Good morning, Nationals Fans,

There are only 27 days until MLB Opening Day 2020 and 36 days to the Washington Nationals Home Opener at Nationals Park! There are 139 more days until the 2020 MLB All-Star Game in LA.

Some of the news that we are covering today includes:

  • Washington Nationals and New York Yankees play five before rain, 8-2 NY final: Joe Ross is solid in 2020 debut
  • Who's on first? Nationals have veteran options
  • Max on WS G7: 'Not gonna lie, it was a grind'
  • AP Exclusive: MLB Appoints 1st Black Umpire Crew Chief
  • 8 AL West Pitchers Looking For Bounce-Back Years
  • Why officials from a Major League Baseball franchise visited Vancouver

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


Washington Nationals News Headlines

Carter Kieboom’s Early Defensive Struggles At Third Base Aren’t A Major Concern--Yet

Carter Kieboom is getting his chance.

The 22-year-old infield prospect is competing for the Nationals’ starting job at third base this spring following the departure of Anthony Rendon in free agency. A natural shortstop, Kieboom has started just nine games at third in his professional career but is shifting across the infield because that’s where the Nationals need him.

So far, the early returns have been—well, not great. On Sunday, Kieboom dropped a line drive off the bat of Miami Marlins slugger Jesús Aguilar then sailed the throw over the head off first baseman Eric Thames for his first error of the spring. He picked up his second miscue against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, when he charged a groundball and missed his target while throwing on the run.

Read the full article via NBC Sports Washington

Who's On First? Nationals Have Veteran Options

Through the Nationals' first five days of games, Ryan Zimmerman is the only regular yet to make his Spring Training debut. Expect that to change soon.

“We’re hoping by the weekend,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said on Tuesday. “He’s doing good.”

This season will be Zimmerman's 16th in the Majors -- all with the Nats. The 35-year-old arrived at Spring Training a day ahead of the full-squad report date. Martinez wants to see Zimmerman in action to “make sure his legs are underneath him.”

Read the full article via Nationals MLB

Washington Nationals And New York Yankees Play Five Before Rain, 8-2 NY Final: Joe Ross Is Solid In 2020 Debut

Joe Ross’s 2020 Grapefruit League debut started with an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 first, in which he got line drive or fly ball outs from the three New York Yankees’ hitters he faced.

Ross, 26, came into Spring Training as one of three Washington Nationals’ starters with a legit shot at the fifth spot in the Nats’ rotation, along with Erick Fedde and Austin Voth.

Ross took the mound in the second inning with a 2-0 lead, courtesy of his catcher, Raudy Read and tossed another 1-2-3 frame, finishing his outing with 23 pitches and six batters retired in an efficient initial appearance of the Spring.

Read the full article via Federal Baseball

Max Scherzer Doesn’t Like MLB’s Rule Changes, And He Has Suggestions On How To Fix Them

Max Scherzer has done the research, done some more, talked with players around the major leagues and, with that, come up with this: Parts of Major League Baseball’s latest rule changes are incomplete, and others promise to be entirely ineffective. Scherzer, the Washington Nationals’ 35-year-old ace, is one of two players on MLB’s rules committee. The other is former Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy. The group is a mix of Scherzer, Murphy, MLB officials and representatives of the MLB Players Association. For the coming season, new rules include a three-batter minimum for relievers, an increased minimum for stints on the injured list and less time for managers to ask for video review. Scherzer had a lot to say about each of these provisions, ones he discussed with MLB officials at great length before they were officially announced in early February.

Read the full article via The Washington Post

Smithsonian Exhibit Featuring Anthony Rendon's First Baseball Card To Debut Later This Year

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will introduce a traveling exhibit this fall honoring the Latino community's contributions to, and appreciation for, baseball — and it will feature former Washington National's star Anthony Rendon.

"¡Pleibol!" In the Barrios and the Big Leagues/En los barrios y las grandes ligas" will debut at the National Museum of American History on Oct. 9. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service will bring a version of the exhibit to 15 cities through 2025.

Read the full article via the Washington Business Journal

Jake Noll And Clint Robinson Certainly Give Hope To NRIs (Non-Roster Invitees) In #Nats Spring Training Camp!

As the magician says, “Pick a card, any card from the deck” of fifty-two cards is a much easier trick than trying to make the Opening Day roster as an NRI (non-roster invitee), but it is possible. In a blind pick of one card from a full deck to say get the 10-of-hearts with no magic involved has only a 1.92% probability, and the chance that an NRI makes the team is actually higher than that. That’s the good news, and we’re telling you there is a chance. If Clint Robinson was standing here today (he kind of is), he would tell you as living — breathing proof, that there is a chance.

Read the full article via Talk Nats

Max On WS G7: 'Not Gonna Lie, It Was A Grind'

Here was Max Scherzer, now the model of what any team ready to throw money at a big thrower hopes to get from a free-agent starter, sitting in front of his locker at a few minutes after eight o’clock, ready to get some work in before his second Spring Training start on Thursday. Scherzer has not only been one of the elite starters in his time -- he has been as tough as any of them. Anybody who still didn’t know that found out last October.

We were talking about Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, Nationals against the Astros. On a night when the opposing starter, Zack Grienke, was pitching the game of his life, Scherzer was just glad to be pitching at all, having been scratched from his Game 5 start, at home, because of neck spasms that he recalled on Wednesday morning had “just locked me up.”

We hear all the time in baseball about how tough an out this guy or that guy is. On that October night, the toughest out was the guy on the mound, trying to get the game to the Nationals’ bullpen, and get all of Washington, D.C., to the World Series trophy. There are a lot of ace pitchers in the game you’d want getting the ball in a Game 7. Scherzer is the one I’d want.

“I’d pitched in a lot of deciding games in my career,” Scherzer said. He started counting them off on his fingers until he got to six.

“But you had to think about this one differently,” I said. “This was Game 7 of the Series. Most guys can go their whole careers without knowing if they’d be good enough in Game 7 of the Series.”

Read the full article via Nationals MLB

What's Next For Des Moines Native Jeremy Hellickson After Retirement?

Scattered throughout Jeremy Hellickson’s West Des Moines home are collectibles from a memorable 10-year career as a Major League Baseball pitcher. Mixed in with the bunch are his Rookie of the Year award, Gold Glove trophy and even a bottle of champagne from his World Series winning celebration with the Washington Nationals last October.

Hellickson, a native of Des Moines and graduate of Hoover High School, kept the things over the years, along with a number of other mementos from his time in the big-leagues and even in the minor leagues. The 32-year-old hadn’t planned to get started on organizing it and putting together the trophy room in his house for a few more years. But after deciding to recently retire, Hellickson now is the perfect time to get to work on it.

Read the full article via Des Moines Register


Around The Horn: News From Around The Major League Of Baseball

AP Exclusive: MLB Appoints 1st Black Umpire Crew Chief

Major League Baseball has appointed its first African American umpire crew chief, promoting Kerwin Danley to the position this week, The Associated Press has learned. A person familiar with the move spoke to the AP on Wednesday night on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.

MLB often shuffles its roster of umpires in the offseason to account for retirements, promotions and new hires.

The 58-year-old Danley has worked two World Series and been on the field for 10 other postseason rounds, including the AL Championship Series last year. He’s also been chosen to call two All-Star Games.

US News and World Reports

Martin Heals From Playoff Injury, Braves Boast Deep Bullpen

It's still painful for reliever Chris Martin to talk about what happened in the playoffs.

Game 1 of the NL Division Series last year. The 6-foot-7 reliever entered in the eighth inning against St. Louis with the Braves leading 3-1.

After throwing his warmup pitches, Martin was finished.

Read the full article via Times Daily

Edwin Diaz’s Mets Redemption Tour Off To ‘Anxious’ Start

Edwin Diaz appeared stuck in 2019 as his first appearance of the new Grapefruit League season progressed Wednesday.

The electric stuff was there, but the results weren’t for the Mets reliever. Diaz, peaking at 98 mph, missed with his fastball location and withstood a fourth inning in which the Astros scored two runs on three hits against him, in the Mets’ 4-2 loss at Clover Park.

Read the full article via New York Post

The 2020 Manager All-Star Team

After an offseason that saw one-third of Major League teams change managers, it's a great time to look back at the playing careers of some of today's skippers -- when you survey the landscape, you can put together a pretty impressive team from the managerial ranks. So we formed a "manager All-Star team" by selecting the best manager (former player) at each position. Note: the order in which these managers are listed are in order of a hypothetical starting lineup.

Read the full article via MLB

8 AL West Pitchers Looking For Bounce-Back Years

Our preseason series exploring potential bounce-back candidates for 2020 began with a look at several AL West hitters hoping to rebound. Let’s stay in the division and focus on a group of talented pitchers who want to put disappointing seasons behind them…

Read the full article via MLB Trade Rumors

Why Officials From A Major League Baseball Franchise Visited Vancouver

A Major League Baseball franchise has sent delegations on fact-finding missions to Vancouver twice in the last two years, including one visit to determine the viability of hosting games at B.C. Place Stadium in the event of a structural emergency with its home venue.

The Arizona Diamondbacks visited the Canadian city in 2018 amid concerns over the state of repairs at Chase Field, in Phoenix. Vancouver was on a list of a half-dozen potential (temporary) homes the team had received from MLB headquarters.

Read the full article via The Athletic (Subscripition Required)

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