The Nationals will play Triple-A baseball in Rochester, N.Y., in 2021, a club source has confirmed. The Nats' contract with the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League expired after last season. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Nats ended up playing only 140 games affiliated with Fresno. There is no confirmation how long the Nats' contract is with Rochester. The Nats had a two-year deal in Fresno, and their Triple-A team was based in Syracuse, N,Y., from 2009-18. The...

It's way too soon to start penciling in potential Nationals lineups for 2021, because there is so much that still needs to be determined before pitchers and catchers report a mere three months from now. But there is one fairly important question that probably needs to be asked right now, because the answer isn't entirely clear. Do the Nats need a new leadoff hitter? They haven't needed one in quite some time. Whether it's been Davey Martinez managing the last three seasons or Dusty Baker...

He's not a scout, a pitching coach or someone that works in a baseball front office. But he's got an interesting perspective and I've known that since the first time I interviewed left-hander Brian Gonzalez, which was probably not long after the Orioles drafted him in 2014. After seven seasons in Birdland, Gonzalez left the flock recently to sign a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. He said it was very hard to leave the Orioles, the only pro team he ever knew. And make no...

The Nationals added depth to their bullpen Wednesday with the signing of free agent Sam Clay. The left-hander has spent his entire career with the Twins organization, even reached the 60-man player pool this past season, but has yet to appear in a major league game. Clay was drafted out of Georgia Tech in the fourth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. The 27-year-old made it to Triple-A Rochester for 14 games in 2019. After all the time and work in the minors, Clay was excited and...

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a Major League contract with left-handed pitcher Sam Clay on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Clay, 27, joins the Nationals after seven seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization. He was a member of the Twins' 60-player pool during the 2020 season, but did not appear in a game. In 2019, Clay led all of Minor League Baseball in groundball rate (71.3%). He went 4-4 with 10...

One year after hitting the jackpot with the signing of a reliever with extensive minor league experience to a major league contract, the Nationals are hoping they found another diamond in the rough with today's signing of left-hander Sam Clay. Clay, who spent the last seven seasons in the Twins system but never reached the majors, was given a big league deal by the Nats, just as right-hander Kyle Finnegan was last winter. Finnegan enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2020 and looks like a long-term...

With the Orioles on the verge of adjusting their 40-man roster, this seems like an opportune time for a final scroll of the current edition. There are 35 players listed and at least three prospects are expected to join them by today's deadline. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is likely to make further subtractions later as he attempts to plug holes or increase depth via the free agent and trade markets - though minor league deals would delay the process. Here are the 15...

Few executives in baseball history can claim to have accomplished what Theo Epstein has done during his career. Epstein's legacy already was set for life when he built the 2004 Red Sox roster that snapped the "Curse of the Bambino" and brought Boston its first World Series title in 86 years. Then he one-upped himself and built the 2016 Cubs roster that snapped the "Billy Goat Curse" and brought the north side of Chicago its first World Series title in 108 years. So when Epstein announced...

José Iglesias was driving to one of the happy places in his life. His ranch about an hour outside of Miami. Twice described by the shortstop as "beautiful" before his arrival yesterday afternoon. Iglesias seems to be on a nice roll whether or not his vehicle is in motion. He's remaining with the Orioles, who picked up the $3.5 million option on his contract rather than paying the $500,000 buyout and tossing him into the free agent pool. He's back with the organization that he never...

So a decision day is coming for the Orioles on Friday, unless they make some announcements before that. They have to decide which players to add to their 40-man roster to protect them from the December Rule 5 draft. They have five openings on their 40-man roster. That certainly does not guarantee they protect five players. They can protect as few as they want or as many as five, unless they clear any more roster spots before Friday, which seems unlikely. In looking back at previous...