A week that already was shaping up to be one of the saddest in the Nationals' recent history was jolted by another dagger of bad news today: Stephen Strasburg needs surgery for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, a potentially career-altering injury. Strasburg's diagnosis came Monday night after an examination by specialist Gregory Pearl, the same Dallas doctor who performed thoracic outlet surgery on Nationals reliever Will Harris earlier this year. Unlike Harris, whose condition was caused...

DJ Stewart is in right field tonight and Austin Hays is starting in left as the Orioles begin a two-game series against the Marlins at Camden Yards. Ryan Mountcastle is the cleanup hitter and first baseman, and Trey Mancini is serving as the designated hitter. Mancini is 13-for-33 (.394) with two doubles and two home runs during his eight-game hitting streak. He has multiple hits in five of those games. Domingo Leyba took ground balls at second base before batting practice and that's where...

In what is shaping up to be one of the most significant weeks in club history, the Nationals do still have games to play every night. It may be too late for their performance on the field to change the front office's mind about what comes next, but they will be taking the field nonetheless and attempting to win a game against the Phillies. Losers of five straight and 16 of their last 21, the Nats will try to get back on track tonight behind Erick Fedde, who was sharp last time out, allowing...

The Nationals are going to be sellers this week, of that there can be no doubt at this point. If it wasn't already clear after Sunday's walk-off loss in Baltimore, it surely was after Monday's walk-off loss in Philadelphia. But there are different approaches to selling at the trade deadline, and that's where the real intrigue comes in as general manager Mike Rizzo starts fielding phone calls from his counterparts across baseball and decides how to proceed. Are the Nats just selling veterans...

Whatever the rest of this week has in store, of one thing you can be sure: Davey Martinez is going to keep encouraging his Nationals to block out whatever trade deadline chatter they're hearing and just concentrate on that night's task. "That message stands firm. I want them to focus on today," the fourth-year manager said on Zoom prior to tonight's series opener in Philadelphia. "Nobody knows what's going to happen an hour from now, nevertheless tomorrow or the next day. We've got a...

If you try to cast a silver lining into Tyler Wells' baseball world relating to his wrist injury, you won't get a nibble. The Orioles are monitoring his innings after he underwent Tommy John surgery and didn't pitch the last two seasons. A brief stay on the injured list makes it easier, giving the Rule 5 pick an unexpected rest period that could benefit him over the last two months. Wells stood in front of the dugout steps Sunday morning while teammates did some throwing in the outfield, a...

The Orioles' low Single-A Delmarva affiliate got off to a great start this year. With players like Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and JD Mundy bashing baseballs, the Shorebirds won 15 of their first 20 games and were 19-6 on June 2. During a season where Delmarva has dealt with an ever-changing roster and now used 50 players, the moves started happening even before the first month was out. Westburg and Mundy played just 20 games for the Shorebirds and Henderson played in 35 games before...

In unveiling their rotation plan for this week's series in Philadelphia, the Nationals declined to name a starter for Thursday's game at Citizens Bank Park. That, of course, is Max Scherzer's spot, and the reason they haven't officially named him their starter yet is because they're waiting to see if his right triceps feels fine after a minor tweak last week. Scherzer went through a standard bullpen session this afternoon, and according to manager Davey Martinez, that session went well and...

The Washington Nationals reinstated right-handed pitcher Joe Ross from the 10-day Injured List and optioned outfielder Yadiel Hernandez to Triple-A Rochester on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Ross, 28, went 5-8 with a 4.02 ERA in 16 starts prior to being placed on the Injured List with right elbow inflammation on July 8. His 16 starts to date are his most since starting 19 games during the 2016 season. In six starts...

Just how dire has the Nationals' predicament become? Well, consider the following ... The Nats are 5-15 this month. That's the worst 20-game stretch this team has experienced since June/July 2018. And prior to that, it hadn't happened since 2010, the last time the franchise lost 90 games in a season. What does that mean? Well, there are 64 games now left. The best 64-game stretch in club was 44-20, which came (not surprisingly) during the 2019 season. If the current Nationals somehow go...