Admittedly, the hot stove has been, well, a tad chilly so far this offseason. Sure, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is talking to other executives, but we've yet to see anything resembling a big move out of him. Which is OK, given that some of Rizzo's splashiest deals seem to come out of nowhere. So what's a baseball-starved Nats fan to do? Between online shopping excursions and gift-wrapping marathons, check out this week's bevy of "Nationals Classics" on MASN. They will warm your...

The winter solstice is upon us, bringing more darkness than most of us would like as we witness the shortest days of the year. But look on the bright side: Beginning Tuesday, they start getting longer again. Shoot, before you know it, it'll be mid-February and pitchers and catchers will be checking in at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla. We hope. Especially given the current surge in the ongoing pandemic, it can be difficult to keep the winter doldrums from creeping into your...

Well, we've reached the third week of December, and the hot stove remains pretty cold from the Nationals' perspective. All of the significant roster holes they knew they had a month ago remain significant roster holes. They've made a handful of fringe transactions, but nothing all that consequential yet. Perhaps that will change before this week is over. If nothing else, we're finally going to hear from general manager Mike Rizzo and manage Davey Martinez on the record. Both men are...

One of the newest Orioles is an accomplished minor league hitter with power who has gotten just 72 at-bats over two seasons in the majors. He's a former hockey player who grew up a diehard Red Sox fan living just outside of Boston. And even though he comes from the San Francisco Giants, a club across the country, he has ties to the Orioles. He can't wait to reunite with some of the club's players. Chris Shaw, a 27-year-old, lefty-hitting outfielder and first baseman, was designated for...

Zach Pop received a phone call from his agent Thursday after the Diamondbacks selected the right-handed reliever with the sixth pick in the Rule 5 draft. Pop should expect to hear from someone in the organization. Just be ready for it and congratulations. And then it got weird. Pop never spoke to anyone with the Diamondbacks and began to wonder what happened. He was warned instead on a follow-up call about rumors of a trade. "I was like, 'What? I just got picked,' " he said yesterday. The...

The Nationals need another catcher. The number of appealing catchers available on the free agent market this winter was minimal all along. And now one of the few who might've fit that description is off the board after signing a surprisingly lucrative deal with a division rival. James McCann, widely regarded as the second-best available catcher behind star J.T. Realmuto, reportedly agreed Saturday to a four-year, $40 million deal with the Mets. That's hardly a minor investment for New York,...

Here is a quick update on left-hander Tim Cate. The 2018 second-rounder is rated as the No. 8 overall Nationals prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com. Nats pitching coordinator Brad Holman said Cate is not afraid to go after hitters and he believes this will help him as his career moves along. Cate went 7-4 with 3.31 ERA in 13 starts in 2019, striking out 66 over 73 1/3 innings. Holman liked the advancement he saw in Cate this summer at the alternate camp in Fredericksburg, Va., despite having...

When asked about possibly dealing right-handed starting pitcher Alex Cobb before or during the 2021 season, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias made it sound like he does not expect that to happen. "First of all, he's serving a very important role on our team stabilizing our rotation with the young guys, mentoring the young guys, and we're planning on keeping him all year and would be thrilled if he contributed and is healthy again like he was last year and...

Infielder Richie Martin's fractured right wrist must have healed. He's playing winter ball. Confirmation that doesn't require industry sources. Just access to a roster and statistics. Martin is in Puerto Rico with Criollos de Caguas. In his first four games, the former Rule 5 pick was 3-for-15 with two doubles, an RBI, a walk and three runs scored. He was 2-for-6 in his first two games and 2-for-11 after three. The third must have been rough. Martin should be full-go in spring training based...

The most prominent National currently playing winter ball is getting plenty of opportunities to refine his game. And to bat at the top of his lineup. Victor Robles, who is spending the early portion of this winter playing in his native Dominican Republic, has been leading off for Águilas Cibaeñas. And so far, he's doing the two things most clubs want out of their leadoff man: He's getting on base, and he's scoring runs. Through 12 games played, Robles has posted a .352 on-base...