How many games will the Washington Nationals Win in 2020 and Nats’ infield intentions take shape during the first workout during Spring Training
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Good Morning Washington Nationals Fans,
There are only 37 days until MLB Opening Day 2020and 44 days to the Washington Nationals Home Opener at Nationals Park! There are 147 more days until the 2020 MLB All-Star Game in LA.
Some of the news that we are covering today includes:
Here are today's latest Washington Nationals & MLB Headlines.
The Washington Nationals prepare to defend their 2019 World Series title in 2020. Today, we focus on the Nationals' 2020 regular-season win total and World Series odds. Do the Nationals have what it takes to repeat this season?
Read the full article via USA Today
The Nationals’ first full-squad workout of 2020 began with an extra-long “Circle of Trust” meeting that at one point featured team massage therapist Patrick Panico’s cannonball into the adjacent pool but most importantly featured a hammering home of the overriding message Davey Martinez wants to convey to a club seeking to repeat as World Series champions.
“Process. Process. Process,” the manager said. “For us, the word ‘repeat’ doesn’t mean anything, except to repeat the process. What made us good in 2019 and who we are? That never goes away. That’s our focus.”
Read the full article. via MASN Sports Washington
Players who have won a World Series -- and those who have come up short -- seethed Monday at Commissioner Rob Manfred's reference to the sport's championship trophy as merely a "piece of metal," saying that comment reflected a disconnect between baseball's boss and those who produce the product on the field.
"It bothered me, man. I hated it. It made him sound really out of touch," said reliever Sean Doolittle, a member of the 2019 title-winning Washington Nationals. "That's the holy grail of our sport. That's what we show up for in the beginning of February, thinking about and working towards."
Read the full article via NBC Sports Washington
Howie Kendrick went home to Arizona a few days after the World Series ended, a free agent with no assurances of returning to the same Nationals club he had just helped lead to victory.
There was reason to wonder if the defending champs would want to bring back a 36-year-old utility man coming off far and away the best season of his career. Not that they didn’t love Kendrick and his contributions, but what were the odds he could duplicate that performance at this age?
But as the offseason began to play out, it quickly became apparent Kendrick was very much in the Nationals’ 2020 plans. And once he knew the club wanted him back, the veteran wasted no time working out a new deal with general manager Mike Rizzo.
“I had a good idea I was going to be back here,” Kendrick said today, the first time he has spoken to reporters since he was re-signed Dec. 10. “I didn’t worry about that too much. I had a few teams talking to me this offseason. But the biggest thing for me is, this was probably my No. 1 spot. I had communication with Rizzo, and he knew how I felt. And I knew how the team felt, too. So it worked out.”
Read the full article via MASN Sports Washington
Here we go again. In a near-annual event, it’s time to wonder whether the Washington Nationals will be able to put together a reliable bullpen, something they do less often than not.
The addition of Will Harris and reunion with Daniel Hudson in free agency to help Sean Doolittle in high-leverage spots is a good start. However, what will truly decide whether the team’s bullpen will bounce back or not will be improvement of returning players.
One of those players, who also seems to be going under the radar, is Roenis Elías.
Read the full article via Federal Baseball
Trea Turner and Victor Robles look to increase their offensive production while in new places in the Washington Nationals lineup One of the keys to the Washington Nationals 2020 season will be compensating for the offensive production that was lost when Anthony Rendon departed the Nationals in free agency. Davey Martinez will be searching for innovative ways to enhance the Nationals offense, which will likely lead to the creation of lineups and substitutions unlike what fans have seen in previous seasons.
One idea that has been floated, is moving Trea Turner out of the leadoff spot and hitting him third in the order ahead of Juan Soto. This would likely mean that Victor Robles would take over as the leadoff hitter.
Read the full article via District on Deck
Would it surprise you if Juan Soto was a little bit cocky at this point? He debuted in the big leagues at 19 years old, tore up opposing pitching, fought through a relatively slow start in his sophomore season, and all adjustments that teams made, and ended up putting up an impressive .282/.401/.548 line, 32 doubles, and 34 home runs in the regular season and a .333 AVG with two doubles and three home runs in the World Series (two off of Gerrit Cole and one off Justin Verlander), while helping to bring the first MLB title to the nation’s capital since 1924. So has it all gone to Soto’s head?
Read the full article via Federal Baseball
Carter Kieboom, a rookie who will get a shot to be the Washington Nationals’ starting third baseman on opening day, took grounders alongside Asdrúbal Cabrera, a versatile, 14th-year infielder who was among seven free agents returning to the World Series champions.
Across the diamond on Field 3 at the club’s spring training facility, Ryan Zimmerman, another one of those returnees, shared duties at first base with Eric Thames, one of the few new faces expected to be on the 26-man roster.
A short while later Tuesday, at Field 6, slugging left fielder Juan Soto sent kids chasing balls that flew over the wall as he joined Howie Kendrick and Cabrera for the first round of batting practice.
Read the full article via WTOP Washington
Washington Nationals' playoff hero Howie Kendrick is happy to be back.
"It’s awesome, especially coming off a World Series," Kendrick told reporters on the first day of Nationals full squad workouts.
Despite his postseason heroics and his outstanding 2019 season, Kendrick's return to Washington wasn't a sure thing. The 14-year MLB veteran signed a one-year contract in the off season, but was an unrestricted free agent and could have opted to sign with a team that could have promised more playing time.
Read the full article via WJLA Abc 7 Washington D.C.
Robinson Cano was a model of health, until he arrived to the Mets.
Limited to 107 games last year — the fewest of his career beyond the PED suspension that cost him half the season in 2018 — the Mets second baseman said he spent much of the offseason trying to build up his legs. Cano last season had three stints on the injured list, two of them caused by a left quadriceps strain. Then, in August, he sustained a torn left hamstring that cost him a month.
“I just have to prevent whatever happened in the past,” Cano said Sunday. “You have got to get those parts of your body stronger so then I don’t go back again and get injured.”
Read the full article via New York Post
Monday’s workout at Astros camp gave us a glimpse of what Houston players can expected to be subjected to by opposing fans this season.
As Astros stars José Altuve, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman stepped into the cage for their first batting practice of the day, one prankster behind the plate started banging on a trash can.
Read the full article via Sports Illustrated
We have been arguing about Yasiel Puig as long as we have known Yasiel Puig. He was screamed at by retired players just a month into his career. He had opponents throwing at him before they even knew his name. He drove Madison Bumgarner so nuts that Bumgarner basically started a fight every time their two teams played. I understand if it has been exhausting; I’ve been inundated by so many Yasiel Puig hot takes over the last seven years that I’ll confess just hearing his name makes me instinctively want to mute my television.
But I think I’d still be sad if he were gone. Even if Puig wears you out or annoys you, it’s hard to argue he’s somehow a bad guy. His teammates tend to love him like a little brother (even if they’re younger than he is), he has apologized for some of his early antics in Los Angeles and his Wild Horse Children’s Foundation is one of the most respected and beneficial in the sport. If you truly hate Yasiel Puig, I suspect this says more about you than it does about him. The sport would be lesser if it didn’t have him.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Tuesday weighed in on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and Rob Manfred's handling of the situation, urging Major League Baseball's commissioner to "fix this for the sake of sports."
"Listen I know I don't play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be f---ing irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do!" James wrote on Twitter. "Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this.
Read the full article via ESPN
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge stayed composed Tuesday, never raising his voice or baring his anger, but disgust and contempt dripped with every word out of his mouth.
The Houston Astros cheated the game, deserve all of the hatred and vitriol coming their way, and Judge says he can never look at any of those players the same again.
He believes they should be punished. They should vacate the 2017 World Series title. And he believes they have been cheating every year since at least 2017, twice ending the Yankees' season in the playoffs.
The game needs to move on, Judge says, but never, ever, should anyone forget how the Astros wrecked the integrity of the game – and never adequately apologized.
Read the full article via USA Today
The Astros sign-stealing scheme has pitted MLB players against each other and created an unsettling environment.
As each day passes, the electronic sign-stealing scandal in Major League Baseball proves more irritating to those impacted by it. This is especially true for players, who are all members of the same union, the Major League Baseball Players Association. They have become increasingly willing to publicly condemn fellow union members who played for the Astros in 2017 and who engaged in a form of cheating that has elicited widespread disgust.
Read the full article via Sports Illustrated
Manfred owned up to one mistake prior to a Tuesday press conference
