Voth delivers clutch start; Desmond may not be ready next week

Voth delivers clutch start; Desmond may not be ready next week
Right-hander Austin Voth (rhymes with "both") tossed six scoreless innings as Triple-A Syracuse dropped Norfolk 3-0. The Chiefs pitchers have now not allowed a run in 19 consecutive innings. In the third inning, Brian Goodwin delivered a run-scoring single. Clint Robinson's groundout moved runners into scoring position. Brandon Snyder then delivered a two-run single, scoring Caleb Ramsey and Goodwin. The three runs were all the Chiefs would need, thanks to Voth and the bullpen. Right-hander...

More on Strasburg, Nathan and this week's pitching matchups

More on Strasburg, Nathan and this week's pitching matchups
Some day-after tidbits, quotes and thoughts as the Nationals lick their wounds from a tough weekend in Philadelphia and now prepare to host the Cardinals the next three days ... * It got lost in the shuffle after the ninth-inning drama Sunday, but Stephen Strasburg put together a very nice start. And it could easily have been a great start if not for some unfortunate developments behind him in the field. Strasburg allowed three runs over seven innings, providing the lengthy start the Nationals...

Nathan on unconditional release: "I get it"

Nathan on unconditional release: "I get it"
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Joe Nathan and Matt Albers did just about everything within their power to convince the Nationals to make them part of their opening day roster. In the end, the club simply didn't have space for either veteran in its deep bullpen. The Nationals granted both Nathan and Albers their unconditional releases this morning, beating a noon Eastern time deadline that required the pitchers either to be told they had made the club or else be paid a $100,000 retention bonus to...

Decision looms for Nats and Nathan (Albers, Nathan released)

Decision looms for Nats and Nathan (Albers, Nathan released)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The time has come for the Nationals and Joe Nathan to make a decision on each other. Per Major League Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement, the Nationals have until noon Eastern time today to either inform Nathan he has made their opening day roster, grant him his unconditional release or pay him a $100,000 retention bonus, which would allow Nathan to begin the season in the minor leagues with a new deadline of June 1 to opt out if he isn't called up to...

Nats have picked a closer, but haven't told him yet

Nats have picked a closer, but haven't told him yet
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals appear to have decided on their closer to open the season. They just haven't informed the winner of that spring training competition, so his identity will remain anonymous for now. "We've kind of settled on a guy," manager Dusty Baker said. "But we've got to tell the guy first." The most significant and intriguing battle of the spring hasn't proven particularly dramatic. Each of the candidates - Shawn Kelley, Blake Treinen, Koda Glover - has pitched...

Postgame thoughts on Fedde, Nathan and Romero

Postgame thoughts on Fedde, Nathan and Romero
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Erick Fedde's stock within the Nationals organization rose by default this winter when the team included top pitching prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in its trade for center fielder Adam Eaton. The right-hander's stock has continued to rise this spring, and that's entirely of his own doing. Fedde has made a strong impression in his first major league camp, culminating with today's five scoreless innings against most of the Mets' best hitters. "He's...

Nats haven't picked closer yet, will inform him before opener

Nats haven't picked closer yet, will inform him before opener
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals coaching staff and front office decision makers have not yet formally gathered to discuss who will open the season as their closer, but Dusty Baker said that meeting will take place soon and the affected pitchers will know their roles before heading north. "We haven't really discussed it at any length who it is yet," Baker said this morning. "We'll have a meeting. I believe in giving everybody a vote, cause that's what good organizations do. You take...

Nathan making his case, but do the Nats have room for him?

Nathan making his case, but do the Nats have room for him?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Joe Nathan hasn't been in this particular position - less than two weeks to go until opening day, trying desperately to make a big league roster, utterly unsure if it's going to happen - in quite some time. The 42-year-old reliever had for well more than a decade used spring training simply to prepare himself for the regular season, knowing he was locked in as his team's closer. And the only times that wasn't the case was because he was recovering from one of his two...

Nathan unsure of future with Nats: "I wish I could tell you"

Nathan unsure of future with Nats: "I wish I could tell you"
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - With a little less than two weeks before the reported March 24 opt-out date in his minor league contract, veteran reliever Joe Nathan isn't quite sure where he stands with the Nationals. And that's all right with the 42-year-old right-hander, whose 377 career saves are the second-most among active major leaguers. "I wish I could tell you," Nathan said. "That's probably one of the more difficult things, really not having a clue what route these guys want to go. ......

González tosses quick three innings vs. Cards (it's a 1-1 final)

González tosses quick three innings vs. Cards (it's a 1-1 final)
NATIONALS QUICK WRAP SCORE: Nationals 1, Cardinals 1 Recap: Gio Gonzalez cruised through three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk and using two double-play grounders to help him record nine outs on only 29 pitches. Wilmer Difo produced the game's first run thanks to a single, two bases advanced on Lance Lynn's wild pickoff throw and Grant Green's RBI groundout. The Nationals bullpen put up more zeroes to protect the 1-0 lead, with Joe Nathan, Matt Albers, Jimmy Cordero and...

Baker on the Blanton addition and how he'll choose a closer

Baker on the Blanton addition and how he'll choose a closer
LAKELAND, Fla. - Joe Blanton isn't officially a member of the Nationals bullpen just yet - the veteran still needs to pass his physical, and the club needs to clear a spot for him on its 40-man roster - but Dusty Baker is intrigued by the positive effect Blanton could have on his ever-changing relief corps. "It'll be significant," the manager said. "You're adding a quality guy. You're adding quality to our team, to our bullpen. You've just got to find out now, depending on how he...

Harper, pitching staff shine in Nationals' spring opener win

Harper, pitching staff shine in Nationals' spring opener win
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Upon watching Bryce Harper hit a towering home run on his very first swing of the spring, Gio González and others in the Nationals dugout had a thought. "We were hoping he'd just run home, get in his car and drive back to our place," González said. "What a day." Indeed, what a day for Harper, who in his first opportunity to erase the memories of his disappointing 2016 put on a show during the Nationals' 8-6 victory over the Mets. Harper took a strike from Sean...

Strasburg vs. Harper showdown highlights first live BP session

Strasburg vs. Harper showdown highlights first live BP session
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There's not that much to it, and it hardly is a true representation of the pitcher-batter confrontations that will take place nightly not long from now. But at this early stage of the spring, the sight of live batting practice always perks everybody up. If nothing else, it's a reminder that the games themselves are fast approaching. The Nationals held their first round of live BP this morning, taking advantage of the cloverleaf of four practice fields they have outside...

Baker on Harper: "I'm not worried about Bryce"

Baker on Harper: "I'm not worried about Bryce"
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - One of the reasons the Nationals selected Dusty Baker as their manager two offseasons ago was the veteran skipper's pedigree of successfully dealing with high-profile, young sluggers. For Baker, working with Bryce Harper on a daily basis is no different than his past relationships with Barry Bonds in San Francisco or Ken Griffey Jr. in Cincinnati. Maybe that's why Baker has a significant insight into whether Harper will rebound from a marked downturn last season after...

Joe Nathan's new goal: "Give them confidence to give you the ball"

Joe Nathan's new goal: "Give them confidence to give you the ball"
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Baseball's circle of life has brought Joe Nathan - whose 377 career saves are the second-most among active major leaguers - to a curious corner of the Nationals clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The number on his locker stall nameplate and uniform jersey - 74 - matches the year he was born, and he's grouped with other guys wearing the digits of football offensive linemen who are bold enough to dream of a chance to make a ballclub even though the odds may...

Baker addresses closer situation as pitchers and catchers report

Baker addresses closer situation as pitchers and catchers report
With Nationals pitchers and catchers finally reporting to spring training at their new facility in West Palm Beach, baseball season is officially back, meaning a couple of things. First of all, you have obvious returns of the crack of the bats and that beautiful sound of ball meeting mitt. But it also means the return of many phrases ballplayers and managers love to use with the media, such as: "Next man up." Well, we here at MASNsports.com are taking that phrase quite literally over these...

Nats' most pressing spring question: Who's the closer?

Nats' most pressing spring question: Who's the closer?
The final countdown to spring training has arrived, and so we're spending the final days of the offseason counting down the Nationals' top storylines of the spring. We conclude today with the team's most pressing question in West Palm Beach: Who's the closer? When they departed the ballpark 122 days ago, dejected from yet another first-round loss in the postseason, the Nationals knew there was a chance they would have a different closer when they reconvened again in West Palm Beach. They...

A brief history of the Nats' ever-changing closer identity

A brief history of the Nats' ever-changing closer identity
We don't know yet who will serve as the Nationals closer come opening day, but we do know it will be someone new. Mark Melancon is no longer in D.C., having signed a four-year deal with the Giants earlier this winter. Drew Storen also is long gone, having spent 2016 in Toronto and Seattle, and now signed with the Reds for 2017. Jonathan Papelbon? He remains in parts unknown, but we do know he's not in Washington anymore. If you've been following the Nationals closely over the years, though,...

Nats add veteran relievers Nathan, Albers on minor league deals

Nats add veteran relievers Nathan, Albers on minor league deals
The Nationals, in their ongoing search for a new closer, have signed the man who ranks eighth all-time with 377 saves. Whether Joe Nathan, at 42, still has enough left in his twice-reconstructed elbow to save another major league game remains to be seen, but the club is willing to take a low-risk chance on him. In signing both Nathan and veteran right-hander Matt Albers to minor league contracts with invitations to big league camp, the Nationals have added a pair of experienced bullpen...