Minor league season officially canceled

Minor league season officially canceled
It had been a foregone conclusion for some time, but today's official announcement nonetheless hurts baseball fans around the world: The 2020 minor league season has been canceled. The announcement came after Major League Baseball informed Minor League Baseball it will not be providing its affiliated teams with players this season. MLB clubs have designated 60 players who may appear during the planned 60-game major league season, with those players not on the active roster at any given time...
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Players who choose to sit out don't owe us an explanation

Players who choose to sit out don't owe us an explanation
Four major league players announced their decisions not to play in 2020 on Monday, three of them current or former Nationals. Their stated reasons for opting out varied from specific health concerns about close family members (Ryan Zimmerman) to more vague concerns about the pandemic (Mike Leake) to a passionate and deeply personal message about baseball, race, culture, health and family (Ian Desmond). Joe Ross, the fourth player, has not yet made a public statement about his decision. Which is...
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Zimmerman and Ross opting out of 2020 season (updated)

Zimmerman and Ross opting out of 2020 season (updated)
Ryan Zimmerman, the only person to play in a major league game for the Nationals during each of their 15 seasons in town, will not play for the club during its 16th season. Zimmerman and right-hander Joe Ross have opted out of the abbreviated 2020 campaign, uncomfortable with the health risks posed to players and staffers during this unprecedented attempt to play through a global pandemic. "Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross have decided not to participate in the 2020 season for the personal health...
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Thoughts on the Nats' preliminary 60-man roster

Thoughts on the Nats' preliminary 60-man roster
If you've followed baseball closely over the years, you should have a basic understanding of a franchise's various rosters and how they differ. There's the 25-man roster, of course, the group of players actively in the major leagues at any given moment. Then there's the 40-man roster, which in addition to the 25 active big leaguers includes players on the short-term injured list (10-day IL) and the group of top-tier minor leaguers who are most likely to be promoted at some point. Players...
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A primer on the plan for the 2020 season

A primer on the plan for the 2020 season
The plan to start the 2020 Major League Baseball season is now officially in place. Whether it is completed in full depends on the spread of the novel coronavirus and the ability of more than 1,000 players, coaches, trainers, clubhouse staffers, team executives, umpires, groundskeepers and other assorted support staff to keep it from spreading. It's a daunting task, one that has no guarantee of being successful. But MLB is going to give it a try after getting approval Tuesday night from the...
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Was this bitter fight worth it?

Was this bitter fight worth it?
So after all that, after months of nothing and weeks of bickering, after talk of a season that could be as short as 48 games or as long as 114 games, after proposals to expand the postseason to 16 teams and institute the universal designated hitter this year and next, after all that, what did we get? A 60-game season unilaterally imposed by the commissioner. The standard postseason format. The universal DH this year only. A grievance that is all but certain to be filed by the players in the...
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MLB will impose season after players vote down final offer

MLB will impose season after players vote down final offer
The Major League Baseball Players Association resoundingly voted down the league's latest (and final) proposal for the 2020 season this evening, leaving commissioner Rob Manfred to unilaterally impose a shortened season on the players, the details of which should be announced in the next 24 to 48 hours. The MLBPA executive committee - made up of 30 team representatives and the eight-man subcommittee that includes Nationals ace Max Scherzer - formally voted today not to accept the league's...
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Whenever baseball resumes, it won't look or sound normal

Whenever baseball resumes, it won't look or sound normal
The last three months have provided an opportunity to re-watch plenty of classic games, and honestly it's been a fun experience. But nothing compares to a real, live sporting event, and I think we're all reaching a point where it's becoming harder and harder to be without them. The last few weeks have provided a few viewing options, though, as a handful of sports and leagues resume competition in empty facilities. And they've given us a taste of what might be in store for the country's...
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Time for final decision on 2020 season has come

Time for final decision on 2020 season has come
After months of waiting followed by weeks of squabbling, the time has probably come for a final decision on the 2020 season. And barring a last-minute change of heart by the owners and players who have been refusing to budge from their most recent offers, it appears the sport is destined for a short season unilaterally mandated by commissioner Rob Manfred, which will probably be met with a formal grievance filed by the Major League Baseball Players Association. What, you thought this saga was...
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Nationals sign first-round pick Cavalli

Nationals sign first-round pick Cavalli
First-round pick Cade Cavalli signed with the Nationals today, only nine days after the Oklahoma right-hander was drafted 22nd overall in the country. Terms of Cavalli's deal weren't immediately available, but the Nats have room to go above Major League Baseball's designated $3.027 million slot value for the 22nd pick. The club created extra space to spend more on their top three picks by signing fourth- and fifth-round picks Brady Lindsly and Mitchell Parker to bonuses well below their...
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Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A
Well, it's Friday again. And we still don't know when (or if) the baseball season will begin. I'd claim to be surprised by this development, but at this point, nothing surprises me. Yet I'll admit I'm still optimistic a deal will get done soon. Maybe in the next 48 hours? I know the difference between the 60 games the owners are offering and the 70 games the players are asking for is larger than it appears at first glance. It reportedly works out to a total of $250 million in increased pay...
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Progress in latest round of talks, but no deal quite yet

Progress in latest round of talks, but no deal quite yet
Is it possible? Is it possible Rob Manfred and Tony Clark are close to a deal and the 2020 season is nearly upon us at last? Well, yes and no. After a Wednesday that featured a whirlwind of emotions, from brief moments of joy to forceful words of caution, here's where it appears things stand: Manfred and Clark, after meeting in person (and in secret) in Arizona, seem to have made significant headway toward a deal. But not a completed deal, both because they didn't sign any formal papers and...
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Nats have a lot to lose in shortened or canceled season

Nats have a lot to lose in shortened or canceled season
It's June 17, and we still don't know when (or if) the Major League Baseball season is going to begin. But at this point, it's pretty safe to say that however long the potential season is, it won't be long. It won't equate to one-half of a normal season. It might not even equate to one-third of a 162-game slate. And that could have some significant ramifications for the Nationals, not necessarily positive ones. I've been thinking about what 2020 is going to mean for the Nats as a whole...
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Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball

Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball
When baseball owners approached Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis in 1920 and asked him to become the first commissioner in professional sports, the then-U.S. District Court judge insisted he be given a very specific power. Landis insisted he be allowed to make major decisions on his own, without approval of owners or players, for matters he believed were "in the best interests of baseball." Exactly one century later, that phrase remains written into Major League Baseball's constitution, and every...
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Tales from the clubhouse: Bonds and Bacsik

Tales from the clubhouse: Bonds and Bacsik
With no news on the state of the 2020 season expected until sometime today, the baseball world was left Sunday with nothing else to do but wax nostalgic and watch a documentary about the breaking of one of the sport's most hallowed records 22 years ago. The Great Home Run Chase of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was beloved by everyone at the time, cringed at now because of the added layer of context we now have for what took place. Watching it, though, reminded me of the breaking of...
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Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players

Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players
Whatever sliver of hope remained that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association might find a way to come together and negotiate a reasonable settlement to their ongoing fight over salary structure appeared to go up in smoke Saturday night after both entities issued nasty statements accusing each other of ruining any chance of a reasonable 2020 season. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark all but gave up further negotiations and essentially demanded that Rob Manfred tell the players...
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Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A
Another week down, another week without resolution to the seemingly important question of: "When will the 2020 Major League Baseball season begin, and how long will it last?" Despite proposals and counter-proposals, the league and the MLB Players Association don't appear to be close to a deal at this point. We can only continue to hope cooler heads will prevail - and soon. There was baseball news this week, though, in the form of a condensed, five-round draft that began Wednesday night and...
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Nationals Day 2 draft tracker (updated)

Nationals Day 2 draft tracker (updated)
It's day two of the draft, and the Nationals have much more to consider than they did last night when they waited around for their one and only pick (No. 22), which they used on Oklahoma right-hander Cade Cavalli. Tonight, the Nats will make five selections, one apiece in rounds two through five, plus a compensatory pick after the second round they received for losing Anthony Rendon to free agency. Yep, that's a big one. The whole thing begins at 5 p.m. with the start of the second round. The...
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In strange draft year, Nats confident early scouting will pay off

In strange draft year, Nats confident early scouting will pay off
When they gathered Wednesday night - each individual secluded in his own home - for the first night of this year's draft, Mike Rizzo, Kris Kline and the Nationals scouting department would have been excused if they felt less prepared than they had any previous year they gathered for the first night of the draft. Nobody had been able to scout anybody in person in three months, which under normal circumstances would be a ludicrous way to try to create a draft board. Instead, these men insist,...
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Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks

Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks
The Nationals built a contender - and ultimately, a World Series champion - on the strength of an impressive run of first-round draft picks who developed into superstars. Ryan Zimmerman. Stephen Strasburg. Anthony Rendon. Bryce Harper and Drew Storen (aside from the champion part). All were top-10 selections during the Nats' first seven drafts. All had a hand in the franchise's ascension. The first three had a major hand in the franchise's title run. But if they want to continue this run of...
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