Nats try to make most of limited games, MLB releases test results

Nats try to make most of limited games, MLB releases test results
With only three true exhibition games on their schedule, the Nationals aren't going to get much of an opportunity to build themselves up into regular season shape before opening night arrives July 23. They have to make the most of whatever game-like situations they can draw up in the meantime, such as today's four-inning intrasquad contest at Nationals Park. "I don't feel like these guys are not going to be ready or not be prepared for what's to come," manager Davey Martinez said. "I...
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Entering "uncharted waters," Strasburg seeks healthy 2020

Entering "uncharted waters," Strasburg seeks healthy 2020
Stephen Strasburg had spent the better part of a decade learning how best to prepare for - and then thrive in - a 162-game baseball season. And after years of fine-tuning and injuries and hopeful stretches following by disappointing conclusions, he figured it out at last. Strasburg's 2019 season was the perfect culmination of a career spent tinkering. He led the league in innings pitched. He led the league in wins. And he put together one of the great postseason runs of all-time, earning World...
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Castro joins camp, Nats thinking about piping in crowd noise

Castro joins camp, Nats thinking about piping in crowd noise
The Nationals got one of their key absent regulars into camp today, encouraged to see Starlin Castro in person at last while still waiting for several others to be cleared to participate in summer training. Castro, projected to be the club's new second baseman and potentially No. 3 hitter, hadn't been allowed to come to Nationals Park upon first arriving from the Dominican Republic. Team officials have not been able to provide specific details related to players' absences during the first...
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2021 schedule announced, Nats to host Mets in opener

2021 schedule announced, Nats to host Mets in opener
They aren't 100 percent sure they'll be able to start and complete the 2020 season yet, but Major League Baseball is already moving forward with plans for the 2021 season, releasing next year's schedule two weeks before this unprecedented campaign is set to begin. The Nationals are scheduled to host the Mets on opening day, which falls on April 1. Their opening homestand features three games apiece with division rivals New York and Atlanta. The Nats then hit the road and will serve as the...
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Extended break gave Kieboom chance to fix some glitches

Extended break gave Kieboom chance to fix some glitches
When last we saw him on a baseball field, nearly four long months ago, Carter Kieboom was under an intense spotlight. And feeling the heat more often than not. The Nationals' top hitting prospect, Kieboom was trying to prove he was ready to replace Anthony Rendon as the club's starting third baseman, despite precious little experience at the position. His performances through one month of spring training, both in exhibition games and on back fields, suggested he was far from comfortable at...
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At least three Nats pitchers not cleared for workouts yet

At least three Nats pitchers not cleared for workouts yet
Three Nationals pitchers were confirmed today as having not participated in summer training yet, joining a group of five position players who have not yet been seen by reporters on the field through the first four workouts at Nationals Park. Pitchers Wander Suero, Roenis Elías and Joan Adon have not been cleared to join the rest of the club for summer training at Nationals Park, Davey Martinez acknowledged today, though the manager added each has tested negative for COVID-19. Suero and Adon...
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60-game schedule won't produce fair pennant race

60-game schedule won't produce fair pennant race
A 162-game season separates the great teams from the good teams, the good teams from the average teams, the average teams from the bad teams, the bad teams from the truly wretched teams. A 60-game season in which everybody's playing different schedules? Probably not. As foolish as it may be right now to look ahead three months and try to deduce how a season as tenuous as this one is might play out, it's worth at least a little bit of examination. Because even though Major League Baseball will...
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Work ramps up in D.C. as second camp opens in Fredericksburg

Work ramps up in D.C. as second camp opens in Fredericksburg
As the regular season creeps closer - opening night versus the Yankees is 16 days away - the Nationals are starting to ramp up baseball activities following an initial period of light individual work to begin summer training. This morning, all available position players were on the field together for the first time since March 12. With multiple players at each position, they ran through the kind of defensive fundamental drills that are a daily staple of spring training but stand out right now...
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Nats return to work, still waiting for several players to be cleared

Nats return to work, still waiting for several players to be cleared
The Nationals returned to work today, and they did so in a manner we hadn't yet seen during these first days of summer training. Every available position player was on the field at Nationals Park at the same time this morning, coaches hitting balls to various outfielders so they could work on relay throws. At the same time, a few pitchers were throwing in the bullpen. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like a normal workout day. "It was a good day, it really was," manager Davey...
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Nats to host Yankees in nationally televised MLB opener

Nats to host Yankees in nationally televised MLB opener
Major League Baseball's attempt to play the 2020 season will begin at Nationals Park with a nationally televised matchup between the reigning World Series champions and the sport's most storied franchise. The Nationals will host the Yankees on July 23 at 7:08 p.m., the first half of an opening night doubleheader on ESPN that - if successfully pulled off - will serve as the highly anticipated return of major professional team sports in America. MLB's shortened, 60-game planned schedule, which...
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Nationals cancel workout due to delay in test results (updated)

Nationals cancel workout due to delay in test results (updated)
The Nationals have called off today's scheduled workouts at Nationals Park amid concerns about the delay in getting COVID-19 test results back from Major League Baseball's lab. Despite assurances from MLB that results sent to the league's lab in Salt Lake City would be available 24 hours after testing, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said players and staff members still haven't received results from the tests they all took 72 hours ago. "We cannot have our players and staff work at...
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What it's like being at Nationals Park for summer training

What it's like being at Nationals Park for summer training
I've been getting the question multiple times a day, from family, friends and colleagues, all curious to know: What's it been like at Nationals Park during these first three days of summer training? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is: Pretty boring. That's not to say my time spent at the ballpark is worthless, or normal. It's just been rather uneventful. For those who don't know, media members are allowed to watch a portion of the daily workout (roughly 2-3 hours) from the...
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Doolittle playing for now, but has several concerns

Doolittle playing for now, but has several concerns
Sean Doolittle is here. He's been on the field, participating fully in early summer training workouts. He has thrown off the mound, at times while wearing a mask. He wants to be around for the entire 2020 season. But he's not completely convinced yet he's willing to take the risk. "So far - and we're only three days into this - our medical staff has been doing an incredible job," the Nationals reliever said. "I think it's running as smoothly as it can at this point. Like a lot of...
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Two Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19

Two Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19
Two Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19 during the team's initial intake testing program, manager Davey Martinez revealed today. The club has not publicly identified the names of the two players and may only do so with the players' permission, per Major League Baseball's protocols this season. No player is allowed to report to Nationals Park before the intake testing results are returned, so neither player who tested positive has been to the stadium yet and come into contact with...
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Scherzer impressed with testing, gearing up for opening day

Scherzer impressed with testing, gearing up for opening day
Max Scherzer laughed when a reporter mentioned hearing he threw 65 pitches to live hitters Friday during the Nationals' first workout of the summer, then made sure to clarify that manager Davey Martinez may not have conveyed that information with 100 percent accuracy. Turns out Scherzer threw 32 pitches to hitters over two simulated innings. The 65 total Martinez revealed most likely included his warmup pitches before the batters stepped in. Still, it's a good sign of the current state of...
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Kieboom is everyday third baseman "as of right now"

Kieboom is everyday third baseman "as of right now"
The Nationals' most pressing question of spring training may already be answered at the outset of summer training: Carter Kieboom is expected to be the club's everyday third baseman. Manager Davey Martinez revealed that significant bit of news today during his second video conference with reporters of this unprecedented summer camp, making it clear his plan at this moment is to pencil Kieboom's name in at third base on opening day and to keep him there throughout this planned shortened...
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Castillo opts out, Cavalli added to roster as workouts begin

Castillo opts out, Cavalli added to roster as workouts begin
As they took the field (in small groups, staggered over the entire day) for the first time in nearly four months, the Nationals revealed more adjustments to their 60-man roster pool for summer training and the upcoming season, with another veteran opting out and another young prospect joining the group. Welington Castillo, the veteran catcher who had been in spring training as a non-roster invitee, informed club officials he will decline to participate this season, not wanting to risk his...
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Summer training begins today at Nationals Park

Summer training begins today at Nationals Park
It's been 114 days since the Nationals last took the field in any kind of formal capacity. On that warm March afternoon in West Palm Beach, they faced the Yankees in an exhibition game played as the entire country was beginning to shut down due to the still-mysterious novel coronavirus. When Major League Baseball announced it was suspending operations, little could anyone have known how much time would pass before they'd gather again on a ballfield. Today, it finally happens. Not in West Palm...
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Some pressing on-field questions as Nats prepare to return

Some pressing on-field questions as Nats prepare to return
There hasn't been much reason to have actual baseball discussions around here in a while. But lo and behold, baseball players are going to begin doing baseball things inside baseball stadiums Friday for the first time in nearly four months, so it's finally appropriate to discuss some actual baseball topics. There are countless issues facing the Nationals over the next three weeks and beyond, and so many of those have to do with the unprecedented protocols everyone must follow in an attempt to...
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Mayor approves Nats Park for workouts, fan-less games

Mayor approves Nats Park for workouts, fan-less games
The schedule hasn't been finalized yet. The protocols are still being fine-tuned. More players could choose to opt out. But 48 hours from now, the Nationals will be gathering on South Capitol Street for their first team workout in nearly four months. Summer training is officially approved for Nationals Park after D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser granted the team a waiver Tuesday to hold group workouts in its home ballpark. Camp is scheduled to open Friday and run for almost three weeks, setting the...
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