nationals

Nats add Blanco, Michaels, Joaquin on minor league deals

December 19, 2011, 6:47am

Turns out reliever Jeff Fulchino isn't the only player who has recently signed a minor league contract with the Nationals, who are stocking up on fringe major leaguers to provide organizational depth and extra bodies in spring training. According to multiple published reports, the Nationals have also agreed to deals - which include invites to spring camp in Viera, Fla. - with infielder Andres Blanco, outfielder Jason Michaels and right-handed reliever Waldis Joaquin. The 27-year-old Blanco...

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Nationals announce 2012 minor league managers, coaches and coordinators

December 19, 2011, 8:18am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals today named their minor league managers, coaches and coordinators for the 2012 season. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Development Bob Boone, Director of Player Development Doug Harris and Director of Minor League Operations Mark Scialabba made the joint announcements. The Nationals promoted two managers within their system, elevating Tony Beasley from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Syracuse and Matthew LeCroy from Single-A Potomac to...

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Rizzo must decide if rising price for pitching is too high

December 18, 2011, 5:04am

Nationals

Rizzo must decide if rising price for pitching is too high

Part of being a successful front office executive in Major League Baseball is the ability to flip on the fly. General managers have to be able to adjust their line of thinking to the game's ever-changing landscape. Those who do receive the opportunity to constantly improve their teams; those who stick to their guns just a little too long are left in the dust as their peers zoom ahead of them in both activity and in the standings. We've spent a lot of bandwith this offseason talking about the...

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No bid on Darvish; now what's the Nats' pitching plan?

December 16, 2011, 9:14am

Nationals

No bid on Darvish; now what's the Nats' pitching plan?

According to a baseball source, the Nationals were not one of the teams to place a bid on Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish through the posting process, which ended at 5 p.m. Wednesday. That takes the Nationals out of the mix for a right-hander, who is described as the best pitcher not currently in the major leagues and helps to better explain general manager Mike Rizzo's hesitance to address the subject publicly. The news was first reported by The Washington Post. If Darvish isn't in...

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Knorr to D.C. alters minor league coaching staffs (updated)

December 16, 2011, 6:09am

Nationals

Knorr to D.C. alters minor league coaching staffs (updated)

With Randy Knorr leaving Triple-A Syracuse to be the Nationals bench coach, Tony Beasley will move up to manage the Chiefs this season, according to MiLB.com. (Updated: The Nationals are expected to announce the complete minor league coaching staffs early next week.) Matt Lecroy goes to Double-A Harrisburg to manage the Senators after leading the Single-A Potomac Nationals last season. Brian Daubach is still listed as the manager at Low-A Hagerstown, and his coaching staff remains intact....

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Report: Nationals sign reliever Fulchino

December 16, 2011, 8:02am

Nationals

According to this tweet from the Houston Chronicle's Zachary Levine, the Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Jeff Fulchino, who split last season between the Padres and Astros. In a five-season career that has also included stints with the Marlins and Royals, the 32-year-old Fulchino is 9-10 with a 4.84 ERA in 163 relief outings. He was 1-4 with a 5.71 ERA in 2011. Manager Davey Johnson has stated his preference to have both right- and left-handed long men in his bullpen, but...

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On Darvish, circumspect Rizzo merely playing the game within the game

December 16, 2011, 5:21am

Nationals

On Darvish, circumspect Rizzo merely playing the game within the game

The shroud of secrecy around the bidding process for Yu Darvish - which is starting to feel like an Oliver Stone screenplay instead of an elongated baseball transaction - is slowly starting to lift, and Nationals fans hoping the Japanese pitcher would take the mound in D.C. may not like what it's revealing. According to this story in the New York Post, the Blue Jays have placed the winning bid for Darvish, a proffer upwards of $50 million intended to blow away the Nippon-Ham Fighters, who...

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A possible Nationals bench matrix

December 15, 2011, 9:26am

Nationals

While it's clearly not the priority this offseason, improving the Nationals' bench for 2012 is one of general manager Mike Rizzo's tasks. And while Rizzo will make the moves, it will be in concert with manager Davey Johnson, who has to use the players to the best of their (and his) abilities. Therefore, GM and manager had better be on the same page in terms of roster construction. Johnson has expressed a clear preference for a bench built on offense, while predecessor Jim Riggleman went...

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Deadline passes, Rizzo mum on Darvish

December 14, 2011, 12:50pm

Nationals

The 5 p.m. Eastern time deadline for submitting bids on the Yu Darvish posting has passed, and if the Nationals have bid on the Japanese right-hander, he isn't saying. Appearing this evening on "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" on MASN, Rizzo sidestepped a direct question from host Amber Theoharis about whether the Nationals beat the clock with a bid. Just as he told reporters last week at the Winter Meetings when Darvish's posting was announced, Rizzo said it wasn't in the Nationals'...

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What if ... the Nationals hadn't let Adam Dunn walk?

December 13, 2011, 9:42am

Nationals

Today, we welcome back "What if ...?" Wednesday, which took a hiatus while baseball conducted its Winter Meetings in Dallas (Trivia time: Did you know that the Winter Meetings are actually a gathering for baseball's minor leagues that the majors eventually piggybacked on? Yep, lots of recent grads seeking employment in the bushes and a minor league trade show featuring everything from beer distribution systems and mascot costume makers to luggage distributors and Cal Ripken's Power Shred...

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Nationals announce 32-game Florida spring training schedule

December 14, 2011, 10:00am

Nationals

The Nationals have released their Florida spring training schedule, a 32-game slate that begins Saturday, March 3 against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., and ends with a road game against the Red Sox in Lee County, Fla., on April 2. The Nats will play 15 Grapefruit League home games at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla., beginning with a contest against the Astros on Sunday, March 4. Included on this year's spring schedule are a March 15 home game against the New York Yankees and a March 24...

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Nationals get brand new field grass for 2012 at Nationals Park

December 13, 2011, 6:21pm

Nationals

I had the opportunity to visit Nationals Park twice in the last month and viewed progression of installation of the brand new field grass. In November, the top picture shows the entire outfield in dirt after the original grass was removed and the new grass was being installed in the infield portion. The bottom picture, taken Tuesday night, shows the new outfield grass in place to match that put in the infield in November. Fortunately, the weather has been fairly mild to start the winter...

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Nationals interested in Mike Cameron and Greg Dobbs, among others

December 14, 2011, 4:52pm

Nationals

The bench for each major league team is a major part of a team's long-term success through the ups and downs of a rigorous 162-game season. Many times, if you make the right choices for your bench this time of year, it can reap short-term return if you trade them at the trading deadline for future prospects. Jerry Hairston Jr., made a big splash with the Milwaukee Brewers deep into the playoffs last season after the Nationals traded him for minor leaguer Erik Komatsu. Last week, the...

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Clock ticking on bids for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish

December 14, 2011, 7:18am

Nationals

Clock ticking on bids for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish

By 5 p.m. Eastern time today, the bidding for the services of Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish will be done. Shortly thereafter - well, maybe early Thursday, since baseball seems to run on its own time schedule - perhaps we'll know if the Nationals placed a bid on the right-hander and, if they did, whether it was the winning one. At least one baseball executive believes the Nationals will go all-in on Darvish, who is widely considered the best pitcher never to have pitched in Major League...

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Meyers will switch to long relief as he begins career with Yankees

December 13, 2011, 8:24am

Nationals

Meyers will switch to long relief as he begins career with Yankees

Right-hander Brad Meyers was selected by the New York Yankees in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings on Thursday and is looking forward to the new challenge. "My agent called me at 7 a.m. and woke me up," Meyers said. "I didn't know what time the draft would be, but, yes, I was excited." After getting promoted mid-season from Double-A Harrisburg Senators, Meyers went 6-5 with a 3.48 ERA last season with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, striking out 74 hitters...

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Who's available after the non-tender deadline

December 13, 2011, 5:59am

Nationals

Who's available after the non-tender deadline

The non-tender deadline passed at midnight, with the Nationals declining to offer left-handed relief specialist Doug Slaten arbitration. While the club can still re-sign Slaten - teams often will non-tender a player, then bring him back on a minor league deal at a lesser price, frequently with a spring training invite - it appears the Nationals and Slaten will sever ties. The Nats will look for a more reliable arm against left-handed hitters and Slaten will seek a team that has more of an...

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Who's in on Yu Darvish? (updated)

December 11, 2011, 2:30pm

Nationals

How far the Nationals' pursuit of Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish goes - assuming, of course, that they participate in the bidding process now that the right-hander has been posted by his homeland club, the Nippon-Ham Fighters - depends just as much on the other bidders as it does the Lerner family's deep pockets and desire to add to their collection of stud pitchers. There will be no shortage of interest in Darvish, who is generally considered the best hurler never to pitch in Major League...

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Nationals non-tender Slaten

December 12, 2011, 4:26pm

Nationals

The Nationals have announced, via their media relations department's Twitter account, that left-handed reliever Doug Slaten has been non-tendered, removing him from the 40-man roster and making him a free agent. While that doesn't preclude the Nationals from re-signing Slaten to a contract for a lesser amount than the $695,000 he made in 2011, it appears as if the lefty specialist will part ways with the club. He was claimed off waivers from Arizona in November 2009. Slaten's departure...

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Disaster preparedness exercise at Nationals Park

December 13, 2011, 9:09am

Nationals

Over the course of this year, we've seen the importance of knowing what to do in the event of a disaster. Hurricane Irene and even a small earthquake struck the east coast within the past six months, leaving a lot of us to wonder how we would handle ourselves should a threat ever arise. Fortunately for those in the Washington area, The District of Columbia Fire Department (DCFD) and the U.S. Marines Corps' Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) will conduct a large-scale...

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Will the Nationals move some of their catching depth?

December 12, 2011, 6:35am

Nationals

When building a solid major league system, a franchise can never have enough catching depth. The Nationals have demonstrated this on their 40-man roster, with four backstops. Jesus Flores, Derek Norris, Wilson Ramos and Jhonatan Solano represent the top four catchers protected on the Nationals' 40-man. It has been an emotional offseason for incumbent Ramos, who had to endure a horrible kidnapping. Despite that deeply traumatic event, Ramos is expected to be the starter heading into spring...