Who backs up Bell at first base?

Who backs up Bell at first base?
Now that the celebration of Ryan Zimmerman's retirement has had its moment in the spotlight - and don't worry, I'm sure there will be plenty more celebrations this season and in the years to come - it's time for the Nationals to look ahead as to what their future looks like without their face of the franchise. The long-term ramifications are still to be determined. But as it pertains to the 2022 season, Zimmerman's retirement leaves an immediate hole to be filled on the Nats roster: backup...
    

Kieboom, García headed to Triple-A after latest Nationals cuts

Kieboom, García headed to Triple-A after latest Nationals cuts
Infielders Carter Kieboom and Luis García were optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday afternoon, as the Nationals made a series of roster moves that pretty much solidify their 26-man roster for Thursday's nationally televised home and season opener against the Mets. Also optioned to Triple-A were left-hander Sam Clay, right-hander Kyle McGowin and outfielder Yadiel Hernández. Utility men Jordy Mercer and Hernán Pérez, both of whom were in camp on minor league deals, had their...
    

Checking out possible spring training surprise candidates

Checking out possible spring training surprise candidates
Unless you're one of those who mines the minor leagues for every possible nugget of information, you didn't really know who Jake Noll was heading into 2019 spring training for the Nationals. Maybe you knew he was a seventh-round pick in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Gulf Coast. Maybe you were aware that he'd followed up a .291/.341/.412 campaign between Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg in 2018 with a .265/.309/.429 log in limited Arizona Fall League play with Salt...
    

Is a good BABIP important in getting to the World Series?

Is a good BABIP important in getting to the World Series?
I had a chance to catch up with current George Washington University and former big league coach Gregg Ritchie prior to the GW women's basketball game in D.C. on Wednesday night, and we talked about how important balls in play are to overall success for major league teams. Ritchie played in the Rangers organization in 1995 and was the Pirates' hitting coach from 2011-2012. He contended that most of the teams that recently played in the World Series did a very good job of putting the ball in...
    

Noll on late-season time with the Nats: "It's a great opportunity"

Noll on late-season time with the Nats: "It's a great opportunity"
Utility infielder Jake Noll was called up mid-September and got to play in seven games with the Nationals. As he had done all season long at the alternate training site, he continued to swing the bat well. From Sept. 15-27, Noll hit .353 (6-for-17) with one double, two runs scored and just four strikeouts. "It's a great opportunity," Noll said during the last weekend of the regular season. "I've been waiting for this chance to prove myself and prove I belong all year. I'm happy to be here...
    

Kieboom update, lineup notes and Corbin's final start of season

Kieboom update, lineup notes and Corbin's final start of season
Third baseman Carter Kieboom said his left wrist is improving, but he understands it was the smart move for the Nationals to place him on the injured list for the remainder of the season. Three days ago, Kieboom got hit by the Phillies' Zack Wheeler's sinker and suffered a left wrist contusion. "Grip strength is where my problem is right now," Kieboom said today on a pregame Zoom call. "Swelling is still a little bit there. I think we are going to get some more opinions at it, some more...
    

Stevenson, Taylor to share right field job for final stretch

Stevenson, Taylor to share right field job for final stretch
With Adam Eaton out for the final two weeks of the season with a fractured index finger, the Nationals needed to figure out who's going to start in right field the rest of the way. Their decision: Andrew Stevenson and Michael A. Taylor. Stevenson was recalled from the club's alternate training site in Fredericksburg this afternoon, with fellow outfielder Yadiel Hernández optioned back down after a disappointing first week in the majors. The reason for that swap of left-handed-hitting...
    

Noll catching on in return to the Nats

Noll catching on in return to the Nats
It has been a very good return to the Nationals for Jake Noll this week. So far, he has gone 2-for-3 with a pair of singles against Tampa Bay as a pinch-hitter and designated hitter. Triple-A Fresno manager Randy Knorr, one of the many coaches working with players at the Nats' alternate training site, told manager Davey Martinez that Noll was improving a lot over the past two months on offense and defense. But what really got Martinez's attention was when Knorr spoke about how Noll was...
    

Nats' final road trip of 2020 begins with another roster change

Nats' final road trip of 2020 begins with another roster change
This one's hard to believe, but it's true: The Nationals today begin their final road trip of the season. With their first and only trek to Florida to face the Rays and Marlins, the Nats are wrapping up the most difficult part of their shortened schedule from a health-and-safety standpoint. They've managed to travel to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Atlanta so far and avoid any positive coronavirus tests. Now they finally venture south to the Sunshine State. The Nationals were...
    

Martinez being careful with Kendrick; updates on Strasburg, Castro

Martinez being careful with Kendrick; updates on Strasburg, Castro
He owns two of the most meaningful home runs in Nationals history. So when Howie Kendrick is not available, it certainly changes the makeup of the lineup and the quick strike ability for this club. A grand slam to beat the Dodgers and a go-ahead foul pole-clanging two-run homer against in World Series Game 7 against the Astros will forever go down in Nats lore. Those big hits might have made some forget that Kendrick fought through a left hamstring strain that kept him out of the lineup for 11...
    

Corbin pitches well in simulated game; protocols annoy Thames

Corbin pitches well in simulated game; protocols annoy Thames
The Nationals extended Saturday's sim game into the fifth inning, one inning more than they played on Friday. Left-hander Patrick Corbin was the featured starter, allowing one run over three innings. Innings were stopped when he reached 13-14 pitches. "Pat threw the ball well. We wanted to keep him under 40 pitches, he threw 43, but he said he felt good," said Nationals manager Davey Martinez during a Zoom video call. "So, we will go from there. The biggest thing was get them three ups...
    

Fewer opportunities this spring for 2019 camp phenom Noll

Fewer opportunities this spring for 2019 camp phenom Noll
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The scruffy five o'clock shadow Jake Noll wore as a rookie has morphed into a full, flowing beard. It's noticeable because the chair at Noll's locker stall in the Nationals clubhouse faces outward, affording him a view of the room. Last year's camp phenom looks a lot more comfortable in his second spring training with the major league club. He knows the routine, understands what's expected of him and no longer has the appearance of a deer caught in the...
    

Noll could get a shot with Nats again in 2020

Noll could get a shot with Nats again in 2020
The Nationals could still be searching for an answer at third base and second base heading into the 2020 season. One player who could fill that opening is Jake Noll, who got a taste of the big leagues last season in eight games. He went 2-for-12 with a double and two RBIs with the Nats after a very impressive 2019 spring training. His two-out RBI double at Colorado on April 24 was his first major league base hit. His first major league RBI was a memorable one: a walk-off walk to beat the...
    

Injury-ravaged Nationals fold late in loss to Phillies (updated)

Injury-ravaged Nationals fold late in loss to Phillies (updated)
PHILADELPHIA - They might not have ever admitted it publicly, but the Nationals knew the deck was stacked against them when they took the field for today's series finale against the Phillies. On a gray, windy, rainy Sunday afternoon, the Nats fielded a lineup with only three regulars who started on opening day. Their usual leadoff hitter was batting third. Their backup catcher was batting cleanup. Their fourth-string first baseman had just flown in on a red eye from Las Vegas. And yet for five...
    

Adams latest to IL, Rendon could return Tuesday (Nats down 7-1)

Adams latest to IL, Rendon could return Tuesday (Nats down 7-1)
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals added yet another significant position player to the injured list today, with Matt Adams now off the active roster due to what for now is being called a left shoulder strain. Michael A. Taylor, meanwhile, remains on the active roster even though he underwent an MRI this morning on his left wrist after jamming it into the turf trying to make a diving catch in center field Saturday night. Not that the Nationals have any more players who could be summoned from the...
    

Game 33 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 33 lineups: Nats at Phillies
PHILADELPHIA - It's an absolute mess in South Philly today. In every possible way. The weather is terrible. The traffic is terrible because of the nearby Broad Street Run. There's a Sixers playoff game across the street at 3:30 p.m. And then there's the Nationals roster. For now, the Phillies say they're going to try to get this game in, though it won't start on time at 2:05 p.m. The Nats, meanwhile, haven't put out a lineup yet because they're waiting for MRI results on Matt Adams'...
    

State of the Nats roster after the latest bout of injuries

State of the Nats roster after the latest bout of injuries
PHILADELPHIA - So, about the state of the Nationals roster ... Everyone inside the visitors' clubhouse was aglow last night following a 10-8 win over the Phillies that defied logic, but the reality of the situation also had to set in at some point. This team is decimated by injuries right now, and two more players joined the club during this game. Matt Adams and Michael A. Taylor each departed by the fourth inning with injuries. Adams jammed his left shoulder diving into first base to complete...
    

Rendon out of lineup again, but no IL move yet (game tied 5-5)

Rendon out of lineup again, but no IL move yet (game tied 5-5)
DENVER - Though they don't believe Anthony Rendon will need to miss much time with a bruised left elbow, the Nationals decided they couldn't proceed any longer without any backup infielders, so they recalled Jake Noll from Triple-A today and sent reliever Austin Adams to Fresno to clear a roster spot. Rendon, who was struck in the elbow by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, has been out of the lineup since. But there were signs of improvement today: He's able to bend his arm, according to...
    

Game 21 lineups: Nats at Rockies (Noll recalled)

Game 21 lineups: Nats at Rockies (Noll recalled)
DENVER - Hello from Coors Field, where the air is not only thin but really cold. At least today, it is. The high temperature might crack 50 degrees this afternoon, and it'll be dropping down through the 40s during tonight's series opener. You'd think that would be a bad thing for hitters, but I'm not sure it's possible for any game in this ballpark to be bad for hitters. The Nationals certainly hope the altitude helps get their bats going after a sluggish weekend in Miami that at least...
    

Noll hits first homer, Crowe dealing for Senators

Noll hits first homer, Crowe dealing for Senators
Jake Noll hit his first home run in Triple-A yesterday in Salt Lake City. It was an opposite-field hit over the right field fence that helped guide Fresno to a 2-0 win. Alec Keller added the second run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the fifth. Keller is hitting .381 (8-for-21) in the season's first six games. Right-handed starter Kyle McGowin went 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing only four hits and no walks, striking out six. The Grizzlies led 8-1 in the third inning of game two of the...