An important part of the Nationals' run to the 2019 World Series has been their depth. During the season, Howie Kendrick, Asdrúbal Cabrera and Gerardo Parra were valuable substitutes for Ryan Zimmerman or other infield/outfield days off due to workload or a nagging injury. That seamless transition for a game, a week or longer helped the Nats maintain their run of 82-40 since their four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets in late May. In the postseason, outfielder Victor Robles went down...

There was just one position this year where the Orioles used only two players for the entire 2019 season, and that position was shortstop. Rule 5 pick Richie Martin made 90 starts at short and Jonathan Villar made 72. For Martin, that was the third-most shortstop starts by a rookie in Orioles history behind Cal Ripken Jr. with 91 in 1982 and Ron Hansen with 149 in 1960. But the immediate future of the position in Baltimore is uncertain. Villar could be retained, offered arbitration and wind up...

Cody Carroll notched his third spring training save on March 16, was told the following day that he'd been optioned to minor league camp and seemed to fall off the map. He must have landed on his back. An entire summer was spent getting Carroll back on his feet. Carroll didn't throw a single pitch with Triple-A Norfolk, undergoing disc surgery and rehabbing before making two appearances in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. The Orioles assigned him to the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona...

We're in uncharted waters here, folks. Everything from here on out is brand new, and there's no road map to show us the way. The Nationals are going to the World Series for the first time ... but they're now in Day 2 of a six-day layoff before they take the field again at either Minute Maid Park or Yankee Stadium. What do we do to fill all this free time? We answer your questions, that's what we do! I know you've got plenty of them stored up, whether looking back on the regular season or...

Things can change fast in a year in baseball. Outfielder Cedric Mullins won the Brooks Robinson Award as the Orioles' 2018 Minor League Player of the Year. Adam Jones moved over to right field that August so that Mullins could take over in center for the parent club. But in 2019 Mullins lasted just 22 games as the O's starter in center, was sent down to Triple-A Norfolk in late April and then was demoted to Double-A Bowie in mid-July. He ended the year playing well for the Baysox, both late...

Early projections on the Orioles opening day rotation can't be completed unless you ignore how they're likely to sign at least one cost-friendly veteran, similar to last year's additions of Nate Karns and Dan Straily. They'll just pray for better results. The top third is easy except for an exact order. Left-hander John Means and right-handers Dylan Bundy and Alex Cobb are expected to occupy those spots - barring any trades, of course. Has Asher Wojciechowski earned more than just...

On March 30, 2008, a wide-eyed young third baseman named Ryan Zimmerman christened the brand-new Nationals Park with a walk-off homer against Braves reliever Peter Moylan. In that moment, as the 23-year-old "Face of the Franchise" circled the bases to a thunderous roar, it was impossible not to wonder if this was merely first of many more thrilling moments to come in that ballpark. Surely there would be pennant races and October clinchers and maybe even a World Series contested on these...

Second baseman Howie Kendrick won MVP of the 2019 National League Championship Series with consistent hitting through the Nationals' four-game sweep of the Cardinals, completed Tuesday with a 7-4 win. The victory secured for the Nats a berth in their first-ever World Series. He also hit a dramatic grand slam in Game 5 of the National League Division Series to help eliminate his former team, the Dodgers. Kendrick went 5-for-15 (.333) in the four-game sweep of the Cards, collecting four doubles,...

The Nationals advanced to the World Series on Tuesday night with a 7-4 victory and a sweep of the National League Championship Series over the Cardinals. They punched their ticket to the Fall Classic with a big first inning, solid pitching from Patrick Corbin and four impressive shutout innings from their bullpen. Tanner Rainey relieved Corbin in the sixth and delivered a clean inning with a strikeout. Sean Doolittle came in for the seventh and even notched two more outs in the eighth. And...

The Cardinals finished their regular season on a 47-27 run, won the National League Central and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2015. They beat Atlanta in the NL Division Series and scored 10 runs in the first inning of a Game 5 13-1 smashing of the Braves. But when they got to the NL Championship Series against the Nationals, the Cardinals fell apart. The Nationals beat them 7-4 in Game 4, giving Washington a sweep and the city its first pennant since 1933, when the...