Have the Nationals had a good offseason? It's easy to look at the eight major leaguers they've acquired since the 2018 season ended and declare they've enjoyed a successful winter. Patrick Corbin and Aníbal Sánchez filled obvious needs. Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki provide a clear upgrade at catcher. Brian Dozier is a solid pickup at second base. Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough have the potential to reshape an ever-changing bullpen. Matt Adams was an important re-sign. The Nationals...

The top three starters in the Orioles rotation will report to spring training without the physical ailments that interrupted or ended their 2018 seasons. Dylan Bundy's sprained left ankle has healed. Alex Cobb isn't bothered by the blisters that surfaced on his right index and middle fingers. Andrew Cashner no longer has bursitis in his left knee. A cortisone injection administered in September didn't provide the necessary relief for Cashner and he was done after his start on Sept. 12. He...

So when will teams start spending the "stupid" money? When will the saga of free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper come to an end? Where will they end up and could the Chicago White Sox actually wind up with Machado? So far, the free agency of the dynamic duo is not living up the hype. And this has been hyped for literally years. Hype that said they could both get north of $300 million and maybe even more than $400 million. Hype that said both could have numerous suitors among the big...

Even on the heels of a subpar 2018 season in which he played through a knee injury and saw his production decrease, Brian Dozier said he had multi-year offers from other clubs this winter. How, then, did it come to be that the veteran second baseman found himself on a conference call with Washington reporters this afternoon, discussing the one-year, $9 million contract he just signed with the Nationals? "Basically, what it came down to was just where my wife and I wanted to be," he said....

The Orioles could be on the verge of announcing their coaching staff for the 2019 season as the last few vacancies are filled. Doug Brocail has been hired as pitching coach, according to an industry source. He's going to replace Roger McDowell, whose contract expired on Oct. 31. Brocail, 51, spent the past three seasons as the Rangers pitching coach before his dismissal in November. He owns previous ties to executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, working as the Astros pitching...

Major League Baseball (MLB) and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital curriculum, content, and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the launch of a new, multiyear partnership that brings Major League Baseball's dynamic content into Discovery Education's Science Techbooks. The partnership launched during a special event in the Baltimore County Public Schools' Deep Creek Middle School, during which Nicole Sherry, Head Groundskeeper for the Baltimore...

There are still four weeks to go until pitchers and catchers report, 10 weeks to go until opening day against the Mets. There's plenty of time for things to change, and they probably will. Yet if the Nationals needed to assemble a 25-man roster today, they could easily do it. And there's a decent chance that roster would look the exact same for Game 1 on March 28. Such is the case when your front office has been among the most aggressive in the majors through the first three months of the...

We certainly know that Orioles pitchers didn't collectively do very well in the 2018 season. Baltimore ranked last in the American League with a team ERA of 5.18, well over the league average of 4.27. The starters' ERA ranked last in the league at 5.48, with the AL average at 4.39. The bullpen ERA was 4.78 to rank 14th and above the league norm of 4.09. But as longtime Orioles fans know, the team won often back in the day due to strong pitching and defense, and the two work hand in hand. The...

Home runs are exciting, but true baseball fans get just as cranked up to see their guy on the mound firing on all cylinders. If great pitching is your jam, have we got a deal for you. Regular viewers of "Nationals Classics" are used to looking back at standout performances from star pitchers, but this Monday you can binge-watch three of the best ever back-to-back-to-back. That's on top of a full schedule of throwback Nationals games over the coming week. So dig in, because some of the best...

The challenges for the Orioles in filling the holes in their roster include payroll limitations and enticing free agents without the promise of a winning season and playoff run. Using a championship ring as a selling point would ring hollow. We've gone over the list of needs, which more easily can be addressed via trades. Players don't have a choice, of course. Infielder Jonathan Villar was pulled from a pennant race at the non-waiver deadline and joined a team with the worst record in...