If the 2020 baseball season unfolds later this summer, Trey Mancini doesn't expect to be part of it. Making his first comments beyond a tweet since his surgery on March 12 to remove a malignant tumor from his colon, Mancini confirmed that he's been undergoing chemotherapy treatments since April 13 that will last for six months. "If baseball returns in 2020, it will probably be without me," Mancini wrote in The Players' Tribune. "I want everybody to know that I'm OK. I know reading...

MASN broadcaster Bob Carpenter is back in Oklahoma with his family and is safe and healthy as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds across the globe. Like everyone else, Carpenter is waiting for the baseball season to get started. This will be his 15th season behind the mic for MASN as the television play-by-play announcer for the Nationals. Carpenter returned to Oklahoma on March 12 and has been able to enjoy time with his wife, Debbie, and their kids. I caught him running errands as they worked on...

Everyone's putting together "All-Time Best" lists right now. I half expect someone to compile the "All-Time Best All-Time Best List" before the pandemic ends. So, we might as well get into the game here. But we're going to add a twist to this one. This won't just be the All-Time Best Nationals Roster. That would be too easy. (Just take a bunch of guys from the 2019 club, add a couple others from the pre-championship years and you've got it.) No, this one requires a little more brain...

The chance that we are going to see something resembling a baseball season in 2020 seems to be getting better. But we still have no idea what that could mean or look like. It seems many plans and options continue to be discussed. Nothing has been settled on. There is nothing that can be settled on at this point. Baseball officials obviously are aware that nothing will happen unless it can be deemed safe for all. At one point we heard about the Arizona plan. Then there was an Arizona/Florida...

If you sense that I'm giving you a quizzical look this morning, well, scroll down for verification. Or maybe the headline gave it away. This is the latest coronavirus edition. We could use the distraction and a few smiles. Extra credit awarded for expanding on "none of the above" by making a prediction. The season is going to start: A. In June B. In July C. In 2021 D. None of the above Games will be played: A. Exclusively in Arizona B. In Florida and Arizona C. In no more than five states D....

The Nationals will need to replace the bat of third baseman Anthony Rendon in 2020. Rendon was able to come through in the clutch for the Nats time and time again, especially in the postseason, and potential third base replacement Carter Kieboom is not expected to have to shoulder the responsibility for that run production all by himself. So who can help in the Nats lineup? Looking around the clubhouse, could Trea Turner, Victor Robles, Juan Soto, Eric Thames, Starlin Castro and others pick up...

We begin today a periodic look at the state of the Nationals roster at the point spring training was suspended and project how things may look whenever baseball is played again. Up first is the infield ... No aspect of the Nationals roster underwent as much change last winter as the infield. There was only one major departure (Anthony Rendon) but Matt Adams and Brian Dozier also left as free agents, leaving general manager Mike Rizzo with a couple of different paths in an attempt to make up for...

Had the baseball season started on time, or whenever it does begin in the minor leagues, the Orioles are excited to see several first-year pro coaches at work. There is a heavy flavor of youth, especially among the organization's hitting coaches. Among the new hitting coaches on the farm as of 2020 are Tim Gibbons at Double-A Bowie, Ryan Fuller at Single-A Delmarva, Anthony Villar at short-season Single-A Aberdeen and Patrick Jones with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles. Tom Eller is...

This extended break is offering us a chance to write some stories we wouldn't normally write and to take a few trips down memory lane. So here's a trip back in time for you that includes an epic behind-the-scenes story from the postgame clubhouse. Maybe this will be the first of several such stories that can be shared with you until we have real baseball again. The date is July 15, 2005. The Nationals are in Milwaukee, facing the Brewers in front of a packed Friday night house at Miller Park....

So the question has now been asked countless times: Does the shutdown of baseball hurt a rebuilding team like the Orioles? An obvious answer is yes, because young players, especially those in the minors, are not getting at-bats or innings right now. They're not working with coaches and gaining information from data and analytics. They are not competing against an opponent and learning how doing the small things right can lead to big wins and big personal gains. The good news is that no team is...