How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?

How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?
On Sunday afternoon, Lane Thomas became the 54th player to appear in a game for the Nationals this season. That's an exceptionally high number, only three shy of the club record set way back in 2006. And with 44 games still to go, and more players likely to join the roster before this is over, it's quite possible this year's team will establish a new record. The pertinent question right now, though, isn't how many guys will play for the Nationals in 2021. It's how many of the guys...

Temperature check two weeks after trade deadline

Temperature check two weeks after trade deadline
Two weeks ago today, the Nationals completed six franchise-altering trades, admitting this season was a lost cause. They were able to move eight players (seven on expiring contracts) to net 12 prospects in return. Ten of those 12 are already in MLBPipeline.com's ranking of the top 30 Nats prospects. Six of those 12 are in the top 16. And three of those six are in the top 10, including Nos. 1 and 2, Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray (both acquired in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner deal with the...

Nats go quietly in opening loss to Mets (updated)

Nats go quietly in opening loss to Mets (updated)
The recipe for success for the Nationals the rest of the way this season is going to be one of two things: keep the score close, take a late lead and hope to hold on, or explode for a lot of runs early and win in a blowout. Neither of those scenarios took place in today's 4-1 doubleheader opening loss to the Mets. Let's start with keeping the score close. The Nationals did get a gutsy effort from Sean Nolin in his first major league appearance since 2015. But the left-hander served up a...

Game 113 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 113 lineups: Nats at Mets
For months, the Nationals found themselves chasing the Mets in the National League East, and because they ultimately weren't able to gain enough ground in the division race, their leaders decided it was time to undergo a mass rebuild. Since then, what's happened to the Mets? They've gone in the tank as well, losing nine of 11 and turning a four-game lead in the NL East into a 2 1/2-game deficit that now sees them trailing both the Phillies and Braves. It's too late for the Nats to take...

Homers haunt Corbin again in Nats' latest loss (updated)

Homers haunt Corbin again in Nats' latest loss (updated)
The Nationals' objective over the final two months of this season, first and foremost, is to identify which young players are going to be part of the organization's long-term plan. That's what made a game like Saturday night's 3-2 victory over the Braves, in which Josiah Gray dazzled on the mound and Riley Adams delivered a momentous blast at the plate, so uplifting for anyone associated with the club. But the 2022 Nationals aren't going to be made up entirely of kids. There are going to...

With Soto sitting again, Bell returns to roots in right field

With Soto sitting again, Bell returns to roots in right field
Five years removed from his last appearance there in a game, and one month since he began getting early-afternoon reps there, Josh Bell is finally making his official return to the outfield. Bell, who has exclusively played first base since 2017, will start in right field this afternoon when the Nationals wrap up their weekend series against the Braves at Truist Park. It's a move that has been in the works for a while, with manager Davey Martinez hoping to find a way to get both Bell and Ryan...

Ross strong, but Nats blow another late lead in loss (updated)

Ross strong, but Nats blow another late lead in loss (updated)
Erick Fedde was allowed to push his limits during a season-high 108-pitch outing on Sunday, emptying the tank and showing the Nationals what he can muster while on his last legs. Joe Ross, in a similar position as Fedde in this rotation, was able to do the same this afternoon, even in the Nats' eventual 7-5 loss to complete a sweep at the hands of the Phillies in front of 22,575 fans at home. Ross' case is a little different than Fedde's, since he didn't pitch last year and is still...

Nats keep it interesting but can't rally vs. Phillies (updated)

Nats keep it interesting but can't rally vs. Phillies (updated)
The Nationals, no matter who remains on their ever-changing roster, continue to play well enough to keep themselves in every game. Give them that. Whether the organization's goal remains winning in 2021 or not, the players who still comprise the 26-man roster are doing everything in their limited power to try to pull it off. They managed to take two of three from the equally rebuilding Cubs over the weekend, and though they've now lost two in a row to the semi-contending Phillies, they had a...

Game 107 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies

Game 107 lineups: Nats vs. Phillies
Games like last night, when a recently acquired prospect makes his debut, are about the future. Games like tonight, when a struggling veteran takes the mound yet again, are about something else. Patrick Corbin is part of the Nationals' future, but that's only because his contract dictates it. He's signed for three more seasons and still owed $82 million. He's not going anywhere. So the Nats need Corbin to figure out how to be an effective pitcher again, something he hasn't been since the...

Fedde pushed early, Hernandez wins it late for Nats (updated)

Fedde pushed early, Hernandez wins it late for Nats (updated)
If you're wondering - for practical, in-game purposes - what will be different the next two months from everything that came before it, here was a good example in the top of the sixth this afternoon at Nationals Park. Erick Fedde, who had been cruising along against a depleted Cubs lineup, opened that frame allowing a single to Andrew Romine, then a two-run homer to Rafael Ortega at the end of a long, seven-pitch at-bat. The Nationals' lead was down to one, Fedde's pitch count was up to 91...

Turner leaves after positive test, Hand closes out win (updated)

Turner leaves after positive test, Hand closes out win (updated)
As if this week's events - and the prospect of events still to come - hadn't already left the Nationals and all who observe them on edge, here now was the sight of Trea Turner departing tonight's game in Philadelphia after scoring on Josh Bell's top-of-the-first homer. Given the date on the calendar and the organization's July freefall, it wasn't inappropriate to immediately wonder if Turner had just been traded. Then, as replays of his trip around the bases began to be shown, it seemed...

Game 100 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Game 100 lineups: Nats at Phillies
In what is shaping up to be one of the most significant weeks in club history, the Nationals do still have games to play every night. It may be too late for their performance on the field to change the front office's mind about what comes next, but they will be taking the field nonetheless and attempting to win a game against the Phillies. Losers of five straight and 16 of their last 21, the Nats will try to get back on track tonight behind Erick Fedde, who was sharp last time out, allowing...

Hand blows another save, Nats collapse in Philly (updated)

Hand blows another save, Nats collapse in Philly (updated)
Whatever the rest of this week has in store, of one thing you can be sure: Davey Martinez is going to keep encouraging his Nationals to block out whatever trade deadline chatter they're hearing and just concentrate on that night's task. "That message stands firm. I want them to focus on today," the fourth-year manager said on Zoom prior to tonight's series opener in Philadelphia. "Nobody knows what's going to happen an hour from now, nevertheless tomorrow or the next day. We've got a...

Corbin can't sustain command in loss to Orioles (updated)

Corbin can't sustain command in loss to Orioles (updated)
It's been an up-and-down season for Patrick Corbin so far in 2021. After struggling out of the gate, he seemed to have fixed his issues for a couple of starts. Then they resurfaced before a couple of strong outings ahead of the All-Star break. But Corbin did not get the second half off on the right foot after giving up six runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Padres last Saturday. And although it looked like Corbin was going to redeem himself with strong command early Friday night,...

Game 96 lineups: Nats at Orioles

Game 96 lineups: Nats at Orioles
This season's edition of the Battle of the Beltways concludes this weekend in Baltimore after the Nationals swept the Orioles in D.C. in May. Manager Davey Martinez has been asked a lot recently about how he can use Josh Bell and Ryan Zimmerman in the same lineup, with Bell getting some reps in left field during batting practice recently and Zimmerman trying to get his swing back from earlier in the year. That won't be a problem this weekend, though, in an American League ballpark. Bell is...

Big names rise to occasion, rally Nats to victory (updated)

Big names rise to occasion, rally Nats to victory (updated)
If they're going to make their move over the next week and a half and convince their general manager he should buy at the trade deadline, the Nationals are going to have to win games on the shoulders of their stars. That's what Mike Rizzo said this afternoon in discussing how his roster, depleted by injuries, could still find a path to contention in a wide-open National League East. "The more your core guys get hurt, the more pressure is put on your star players," Rizzo said in a pregame...

What it would take for Bell and Zimmerman to start together

What it would take for Bell and Zimmerman to start together
Given the losses his team has sustained elsewhere around the field, Nationals manager Davey Martinez has been toying with the idea of using Josh Bell in left field on occasion as a means of getting Ryan Zimmerman into the lineup alongside his usual first base platoon partner. But in order for that plan to work, not only does Bell have to prove he can handle the outfield for the first time since he was a rookie in Pittsburgh, but Zimmerman has to prove he can rediscover the swing that produced...

Nats hammer Marlins behind Lester's arm and bat (updated)

Nats hammer Marlins behind Lester's arm and bat (updated)
They knew the schedule was about to ease up. They just needed to get through a daunting 14-game stretch against the National League West's three contenders, sandwiched around the All-Star break, and then hope the tide would begin to turn once they had a chance to start facing lesser competition. And if tonight's 18-1 thrashing of the last-place Marlins is a sign of things to come, the Nationals might just have another run in them. And Jon Lester might not have to worry about his immediate job...

Nationals' first-half report card

Nationals' first-half report card
This wasn't the best first half in Nationals history, nor was it the worst. It was arguably the most eventful they've ever had, a 3 1/2-month roller coaster ride that began with a shocking drop (the COVID-19 outbreak), slowly began to climb back up, then gave everyone a June thrill ride before hitting some major bumps in early July. The end result of all that was a 42-47 record at the All-Star break. Some years, that would leave the Nats out of contention and looking to sell at the trade...

Game 89 lineups: Nats at Giants

Game 89 lineups: Nats at Giants
After dropping the first two games of a three-game set at Oracle Park, the Nationals will turn to Erick Fedde (4-5, 4.53ERA) to try to snap a three-game losing streak and end the season's first half on a high note. The right-hander will be making his 13th start of the season and his second since returning from the injured list with an oblique issue. In his first game back from the injury, Fedde struggled through 4 1/3 innings against the Padres at Nationals Park, allowing six runs on eight...