After sensational rookie season, Soto ready for added pressure

After sensational rookie season, Soto ready for added pressure
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Juan Soto strode into the Nationals clubhouse this morning with all the swagger you expect from him. He gave hugs to teammates he hadn't seen since September, shared offseason stories and confidently conducted a lengthy interview with reporters in English. He was, in every way, a major league ballplayer completely comfortable in his surroundings. Which was all the more remarkable when you consider he'd never been in those surroundings before. Soto, you may recall,...
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Kendrick "ready to go" on first day of spring training

Kendrick "ready to go" on first day of spring training
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When last we saw and heard from Howie Kendrick - 2 1/2 months ago at Winterfest - the rehabbing veteran said he "should" be ready for the start of spring training. At that point, he hadn't really tested his repaired Achilles tendon much, aside from some running on an anti-gravity treadmill. Today, as Nationals position players officially reported for spring training, Kendrick no longer had to include any qualifiers in assessing his status. He's here. He's good to...
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Rizzo "satisfied" with Nationals' roster as is

Rizzo "satisfied" with Nationals' roster as is
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As position players across baseball report for spring training and other teams continue to seek upgrades via the large pool of still unsigned free agents, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo suggested he's perfectly content going into the season with the group he already has in place. "I really like the roster that we constructed so far," Rizzo said Sunday evening during a local gathering of GMs and managers from most clubs that train in Florida. "I think we filled...
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Manfred: Pitch clock this spring, free agency not broken

Manfred: Pitch clock this spring, free agency not broken
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rob Manfred doesn't know when you'll see Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and the other still unsigned free agents report for spring training, but he expects it to happen soon. Major League Baseball's commissioner does know when you'll see a pitch clock ticking down during games: Next weekend, when the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues open play. During a 26-minute Q&A with reporters here this evening, Manfred revealed the league's intention to start using a 20-second...
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Zimmerman prepared to play much more this spring

Zimmerman prepared to play much more this spring
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - He's not about to start playing nine innings on Feb. 23 or make the five-hour round trip for a road game in Lake Buena Vista, but Ryan Zimmerman will see more game action this spring. Really, he has little choice but to make a change from his controversial preparation plan last spring, when he stayed almost exclusively on minor league fields and took only two at-bats in major league games, then proceeded to come out of the gates slow and suffer an oblique strain that...
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Former All-Star Álvarez hopes to complete journey back with Nats

Former All-Star Álvarez hopes to complete journey back with Nats
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Henderson Álvarez threw a no-hitter in the big leagues in 2013. He was a National League All-Star in 2014. He started on opening day for the Marlins in 2015. And he spent the 2018 season pitching for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. It's not exactly a conventional career path, and it wasn't Álvarez's preference. But given his lack of options last year, he was willing to swallow his pride a bit and head south of the border in an attempt to...
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Both catchers support timeshare plan, including pinch-hitting

Both catchers support timeshare plan, including pinch-hitting
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Martinez intends to split playing time among his two new catchers, and those two new catchers are perfectly fine with that plan. Though Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki each have been regulars for much of their respective careers, and though each is coming off a strong 2018 season, each understands the 2019 Nationals may be better off with roughly equal playing time between them. "If we make that a deal, this team is not going to go forward," Gomes...
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Observations from Saturday's workout

Observations from Saturday's workout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Max Scherzer didn't outlast his pitching mates in the bullpen like he did Thursday morning, but the Nationals ace did put on another display of precise preparation during his throwing session this morning. Scherzer, who in his first official bullpen of the spring was on the mound an additional five to seven minutes beyond the other pitchers in his group, actually finished before Joe Ross or Jeremy Hellickson did this time. But he made the most of his abbreviated...
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Martinez plans for more consistent batting order this season

Martinez plans for more consistent batting order this season
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals used 125 different lineups last season, some of that a byproduct of injuries and some of it a product of Davey Martinez's tinkering and attempts to create advantageous daily matchups. If things go as he hopes, Martinez will be deploying far fewer batting orders this season. "What I want to do, honestly, this year, if these guys are healthy, is have a constant lineup," the second-year manager said today. Martinez came to that realization during the...
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Plenty of former Nationals still looking for work

Plenty of former Nationals still looking for work
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There are tons of still-unsigned free agents out there, as everyone's well aware at this point. And included on that long list are a whole bunch of former Nationals players, and we're not just talking about Bryce Harper. Several key members of the 2018 Nats are still looking for jobs, even as pitchers and catchers have reported across Florida and Arizona and position players are about to join them. Like Gio Gonzalez, whose long-awaited first foray into free agency...
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Barrett takes first step toward completing three-year journey back

Barrett takes first step toward completing three-year journey back
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It was just a 15-minute bullpen session, and he was just one of four pitchers in the last of six groups to take the mound over the last two mornings at Nationals camp. This is the most routine and mundane of activities, and just about every pitcher who went through the drill treated it as such. None of those pitchers, though, had to endure what Aaron Barrett did over the last three years just to get back on that mound this morning. It's quite possible no pitcher in...
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Martinez's plan for catchers and No. 5 starters

Martinez's plan for catchers and No. 5 starters
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Most teams have to find ways to give their No. 1 catcher days off without losing too much in production. Davey Martinez is going to have to find ways to play two No. 1 catchers as much as possible this season. The Nationals' winter acquisitions of Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki leave their manager in an enviable position. Few teams can boast two front-line catchers of this stature, but general manager Mike Rizzo felt it was the smart play after seeing minimal production from...
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Hellickson glad to be back, hopes to pitch deeper into games

Hellickson glad to be back, hopes to pitch deeper into games
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Jeremy Hellickson knew he pitched well for the Nationals last season. He knew he was sick of bouncing around from team to team every year. He knew the Nats wanted another accomplished starter for the back of their rotation. Hellickson's return to Washington made all the sense in the world. But he, like so many other free agents during this winter of discontent, had to sit at home and wait for the call. "I really wasn't expecting this offseason to be like last, but it...
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Scherzer speaks out on baseball's growing free agency issue

Scherzer speaks out on baseball's growing free agency issue
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Max Scherzer had been through this before, four winters ago, and though his free agency saga still ended with a huge contract from a franchise he embraces, he also knew the process took longer and included more frustrating developments than he believed it should have included. So when the subject of Bryce Harper's ongoing slog through free agency comes up, Scherzer has no trouble speaking both passionately and intelligently about the situation. And what does he have to...
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The spring plan for Kendrick and Zimmerman

The spring plan for Kendrick and Zimmerman
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals most definitely did not report for spring training last year with a fully healthy roster. Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy were still rehabbing from major knee surgeries. Joe Ross had only recently resumed throwing after Tommy John surgery. Koda Glover had to be shut down with shoulder soreness. The team that reports to camp this spring appears to be in much better physical shape. All 15 pitchers slated to throw in this morning's position groups did so without...
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Highlights from today's opening workout

Highlights from today's opening workout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The first workout of the spring featured an extended "Circle of Trust," some serious talk, some laughter, a moment of silence, a bunch of bullpen sessions, and plenty of grunts and curse words out of Max Scherzer. Suffice it to say, the Nationals ran through the full gamut during the nearly two-hour session outside FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, and there was an extra bounce in their steps. "I got here a little early because I was ready, biting at the bit,"...
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First workout schedule, plus uniform number changes

First workout schedule, plus uniform number changes
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After Wednesday's soft landing start to spring training, camp really opens for business this morning. Pitchers and catchers reported for duty Wednesday, but all they did was take their physicals and in a few cases play some light catch in the rain just outside the clubhouse. That will change today when the entire group takes the field together and holds its first official workout. It'll help that it's supposed to be 75 degrees and partly cloudy after Wednesday's...
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After first winter in D.C., Strasburg hopes he's found key to puzzle

After first winter in D.C., Strasburg hopes he's found key to puzzle
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg stayed in Washington this winter for the first time in his career. Yes, as alluring as San Diego may be, Strasburg didn't want to uproot his family for only a few months. "When you have a family and the kids start to get older, you want to establish roots," said the father of two young girls. "It's kind of hard to be bi-coastal every year, so we stayed on the East Coast this year." Which was no big deal for Strasburg, provided he had access to a...
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With one eye on Harper, Eaton focused on healthy 2019

With one eye on Harper, Eaton focused on healthy 2019
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Adam Eaton could've dodged the question, insisted he's not paying attention to the never-ending Bryce Harper saga. That would be disingenuous, though. Everyone knows Eaton's status with the Nationals is directly tied to Harper's status with the Nationals. So the veteran outfielder isn't trying to pretend it's no big deal. "It affects me, for sure," he said this morning inside the Nationals clubhouse. "Definitely affects me. I train to play 162. That's all I can...
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Gott traded to Giants for cash considerations

Gott traded to Giants for cash considerations
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Trevor Gott already knew he wouldn't be reporting to Nationals spring training this morning with the rest of the club's pitchers. Now he knows he'll be reporting to the other side of the country. The Nats traded Gott to the Giants for cash considerations today, officially ending the reliever's disappointing stint with the organization five days after he was removed from their 40-man roster. Gott had been designated for assignment Friday when the Nationals needed to...
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