Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, March 11.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here, and Ramadan Mubarak! Let’s talk about these roster cuts.

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Nats make their first round of roster cuts

The Nationals announced their first round of roster cuts this morning, with pitchers DJ Herz, Cole Henry, Joan Adon, Mitchell Parker, Amos Willingham, and position players Jake Alu and Travis Blankenhorn all being sent to the minor league camp. While none are extremely surprising, I was a little shocked Adon was optioned.

Adon struggled a lot when having to face the order a third time last season. In the first two go-arounds, he limited opposing batters to a .226 batting average and struck out over 22 percent of the batters he faced. When hitters saw him a third time, that batting average skyrocketed to .564 and he struck out just 11.1 percent. Over his major league career, that trend continues. Hitters in their first plate appearance against him in a game had a .700 OPS. In their second, they have a .870 OPS. In that third plate appearance, hitters have a 1.210 OPS against him. Hitters essentially went from hitting like 2023 Whit Merrifield to 2019 Kyle Schwarber to Mark McGwire when he set the home run record in 1998.

So there is a clear value that Adon can provide for the club, whether that is a two-time through-the-order starter or a middle reliever, but instead, the Nationals will turn to one of their non-roster invites to provide innings for them this season. The current favorite for that is Derek Law, who has excelled in four innings so far this Spring Training, striking out five while not allowing any runs.

Washington Nationals avoid a weekend sweep with a win over the Twins

The Nats Report News Room • Mar 10, 2024

FORT MYERS, Fla - Despite being in Spring Training, rebounding to secure a victory after consecutive losses is always gratifying. Joan Adon, making his first start in Spring Training and aiming to cement a spot in the pitching rotation, took a significant stride forward in achieving that goal with three shutout innings in the Nationals' 7-3 triumph over …

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Our 40-man Roster Breakdown Continues

We will be breaking down every player on the 40-man roster until Opening Day. You can read the previous editions by clicking the button below.

Catch up on Spring Training News

There is a constant flow of news coming out of Spring Training and Richard has you covered with his Reporter’s Notebook series, where he breaks down each day’s news during Spring Training (and the week’s biggest headlines during the season).

Click here for the latest off-season headlines, rumors, trades, and more.

ICYMI: Latest articles on the Nats Report

Even though it is the offseason, we have been extremely busy producing great content on the Nats Report. Here are just a couple of the articles that we have published recently that you might have missed:

• Podcast: In the Clubhouse (Spring Training Notes)
• Spring Training Storylines to Watch
• Potential ballpark funding changes
• Can We Get Some Relief?
• Sleepers! Get Your Sleeper Prospects Here!

We are working on a lot of great Nationals-themed content all off-season so make sure that you are following us on all the major social media channels for the latest.

Featured Stories of the Day

Cole getting an MRI on his elbow via Jeff Passan

Reds prospect Marte receives 80-game PED suspension via MLB Trade Rumors

Votto goes to his home country Toronto Blue Jays via MLB Trade Rumors

Mariners sign Stanek via MLB Trade Rumors

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