The Nationals announced that right-hander Kyle Barraclough has been reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Double-A Harrisburg. Barraclough had been on the injured list with a right radial nerve irritation since June 16. He made three rehab appearances at high Single-A Potomac, going 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA. In three innings, he allowed two earned runs on four hits, with no walks and six strikeouts. He surrendered two solo homers. Barraclough was placed at Harrisburg so he can be more...

Right-hander Austin Voth was unable to set up hitters with his fastball in the spot he wanted to against the Royals last Friday night. When that happens, it has a ripple effect on Voth's other pitches. He ended up throwing 96 pitches in only 4 1/3 innings and allowing four runs. "I'm a little bit, a tick off, I would say," Voth said. "Definitely with my fastball command you can notice that. Like last two games I just haven't been able to stick those fastballs glove side, especially in...

The first half of the season officially ended nearly two weeks ago, when the Nationals played their 81st game. They've played eight more since then, which means the season's already 55 percent complete. But this being the All-Star break, and this being the longstanding tradition, everyone just refers to this week as the midway point of the season. Which means this is the time to hand out midterm grades. What a wild first half it was for the Nationals, who looked dead in the water in late May...

The Orioles completed their pending roster move today by adding right-hander Aaron Brooks to the 25-man roster. Brooks will wear No. 38 and he's set to become the 47th player used by the Orioles this season. Reliever Josh Lucas was designated for assignment Saturday to make room for Brooks on the 40-man roster. Lucas cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk, news also announced today by the Orioles. So much for a break. Brooks was a waiver claim Saturday from the...

The All-Star Game is over and baseball's idle time stretches to Friday night, when the Orioles host a four-game series against the Rays. They have a doubleheader on Saturday. The 2019 season isn't about wins and losses, but it's still a hard sell for the manager, his coaching staff and his players. They understand the plan and support the direction, but they aren't going to lay down. The Orioles aren't running away with the first overall pick in next year's draft. They own the worst...

Stephen Strasburg had an outstanding first half for the Nationals, rolling to 10 wins. One noticeable secret to his success in 2019 is that he has altered his pitch usage. Strasburg re-introduced his two-seam fastball on a consistent basis for the first time in several seasons. The addition of the sinker has forced hitters to guess more and has made it more difficult to figure out what the right-hander is trying to do on the mound from pitch to pitch. According to Brooks Baseball, Strasburg is...

Trey Mancini would have spent a portion of the All-Star Game media session this week tallying how many people he had to thank for assisting in his climb to established major league hitter. So many of them, whether within his own family or the baseball community. Though he's home for the break, he's still able to express his gratitude without making the trip to Progressive Field in Cleveland. And I've found that he isn't alone in his appreciation of Orioles minor league hitting coordinator...

The criticism is always there for the Orioles' Chris Davis. He knows it's deserved when you are batting .189/.274/.332 with an OPS of .605. This is a player that produced an OPS of 1.004 in 2013 and .923 in 2015. He knows it is coming because he signed the big contract and has underperformed by a big margin. But he can't get that back now. He's dealing with it and trying his best to handle it. "It's always a challenge," he said over the weekend in Toronto. "But as you get older and as...

Orioles lefty John Means will take the field tonight representing the club in the All-Star Game. Means is certainly an unlikely All-Star. He himself expressed surprise that he even made the Orioles' opening day roster. But the Orioles started giving Means the ball, he excelled early in the season against the Yankees and Red Sox, and he was off and running. Five of his first nine appearances this year came against the two American League East big boys. He allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings over...

Nationals shortstop prospect Carter Kieboom made a couple of nice impact plays in the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday in Cleveland. Kieboom scooped a grounder near the second base bag and threw the runner out to end the third inning and then followed that up with a single in his next at-bat in the top of the fourth. He came around to score the National League's first run in a 2-2 tie after eight innings. Kieboom finished 1-for-2 with a run scored. Kieboom has slashed .320/.431/.590 with 18...