WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - If Stephen Strasburg was looking to take a cue from Max Scherzer, he picked the wrong start to imitate.
Only 24 hours after Scherzer was roughed up by the Marlins in his first subpar outing of the spring, Strasburg was battered around by the same Miami club this afternoon.
Strasburg wound up allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks in only 4 1/3 innings and was pulled by Nationals manager Davey Martinez with his pitch count at 81.
It was a ragged performance for...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Mike Rizzo insisted all along Victor Robles would play every day in 2018, wherever that may be. We found out today where the Nationals' top prospect will be playing every day to begin the season: Triple-A Syracuse.
The Nationals optioned Robles to Triple-A this afternoon, a not-terribly-unsurprising move but one that did come well before the club makes its final round of cuts before it breaks camp and heads north Sunday evening.
Left-hander Isamel Guillón also was...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's the warmest day of the spring here, and quite muggy. Not exactly the kind of conditions the Nationals are going to face next week in Cincinnati, but they can't do anything about that now.
The Nats and Marlins meet for the second straight day, this time in West Palm Beach following yesterday's 9-1 Miami win in Jupiter. It's Stephen Strasburg on the mound, scheduled to throw 75-90 pitches, according to manager Davey Martinez. Strasburg also will be batting eighth,...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There have long been differing opinions around baseball on the proper way to use a No. 5 starter. Should he pitch every fifth game, regardless of any off-days on the schedule? Should teams take advantage of that schedule and skip over the worst starter in the rotation in favor of the best starters? Should teams view that position as something of a revolving door, shuttling different starters back and forth from the minors in an attempt to control their workload?
The...
JUPITER, Fla. - Max Scherzer could look at today's ragged outing against the Marlins, one in which he gave up six runs (five of them scoring via three home runs) in five innings, with a glass-half-empty mindset and insist he needs to be better next time. Or he could try the glass-half-full approach and find the positives in what for all practical purposes was an ugly afternoon on the mound.
He chose the latter.
"I actually liked that I got hit around," the Nationals ace said. "That was...
JUPITER, Fla. - The ingrown toenail bug has returned to wreak havoc on the Nationals clubhouse for the second time this spring.
OK, so that may be overdramatizing the situation a bit, but for the second time this month a key member of the Nats lineup had to undergo a procedure to remove an ingrown toenail. Earlier this spring it was Bryce Harper. Now it's Trea Turner, who was scratched from today's lineup against the Marlins and may need another day or two to heal before he can return to...
JUPITER, Fla. - Max Scherzer will start opening day for the Nationals. That news, though made official by manager Davey Martinez this morning, was never in doubt.
Asked when he made the decision, Martinez replied: "The day I got the job."
Perhaps more interesting than the fact Scherzer will be on the mound March 29 in Cincinnati against veteran right-hander Homer Bailey is how the rest of the Nationals rotation will be configured behind him.
Martinez revealed that this morning, as well....
JUPITER, Fla. - Max Scherzer gets two more opportunities to tune up before opening day - and, yes, he will start opening day for the Nationals in Cincinnati, Davey Martinez confirmed this morning - and so that process begins today against the Marlins. Scherzer already threw five innings and 75 pitches in his last outing, so look for him to perhaps extend that even farther today.
Adam Eaton and Michael A. Taylor, meanwhile, are both back in the lineup, two days after making their return from...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - We are down, if you can believe this, to the final seven days of spring training.
Yep, one week from now the Nationals will be home in Washington, getting settled into their digs for the season and preparing to face the Twins in one last exhibition game on South Capitol Street before heading out to Cincinnati for opening day.
Which means it's crunch time down here in Florida. All those decisions that have been looming for five weeks? It's about time to make them. All...
JUPITER, Fla. - Common sense says A.J. Cole's shot at making the Nationals rotation took a major hit Friday when the club signed veteran Jeremy Hellickson to a minor league contract. Hellickson's deal may not officially include a guaranteed spot on the big league roster, but it's tough to see the Nats (or the 30-year-old right-hander) striking this arrangement without an implicit understanding.
Cole, of course, can't allow himself to think that way. Until someone tells him otherwise, his...
JUPITER, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman's spring in hiding continues, but probably not much longer.
The Nationals first baseman, who has been playing almost exclusively on minor league fields and not in big league games, will make his much-anticipated return to Grapefruit League action this week. Though Davey Martinez didn't give an exact plan that's to occur, the manager did acknowledge it's on the horizon.
"Yeah, we'll get him in," Martinez said. "There's no real time frame for now, but he's...
JUPITER, Fla. - With this week's surprise signing of Jeremy Hellickson, A.J. Cole suddenly finds himself in an uncertain position. The frontrunner for the No. 5 starter's job through the first month of camp, what exactly is his status now? Is he still competing for the job? Is he destined for a spot in the bullpen? Is he in danger of being designated for assignment?
The Nationals aren't saying anything for now, other than telling Cole to keep taking the mound and competing. Which he'll do...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - While attention was focused Saturday on Adam Eaton - and rightfully so, given the major injury he was returning from - Michael A. Taylor also was playing in his first big league game in a while and actually tested his body more than his fellow outfielder did.
Taylor, who had been out since March 4 with tightness in his right side, returned to the Nationals lineup and played six innings in center field while taking three at-bats. He singled, stole second with a headfirst...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There were smiles and knowing glances all morning from teammates and other well-wishers. There was an expanded, 90-minute warmup session. Then four adventurous innings in left field that included a couple of tough plays complicated by the wind. And, of course, two at-bats against major league pitchers, the second of which ended with a celebratory trip around the bases and an acknowledgement of the 10 family members watching (and, in some cases, crying) from the...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Adam Eaton's reconstructed knee has been getting put to the test today, though it couldn't have been bothering him too much as he rounded the bases following a dramatic home run.
Tanner Roark, meanwhile, slogged through a ragged start that lasted only three innings, included some wild command and low radar gun readings.
Put it all together, and it's already been an eventful game between the Nationals and Mets.
Eaton got a nice ovation from the crowd (and even from the...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Jeremy Hellickson was in Southern California on Friday afternoon, expecting to throw four innings of a simulated game against fellow unemployed Scott Boras clients who have gathered to work out together, when he got the call. The Nationals were offering him a minor league contract, and though that carried no official assurance of a spot on the big league roster, the opportunity was too good to pass up.
"They were actually the first team that called," Hellickson said....
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's been an awfully quiet spring around here, but that's starting to change. Jeremy Hellickson was in the clubhouse this morning trying on his No. 58 jersey (though the signing won't become official until tomorrow). And the Nationals lineup for today's game against the Mets has a whole lot of interesting things going on.
We'll begin with the most important development: Adam Eaton is making his Grapefruit League debut at last, nearly 11 months after tearing the ACL...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - For months, we wondered how motivated the Nationals were to try to upgrade their rotation, whether they'd go all-in on Jake Arrieta, get involved in the trade market for Gerrit Cole or ultimately decide simply to stick with what they had and then re-examine the situation later this summer.
What seemed clear from the get-go, though, was that any addition made by general manager Mike Rizzo would be for a top-tier starter, someone who could slot in behind Max Scherzer and...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After spending the last month watching their in-house candidates pitch in person and prominent free agents agree to deals elsewhere, the Nationals appear to have found a surprise new choice to be their No. 5 starter.
The club has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with Jeremy Hellickson, according to a source familiar with the deal, making the 30-year-old right-hander the sudden odds-on favorite to fill the final spot in the Nationals rotation.
Hellickson's deal...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - From his perch in the Nationals dugout, Davey Martinez saw Gio Gonzalez start moving his body around in a manner that suggested something didn't feel right. And when the left-hander grabbed his side, Martinez had only one thought.
"No, no, no," the first-year Nationals manager said. "Now's not the time."
So Martinez told director of athletic training Paul Lessard the two of them needed to go check on Gonzalez. Lessard, who has been with the club for three seasons,...