It's no secret the Nationals want to get better production from their catchers in 2018 than they did in 2017. Not that it would be easy to get worse production. Nationals catchers - which means almost entirely Matt Wieters and Jose Lobaton - collectively hit .208 with a .275 on-base percentage, .319 slugging percentage and .594 OPS last season. They ranked 28th, 29th, 30th and 30th in the majors in each of those categories, respectively. So there's basically nowhere to go but up. The issue at...

If Manny Machado is an Oriole in 2018, we still don't know if he will be playing at third base or moved to shortstop, a position he has played before in the majors but not last season. An argument against moving Machado is that he has been an elite defender at third base, winning the Platinum Glove after the 2013 season. That goes to the best defender in the league, no matter the position. One argument for moving Machado is that shortstop is a premium defensive positon and he would be involved...

Need a little something to warm you up on this most frigid day of the winter? Here's some news that might do the trick: Spring training begins in 41 days. The Nationals announced their official reporting dates this afternoon, at which point we learned there are fewer than six weeks to go until we'll be seeing and hearing the sights and sounds of the spring in West Palm Beach. Pitchers and catchers will report to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Feb. 14, with position players set to report...

Yesterday we looked at FanGraphs' Steamer projections for everyone in the Nationals lineup to begin the 2018 season. Today we'll look at the projections for the prominent members of the Nationals' pitching staff ... MAX SCHERZER Actual 2017 stats: 16-6, 2.51 ERA, 200.2 IP, 268 SO, 0.90 WHIP, 6.0 WAR Steamer 2018 projection: 15-9, 3.38 ERA, 207 IP, 257 SO, 1.09 WHIP, 5.0 WAR Comment: While these numbers are still very good, if they came to fruition Scherzer would end up with his worst ERA...

As the Orioles look to build a rotation for the 2018 season, right now we only know for certain that right-handers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman will be two of the five starters. The good news is both are young and under team control for a combined seven more seasons. Gausman cannot be a free agent until after the 2020 season and Bundy after 2021. And while both posted very good numbers at times last season, their final season stats included an ERA of 4.24 for Bundy and 4.68 for Gausman. But in...

Spring training wouldn't feel right unless the media had camp competitions to chronicle on a daily basis. Fifth starter, last bullpen and bench spots, backup catcher. It allows us to obsess over guys like Chad Moeller, Luis Exposito, Zack Phillips, Ryan Drese, Alex Gonzalez, Jimmy Paredes, Travis Ishikawa, Jason Pridie, Russ Canzler, Jai Miller and Trayvon Robinson. It makes us feel foolish later when so many of them disappear and are never heard from again. Oh heck, let's keep going. Hayden...

Shortstop Alan Trammell and pitcher Jack Morris have been voted into the Hall of Fame by the Modern Era Committee. So now that the approximately 430 ballots from the Baseball Writers' Association are in, here are answers to the most-frequently asked questions about who will be inducted into Cooperstown on a steamy day in July. The BBWAA will announce vote totals Jan. 24. Question: Should Barry Bonds, the all-time home run champion, and Roger Clemens, the best right-handed pitcher of all...

Left-hander Ben Braymer made the move from short-season Single-A Auburn to low Single-A Hagerstown in 2017 and got to work a simulated game against Nationals hitters prior to the National League Division Series versus the Cubs at Nationals Park The Auburn product went 5-2 with 3.99 ERA in 65 1/3 innings over 13 games. Braymer, 23, struck out 76 batters and walked only 21 on the season. He surrendered only four homers. I spoke with his teammate, right-hander Gabe Klobosits, about the experience,...

The 2018 Nationals are going to look a lot like the 2017 Nationals. With only a handful of exceptions, the same group of players that won 97 games last season is going to be back and making another run at it this season. So while many other clubs' fortunes will be predicated in large part on how much they improved their roster during the offseason, the Nats' fortunes probably boil down more to this question: How much better (or worse) will their returning players be? We won't know the...

He is the only player on the Orioles roster signed beyond the 2019 season. His contract runs through 2022. When first baseman Chris Davis signed a seven-year deal worth $161 million in January 2016, a lot changed for him. He had incredible financial security for his family's future, but also the expectations for him would now be higher than ever. Davis produced 47 homers and a .923 OPS in 2015 that helped get him that contract. But in 2016, he hit 38 homers with an OPS of .792, and last year...