LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Ever wonder what it would be like to help prepare the field at Nationals Park for a game? Ever wish you could have Teddy or Screech visit your school event or birthday party? Or wonder what it's like to cover the Nationals from the press box high atop the ballpark on South Capitol Street?
If so, have I got a deal for you.
Those are among the items available this year in Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings Charity Auction, which is now ongoing through Thursday at...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Greetings from the Swan and Dolphin Resort at Walt Disney World, where baseball's Winter Meetings are underway.
With Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton's situations resolved before a host of general managers and front office types convened on this resort to talk trade and lure free agents, there's a general feeling that the proverbial floodgates could open over the next few days.
Whether the Nationals will be a part of whatever occurs by the time baseball executives...
It's the second week of December, snow just fell around here and thousands of folks who work in the baseball industry are en route to Orlando for the next four days. Yes, it's time for the Winter Meetings, which for the fourth time in a dozen years is being held at the Swan and Dolphin Resort near Walt Disney World.
Will the Nationals consider this the Happiest Place on Earth by the time they head home Thursday? As always, it depends how aggressive they intend to be during this annual event,...
One of the two biggest dominoes of the hot stove league dropped Friday. The other is still standing, with the potential to topple at any moment, though not where originally expected. At which point, the rest of the baseball world should be able to proceed with the rest of the offseason.
Shohei Ohtani's decision to sign with the Angels caught many by surprise, perhaps most of all the supposed frontrunners to acquire the Japanese two-way star: the Mariners, Padres, Cubs and Rangers. Those clubs...
The Nationals today announced that they have signed right-hander David Goforth to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.
Goforth, 29, is 1-0 with a 5.94 ERA and 1.734 WHIP in 31 relief appearances with the Brewers over the past three seasons. In 2017, he threw one scoreless inning for Milwaukee, and was 3-4 with a 3.98 ERA, five saves and a 1.528 WHIP in 48 appearances out of the bullpen for Triple-A Colorado Springs.
He was a seventh-round selection in the...
When Adam Eaton tore his ACL on April 28 and Michael A. Taylor once again found himself the Nationals' unlikely starting center fielder, the reaction was understandably unenthusiastic.
Taylor, after all, had already been given opportunities to take over as the everyday center fielder each of the previous two seasons when the originally designated starter went down to injury (Denard Span in 2015, Ben Revere in 2016). And Taylor had failed to make the most of those opportunities, showing flashes...
Baseball's Winter Meetings start Monday in Orlando, and while a slow-moving market has defined the offseason so far, that doesn't mean that deals - and endless speculation about deals that aren't going to happen - won't start making headlines in the Magic Kingdom.
The Nationals are the defending National League East champions with 97 victories and it would be difficult to see why they wouldn't be the favorites to win the division in 2018, thanks to a rotation that has 2017 NL Cy Young...
It's the most wonderful time of the baseball offseason! Before Nationals fans gather for Winterfest next weekend, all eyes will be set on baseball's Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. From Sunday, Dec. 10 through Thursday, Dec. 14, fans will be on the edge of their seats to see which teams will make the big moves of the offseason, and MASN is excited to announce that we will be bringing you all the coverage you need throughout the...
It's the biggest event of the baseball offseason and it's finally here. Baseball's Winter Meetings will take place at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando starting Sunday, Dec. 10 and continuing through Thursday, Dec. 14, and we're excited to announce MASN will be bringing you wall-to-wall coverage throughout the week!
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the week, be sure to LIKE and tune in to the "MASN All Access" Facebook page, as we'll be streaming a show...
The Nationals know they need to acquire multiple pitchers this winter in hope of filling several holes vacated by departing free agents. They may have found out Wednesday just how much it's going to cost them to do it.
Though the Rangers' signing of Mike Minor didn't draw major headlines, it was noted in baseball circles for one important reason: The left-hander may have just set the market for every other free agent pitcher this offseason.
Consider that Minor got a three-year, $28 million...
The University of Virginia today announced the inaugural class of the Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame, and one of the names revealed is no surprise to Nationals fans.
Ryan Zimmerman was one of the first three enshrinees announced, with the Cavaliers having some of their current players deliver the identity of the players, three at a time, on Twitter this morning and afternoon.
Zimmerman played at Virginia from 2003 to 2005, and was a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a...
One week from now, we'll be neck-deep in the Winter Meetings, with (hopefully) plenty of newsy developments to discuss. For now, though, it's been a really quiet offseason for the Nationals, the notable exception being that minor change to the manager's office and coaching staff, of course.
But there's plenty on the Nats' table as they prepare to head down to Walt Disney World for four days of wheeling and dealing, so let's try to anticipate some of what might happen while there.
As...
The next hurler on the list of top 10 Nationals prospects from Baseball America got a chance to pitch in the big leagues last season, and although it probably didn't go as well as he had hoped, the experience will be invaluable for him down the road.
No. 3 RHP Erick Fedde
"I think that's a great point," said Baseball America national writer Carlos Collazo. "I also think you can look at this season as one for Erick Fedde where you don't need to look too much into the numbers. They put him...
The Winter Meetings begin one week from today in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., so the Nationals - along with the rest of the baseball world - should be just about ready to start getting serious about making actual transactions that will alter their roster in 2018 and beyond.
We already have a hunch what's on Mike Rizzo's shopping list - No. 5 starter, right-handed relievers, bench players - but it's also helpful to view this in the context of what the Nationals already have in-house. Not only at...
If you scrolled through yesterday's organizational depth chart blog post, you may have noticed that the Nationals lost a significant amount of depth in a few areas when the season ended and several prominent players became free agents.
All of a sudden, that remade bullpen is looking mighty thin. As is the Nats bench, which was such a strength by season's end.
It doesn't have to remain that way, of course. The Nationals can (and likely will) fill those holes this winter with new signings or...
The Nationals drafted catcher Spencer Kieboom in 2012. He played for Triple-A Syracuse for 47 games last season and hit .275. He made it to the big leagues in 2016.
Four years later, they drafted his brother, shortstop Carter Kieboom, in the first round.
Carter Kieboom, 20, has been elevated to the top 10 Nationals prospects list, according to Baseball America. He was able to play 48 games for low Single-A Hagerstown in 2017. A hamstring problem and another unspecified injury kept him out of...
The Nationals took some grief earlier this fall for firing an experienced manager like Dusty Baker and handing over a 97-win team challenged to win a World Series right now to a first-time skipper like Dave Martinez.
Who knew they'd actually end up hiring one of the most experienced guys of the six who filled major league managerial openings this fall?
The Yankees' surprise hire of Aaron Boone over the weekend was the final piece to the puzzle, yet another inexperienced managerial hire for a...
The hot stove has barely produced a flicker so far, and that's in no small part due to the long, slow dance that eventually will result in transactions involving two big-name guys: Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani.
Both are kind of holding up the market right now, but there are signs both are moving toward making decisions about where they want to play in 2018.
Ohtani, who officially was posted by the Nippon-Ham Fighters on Friday, will sign with a major league organization by December 22....
The Nationals tendered contracts to Anthony Rendon, Tanner Roark, and Michael A. Taylor today, procedural moves that needed to be completed before an 8 p.m. deadline that presented many other clubs with far more pressing decisions.
In previous years, the Nats have faced some tough choices at this deadline, opting to non-tender players like Ben Revere, Craig Stammen, John Lannan and Jesus Flores whose performance didn't match the salaries they would have been guaranteed to make via the...
Who knew a trip down memory lane would be so popular? The response to Thursday's article tracking down five former Nationals position players were overwhelmingly positive. Glad you all enjoyed it.
I had already planned to publish today's article about former Nats pitchers, so hopefully you'll enjoy these as well. Maybe I'll have to make this into something of a regular feature, though, maybe a more in-depth look at one ex-National at a time, because there were plenty I didn't get to...