The Washington Nationals agreed to terms with infielder Paul DeJong (de-Young) on a one-year contract and transferred Josiah Gray to the 60-day Injured List on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. DeJong, 31, joins the Nationals after he hit .227 with 17 doubles, 24 home runs, 56 R

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals’ search for more power has landed on a former All-Star shortstop who will now be asked to play third base in D.C. The Nats signed Paul DeJong to a one-year, $1 million contract this morning, adding the veteran infielder to a roster lacking in experience and proven home run power. The 31-year-old passed his phys

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In a sport full of perfectionists, MacKenzie Gore rises above the fray. The Nationals left-hander expects the absolute best from himself, beats himself up when he doesn’t live up to that standard and always seeks improvement no matter how well his last start went. This isn’t a recently learned trait for Gore. He didn’t just

SARASOTA, Fla. – Heston Kjerstad sat quietly at his locker yesterday morning, staring at his phone with legs stretched out and empty chairs on both sides of him. An isolated figure. Pretty much how he likes it. Kjerstad isn’t anti-social. He just doesn’t command a lot of attention in a clubhouse with some extremely high-profile young players. The b

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The early days of spring training are defined by two time-honored morning drills: Bullpen sessions and pitchers’ fielding practice. The former draws most of the attention, because it’s an opportunity to see pitchers work on their primary craft. But the latter, while mundane, matters quite a bit. And that’s especially true fo

SARASOTA, Fla. – Samuel Basallo swung at the first pitch thrown today by starter Charlie Morton and sent a chopper to a vacated second base area in a live batting practice session. The 20-year-old kid was beaten by the savvy 41-year-old veteran, and it happened in the blink of an eye or the tearing of an imaginary ticket stub. Basallo faced Morton

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals learned today they won their arbitration case against first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. Lowe will make $10.3 million this season, the highest salary on the team’s current 2025 roster. He was seeking $11.1 million. Acquired from the Rangers for reliever Robert Garcia in

SARASOTA, Fla. – The decision to sign with the Orioles came easily to outfielder Tyler O’Neill. It wasn’t just the money, though the idea of being paid $49.5 million over three seasons with an opt-out clause after the first year enticed him. “It was always chasing Baltimore last year,” he said. O’Neill caught them via contract negotiations. He spen

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ask Keibert Ruiz what he thought of his 2024 season, and the Nationals catcher doesn’t mince words. “I was really disappointed with my season last year,” he said. “It wasn’t good, you know? I wasn’t happy.” Ruiz then immediately flips the switch and turns his attention toward the upcoming season, one he can’t wait to get sta

Heston Kjerstad’s reputation is that of a powerful slugger from the left side of the plate. So would you believe me if I told you that he and Jackson Holliday had the exact same career minor league batting average? Or that Kjerstad’s .387 on-base percentage was just three points below Adley Rutschman’s down on the farm? The Arkansas product has pro