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Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Some of the news that we are covering today includes:

• Don’t worry about third base for the Washington Nationals — There is a plan!
• Max Scherzer motivated to win another World Series: “It’s our absolute dream to win this thing again.”
• Davey Martinez calls Strasburg's maturation 'incredible'
• Christian Yelich, Brewers Reportedly Agree to 9-Year, $215M Contract Extensions
• People won't stop asking Bryce Harper about the Nationals winning the World Series
• MLB Could Build a Consistent Baseball. Here’s Why It Hasn’t.

Here are today’s latest Washington Nationals & MLB Headlines and what else you need to know to start your day.

Washington Nationals Headlines

Game Notes: Washington Nationals Lose 11-0 To St. Louis Cardinals In Grapefruit League Action.

Making his second start of the Spring, and facing the St. Louis Cardinals for a second time after holding the NL Central club to a run, two walks, and a hit in two innings in his 2020 debut last weekend, Washington Nationals’ left-hander Patrick Corbin started strong with two strikeouts after a one-out single in a quick, 16-pitch, top of the first tonight at home in West Palm Beach, FL’s FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

Corbin left a 1-1 slider up over the the middle for Rangel Ravelo, who lined a leadoff double to left in the top of the second, and Ravelo scored on Austin Dean’s opposite field double off of the southpaw’s fastball in the next at bat, 1-0 Cards.

Read the full article via Federal Baseball

Stephen Strasburg’s Change-Up Is MLB Hitters’ Ultimate Guessing Game

In the fall of 2009, Paul Menhart was a pitching coach in Class A, and Stephen Strasburg was the first overall pick in the previous June's draft. Both worked for the Washington Nationals. They met in Viera, Fla., for the Nationals' instructional league, a place where young players can put in extra work after the minor-league season, and then they headed west to the Arizona Fall League, where the best prospects in the game gather for a brief season.

“The hype back then was the electric fastball and the snap-dragon curveball that he had,” said Menhart, now the Nationals major-league pitching coach. “And what I noticed right out of the chute was I thought people were missing the boat. I thought the most effective pitch — and the pitch that was going to make him a superstar — was his change-up.”

Read the full article via The Washington Post

Trio Of Big Name Pitchers Struggles In Blowout Loss

The games down here don’t count, so the Nationals could afford to brush off tonight’s 11-0 trouncing at the hands of a split-squad Cardinals team as insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

And that’s probably a fair reaction to a blowout loss on March 5. Really, what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from a game like this?

Read the full article via MASN Sports

Nats' Third Baseman Prospect Carter Kieboom On Failing, What’s Next And (Not) Replacing Anthony Rendon

A hunt for the non-baseball spark comes up empty when talking to Carter Kieboom.

He’s 22 years old, but, no, he’s not out gallivanting in West Palm Beach. He goes to the Nationals’ spring training facility -- his second consecutive time in major-league camp -- then goes home. Sometimes he hangs out with friends. Otherwise, it’s baseball to start, baseball to finish, home, rest, repeat. He looks, and acts, the same all day.

Kieboom does become frustrated at times. Or so he says. He is the straight-mouthed emoji in real life, never giving over to one emotional direction or the other. What can appear as stoicism from Kieboom is a misread he says. He’s passionate. It’s just inside of him, revolving in silence, rarely to be shared with the outer world.

Read the full article via NBC Sports Washington

Don’t Worry About Third Base For The Washington Nationals — There Is A Plan!

As you read opinion pieces around the “Natmosphere” on the state of the Washington Nationals, you will almost certainly encounter some of the “world is ending” drama given the slow starts in Spring Training by the three players expected to play a combination of third base and second base. Top prospect Carter Kieboom, who was told it is his job to lose by manager Dave Martinez, is batting .214 with two errors at the “hot corner” in a grand total of 14 at-bats. Starlin Castro, who was signed in the off-season as a free agent, is batting .000 in all of 11 at-bats to go with 2 walks. Asdrubal Cabrera is batting .167 in just 12 at-bats.

Read the full article via Talk Nats

The Skinny On The Nats’ Fifth Starter Competition

For reasons both practical and personnel-related, the Nationals’ competition to determine a fifth starter will likely go on until the end of spring training.

“It’s gonna go” on for a while, manager Davey Martinez said.

To recap, three right-handers - Austin Voth, Joe Ross and Erick Fedde - are competing to be the fifth member of the starting rotation. All were drafted and developed as starting pitchers, and the Nationals appear ready for one of them to seize the opportunity and claim the role.

Read the full article via MASN Sports

Davey Martinez Calls Strasburg's Maturation 'Incredible'

Nationals manager Davey Martinez has only known Stephen Strasburg since 2018, but he's been impressed with how much the right-hander matured over that time.

Watch the full video via NBC Sports Washington

Around The Horn: News From Around The League

Christian Yelich, Brewers Reportedly Agree To 9-Year, $215M Contract Extension

The Milwaukee Brewers know who their franchise player will be for the foreseeable future.

Milwaukee and outfielder Christian Yelich reportedly agreed to a new contract extension worth approximately $215 million. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the news Thursday, noting the deal is "official" with $188.5 million and seven years representing the new extension portion.

Read the full article via the Bleacher Report

People Won't Stop Asking Bryce Harper About The Nationals Winning The World Series

Throughout the Nationals 2019 World Series run, ex-Washington star Bryce Harper told reporters he was pulling for his former teammates.

But that hasn't stopped him from getting asked about it again.

With Spring Training in full swing, as Harper prepares for his second spring with his current club, the Phillies outfielder keeps getting asked about his former team's title run.

Read the full article via NBC Sports Washington

2020 MLB Season: Would You Rather Have Christian Yelich Or Mookie Betts?

During the 2020 MLB season, it’ll be interesting to compare two of the league’s premier outfielders. With Christian Yelich, the Milwaukee Brewers star, the consistent difference is age. He is one year older than Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts and has played one more season than Betts.

Let’s dive into the numbers between the two.

Read the full article via Call to the Pen

Moncada-White Sox Extension In Place (Source)

Yoán Moncada had the day off from Cactus League action on Thursday, so he left quickly after morning workouts. When the White Sox third baseman returns to camp Friday morning, he should be working in a much higher tax bracket.

MLB Network Insider Ken Rosenthal first reported Thursday that the White Sox and Moncada agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal with an option year potentially bringing the deal to $90 million. MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez confirmed the years and money involved.

Read the full article via MLB

Red Sox Ace Chris Sale Avoids Tommy John Surgery – For Now – But Halts Throwing Program

The Boston Red Sox will shut down Chris Sale for another week after tests on his sore elbow revealed a flexor strain, but no change in the condition of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The Red Sox consulted several doctors, including noted elbow surgeons Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who reviewed the MRI results and all agreed there was no need for surgery at this point.

“Obviously, there’s a huge concern on what’s going on,” interim manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday. “It’s great if this is just the bump in the road like we talk about and he comes through it and he’s fine. But we also know that because of the history that there’s a chance that maybe it doesn’t go as well as we planned and then we have to do something.”

Read the full article via USA Today

Future Of MLB Game Broadcasts Still Being Developed

The future of MLB game broadcasts is still being developed, as teams explore a variety of strategies to reach listeners and viewers while also monetizing a valuable asset.

The experimentation can be seen both on the radio and television sides of the equation, as tech and the emergence of robust and reliable streaming media has opened up new avenues of distribution past a recent model of reaching fans through traditional regional sports networks. But, despite some predictions of more MLB teams using their new ability to sell and manage their own streaming rights, we’re seeing little of that strategy for 2020.

Read the full article via Ball Park Digest

Chicago Cubs: The Race Is On For The Center Field Nod

The Chicago Cubs don’t have much to figure out this spring from a positional standpoint. First base, third base, shortstop, left field, and catcher are gimmes.

Second base is a bit up in the air, though it seems the spot is Nico Hoerner’s to lose. The main race is in center field, where Albert Almora and Ian Happ are currently duking it out.

Read the full article via Call to the Pen