Finishing up our conversation with Nationals pitching prospect Ben Braymer, the left-hander talked more about how he changed his grip on his changeup from two-seam to a four-seam so that coming out of his hand it looks even more like a fastball to the hitter. "I had accomplished that in Double-A, having my changeup mirror my fastball as far as arm slot goes and the arm speed on it," Braymer said. "But when I got out to Triple-A the more experienced hitters were able to see a little bit...

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Aníbal Sánchez, who (much like the team as a whole) completely turned his season around after a wretched start. PLAYER REVIEW: ANÍBAL SÁNCHEZ Age on opening day 2020: 36 How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018 MLB service time: 13 years, 83 days 2019 salary: $8 million ($2 million deferred to 2021) Contract status: Signed for $9...

Making the 40-man roster was the easy part for Ryan Mountcastle, the Orioles' fourth-ranked prospect per MLB.com and the No. 2 position player behind catcher Adley Rutschman, who leads the pack after being the first-overall pick in this year's First-Year Player Draft. Mountcastle faces a much stiffer challenge trying to make the club out of spring training. This is where he loses slam-dunk status. The Orioles protected Mountcastle before the Rule 5 draft. They might continue to protect him by...

In looking back at the last week of stories here, we discussed a few interesting topics. Today we present a few of these for further discussion. * They included the Single-A Frederick Keys being named as one of 42 minor league teams that could lose their big league affiliations. The Keys have been an O's affiliate since 1989 and they do quite well at the gate. Frederick has ranked first or second in Carolina League attendance the last eight years. MASNsports.com interviewed Frederick owner Ken...

Beyond the ground balls he can induce and the outs he can coax in the late innings, especially versus left-handed hitters, Orioles reliever Richard Bleier also has become a leader in a bullpen that tends to attract inexperienced pitchers trying to become established major leaguers. Bleier just completed his fourth season, though he appeared in only 23 games as a rookie with the Yankees in 2016 and 31 with the Orioles in 2018 before undergoing lat surgery. He's become a go-to guy both on and...

There are nearly 50 starting pitchers available as baseball free agency is now underway. We know the Orioles need starting pitchers and we also know they won't be diving into the deep end of that pool or issuing any big-dollar contracts. In the early stages of the rebuild, they may not even sign anyone to anything longer than a one-year deal and no doubt some minor league free agents will be added for depth as well. While lefty Keegan Akin, added to the Orioles' 40-man roster this week,...

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Patrick Corbin, who in his first year in D.C. made exactly the kind of impact the club hoped he would. PLAYER REVIEW: PATRICK CORBIN Age on opening day 2020: 30 How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018 MLB service time: 7 years, 105 days 2019 salary: $12.5 million (plus $2.5 million signing bonus) Contract status: Signed for $19 million in 2020,...

As he was searching for a focus for his latest installment in his "The Road to the World Series" collection, Philadelphia artist Dan Duffy saw the image of Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman celebrating after the last out that secured a Game 7 victory over the Astros and a Fall Classic championship and knew he'd found the perfect starting point. Zimmerman, who had seen the highs and lows of a franchise that made him its first draft pick in 2005, stopped on the Minute Maid Park field...

Left-hander Ben Braymer got a thrilling phone call on Wednesday from the Nationals telling him he had been placed on the organization's 40-man roster. "I was super excited," Braymer said. "I thought I might have an opportunity for that to happen but when I got the call (Wednesday) morning, I was very, very excited. A lot of positive emotions. It was cool." In part one of our visit with Braymer (Twitter: @B_Braymer), we break down his move to Triple-A and the adjustments he had to make in a...

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Stephen Strasburg, who made it through a full season healthy for the first time in five years and then topped it off with a history-making postseason. PLAYER REVIEW: STEPHEN STRASBURG Age on opening day 2020: 31 How acquired: First-round pick, 2009 draft MLB service time: 9 years, 118 days 2019 salary: $35 million Contract status: Free agent after opting...