Good Morning Washington Nationals Fan,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, October 6, 2023. I am Haden Raymer, let’s dive into the news.

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Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Eight minor league coaches will not return in 2024

The Washington Post reported yesterday that eight minor league staff members will not return in 2024. Six of the dismissals come on the position player side of the organization, with hitting coordinator Joe Dillion, lower level hitting coordinator Tony Gingrich, infield coordinator Cody Ransom, outfield and base-running coordinator Coco Crisp, Double-A hitting coach Tim Doherty, and High-A hitting coach Micah Franklin, all departing.

On the pitching side, both lower level pitching coordinator Michael Tejera and rehab and Dominican Republic pitching coordinator Mark Grater were both let go. In a text message to Andrew Golden of the Washington Post, Mike Rizzo stated that all vacancies will be filled.

My take: The key part of the story in my eyes was that the vacancies would be filled. It’s no secret that hitters down in the minor leagues struggled this season, with the big risers coming from players proving that they are still healthy, like Brady House and Daylen Lile.

Many players took a step back, especially at the Harrisburg and Wilmington affiliates. In Harrisburg, we watched Robert Hassell III strike out almost 32 percent of the time, the highest rate of his career. Brady House, whose primary tool is his power, put up power numbers that are closer to DJ LeMahieu than Josh Bell. While Wilmington is a pitcher’s paradise, T.J. White and Jeremy De La Rosa had a .557 and a .685 OPS respectively.

These staff members and coaches just weren’t the right fit for the Nationals organization, and all you can hope is that the new hires are better fits.

Víctor Arano and Travis Blankenhorn DFA’d

Yesterday, the Nationals designated both RH reliever Víctor Arano and outfielder Travis Blankenhorn for assignment. This move clears Blankenhorn off of the 40-man roster, and the Nationals no longer have to place Arano back on the 40-man after the postseason. The Nationals have five more players that will need to be activated from the 60-day injured list, including Stephen Strasburg, Victor Robles, Cade Cavalli, Riley Adams, and Stone Garrett, with the 40-man roster now having one open spot.

https://twitter.com/thehadenraymer/status/1710081880744132716

MLB Postseason Begins

The MLB Postseason continues with the Wild Card round wrapping up on Wednesday. Here are the scores.

Rangers 7, Rays 1: The Tampa Bay Rays struggled to hit for extra bases, recording their first and only in the bottom of the ninth. Nathan Eovaldi looked like the dominant version of himself that we haven’t seen all too much of this year, which could potentially extend a Texas Rangers run. The Rangers now head to Camden Yards to take on the Baltimore Orioles for a five-game set.

Twins 2, Blue Jays 0: The Minnesota Twins didn’t want to settle for their first playoff win, and ended up with their first playoff series victory since 2002. Sonny Gray dominated through five innings. Twitter erupted because of a pitching change made by the Toronto Blue Jays manager, but at the end of the day, the offense didn’t score a run. Jhoan Duran got three straight strikeouts to clinch the series. Neither team had an extra-base hit. The Twins now head to Houston to take on the Astros.

Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 2: Zac Gallen threw six innings of two-run ball for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Alek Thomas hit a solo home run and Corbin Carroll went 2-4 with a double. The D-Backs will head to Dodger Stadium and take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Phillies 7, Marlins 1: The NL East matchup continued to be one-sided as the Marlins did not score a run until the ninth inning. New to the postseason Trea Turner went 2-4 with a double. J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott both hit home runs. Aaron Nola threw seven shutout innings. The Phillies now head to Georgia to take on the NL East champs, the Atlanta Braves.

Featured Story of the Day

In case you missed any of our stories from the past week, I am including them here.

2023: A Nationals Year in Review via JJ

More on Doolittle and his retirement via Jeremy

My thoughts on the Nationals approach to free agency

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