What with the coronavirus and all, you might feel squeamish about leafing through Father's Day cards wherever you usually go to get that sort of thing. But do at least give dad a call this Sunday. If you still (or again) live with dad, you'll want to spend the day together sharing some great baseball memories as you watch "Nationals Classics" on MASN. Who knows? Maybe you attended one or more of these games together, perhaps the one against the Yankees on Father's Day 2006. Ryan Zimmerman...

The Nationals reportedly made at least one Sunday signing of an undrafted free agent. Infielder Gio Diaz of St. Mary's College confirmed through a school release that he had joined the Nationals for the $20,000 signing bonus. Diaz played mostly second base and third base, slashing .396/.442/.417 in 13 games during the shortened 2020 campaign for the Gaels. The .396 batting average was sixth-best in the West Coast Conference. He only struck out two times in 53 plate appearances, good for...

With no news on the state of the 2020 season expected until sometime today, the baseball world was left Sunday with nothing else to do but wax nostalgic and watch a documentary about the breaking of one of the sport's most hallowed records 22 years ago. The Great Home Run Chase of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was beloved by everyone at the time, cringed at now because of the added layer of context we now have for what took place. Watching it, though, reminded me of the breaking of...

When the Orioles made the final call on their No. 2 draft pick, selecting Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad on Wednesday night, it was a big moment for the player and his family. But it was also a big moment for the Orioles scouting staff. Area scouts can follow players for years and years, file numerous reports, get to the know the player very well, meet his family, see hundreds of games over many seasons and then not even see that player drafted. Much less see one of their players taken...

Baseball is going to be played in 2020. And you might actually recognize some of it. Negotiations appear to be done between owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Proposals have been rejected on both sides and talks are dead. The counter-offers and counterpunching will stop. We've reached the point where players are waiting for commissioner Rob Manfred to set the schedule, which is going to consist of roughly 50 games. And then they'll accuse MLB of not trying harder to...

On the same day that teams are allowed to begin signing undrafted players, cleared to make some noise following the 48-hour quiet period, the Orioles have reached agreements with two of their selections from last week. Both are high school players chosen at the backend of the abbreviated draft. Both are over-slot. Right-hander Carter Baumler, a fifth-rounder from Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa, has agreed to terms on a $1.5 million contract, as first reported by Prospects 365's Mason...

In my discussions the last two weeks with a pair of Southeastern Conference baseball coaches, they talked about how the draft landscape has changed with their players and their rosters moving forward. Juniors and seniors are allowed to return for at least one more year of eligibility thanks to the NCAA granting that opportunity due to the coronavirus shutdown ending the college baseball season prematurely this season. Georgia baseball coach Scott Stricklin believes the 2021 college baseball...

Whatever sliver of hope remained that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association might find a way to come together and negotiate a reasonable settlement to their ongoing fight over salary structure appeared to go up in smoke Saturday night after both entities issued nasty statements accusing each other of ruining any chance of a reasonable 2020 season. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark all but gave up further negotiations and essentially demanded that Rob Manfred tell the players...

Last winter, the Orioles signed free agent shortstop José Iglesias to a one-year contract with a club option for 2021. At a position where you want to have a plus defender, he will be that for the Orioles when we see baseball again. He posted a career-high 1.4 Defensive Wins Above Replacement last season and leads all major league shortstops in fielding percentage since 2015. But the Orioles hope the long-term future of the position is currently on the farm, where in recent years, the club...

Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson is a baseball lifer. He played the game in college for four seasons and has coached baseball since 1994, most recently as a long-time assistant at Texas from 2007-2016. Johnson arrived in Norman, Okla., in 2017 as the pitching coach and then took over the Sooners' top spot in June of that year. He has worked with eventual major leaguers in the past, especially those who played high school baseball in Texas. So when he puts those players in the same sentence...