The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Mason Thompson and infielder Jordy Barley from the San Diego Padres in exchange for right-handed pitcher Daniel Hudson on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Thompson, 23, is the No. 9 prospect in San Diego's Minor League system, according to MLBPipeline.com and No. 15 per Baseball America. He is 4-3 with a 5.34 ERA in 24 games for Triple-A El Paso this season. Thompson...

Breaking up is hard to do. How do you cut ties with your first true love, say goodbye to someone who brought you so much joy, explain to them you're finally ready to move on? How do you do it? First, you come to the realization yourself that it's time. Then you suck it up, tell it to their face in simple, honest terms, tell them how they'll always hold a special place in your heart and then turn around and walk away, confident you made the right decision, resisting the urge to look back over...

The dismantling of the Nationals' 2021 roster continued into the night when general manager Mike Rizzo struck deals to send Kyle Schwarber to the Red Sox and Daniel Hudson to the Padres in exchange for three more prospects in total, this only hours after agreeing to a blockbuster trade that will send Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, this after starting the day by shipping Brad Hand to the Blue Jays. The trade deadline doesn't arrive until 4 p.m. Friday, but the Nats might well be...

They scored eight runs and produced a walk-off win on Wednesday night at home. But as a seven-game road trip began last night, the Baltimore offense was held in check as Detroit beat the Orioles 6-2. The Birds were held to four hits in 29 at-bats, had just one extra-base hit, no RBIs and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Detroit right-hander Casey Mize, the player taken No. 1 overall in the 2018 draft, shut down the Baltimore batters allowing just one unearned run over seven...

The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Aldo Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Kyle Schwarber on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Ramirez, 20, is 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA in eight starts for Low-A Salem. He has 32 strikeouts against eight walks with one home run allowed in 31.0 innings pitched. Over his last three starts, Ramirez has tossed 14.0 consecutive scoreless innings, striking...

We've plummeted below the 24-hour mark until reaching baseball's trade deadline. It's the final countdown. We're leaving together, but still it's farewell. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is fielding and making calls, the activity brisk but producing nothing so far that's impacting the roster and the rebuild. There aren't many trade chips on the table, but contenders certainly are expressing interest in a handful of them, most notably in the bullpen. Quite similar to...

The Nationals aren't just trading Max Scherzer to a National League West contender. They're also including Trea Turner in the deal. A blockbuster trade that will send both Scherzer and Turner to Los Angeles for four young players, headlined by the Dodgers' two top-rated prospects (catcher Keibert Ruiz and right-hander Josiah Gray), is in the final stages of being approved by all affected parties, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed tonight. Also included in the trade are...

Over the past few hours, the Orioles attempted to win a game in Detroit, find a trade partner and gain more clarity on their roster heading into the weekend. They went 0-for-3. Casey Mize was only partially to blame. Rookie Alexander Wells surrendered four runs in five innings, Mize carried a shutout into the seventh, the Tigers won 6-2 and manager Brandon Hyde concluded his postgame Zoom call with the same players who made the ride from the team hotel to Comerica Park earlier in the...

The Nationals are still evaluating trade offers for ace Max Scherzer, with the Padres having put forth a package of prospects that might be enough but other contenders still attempting to top it, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Despite a late-afternoon report by The Athletic that general manager Mike Rizzo was close to a deal with San Diego, sources said nothing has been finalized yet and a handful of other clubs remain in contention. Complicating matters is the fact any...

There isn't much news to report from the Orioles as afternoon moves into evening. Pat Valaika is out of the lineup again tonight in Detroit, his last start coming Sunday against the Nationals. He played an inning last night. Manager Brandon Hyde indicated that Valaika is fine physically. "I'm just giving (Domingo) Leyba some opportunities against right-handed pitching," Hyde said on his Zoom call. Valaika hit a home run on July 21 and two more the following game. He had a single and RBI in...