 29, 2016, 2:12am

Nationals

Bryce Harper can stamp his D.C. legacy by staying with Nats

I get the questions a lot. And they center around Bryce Harper. Will he get half a billion dollars on his next deal? Will he stay in Washington and play for the Nationals after 2018? Those were questions posed to me and callers on Tuesday night's "Sportstalk" on NewsChannel 8, as a guest of ABC 7's Robert Burton for the half-hour show. Burton asked me the question on air. I told him I believe Harper would re-sign with the Nats in part because of the long standing relationship between...

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Notes on Wieters, Barrett and draft position

December 26, 2016, 9:45am

Nationals

Notes on Wieters, Barrett and draft position

Rumors are both a blessing and a curse to baseball's offseason. A blessing because a good rumor can stoke the fires of the hot stove, keeping baseball talk alive during the coldest and longest days of the winter. A curse because a rumor, when unchecked, can take on a life of its own. Don't believe me? Then look at the interest the Nationals reportedly have in free agent catcher Matt Wieters, who is ready to take his career beyond Baltimore, which drafted, developed and was home to the...

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Bulkier Cole hopes success late in season will be springboard

December 21, 2016, 5:56am

Nationals

Bulkier Cole hopes success late in season will be springboard

Like most young pitchers, all it took for right-hander A.J. Cole to feel a little more sure of himself at the major league level was a modicum of success. In the eight starts Cole made for the Nationals last season - all after Aug. 22 following the elbow injury that short-circuited Stephen Strasburg's season - the 24-year-old went at least five innings five times. Those were his first five starts of 2016, following an 8-8 record and 4.26 ERA in 22 starts at Triple-A Syracuse, and included his...

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Before looking ahead to 2017, looking back on an eventful 2016

December 22, 2016, 8:30pm

Nationals

Before looking ahead to 2017, looking back on an eventful 2016

First of all, a public service announcement: I'm heading out of town (actually, out of the country) for the next week. Byron Kerr and Pete Kerzel will have you covered, though, so be sure to keep checking the site for any Nationals news over the holidays. Since you won't be hearing from me again until 2017, this seems like an appropriate time to take a step back and view 2016 in its entirety. This was an eventful year, to say the least. (And we're only talking about baseball here, let alone...