SARASOTA, Fla. - Matt Hobgood is nearing the one-year anniversary of his shoulder surgery from last April 2 that kept him out all of last season after he was limited to 37 innings in 2011. He's been dealing with shoulder soreness since he pitched for rookie-level Bluefield in 2009, the year the Orioles made the fifth overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft. Hobgood hopes his injury issues are behind him for good and today he pitched a scoreless inning for Single-A Delmarva against Tampa...

VIERA, Fla. - Jordan Zimmermann isn't usually prone to wordy dissections of his pitching lines, so when the Nationals right-hander spends more than four minutes responding to questions about his performance, you know he's probably done something of note. In this case, it was the kind of spring start that rarely happens: After surrendering a leadoff single to Andy Dirks on Monday, Zimmermann was as locked in as a pitcher can get, retiring the next 18 hitters in order and spraying ground balls...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles provided Wei-Yin Chen with five innings today and a lesson in facing low-level minor league hitters. Chen took on a lineup filled with Tampa Bay Rays Single-A players in a light, steady rain at Twin Lakes Park. He allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits, with one walk, two strikeouts and one hit batter. The Orioles kept him on the mound for an extra out in the third inning, resulting in his second strikeout, to increase his pitch count. The defense behind...

VIERA, Fla. - When Jordan Zimmermann is on, you can often tell by the number of ground balls he gets. Swings and misses are nice - everybody gets so enamored of strikeouts - but a biting sinker usually translates into many chances for Nationals infielders. Suffice it to say Zimmermann's got some sink to his stuff today. Through three innings against the Tigers, Zimmermann is keeping his infielders hopping. He has gotten seven outs on ground balls and the only batter to get a ball into the...

The Washington Nationals today granted catcher Chris Snyder his unconditional release. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The Nationals currently have 33 players in their big league camp.

VIERA, Fla. - Another day, another appearance by a Nationals lineup filled with regulars for today's 1:05 p.m. game against the Detroit Tigers at Space Coast Stadium. The Tigers didn't skimp on star power either, bringing their marquee names for the 90-minute drive from Lakeland. For the Tigers: LF - Andy Dirks RF - Torii Hunter 3B - Miguel Cabrera 1B - Prince Fielder DH - Victor Martinez C - Alex Avila CF - Don Kelly 2B - Omar Infante SS - Ramon Santiago RHP - Max Scherzer For the...

VIERA, Fla. - Faced with too many pitchers and dwindling innings, and preparing to start playing his regulars deeper into games, Davey Johnson announced another round of eight cuts at Nationals camp before Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Detroit Tigers. Right-handers Ryan Perry and Erik Davis, first baseman Chris Marrero, catcher Jhonatan Solano and outfielder Corey Brown were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, and right-hander Ross Ohlendorf and infielder Zach Walters were reassigned...

The Washington Nationals today optioned right-handed pitchers Erik Davis, Yunesky Maya and Ryan Perry, catcher Jhonatan Solano, infielder Chris Marrero and outfielder Corey Brown to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Additionally, the Nationals re-assigned right-handed pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and infielder Zach Walters to minor league camp. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. The Nationals currently have...

SARASOTA, Fla. - For now, it seems no one is talking about Chris Davis and his defensive play at first base. A few weeks ago, it was a prime topic and concern of Orioles fans. But a few weeks of some solid defense at the bag in spring games seems to have put Davis on the right track and is leaving fans less concerned at this point. Davis has worked hard on that part of his game in camp and, as Buck Showalter might say, he seems to be in a good place right now. He probably has a good look in...

The accelerated development program has its obvious goals. It is first and foremost an opportunity to get some of the best prospects in the organization in one place at one time for an extended period of spring training, surrounded by the top coaches to "speed up" the learning process. But one other reason is pretty clear when looking at the talent and youth in the 24 pitchers in the program. The last few seasons, the Nationals have traded away some top pitching prospects and now they are...