WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals head north Sunday night following their Grapefruit League finale. Tony Sipp and Howie Kendrick might not make the trip, though both will be in Washington for opening day. With Sipp and Kendrick each hurriedly trying to get ready in time to make the opening day roster but running out of time to return to game action, the Nationals are making plans to have both veterans stay back in Florida and continue to work up until the last minute. Manager Davey Martinez...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Michael A. Taylor plans to take batting practice today, play catch from long-toss range and run on the synthetic agility field that sits outside the Nationals' spring training complex. He'll be doing this exactly one week after he sprained both his left knee and hip making a diving catch, an injury and diagnosis that prompted manager Davey Martinez to declare that Taylor was likely to "miss a significant amount of time." All of this seems to be catching everyone...

BRADENTON, Fla. - As Francisco Cervelli circled the bases today, his fly ball to the opposite field dropping on the other side of the fence, Orioles starter David Hess had to be wondering about his hold on a rotation spot. Six home runs allowed in his last two outings. All of them in 3 2/3 innings. None of them a good look for a guy trying to convince the new regime that he can be the fourth starter. Hess spun the story in the opposite direction, making the kind of recovery usually found in...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After a day off, the Nationals return rested and refreshed for a night game against a Cardinals split-squad. And since everyone's rested and refreshed, all the regulars are in the lineup. Davey Martinez has been tinkering with both one-two combos, alternating between Adam Eaton and Trea Turner. He hasn't made up his mind yet how he'll arrange things for opening day, but tonight it's Eaton leading off and Turner batting second. We'll also see both catchers tonight,...

The Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) has named the Nationals one of two recipients of the 2019 Bobby Murcer Award, which recognizes the team in each league whose players, managers and coaches pledge to contribute the most amount of money to B.A.T during the organization's annual spring training fundraising tour. The Blue Jays won for the American League. The award is named after the former B.A.T. Chairman who launched the fundraising tour to support the organization in its mission to assist...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Catcher Jesús Sucre appears to have won a job with the Orioles. The opt-out date on Sucre's minor league deal arrives Friday and manager Brandon Hyde said the veteran has "a good shot to make the team." "I've been playing him every other day," Hyde said this morning before heading to Bradenton. "He went down and took a bunch of minor league at-bats a couple days ago to try to catch up on the at-bats. He's catching great, he throws great, does a really nice job...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles made two more roster cuts this morning, reassigning infielder Jack Reinheimer and pitcher Josh Lucas to minor league camp. Reinheimer follows Alcides Escobar out the door after the veteran was released yesterday, further reducing the competition for a utility job. Reinheimer was 11-for-28 (.393) with two doubles and a home run while mostly coming off the bench later in games. Lucas had a 5.06 ERA in six games with three runs and four hits allowed in 5 1/3 innings....

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he wants to get an extended look at outfielder Dwight Smith Jr., who's leading off today and playing left field against the Pirates in Bradenton. Smith hit his second home run last night and is 6-for-14 since joining the Orioles. Trey Mancini is playing first base and Chris Davis is the designated hitter. Renato Núñez remains out of the lineup with biceps soreness and Rio Ruiz gets another start at third base. Hanser Alberto is the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles education of Jesús Sucre continued last night as he caught starter Dylan Bundy for the first time in camp beyond a couple of bullpen sessions. A late arrival following a prolonged work visa issue had Sucre scrambling to learn the staff and make his bid for a roster spot after agreeing to a minor league deal on Feb. 1. "It's going really well," he said. "I've been working in the 'pen with a lot of guys. They're mostly here. And even in the games I've been...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Cedric Mullins collected his sixth hit of spring training tonight while leading off the bottom of the first inning. His fifth for extra bases and third home run. And the odd count would continue. Mullins also reached on a bunt single and doubled for his most productive game of the spring, his average climbing to .186. Always at his most dangerous from the left side, Mullins pulled a two-strike off-speed pitch from Red Sox starter Rick Porcello down the right field line to give...