There are only 28 days until MLB Opening Day 2020 and 37 days to the Washington Nationals Home Opener at Nationals Park! There are 140 more days until the 2020 MLB All-Star Game in LA
Good morning, Nationals Fans,
There are only 28 days until MLB Opening Day 2020 and 37 days to the Washington Nationals Home Opener at Nationals Park! There are 140 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 and what else you need to know to start your day.
Washington Nationals 9-6 Over St. Louis Cardinals: Juan Soto Hits First HR Of The Spring In Jupiter
Juan Soto watched an 0-2 curve drop in for a called third strike with two on and no one out in the top of the first inning this afternoon in Jupiter, FL. Howie Kendrick popped out in the next at bat, and the Washington Nationals let St. Louis Cardinals’ starter Austin Gomber off the hook when Carter Kieboom hit a one-hop liner to short allowing the Cards to get out No. 3 on a force at second base.
Probably should note that Eric Thames hit a ground-rule double to left-center on a pitch up, outside to start the first, and Kurt Suzuki walked before they were both stranded.
Read the full article via Federal Baseball
Strasburg To Debut Friday, Rotation Order Takes Shape (Nats Win)
Davey Martinez isn’t about to announce his rotation order to begin the season. There’s too much time and too many things that could happen to throw a wrench into his plans.
But with all of the regular starters now lined up here in Florida, it’s not hard to extrapolate things out and see how it all projects for March 26 and beyond.
Strasburg-Dealing-White-sidebar.jpgThe key revelations that came today from the Nationals manager: Stephen Strasburg will make his spring debut Friday against the Rays after throwing a bullpen session this morning. And Patrick Corbin, after throwing off the mound this morning, is hoping to make his first start of the spring Saturday against the Cardinals.
Read the full article via MASN Sports
Is A Contract Extension In Max Scherzer’s Future?
Early July of 2019 in Cleveland was not the time Max Scherzer wanted to talk about his contract.
Washington had surfaced from its brutish start, but remained six games out of first place when the All-Star break arrived. Scherzer was the team’s lone presence at the All-Star Game in Ohio since Anthony Rendon opted for rest and the voters opted for other players. Scherzer wasn’t going to pitch. Though, he did go to Media Day, where he was asked about the future of his contract. The question annoyed him.
“I’m trying to win a championship,” he said.
Read the full article via NBC Sports Washington
How The Nationals’ Carter Kieboom Learned To Fail In Public
He had struck out before, made errors, rode home from the Little League or high school fields with doubt in his head. His life had been filled with failure. It doesn’t spare the kid who throws with both hands, the first-round draft pick, the top prospect from a baseball family in a baseball town. Just ask Carter Kieboom.
But last season, in the haze of a lifelong dream, the failure hit harder. It didn’t flinch. It came in a wave, in the middle of crowded stadiums, in an 11-game stretch that could define Kieboom if he lets it. Then he was back on a plane flying west. On the comfort of infield dirt, he was able to be himself again.
Read the full article via the Washington Post
Washington Nationals: Non-Roster Invitees Who Could Stick
The Washington Nationals Spring Training roster features numerous players wearing high jersey numbers. That typically means a player is a non-roster invitee who stands little chance to make the Opening Day roster, but there are various scenarios that would open doors for longshot players to stick in the Nationals organization.
Read the full article via District on Deck
After Strong Finish To 2019, Sánchez Seeks Fast Start To 2020
It’s easy to forget now, because - like the Nationals as a whole - Aníbal Sánchez was so good from late May through late October. But you may recall that the veteran right-hander’s first six weeks with the club were an abject disaster.
When he took the mound on May 16 to face the Mets, Sánchez was 0-6 with a 5.27 ERA. He had allowed 69 batters to reach base in only 41 innings. A skeptic would’ve called his signing (two years for $19 million) a massive fail by general manager Mike Rizzo.
Read the full article via MASN Sports
Know Your Enemy: Washington Nationals
You know, I was very happy for the Nationals and manager Dave Martinez when they won the World Series. Martinez had coached under Joe Maddon for so long that it seemed he might never get his own shot to manage, and he did it well — after rumors surfaced that he might be fired when the Nats got off to a 19-31 start in 2019.
They’ll return the cast from that Series pretty much intact, except for Anthony Rendon, who’s headed to Anaheim to play for Maddon. Top prospect Carter Kieboom is expected to take over for Rendon at third base. Kieboom looks like the real deal. He might not put up superstar numbers as Rendon did, but he should be a solid replacement. Also departing is “Baby Shark” icon Gerardo Parra, who’s taking his daughter’s favorite song to Japan’s NPB.
Read the full article via Bleed Cubbie Blue
Tim Kurkjian Says There’s No Replacing Anthony Rendon In The Nationals’ Lineup
For the first time in their history, the Nationals are gearing up for a title defense. The reigning World Series champions spent the offseason re-signing several key contributors from their playoff run while making the media tour required of Commissioner’s Trophy hoisters.
One player who won’t be returning to D.C. in 2020, however, is third baseman Anthony Rendon. After finishing third in NL MVP voting last season and leading the majors in RBIs with 126, he inked a seven-year, $245 million with the Los Angeles Angels at the Winter Meetings and left behind a hole in the Nationals’ lineup that has yet to be filled.
Read the full article via NBC Sports
Big-Name Lineup Shows Angels What It Can Do
The Angels rolled out their "A" lineup for the first time this spring on Tuesday against the Reds, marking the Cactus League debuts of regulars such as center fielder Mike Trout, third baseman Anthony Rendon, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, left fielder Justin Upton and first baseman Albert Pujols. It was also the debut of right-hander Dylan Bundy, who struck out four over two hitless innings.
The offense didn’t disappoint, as the Angels scored two runs in the first, two runs in the second and two more in the third en route to a 7-3 win at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, Upton and Pujols combined to go 3-for-8 with two walks, three RBIs, a hit by pitch and two runs scored.
How Much Will The Yankees Miss Luis Severino? Not As Much As You Think
The New York Yankees won the MLB offseason when they gave Gerrit Cole the toll rights to the Henry Hudson and brought him to the Bronx, instantly transforming a good rotation into a great one. But that analysis factored Luis Severino into the mix, and that changed with Tuesday's news that Severino will need Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
The projections at FanGraphs ranked the Yankees with the best rotation in the majors, just ahead of the Nationals, Mets and Rays. Much of that is due to Cole's 6.8 projected WAR, best of any starter, but you also need quality depth to rank No. 1. Here's how that preseason forecast looks.
Read the full article via ESPN
Madison Bumgarner Uses A Fake Name To Regularly Participate In Rodeos; Diamondbacks Say They Were Unaware
Madison Bumgarner has a unique hobby outside of baseball, The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly and Zach Buchanan have discovered. The three-time World Series champ and new Arizona Diamondbacks ace competes in rodeo shows under the secret alias "Mason Saunders."
After coming across a congratulatory photo posted on a rodeo show's Facebook page, Baggarly and Buchanan recognized one of the winners as Bumgarner. The 2014 World Series MVP was photographed with roping professional Jaxson Tucker, and both ultimately ended up walking away with a total of $26,550 in prize money.
Read the full article via CBS Sports
After Years Of Spiraling, New Regime Has Pirates Finally Ready To Catch Up With The Rest Of Baseball
Over the past five years, being a Pittsburgh Pirate meant watching the baseball world around you evolve at warp speed, a revolution spurred by technology and development altering the game in an almost unimaginable manner.
It meant greeting new teammates who spoke of their previous organizations as if they were faraway planets, with glowing details of helpful new-age statistics, high-tech devices and the personnel available to maximize performance.
And it meant bidding farewell to old teammates who struggled in Pittsburgh but found new life elsewhere – be it Charlie Morton and Gerrit Cole in Houston, Tyler Glasnow or Austin Meadows in Tampa Bay – and wondering if they’d ever have such success stories of their own to tout.
Read the full article via USA Today
Tim Tebow Launches Home Run For First Spring Training Hit
For the first time in four Spring Training appearances, Mets outfielder Tim Tebow has hit a home run. The 32-year-old former NFL quarterback launched a two-run shot off Tigers pitcher Alex Wilson in the first inning of Tuesday's game, his first home run of any kind since last July.
