WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There weren't a whole lot of positives to come out of the Nationals' 7-1 exhibition loss to the Marlins yesterday, but if you squinted hard enough you might have come away finding a few developments worth smiling about. For example: Ryan Zimmerman's baserunning. This isn't typically something that gets noticed, good or bad, but something noteworthy did happen during the bottom of the second inning. First up, Zimmerman beat out a grounder to third for an infield...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Before he was optioned to the minors on Sunday morning, bullpen right-hander Cody Carroll made a nice impression on his new coaches. We certainly should expect to see him on the roster during the 2019 season. Acquired from the Yankees last July 24 in the Zack Britton trade, Carroll was not scored on in six of his seven spring games. Over seven innings, he allowed five hits and two runs with one walk, nine strikeouts, three saves and an 0.86 WHIP. Over his last five spring...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde remains uncertain about numerous aspects of his opening day roster. The final rotation spots, the complete bullpen and outfield compositions, the two catchers heading north. The top three starters always have been Alex Cobb, Dylan Bundy and Andrew Cashner. The only drama involved which one would be on the mound March 28 at Yankee Stadium, with Cobb given the honor. Mychal Givens and Richard Bleier were locks for the bullpen, the latter just needing...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The distribution of international signing bonus slots continues under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. The Orioles swung another spring training deal earlier today, sending an undisclosed slot figure to the Phillies in exchange for minor league catcher Lenin Rodriguez. Rodriguez is the latest depth move, and he reaches the low levels of the system. He turns 21 later this month and hasn't played above short-season Single-A, appearing in 21 games last...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals made another round of cuts following today's split-squad games, trimming their camp roster by six. Optioned to Triple-A Fresno were right-handers Austin Voth, Jimmy Cordero, Kyle McGowin and Tanner Rainey. Re-assigned to minor league camp were right-hander J.J. Hoover and outfielder Hunter Jones. The moves bring more clarity to the few remaining competitions for spots on the opening roster (in the bullpen and on the bench) as the Nationals enter the final...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Patrick Corbin has allowed 12 runs so far in 18 innings this spring, but more notable is the fact seven of those runs have been scored in the first inning of his starts. It's not uncommon for pitchers, especially the elite ones, to have more trouble in the first inning than any other frame. But this isn't common territory for Corbin, who last season with Arizona posted a sparkling 0.82 ERA in the first inning. So the left-hander isn't about to raise any red flags or...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Right-hander Joe Ross looked comfortable and his pitches were sharp in his first start of spring since returning from Tommy John surgery. Ross allowed a two-run shot to Michael Conforto, but finished three innings looking strong, mixing four pitches and hitting mid-90s with his fastball. Ross fired 61 pitches, 44 for strikes, scattering four hits, allowing two runs with no walks and striking out three. It was his longest outing of spring training in his sixth overall...

The good news for the Los Angeles Dodgers is that they've been to the World Series two consecutive years. The bad news is that they've watched two teams - the Astros in 2017 and the Red Sox last season - celebrate a championship in Dodger Stadium. The Astros won Game 7, the Red Sox Game 5. The Dodgers vow to win the World Series this season, ending a championship drought that goes back to 1988, the year they beat the Athletics. But first things first: They have to take aim at winning their...

The Astros won their first World Series in 2017 and followed that with a franchise-record 103 victories last season. But they were then beaten in the postseason by the eventual World Series champion Red Sox. "Last year was a disappointment, but we are an organization that's built to win multiple championships,'' says Jeff Luhnow, the general manager who puts the roster together. The Astros' core of players includes a healthy middle infield in Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa. There's also...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Andrew Cashner retired the last 12 batters that he faced today. The Orioles sent 11 to the plate in the fifth inning, with Dwight Smith Jr. collecting two singles. They received back-to-back triples from Jonathan Villar and Trey Mancini. Just another day in spring training. Cashner got on a nice roll after Mikie Mahtook singled to lead off the bottom of the second inning. He filled up the strike zone and did his finest work while holding the Tigers to one run in five...