Martinez on legacy of Jackie Robinson: "He means a lot to this game"

Martinez on legacy of Jackie Robinson: "He means a lot to this game"
Today marks the official Major League Baseball in-season remembrance of Jackie Robinson Day, which usually is commemorated on April 15. Customary to the annual in-season Jackie Robinson Day celebration, all players, managers, coaches, umpires and other on-field personnel will wear Robinson's No. 42 to honor the historic significance of him breaking the color barrier in in the majors in 1947. "For us baseball players, he was the guy that united and started honestly what we call right now is...

Slumping Kieboom demoted, Doolittle activated off IL

Slumping Kieboom demoted, Doolittle activated off IL
Their 60-game season nearly halfway complete, the Nationals decided to pull the plug (at least temporarily) on Plan A for replacing Anthony Rendon at third base. The Nats optioned struggling rookie Carter Kieboom to their alternate training site in Fredericksburg this afternoon, an unexpected transaction that also saw reliever Sean Doolittle activated off the 10-day injured list. Though Kieboom had been struggling at the plate - he was batting .200 (10-for-50) with zero extra-base hits, 11...

Rizzo confident Strasburg will return for 2021 at full health

Rizzo confident Strasburg will return for 2021 at full health
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is disappointed that Stephen Strasburg is out for the season, but feels that taking care of his hand injury now with surgery will allow the right-hander to be back to 100 percent in time for the 2021 season. "We feel that it's unfortunate that Stras is not going to be around pitching for us for the remainder of the season, but the positive part of this thing is that we feel that the injury is not going to be anything long term for him," Rizzo said Sunday...

Kendrick "75 to 80 percent" recovered from hamstring issue

Kendrick "75 to 80 percent" recovered from hamstring issue
Nationals manager Davey Martinez said he will decide after tonight's game how he plans to set up the starting rotation for the remainder of this wraparound series with the Marlins. It appears he wants to go with experience rather than new starters in Saturday's doubleheader. Martinez had mentioned the possibility that right-hander Wil Crowe or left-hander Ben Braymer might get the chance to pitch in one of the games on Saturday. Max Scherzer is scheduled to start one of the...

Nats hope Kendrick is ready Friday, need starter Saturday

Nats hope Kendrick is ready Friday, need starter Saturday
Though he's out of the lineup for the fifth consecutive day, the Nationals continue to believe Howie Kendrick will be ready to return from a tight hamstring soon enough to make a trip to the injured list unnecessary. Kendrick last played Friday night in Baltimore, going 1-for-5 with a sacrifice fly in the Nationals' 15-3 rout of the Orioles. He has complained of a tight hamstring since, and despite some hope he would be available to pinch-hit, it hasn't happened yet. With an off-day...

Castro to have right wrist surgery on Friday

Castro to have right wrist surgery on Friday
Nationals second baseman Starlin Catro will have surgery on Friday to repair his broken right wrist. If everything goes well in rehab, Castro expects to be back around the beginning of October. "Castro will have surgery on Friday," manager Davey Martinez said on today's pregame Zoom call. "They are putting a pin in his wrist. I talked to him this morning. He sounded upbeat. He said by doing it this way, he can recover a lot quicker. He said, 'Just get to the playoffs and I'll be back...

Bacus promoted, Harper optioned but could still pitch tonight

Bacus promoted, Harper optioned but could still pitch tonight
BALTIMORE - The Nationals made another change to their bullpen prior to today's resumption of Sunday's suspended game against the Orioles, promoting right-hander Dakota Bacus and optioning right-hander Ryne Harper to their alternate training site in Fredericksburg. But that doesn't necessarily mean Harper won't make an appearance at Camden Yards before the night is over. Because clubs are allowed to add a 29th man to their active roster for the regularly scheduled nine-inning game coming...

Martinez keeping close eye on Doolittle, bullpen as season continues

Martinez keeping close eye on Doolittle, bullpen as season continues
The Nationals placed veteran reliever Sean Doolittle on the 10-day injured list Thursday and promoted rookie left-hander Seth Romero to the active roster. Doolittle is suffering from right knee fatigue. Manager Davey Martinez is devising a plan of how to get his left-handed closer back 100 percent healthy over the next week or so. The hope is that with his knee returning to full strength, the velocity in his fastball will return to normal too. "He's going to go back with us," Martinez said...

Romero on big league debut: "I was 100 percent nervous"

Romero on big league debut: "I was 100 percent nervous"
Rookie Seth Romero made his major league debut Thursday against the Mets, coming in for starter Austin Voth to begin the fifth inning, in a game the Nats lost 8-2. It turned out to be an up-and-down outing for the 24-year-old, who had not pitched in a game in almost two years. But a big league promotion is a huge deal for a kid who missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. With the Nats down 3-1, the Nats' 2017 first-rounder took on the Mets' speedy outfielder Billy...

Harris returns, Romero to active roster, Doolittle to IL

Harris returns, Romero to active roster, Doolittle to IL
Nationals manager Davey Martinez delivered news this morning from a rainy Citi Field, where the Nats hope to wrap up their four-game set with the Mets before they board the train for Baltimore tonight. The club announced that left-hander Sam Freeman has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left flexor mass strain. He had a 0.00 ERA in five innings so far this season. The team activated right-hander Will Harris from the injured list following his recovery from a right groin...

Soto's two homers can't overcome Sánchez's third rough start

Soto's two homers can't overcome Sánchez's third rough start
Manager Davey Martinez said this week that for Aníbal Sánchez to get back to being the pitcher who nearly threw a no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2019 National League Championship Series, the right-hander would have to get the ball down. But in his first two starts this season, Sánchez has not been able to do that, to the tune of nine runs allowed and an 0-2 record. Unfortunately, Sánchez is still looking for that command. Despite a mammoth three-run homer from Juan Soto, Sánchez...

Bullpen rounding into form, even with Doolittle on the outs

Bullpen rounding into form, even with Doolittle on the outs
Every team enters every season thinking it has its bullpen plan in place. Who's going to close. Who's going to set up. Who's going to get lefties out. Who's going to pitch out of jams. And then the season begins, and every team realizes that plan going in isn't going to work and has to start adjusting on the fly. Truth be told, it takes months for a bullpen to truly take shape. A manager needs to see how different pitchers handle different situations. He needs to see who's healthy and...

Romero looks "fearless," could be added to roster if Nats need lefty

Romero looks "fearless," could be added to roster if Nats need lefty
Nationals manager Davey Martinez announced Monday that the club's five-man taxi squad included left-hander Seth Romero, who has never pitched in the major leagues. The 2017 first-round selection out of the University of Houston missed all of the 2019 season as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. It was an interesting choice, showing the Nats have confidence in Romero and his stuff and believe that he is very close to making that next step. Plus, looking at the structure of the Nats bullpen...

Nats enjoy life on the road again, trounce Mets (updated)

Nats enjoy life on the road again, trounce Mets (updated)
Life on the road in 2020 is nothing like life on the road in 2019. With one exception: The Nationals are still winning. There may not be fans in the stands or anywhere to go for breakfast, lunch or postgame entertainment, but the Nationals kicked off their delayed first road trip of the season with an all-too-familiar result: a lopsided victory over the Mets. Two home runs by Asdrúbal Cabrera, a solo shot by Trea Turner and a 463-foot blast by Juan Soto that cleared the big apple behind...

Harris back with Nats, live BP session set for Tuesday

Harris back with Nats, live BP session set for Tuesday
Reliever Will Harris made the trip to New York as a member of the five-man Nationals taxi squad, a good sign that if everything goes well this week, he could be back in the bullpen at the end of this series or in Baltimore. Manager Davey Martinez said Harris will throw to live batters tomorrow and that will be the final test to see how his tender groin has recovered the past 10 days. "I talked to him today (and) he said he felt good," Martinez said on a pregame Zoom call from Citi Field. "We...

Rizzo on his contract status: "I'm not worried about it"

Rizzo on his contract status: "I'm not worried about it"
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo met with the media Sunday prior to the series finale against the Orioles and talked about the state of his club after 11 games. He said there are some reasons the team has struggled out of the gate at 4-7. "They sound like excuses, so I'm not going to use 'em," Rizzo said on a Zoom video call. "But, yeah, obviously the unevenness of the schedule, that doesn't help with your routine, your rhythm, either on the mound or at the plate. But we're dealing...

Faith in bullpen goes haywire during gut-punch loss (updated)

Faith in bullpen goes haywire during gut-punch loss (updated)
Asked Friday if Sean Doolittle's struggles might force him to shift the veteran late-inning reliever into a lower-leverage role, Davey Martinez was adamant in showing faith in the left-hander who has been an integral member of the Nationals bullpen for three years now. "In order for us to pull this off," Martinez said, "we need Sean Doolittle." Barely 24 hours later, the Nationals manager admitted he may have no choice but to start devising a plan for success in 2020 that doesn't include...

Martinez trying to find spots to help Doolittle get right

Martinez trying to find spots to help Doolittle get right
Sean Doolittle is healthy. The Nationals coaching and training staffs keep asking him, and he keeps replying there's nothing physically wrong with him. Something, though, is out of whack when Doolittle attempts to pitch right now. The veteran reliever didn't look right during intrasquad games and the brief exhibition season. And he hasn't looked right during his three appearances since the regular season began. "He says he feels fine," manager Davey Martinez said today during his pregame...

Nine games in, Nats pitching staff is far from healthy

Nine games in, Nats pitching staff is far from healthy
Whatever concern the Nationals had about their veteran pitchers' ability to make it through the 2020 season healthy after a grueling 2019 that didn't end until they hoisted the Commissioner's Trophy on Oct. 30 seemed to vanish once it became clear the 2020 season wouldn't start until midsummer and would be severely reduced in length. What a perfect opportunity for Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Aníbal Sánchez, Sean Doolittle, Daniel Hudson and even former Astro Will...

Nats reinstate Soto and Suero, Stevenson optioned

Nats reinstate Soto and Suero, Stevenson optioned
The Nationals have reinstated outfielder Juan Soto and right-hander Wander Suero from the injured list, and optioned Andrew Stevenson to the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, Va. Soto has been out since July 23, but appeared in three summer training games, going 4-for-10 (.400) with two doubles and two RBIs. "He will be available to pinch-hit today," said manager Davey Martinez during today's pregame Zoom call. "Just probably want to give him another day or two. We will see. He's...