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Good Morning, Washington Nationals fans.
Here are your Washington Nationals Morning headlines, news, analysis, and more for Wednesday, February 18, 2026
A couple reminders before we kick off the morning! Don’t forget to submit your questions for the very first AMA that Nats Report will be participating in on the Nationals subreddit tomorrow afternoon. Also, the Nats Report would love your help in keeping the website and newsletter fully independent in the lead-up to Opening Day! No donation is too small and every penny counts towards keeping independent sports journalism alive and well.
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Upcoming Spring Training Games
Via Washington Nationals
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
For the first time in 142 days, the Washington Nationals will take the field for a baseball game. They may just be Spring Training games, but they’re a fantastic opportunity to see how the team’s grown in the offseason and get a peek into how the season could go this year.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
The first games are split-squad and will take place on Saturday, February 21, against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros, respectively
The first full team game is on Sunday, February 22, against the Miami Marlins
Both of the Saturday games will take place at 1:05 PM, while the Sunday game will take place at 1:10 PM
The game against the Astros is a home game at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, while the games against the Cardinals and the Marlins will be away games at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
What are you most excited about going into these games? What are you looking forward to seeing from the team?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
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Daily Spring Training Notebook
Via Washington Nationals
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
Throughout Spring Training, Ryan Shenker has been down in West Palm Beach reporting on all possible action from up close. Every bit of information and every observation then gets added to the day’s Spring Training Notebook for Nats fans to read and learn about day-to-day Spring Training operations.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
There is a heavy emphasis at Spring Training on learning the new ABS challenge system early
First baseman Abimelec Ortiz put on quite the hitting show for those who were spectating, including new general manager Anirudh Kilambi
Manager Blake Butera has emphasized player leadership all throughout Spring Training, with more established players like outfielder James Wood showing that through both words and actions
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
Getting on top of the new ABS challenge system has multiple benefits to the team as a whole, one of which is being able to more closely discern when a call should be challenged. About their process of learning this, manager Blake Butera said, “We've kind of worked on the challenge system a little bit where we had a bad umpire (myself) behind home plate in the stadium calling balls and strikes and let them challenge if they felt like it was an incorrect call.”
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
What do you think of the team’s approach to the new ABS challenge system so far? Is there anything you would change?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
Make sure to follow Ryan and the Nats Report on Twitter for the latest updates from West Palm Beach, and don't forget to check out Ryan's video from yesterday straight from West Palm Beach.
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Rochester Red Wings Pitching Preview
Via Washington Nationals
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
With the major league season quickly approaching, so too is the minor league season. Nats Report’s Bill Wade has begun breaking down everything you need to know about this year’s Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, starting with their pitching lineup going into Spring Training.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
Left-handed pitcher Andrew Alvarez made a solid debut with the Nationals last season, pitching five games and ending with a 2.31 ERA, and his slider has a whiff rate of 35%
While control can be an issue, left-handed pitcher Alex Clemmy shows promise with a fastball that sometimes reaches 98 and a slider with a fairly good whiff rate
After tweaking his pitching motion, right-handed pitcher Riley Cornelio significantly improved, now throwing strikes at a 61% rate and almost having a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio last season
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
With plenty of fresh and promising pitching talent coming into Spring Training, the Red Wings look set to have a fairly strong starting rotation and bullpen this coming season. The real question is whether any of them will show enough strength and consistency to move up from Triple-A to the Nationals for a big league start.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
What Red Wings pitching prospect do you think will show the most promise through Spring Training? Will any of them be strong enough to make it to the majors this season?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
Follow the Nats Report's coverage of the Minor Leagues by liking our Facebook page dedicated to the Minor Leagues as well as our Twitter channel.
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WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING
Speed Reads
📌 Don’t let James Wood’s demeanor fool you. There’s a fire burning inside the Nationals star. (The Baltimore Banner)
📌 Tony Clark resigns as executive director of MLBPA (MLB)