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Here are your Washington Nationals Morning headlines, news, analysis, and more for Monday, March 9, 2026
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Nationals Reportedly Sign Pitcher Zack Littell to MLB Deal
Photo via MLB
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
Yesterday, the Nationals reportedly signed veteran pitcher Zack Littell to an MLB Deal. The team has yet to confirm the deal, which is pending a physical.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
Zack Littell, a 30-year-old right-handed pitcher, played for both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds last season
Littell went 10-8 with a 3.81 ERA, setting career highs for both games started and innings pitched with 32 starts and 186⅔ innings
He pitched his first career complete game last season against the Houston Astros on May 31, the Rays winning 16-3
The right-hander was an 11th-round pick in the 2013 amateur draft and made his big league debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2018
In his career, he is 34-29 with a 3.88 ERA in 155 relief appearances and 79 starts, previously playing for both the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
Zack Littell could prove to be the proven, veteran arm that the Nationals need to bolster their starting rotation. While he does have a very reliable ERA, some of his strengths lean more on the subtle side, like being tied with Tarik Skubal for the lowest walk rate among qualified pitchers since the beginning of last season. He also notably gets batters to chase whenever he throws outside of the zone, his swing rate last season being 51.4%, which is tied for sixth-best among pitchers who reached at least 150 innings. While this is a lower-risk sign for the Nats, especially considering all of his ability and statistics, it has the opportunity to pay off in dividends as the season gets underway.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
What do you think about the signing of Zack Littell? Do you think he’ll make the starting rotation this season?
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Recaps From the Weekend & a Look Ahead
Via the Washington Nationals
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
The Nationals keep moving on strong through Spring Training, winning two of their last three over the weekend. While there might not be a game today, there are definitely some upcoming during the rest of the week.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
On Friday, the Nats lost 7-1 to the Houston Astros despite Cade Cavalli’s strong performance of six strikeouts and just one hit
Saturday evening, the Nationals shut out the New York Yankees 3-0, behind a strong performance from Josiah Gray and the bullpen, who collectively struck out eight batters
The Nats avenged themselves against the Houston Astros on Sunday, beating them 3-1, powered by a Ronny Cruz two-run home run as well as a strong start from Andrew Alvarez, who struck out five across four innings with just one hit
While the team does have a rest day today, the Nationals play the Miami Marlins tomorrow at 1:10 PM ET at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
The Nats came back strong this weekend after the loss to the Astros, especially with their pitching performance, which showed out against both the Yankees and during the second game against the Astros. This performance from both the starters and the bullpen, who collectively across the weekend struck out a grand total of 19 batters, shows that not only is the pitching lineup taking shape very quickly, but it is also building and growing in strength with each game as Spring Training goes on.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
What did you think of this weekend's performance by the Nats? What do you think of the team’s ability to win consistently after this run of games?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
For more day-to-day, up-to-date updates about the Nats’ moves and games during up to Opening Day, be sure to check out the Spring Training Liveblog.
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World Baseball Classic Review
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
Here is a recap of some World Baseball Classic Games this past weekend. No matter which team you cheer for, I think we can all agree as people who love the game of baseball that this WBC has been amazing to watch so far.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
Team USA handily swept their weekend matchups, winning both their game on Friday against Team Brazil, 15-5, and their game on Saturday against Team Great Britain, 9-1
Team Dominican Republic offensively dominated both of their matchups over the weekend, scoring 12 runs in each game—12-3 against Team Nicaragua and 12-1 against Team Netherlands
Team Israel split their games over the weekend, losing Saturday against Team Venezuela 11-3 but shutting out Team Nicaragua 5-0 on Sunday
Team Japan swept their games this weekend to go 3-0—completely shutting down Team Chinese Taipei 13-0 on Friday, winning a back-and-forth battle against Team Korea 8-6 on Saturday, and winning a pitchers’ duel against Team Australia 4-3 on Sunday
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
With the first round of tournament play inching closer and closer, the strongest teams are starting to emerge and prove themselves as real contenders. There are the usual suspects like Team Japan, Team USA, Team Dominican Republic, and Team Puerto Rico, but Teams Mexico, Italy, Cuba, and Venezuela have all proven themselves as strong competitors, with all of them currently sitting with an undefeated record in pool play. In fact, Team Mexico and Team Italy are currently ahead of Team USA in the standings for Pool B because of the number of runs allowed and the number of defensive outs recorded.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
Who do you think is the strongest team in each pool so far? Do you think these strong teams have the chance to continue their runs into tournament play?
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WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING
Speed Reads
📌 Zack Littell's Addition Creates Major Question Marks for Other Nationals Pitchers (Sports Illustrated)
📌 Elimination scenarios for the World Baseball Classic (MLB)