⚾️⚾️ The Morning Briefing: Nationals add another scouting executive

Good Morning Washington Nationals Fan,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, October 18, 2023. I am Haden Raymer, let’s dive into the news.

Upgrade your subscription to get our weekly round-up of the biggest Washington Nationals stories over the past week, minor league game notes, and more MLB headlines.

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Nats sign Braves cross checker in assistant director role

The Nationals signed Braves’ East Coast cross checker Reed Dunn to serve as the Nats’ new assistant scouting director, according to a tweet from TalkNats. He was previously with the Nationals from 2007 to 2014 in various scouting roles. As a cross checker, he oversaw the local area scouts, checked in on amateur prospects who the area scouts liked, and had influence on decisions on draft day. This is the third major hire in the scouting department after the Nationals fired at least a dozen employees after the season ended. All of these hires have come with a solid track record that makes you excited about the direction of this organization, even if the results will not be seen for two or three years. All we can hope for now is a similar level of candidates are being found to take the reigns of the player development department.

Ask away!

We are hosting a mailbag here on the site where you can ask us at the Nats Report any questions. You can leave your questions here.

Join the Conversation

For all of our paid supporters, we have an exclusive discussion which you can take part in here.

MLB Postseason Continues

The MLB Postseason continues with the Championship Series round

Rangers 5, Astros 4: Big game Nate Eovaldi showed up for the Rangers, holding the Astros to only three earned runs over six innings. He struck out nine batters, including two with the bases loaded with no outs in the fifth inning. The Rangers bullpen then held the Astros to one run to finish out the game. Yordan Alvarez did his best to put the Astros on his back, going 2-4 with two home runs. Michael Brantley also went 2-4, but with just a double. The Rangers now have a two-game lead over the Astros as they head to Arlington for game three tonight.

Phillies 5, D-Backs 3; Phillies 10, D-Backs 0: The Phillies mash. As a team, they hit six home runs over these two games, with Kyle Schwarber hitting half of those. The starting pitching for the Phillies has done exactly what it needs to do to win this series that is looking more and more like a Phillies sweep. The teams now head to Arizona for game three on Thursday night.

Featured Stories of the Day

Perspective: No matter how you slice it, the Nationals won the Soto Trade

Only a year later the Washington Nationals are on track in developing a core of young prospects, while the San Diego Padres are weighing what to do next with Juan Soto.

Read full story

If you haven’t already, please consider supporting this publication with a paid subscription so you don’t miss a thing:

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with both free and paid subscriptions. Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.

The Nats Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.