The Nationals started the weekend by making a flurry of roster moves ahead of their four-game series against the Mets on Friday. Manager Davey Martinez clarified the statuses of some players while providing other updates on some injured high-profile starting pitchers before tonight's opener. First, the roster moves: * Starlin Castro was returned from the restricted list* Austin Voth was reinstated from the 10-day injured list* Andrew Stevenson was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June...

The Orioles can't get their rotation settled, losing another left-hander this afternoon to an injury. Rookie Bruce Zimmermann is on the 10-day injured list with left biceps tendinitis, but manager Brandon Hyde indicated this afternoon that the move is precautionary. Zimmermann worked 5 2/3 innings Sunday afternoon against the Rays at Tropicana Field, allowing three runs to keep his ERA at 4.83. "He was just a little sore after his last start, which was kind of normal soreness," Hyde said...

When the Orioles open a home series with the Toronto Blue Jays tonight, the game will feature the players that are first and second in the American League in hits, and first and fifth in Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs.com version) in the majors. Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the AL with 82 hits and Cedric Mullins of the Orioles is next with 81. Guerrero has produced a 4.1 WAR with Mullins is at 3.0. Mullins and his teammates begin a homestand tonight trying to end another long...

The Orioles are back home tonight and trying to end an eight-game losing streak with Thomas Eshelman making his 2021 debut against the Blue Jays. Eshelman had his contract selected today from Triple-A Norfolk, with Bruce Zimmermann placed on the 10-day injured list with left biceps tendinitis. Eshelman was 0-3 with a 6.41 ERA and 1.424 WHIP in six games (three starts) with the Tides. With his last outing on June 10, Eshelman provides a fresh arm and also prevents the Orioles from shuttling...

It's hard to make too much of a weekend series against a division rival in the middle of June. But considering the circumstances surrounding this four-game series against the Mets over the next three days, you have to put some level of importance on it if you're the Nationals. Coming off a sweep of the Pirates, riding a four-game winning streak and having won six of their last eight games, the Nationals should feel confident facing the division-leading Mets this weekend. They also have a...

The Washington Nationals announced the following roster moves Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements: * Returned infielder Starlin Castro from the Restricted List * Reinstated right-handed pitcher Austin Voth from the 10-day Injured List * Placed outfielder Andrew Stevenson on the 10-day Injured list (retroactive to June 17) with an oblique strain * Optioned right-handed pitcher Ryne Harper to Triple-A Rochester * Right-handed...

The Orioles have designated catcher Chance Sisco for assignment today, according to an industry source, and appear ready to add a pitcher to the 40-man roster prior to tonight's game against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Sisco's removal from the 40-man opens a spot. Sisco broke camp with the team again and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on May 31 while the Orioles selected catcher Austin Wynn's contract from the Tides. Sisco, a second-round pick in the 2013 draft, was batting...

As they've completed a four-game winning streak, emerging victorious in six of their last eight games, the Nationals are facing something of an existential question: Is this legitimate evidence of a long-awaited and sustainable turnaround to a season that began horribly, or is this nothing more than a nice week against weak competition that will soon be exposed as insignificant? We may have a good sense of the answer to that question by the end of this weekend, after the Nats face the Mets...

Players for the Double-A Bowie Baysox this year can go hitless, yet still get praise from the coaching staff for their hitting. And not just because they may have made a productive out. It's all about the swing decisions they make. They are graded both on the pitches they do swing at and those they do not. The goal is to get a very hittable pitch and drive it. Let almost everything else go. Even borderline strikes are sometimes spit on while a hitter waits for a better pitch. Sometimes, even...

The Orioles are performing an exhausting juggling act with their prospects. The kind that doesn't bring joy, like when another player moves up the affiliate chain. They arrange an injury rehab assignment. They reinstate someone else from the injured list. They are forced to shut down someone else. Talk about having a lot of balls in the air. The club passed along good news this week regarding outfielder Yusniel Diaz, who joined Double-A Bowie on his rehab assignment. But wait, there's...