The Morning Briefing: July 26

Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, July 26.

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Welcome to the Morning Briefing!

Leading this Morning's Briefing: Cease Blanks Nats

After going eighteen and a half years in franchise history without being no-hit, the Nationals were held hitless for the second time in a calendar year, this time by Padres righty Dylan Cease. A no-hitter (with three walks) was a fitting cap to the six-game can of whoopa** that the Padres doled out to the Nationals this season, and we should all be glad that the two teams are done with each other for 2024.

Last Game Out

The Nats can take some solace in this year's no-hitter for two reasons; 1) unlike Michael Lorenzen, Cease is one of the better pitchers in the league and 2) he came into this start white-hot, having allowed one hit each to Atlanta and Cleveland in his previous two starts over thirteen innings. The only close moments were a Juan Yepez flare that bounced out of second baseman Xander Bogaerts' glove in shallow right center field directly into center fielder Jackson Merrill's glove and a ground ball between first and second base off the bat of Keibert Ruiz that Bogaerts bobbled while on his knees before managing to just throw out the slowest member of the Nationals. Everything else was pretty perfunctory. Nationals starter Patrick Corbin deserves a major tip of the cap, by the way; after slogging through a three-run, thirty-one pitch first inning that included a seventy-five minute rain delay, he threw six further scoreless innings to save a bullpen depleted by 1) Mitchell Parker's three-inning start yesterday, 2) a looming MacKenzie Gore start today, which could go any which way, and 3) Mike Rizzo's odd refusal to make any moves of consequence (why the Nats continue to hold onto Jordan Weems and to a lesser extent Tanner Rainey is beyond my comprehension) to bring in a fresh arm or two. Anyway, Corbin did the pitching staff a huge solid and should be commended for that.

Nationals Headline of the Day: Nats Sign Dickerson, Jones

Second-round pick Luke Dickerson and fifteenth-round pick Sir Jamison Jones, both high schoolers, officially signed their contracts with the Nationals yesterday morning, then stuck around for a few innings to talk on the radio and television broadcasts before going home to prepare for reporting to West Palm Beach. The Nats evidently valued Dickerson as a first-round pick, because his bonus came in at $3.8 million, a record for a second-round pick. Jones signed for $500,000, of which $350,000 counts towards the bonus pool limit. Jones in particular was a great interview yesterday, and Nats fans should be excited about both players joining the organization. The Nats have two remaining unsigned picks, their fourteenth and twentieth rounders, but only the former is likely to sign now.

Down on the Farm

Stone Garrett homered for Rochester and looks closer and closer to earning a call-up should Lane Thomas in fact be traded in the next few days, while Dylan Crews doubled twice. Three Harrisburg relievers (Carlos Romero, Marquis Grissom Jr., and Jack Sinclair) posted zeros in a comeback win for the Senators at Hartford. Wilmington lost 5-3, but Philip Glasser, a tenth-round pick a year ago, continues to look ready for a new challenge at a higher level. And finally Fredericksburg beat Delmarva 6-1.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day

A potential trade partner for the Nats vis a vis Thomas might be off the table, as the Seattle Mariners acquired Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena in a deal that went down in the wee hours of the morning. This trade doesn't totally rule out Seattle looking into Thomas, because a) their offense needs a lot of help and b) "Trader Jerry" DiPoto is the general manager there, but it does lower the odds.

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