Most players Nats traded didn't perform as hoped for new teams

Most players Nats traded didn't perform as hoped for new teams
The eight players the Nationals traded away during the final days of July all had value to their acquiring clubs, each of them believing those players would help lift them into the postseason and in some cases deep into October. The Nats didn't just deal away anybody. They purposely traded veterans in the final year of their contracts (aside from one notable example who had two years to go until free agency) who would be appealing to contenders and could potentially make a real difference over...
    

Nationals' problem stopping running game has resurfaced

Nationals' problem stopping running game has resurfaced
There was a time, before July 30, when the Nationals were among the toughest teams in baseball to run on. With Yan Gomes and Alex Avila behind the plate, the Nats excelled at controlling the running game, fixing what had been a major problem area for the team the previous two seasons. Alas, Gomes is now catching in Oakland. Avila only recently returned to the active roster after a long stint on the injured list. And the club's new, young catchers haven't enjoyed anywhere close to the success...
    

Eight veterans in total dealt before deadline (updated)

Eight veterans in total dealt before deadline (updated)
When the clock reached 4 p.m. and it was all said and done, the Nationals had traded away eight veterans off their 2021 roster, four of them key contributors to the club's World Series title only 21 months ago. In their place will come 12 prospects of varying pedigrees from six other organizations, all of them now trying to win this season while the Nats begin a rebuild they hope is neither too long nor too painful. In the final moments before this afternoon's deadline, general manager Mike...
    

Scherzer earns win in presumably last Nats start (updated)

Scherzer earns win in presumably last Nats start (updated)
The last 24 hours for the Nationals have been hectic, to say the least. But they are just the latest episodes in what has been a chaotic and unprecedented start to the second half for the fading ballclub. With a COVID-19 outbreak, trade rumors swirling, bad weather approaching and a doubleheader to play, what message did manager Davey Martinez deliver to his players this morning as they arrived at Citizens Bank Park, still unsure what the roster would look like or if they were even going to...
    

Scherzer starting in Philly, four players go on COVID-19 IL

Scherzer starting in Philly, four players go on COVID-19 IL
Max Scherzer will start today's doubleheader opener in Philadelphia in what could very well be both his swan song after seven seasons with the Nationals and one last showcase for scouts of several clubs interested in acquiring the three-time Cy Young Award winner before Friday afternoon's trade deadline. Scherzer will take the mound at Citizens Bank Park for a Nationals team that needed to place four players (Trea Turner, Daniel Hudson, Austin Voth, Alex Avila) on the COVID-19 injured list...
    

Game 101 lineups: Nats at Phillies (plus roster moves)

Game 101 lineups: Nats at Phillies (plus roster moves)
All eyes will be fixated on the transaction wire over the next 30 hours or so, not only as we get closer to tomorrow's 4 p.m. trade deadline, but also because the Nationals had to make a number of roster moves this morning after 13 members (four players, nine staffers) tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. Not to mention the potential of needing to fill other roster spots if some players depart later today via trade. As if that weren't enough of a wrench thrown into today's plan, the...
    

Strasburg seeing specialist, Ross to start Monday (plus notes)

Strasburg seeing specialist, Ross to start Monday (plus notes)
Stephen Strasburg continues to recover his neck strain, and the right-hander will see another specialist Monday in hopes of figuring out how to combat the nagging problem. "He's scheduled to see someone tomorrow," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. The Nationals are trying to determine why Strasburg can play long toss without any problems, but feels the neck issue when he throws from a mound. "It's more of a comfort thing, like I said," Martinez...
    

As Gomes and Avila rehab, Barrera earning starts behind plate

As Gomes and Avila rehab, Barrera earning starts behind plate
When the All-Star break arrived and they found themselves without either of their two experienced catchers due to injury, the Nationals elected not to go with a pair of rookies and instead signed 37-year-old René Rivera, who had recently been released by Cleveland. And then they thrust Rivera right into the lineup for Friday's second-half opener against the Padres, then again Saturday night. Rivera was back behind the plate Sunday for the resumption of the previous night's suspended game,...
    

Rivera thrown into fire as latest catcher to join Nats

Rivera thrown into fire as latest catcher to join Nats
René Rivera has played for 10 different major league clubs over 13 seasons, none of them for more than a total of 130 games, so it's not exactly unusual for the veteran catcher to find himself scrambling to get to know a new team on the fly. Still, what Rivera experienced Friday night hours after signing with the Nationals - catching a 4-hour, 15-minute marathon on a sweltering night, and watching the Padres beat his new club 24-8 - could hardly be considered ordinary for even the...
    

Nationals second-half storylines

Nationals second-half storylines
A roller coaster of a first half ended for the Nationals last weekend with a sweep in San Francisco, the final unexpected twist to 3 1/2 months of baseball that featured all kinds of unexpected twists. What, then, do the next 2 1/2 months have in store for this team? Can anyone truly say they know? You can make a compelling case for just about anything to happen to the Nats in the second half. Get healthy and surpass the Mets to win the National League East? Sure, that's possible. Completely...
    

Gomes hits IL, so catching falls to Barrera for now (updated)

Gomes hits IL, so catching falls to Barrera for now (updated)
Catcher Yan Gomes, who was removed in the second inning of Friday night's game against the Giants, is undergoing an MRI this afternoon and the Nationals will wait until the results of that diagnostic test to determine whether Gomes needs to be placed on the injured list, manager Davey Martinez said. "We have nothing yet," Martinez said in his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "He's getting an MRI as we speak, so hopefully he gets back here soon and we know something after the...
    

Nats balancing rest and momentum heading into break

Nats balancing rest and momentum heading into break
It might be easy to look at the recent body of work and be down on the Nationals entering the All-Star break: a four-game sweep at home at the hands of the Dodgers, a four-game series split with the Padres when winning three of four was right in their grasp, a loss in the first game against the Giants and a growing list of injuries. But looking at the greater body of work shows that the Nationals are carrying some real momentum into next week's pause: Over their last 30 games, they are 18-12,...
    

Another injury and another loss for Nats (updated)

Another injury and another loss for Nats (updated)
Who said it couldn't get worse for the Nationals? Be honest, because I know you're out there. After a tough loss Thursday night to end a four-game series in San Diego, and with an already jam-packed injured list, why would you say that knowing full well that it could, in fact, get worse? Indeed, it did get worse for the Nationals in the form of a 5-3 loss to the Giants in front of 27,345 fans at Oracle Park to start the final series of the first half of the season, while also losing their...
    

Turner and Gomes return to lineup, Tuesday's starter is TBA

Turner and Gomes return to lineup, Tuesday's starter is TBA
A Nationals club desperate for more healthy bodies is getting two of them back for tonight's series opener in San Diego, with more potentially coming in the next few days. Trea Turner and Yan Gomes are both in tonight's lineup, Turner returning after missing four games with a jammed left middle finger, Gomes back after taking a pitch off his right arm Saturday night. The impact on Davey Martinez's batting order is significant, with Turner able to bat second in front of Juan Soto and Gomes...
    

Game 83 lineups: Nats at Padres

Game 83 lineups: Nats at Padres
Who's ready for some late-night baseball? Yes, after their earliest start of the season Sunday morning, the Nationals now take the field tonight in San Diego for their latest start of the season. The caffeine intake has already begun here at the home office. A four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers made for a tough weekend, and the task doesn't get particularly easier over the next four nights against the talented Padres, who at the moment own a .581 winning percentage that would have...
    

After rain, Dodgers rally to send Nats back under .500 (updated)

After rain, Dodgers rally to send Nats back under .500 (updated)
The largest crowd at a D.C.-area sporting event since Dec. 22, 2019, when the Washington Football Team hosted the New York Giants in Landover, gathered on South Capitol Street tonight to watch some baseball, get an early start on Independence Day weekend and witness a fireworks display on a picture-perfect Saturday evening. What the sellout crowd of 42,064 at Nationals Park got instead was a compelling yet ultimately frustrating 5-3 loss to the Dodgers, a 1-hour, 44-minute rain delay that...
    

Nats won't let Phillies get under their skin, win again (updated)

Nats won't let Phillies get under their skin, win again (updated)
Let's get the most important point out of the way first: The Nationals beat the Phillies 3-2 tonight. They've now won eight of their last nine, moved into a three-way tie for second place in the National League East and continued a dramatic June surge that is making believers out of more skeptics with each passing day. Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings in his first start back from a minor groin injury. The lineup scored three early runs off Zack Wheeler to take the lead. Austin...
    

Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 68 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
The Nationals need to do more at the plate in the nightcap of today's doubleheader against the Mets. They scored one run in Friday night's game and still somehow won. They scored one run in today's opener and unsurprisingly lost. They need a more productive showing in this one against Robert Gsellman, the first of several relievers who are expected to take the mound for New York. Manager Davey Martinez's lineup is close to the one he put out there earlier today. Yan Gomes will catch instead...
    

Fedde extends scoreless innings streak as Gomes walks off Mets (updated)

Fedde extends scoreless innings streak as Gomes walks off Mets (updated)
It hasn't been easy going for Erick Fedde over the last month. Almost a month ago, he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the coronavirus in Chicago. That was just three days after he turned in one of the best performances of his career in Arizona. A little over three weeks after landing on the IL, he was reinstated after quarantining in Chicago and building his arm strength back up. That roller coaster stretch would be enough to throw any pitcher out of...
    

Espino delivers latest pitching gem as Nats sweep Bucs (updated)

Espino delivers latest pitching gem as Nats sweep Bucs (updated)
The notion of the Nationals thriving with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Daniel Hudson all on the injured list at the same time would've sounded fairly ludicrous to anyone who considered that nightmare scenario two weeks ago. How could this team, deficient in pitching depth and offensive might, not only survive but actually get better with those three arms unavailable? In this most unusual season, that's exactly what's happening. The Nats are slowly climbing their way back up the...