Yadiel Hernandez will turn 34 next month, and his youthful exuberance and willingness to do anything asked of him have ingratiated him to the Nationals, who may have to figure out how to keep him on the roster for the 2022 campaign. One thing that would make Hernandez's inclusion on the roster next season a no-brainer: if Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association can come to an agreement restoring the designated hitter to the National League, as was the case during the...

For right-hander Mike Baumann, a day he said he has worked his whole life for has arrived. He got the call to the big leagues. Today he was called up from Triple-A Norfolk, where he was pitching very well, and the kid drafted by the club in round in 2017 out of Jacksonville University is now wearing the big league orange and black for the first time. "I mean, I don't even know what to think," an obviously excited Baumann said a few moments ago in the Orioles dugout. "Just happy to be here,...

Catcher Keibert Ruiz continues to recover from a bone bruise on his right knee, but Nationals manager Davey Martinez is hopeful he will have the young backstop available off the bench tonight, assuming he gets through pregame activities without any issues. "He's gonna go catch in the bullpen, take (batting practice), he's gonna run a little bit," Martinez said in his pregame Zoom session with reporters before the Nats open a series in Atlanta. "The swelling's gone down a little, but he's...

Trey Mancini is out of the Orioles lineup again tonight after staying on the bench yesterday with "general soreness," according to manager Brandon Hyde. Mancini was struck on the foot by a ball Sunday afternoon. DJ Stewart is the designated hitter, as the Orioles continue their series against the Royals at Camden Yards. Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman and batting second. Ramón Urías also remains out of the lineup with soreness in his upper right leg. Jorge Mateo is playing...

The Orioles are poised to recall one of their top pitching prospects, right-hander Mike Baumann, from Triple-A Norfolk, according to sources. Baumann's arrival in Baltimore today would seem to indicate that Jorge López is going on the injured list after rolling his right ankle yesterday. López faced one batter and sustained the injury while covering first base on Andrew Benintendi's ground ball to Ryan Mountcastle. He's pitched in six games since moving to the bullpen and allowed two...

While he's been one of the bright spots in an otherwise lost season, there's no way around the fact that as righty Paolo Espino's innings totals have gone up, his effectiveness has gone down. Espino (4-4, 4.08 ERA) starts tonight as the Nationals open a three-game series at Atlanta, and is hoping to deliver both some length and some efficiency. In six starts since the trade deadline, Espino is 1-2 wih a 6.57 ERA and an opponent slash line of .297/.336/.564. He's eclipsed five innings only...

When Ryan Zimmerman drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth Friday night, Nationals manager Davey Martinez immediately sent Andrew Stevenson out to pinch-run for the veteran. And wouldn't you know it, but minutes later Stevenson was racing around the bases and ultimately colliding with Mets catcher Chance Sisco en route to scoring the game-tying run. So when Zimmerman drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the eighth Monday afternoon, all eyes turned to the home dugout to see if Stevenson...

ABERDEEN - As the Orioles look to continue to stockpile pitchers and build quality pitching depth on the farm, two right-handers that got to high Single-A Aberdeen not long ago have thrown well for the IronBirds. They have had seasons that can fly a bit under the radar, but when it comes to getting swings and misses, they do look good on the stat sheet and show some future promise. Zach Peek, 23, has gone 5-3 with a 4.05 ERA this year over 21 games between low Single-A Delmarva and Aberdeen. He...

Grant manager Brandon Hyde one baseball wish and he could go in pretty much any direction, no GPS capable of leading him to an exact spot. Give him a bunch, however, and he's demanding more length out of an expanded roster. The bump from 26 to 28 players just doesn't cut it. He'd rub the shine off the genie lamp for a deeper bench and pitching staff. "I wish we had a 35-man roster in September this year," he said yesterday morning, sitting in the dugout for his media session and confirming...

All weekend, over the course of five games in four days, the Nationals battled their way back against the Mets. Three times they trailed, once by a whopping nine runs, and rallied to tie late, only to ultimately lose in the end. But today, in their final matchup of the season, the Nats finally finished the job. Down a run in the bottom of the ninth but owning at least some confidence in their ability to rally against the New York bullpen, the Nationals stormed back to win, 4-3, getting a...