nationals

Nationals agree to terms with right-hander Brandon Kintzler

December 21, 2017, 9:54am

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a two-year contract that includes a club/player option in the second year with right-handed pitcher Brandon Kintzler on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Kintzler, 33, returns to the Nationals after serving as one of the key members of Washington's bullpen down the stretch in 2017. Acquired from Minnesota moments before the non-waiver trade deadline, Kintzler, went 2-1 with...

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Tommy Milone returning to Nationals (updated)

December 20, 2017, 5:47am

Nationals

A former Nationals pitcher is returning to D.C. The Nats have signed left-hander Tommy Milone to a minor league contract, an industry source has confirmed. He will receive an invitation to major league spring training. Milone, 30, was drafted by the Nats in the 10th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Southern California and made his major league debut with the club in 2011, going 1-0 with a 3.81 ERA in five September starts and homering in his major league debut on Sept. 3 against...

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Changed Cole wants to lay claim to fifth starter's job

December 18, 2017, 5:46am

Nationals

Changed Cole wants to lay claim to fifth starter's job

Some players trying to carve out a spot on a 25-man roster get frustrated by riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors, their role changing on a whim because of a parent club's immediate needs. Nationals right-hander A.J. Cole has used his frequent trips between Syracuse, N.Y., and Washington, D.C., as a motivational tool. "It always gives you little extra fight in there because you are going back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues," Cole said at Nationals Winterfest....

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Wieters improves diet, still wants to play 130 games

December 17, 2017, 9:10am

Nationals

Wieters improves diet, still wants to play 130 games

Matt Wieters would be the first to admit that his 2017 offensive numbers were not close to where he wanted them to be. Unfortunately, his first season outside of the American League was his worst with the bat in his nine big league seasons. Wieters hit .225 in 2017, a year after hitting .243 with the Orioles. In April, he started off hot, hitting .301. Steadily, though, he saw his average drop each month as the season progressed: .247, .202, .230, .213, .118. Wieters had seven homers before the...

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Lilliquist ready to lead top-flight pitching staff to new heights

December 17, 2017, 8:46am

Nationals

Lilliquist ready to lead top-flight pitching staff to new heights

Fired by the Cardinals at the end of the regular season, Derek Lilliquist had to wonder if it would take a while to find another pitching coach job as good as the one he held the previous six seasons. That kind of job opening, for a perennial postseason contender, doesn't come around all that often. And then one did. When the Nationals came calling last month, needing a new pitching coach after Dusty Baker's departure led to Mike Maddux leaving (for St. Louis, of all places), Lilliquist...

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Turner healthy for 2018, confident as everyday shortstop

December 18, 2017, 2:23am

Nationals

Turner healthy for 2018, confident as everyday shortstop

It will be exciting to see what shortstop Trea Turner can accomplish after a season that was interrupted by injury. Turner was limited to 98 games after missing all of July and most of August, yet still hit .284 and stole 46 bases. One big question for Turner: How will he handle the regime change at manager? Turner valued his time with the experienced Dusty Baker. "Unfortunate," Turner said of Baker's dismissal over the weekend at Nationals Winterfest. "I really enjoyed Dusty as a manager...

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Strasburg: All-Star Game interrupted routine, led to arm issue

December 17, 2017, 7:57am

Nationals

Strasburg: All-Star Game interrupted routine, led to arm issue

Stephen Strasburg quieted his critics last season, his seven shutout innings in the Nationals' Game 4 of the National League Division Series victory capping a workmanlike season that saw the right-hander take the ball from opening day until final outing, the dominant start-to-finish season that had eluded him. Yes, there were some speed bumps along the way, just to test his mettle. His spot in the rotation changed when staff ace Max Scherzer's start of the season was delayed by a fractured...

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Roark "mentally stronger" after not getting call to pitch in NLDS

December 17, 2017, 6:41am

Nationals

Roark "mentally stronger" after not getting call to pitch in NLDS

It is the moment every playoff team never wants to have happen. The smack of handshakes, bear hugs and pats on the back in any other situation would be a welcome sight, but the sounds of these gestures after a Game 5 loss are eerily hard to take. Harder to stomach than a loss in the playoffs might be the feeling of not being called on to contribute when you were set to start a pivotal season-saving game, then ended up not being used at all. Such was the plight of right-hander Tanner Roark as he...

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Results-oriented Taylor has focus on improving on last year's breakout

December 16, 2017, 12:02pm

Nationals

Results-oriented Taylor has focus on improving on last year's breakout

If you think Michael A. Taylor is resting on his laurels after a breakthrough season that catapulted him back into the long-range plans of the Nationals, think again. Taylor said yesterday at Nationals Winterfest that he isn't taking anything for granted, and that he's approaching spring training in February the way he's approached every one of the major league camps he's attended. "I take the same approach as I have in years past and every year: just come out, be ready to go and be in the...

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Rizzo on Kintzler, Glover and the state of the Nats bullpen

December 17, 2017, 7:07am

Nationals

Rizzo on Kintzler, Glover and the state of the Nats bullpen

As much as he wanted to bring back Brandon Kintzler and keep the back end of his bullpen intact for the 2018 season, Mike Rizzo admittedly thought the Nationals would be at a disadvantage in negotiations. Kintzler, who recorded 29 saves this season (28 while with the Twins), figured to get offers to close somewhere else. And sure enough, he did. Only to decide to re-sign with the Nationals after all. "I think there were those offers to go pitch the ninth inning exclusively, to have more save...

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On Kintzler's return, pitchers batting eighth and Long's hiring

December 16, 2017, 5:48pm

Nationals

On Kintzler's return, pitchers batting eighth and Long's hiring

The Nationals' first major league signing of the offseason still isn't official because Brandon Kintzler still needs to pass his physical. But that didn't stop those who were at Nats Winterfest on Saturday from raving about the re-signing of the veteran reliever, which preserves the three-man unit that so effectively locked down games late this season. "That was awesome to see," said Sean Doolittle, who along with Ryan Madson joined Kintzler to form the so-called "Law Firm" bullpen over...

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After "worst year of my life," Eaton itching to return from injury

December 16, 2017, 9:37am

Nationals

After "worst year of my life," Eaton itching to return from injury

Injured time is hard time for ballplayers, never more so than injured time that overtakes nearly an entire season and leaves a player watching from the outside as his teammates lose in the postseason. Adam Eaton just experienced all of that in 2017, and it left him determined never to experience it again. "Oh, it was brutal," the outfielder said Saturday at Nationals Winterfest. "The worst year of my life, I think it's safe to say. The longest summer of my life. That's what I told all of...

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Murphy unwilling to put timetable on recovery from microfracture surgery

December 16, 2017, 10:23am

Nationals

$Murphy unwilling to put timetable on recovery from microfracture surgery$

Daniel Murphy hobbled into his scheduled interview session on crutches and said made sure everyone knew he's already begun walking. He's learned a lot about the microfracture surgery performed on his right knee on Oct. 20, eight days after the Nationals ended their season with another first-round playoff exit in the National League Division Series. He's not sure if the injury was the result of overuse or just an acute condition. And despite general manager Mike Rizzo's assurances at the...

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Glover has begun throwing, vows to be ready for spring camp

December 16, 2017, 8:36am

Nationals

Glover has begun throwing, vows to be ready for spring camp

Like many Nationals fans, right-hander Koda Glover keeps replaying the fateful fifth inning in Game 5 of the National League Division Series in his mind. Unlike most Nats fans, however, Glover isn't focusing on the fact that eventual National League Cy Young winner Max Scherzer failed to throttle the Cubs in a rare relief appearance when his team most needed him to. Glover thinks about Scherzer being undone by bloops and bleeders, bad luck and a debatable call by a home plate umpire and...

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Cy Young, fatherhood helping Scherzer move on from Game 5

December 16, 2017, 7:31am

Nationals

Cy Young, fatherhood helping Scherzer move on from Game 5

He battled through a grind of a season that included a string of fluky, nagging ailments only to emerge with the third Cy Young Award of his career, an achievement that already creates talk of his Hall of Fame resume. For Max Scherzer, though, the greatest pleasure of this offseason so far has been the mundane task now required of him several times a day. What exactly is the right-hander up to at the moment? "Changing diapers," he said. "Wiping butts." Brooklyn, the first child of Max and...

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Lobaton heads to Mets on minor league deal

December 15, 2017, 12:37pm

Nationals

Lobaton heads to Mets on minor league deal

Jose Lobaton has found a new home, but the Nationals' longtime backup catcher will be staying in the National League East. Lobaton has signed a minor league contract with the Mets, who will offer him an invitation to big league camp next spring and a chance to make their opening day roster. The 33-year-old spent the last four seasons as the Nationals' No. 2 catcher, backing up Wilson Ramos and later Matt Wieters. Known more for his work behind the plate than at the plate, Lobaton struggled in...

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No. 1 Nats prospect: Victor Robles

December 15, 2017, 8:06am

Nationals

The top prospect in the Nationals system, according to Baseball America, comes as no surprise to anyone, and that is center fielder Victor Robles. He was so good that he made the Nats' postseason roster even though he had only a handful of major league games under his belt before the Nats faced the Cubs in the National League Division Series. One part of his game that maybe is not touched on enough in making him a complete player is his defense. While with high Single-A Potomac, Robles made...

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Nats expect rehabbing Murphy to be ready for opening day

December 14, 2017, 6:31am

Nationals

Nats expect rehabbing Murphy to be ready for opening day

One of the Nationals' unspoken but most significant concerns of the winter is the status of Daniel Murphy, who had surgery on his right knee Oct. 20 that initially left the club unable to say for sure if the All-Star second baseman would be ready for the start of the 2018 season. In the eight weeks since Murphy had the procedure - officially a debridement and microfracture surgery to repair articular cartilage - the Nationals have begun to get a clearer picture of his timetable for recovery....

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Plenty of player updates coming this weekend at Winterfest

December 15, 2017, 4:27pm

Nationals

Plenty of player updates coming this weekend at Winterfest

After a week's worth of rumors and a lot of time spent hearing from the Nationals general manager and manager, this weekend we'll get a chance to hear from a whole bunch of players who have come from all parts of the country (and beyond) to attend Nats Winterfest. Yes, it's time for the annual, two-day winter event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. It has turned into quite a major event over the years, going all the way back to the days when the team hosted a one-day gathering...

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With Kintzler, Nats turn to familiar face to fill bullpen hole

December 14, 2017, 6:26am

Nationals

With Kintzler, Nats turn to familiar face to fill bullpen hole

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Nationals came to the Swan and Dolphin Resort with a short but clear list of needs. They departed having addressed only one of those needs, but they did so in a manner that should please just about anyone who cares about such things, at a price that should allow them to address their other needs later this winter. The late-night re-signing of Brandon Kintzler to a two-year, $10 million contract that's technically not a guaranteed two-year, $10 million contract -...