Mercer returns from IL, Sanchez designated for assignment

Mercer returns from IL, Sanchez designated for assignment
The Nationals got another veteran back on their roster for the season's final weeks, activating infielder Jordy Mercer after a lengthy stint on the 10-day injured list before tonight's series opener against the Marlins. Mercer, who hadn't played since straining his left calf muscle July 20 against Miami, returns to the active roster after a brief rehab appearance with Double-A Harrisburg last week. The 35-year-old played in three games for the Senators, going 3-for-9 with two walks and three...

Game 143 lineups: Nats at Pirates

Game 143 lineups: Nats at Pirates
If you thought a lighter schedule was going to help the Nationals finish out a disappointing season strong, well, that hasn't exactly played out as hoped so far this weekend. With back-to-back losses to the Pirates, the Nats are now in danger of being swept by one of the worst teams in baseball. (The Pirates, for what it's worth, haven't swept anyone in a three-game series this season.) So if they're going to avoid this latest ignominy, the Nationals will need a much better performance...

Game 115 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 115 lineups: Nats at Mets
And we're back. Seven innings down, seven more to go before the Nationals can finally get out of New York and return home after a long week. Erick Fedde brings a 4-8 record and 5.15 ERA to his late-afternoon start. The last time Fedde faced the Mets, on June 18, he pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball with six strikeouts to bring his season ERA to 3.33. Over the eight starts since, the right-hander is 0-4 with a 7.75 ERA. In two starts against the Mets this season, Fedde has only...

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 103 lineups: Nats vs. Cubs (plus roster moves)

Game 103 lineups: Nats vs. Cubs (plus roster moves)
Hey, don't forget: There's still a baseball game to be played tonight! After the Nationals made six franchise-altering trades over the last 24 hours that netted them 12 new prospects for eight veterans, manager Davey Martinez's new-look team now has to turn its attention to a three-game series against the Cubs, who will also have a new-look roster. Originally, it appeared that Jon Lester was tonight's scheduled starter, but since he was traded to the Cardinals at the last minute, Paolo...

Nats attempting to add another infielder for tonight's game

Nats attempting to add another infielder for tonight's game
When two of their four major league middle infielders were unavailable due to injury and four more potential call-ups from their farm system likewise weren't available for promotion due to injury, the Nationals were left with no choice but to start 34-year-old backup catcher Alex Avila at second base for Thursday night's series opener against the Dodgers. To hear Davey Martinez discuss the state of things after the Nats' 6-2 loss in a rain-shortened five-inning game, they won't be caught in...

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...

Nats invite 71 total players to big league camp

Nats invite 71 total players to big league camp
The Nationals have invited 32 players on minor league contracts to spring training, bringing their total big league camp roster to a whopping 71. The extensive list of non-roster invitees includes several well-known veterans with prior experience either with the Nationals (Gerardo Parra, Javy Guerra, Aaron Barrett, Adrián Sanchez) or other clubs (Luis Avilán, T.J. McFarland, Welington Castillo, Jordy Mercer, Hernán Pérez, Blake Swihart, Yasmany Tomás). It also includes several of...

Barrett, Sanchez, Snyder get spring training invites

Barrett, Sanchez, Snyder get spring training invites
Three mainstays in the Nationals organization will be back for another spring training with the club. Aaron Barrett, Adrián Sanchez and Brandon Snyder are among the group of players who will receive non-roster invitations to West Palm Beach next spring, a source confirmed. All figure to face long odds of making the big league roster, but that's never been a deterrent for any of these veterans. Barrett, who turns 33 in January, has participated in every Nationals spring training since 2011,...

Four players clear waivers, come off 40-man roster

Four players clear waivers, come off 40-man roster
Four Nationals players with major league experience have cleared outright waivers and have been assigned to the Triple-A Fresno roster, the club announced this afternoon. Infielder Adrián Sanchez and right-handers Aaron Barrett, Paolo Espino and Austen Williams were placed on waivers and were not claimed by any other clubs. They'll remain in the Nationals organization but are now off the 40-man roster. Barrett and Espino appeared in a few games for the Nats this season. Sanchez and...

Nationals option two players to Fresno, four more to Harrisburg

Nationals option two players to Fresno, four more to Harrisburg
They didn't have to submit an official 26-man roster for opening day this morning, but the Nationals did make a series of transactions, procedural moves that involved the optioning of six players off the major league spring training roster. Right-hander Erick Fedde and catcher Tres Barrera were both optioned to Triple-A Fresno, the club announced. Four more players were optioned to Double-A Harrisburg: right-handers James Bourque and Kyle Finnegan, plus infielder Adrián Sanchez and...

Nats could go many different ways with 26th roster spot

Nats could go many different ways with 26th roster spot
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The most significant of Major League Baseball's rule changes for the upcoming season is the three-batter minimum that will now be required for every reliever that enters a game. (With an exception granted for anyone who finishes an inning, even if it's only one batter.) Less discussed but not necessarily less significant is the addition of a 26th man to the active roster. For as far back as any of us can remember, a baseball roster consisted of 25 players. "We're...

New-look infield must answer plenty of questions this spring

New-look infield must answer plenty of questions this spring
As spring training fast approaches, it's time to break down the state of the Nationals roster, position by position. The series continues today with the infield ... So much of the Nationals' World Series-winning roster returns intact this spring, but one aspect of the roster has undergone some serious change since we last saw this team take the field. An infield that was among the most productive in the majors is going to look quite different this time around, thanks to one huge departure and...

Nationals have trade chips if they're inclined to deal

Nationals have trade chips if they're inclined to deal
The entire baseball world today makes it way to San Diego, where on Monday the 2019 Winter Meetings open for business. As always, the focus will be on free agents, many of them key members of the Nationals' championship roster. But the odds of Stephen Strasburg or Anthony Rendon signing this week probably aren't great. Agent Scott Boras is still in the preliminary stages of a courtship process with several franchises that could drag on well into the winter. So perhaps the more likely...

Elías' MRI set for Saturday, Voth in for Ross to start Game 3 (Nats fall 4-3)

Elías' MRI set for Saturday, Voth in for Ross to start Game 3 (Nats fall 4-3)
ATLANTA - Nationals reliever Roenis Elías is dealing with a right hamstring injury suffered late in Friday night's opening 4-2 loss against the Braves. Manager Davey Martinez said they will wait on the MRI until Saturday to check on Eliías' hamstring. "He feels OK. He's really sore," Martinez said. "We haven't gotten an MRI yet because until the swelling goes down it's really going to reveal really nothing. Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow we'll get an MRI." "I felt a...

Game 124 lineups: Nats at Pirates (Dozier on paternity leave)

Game 124 lineups: Nats at Pirates (Dozier on paternity leave)
PITTSBURGH - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood here alongside the Allegheny River, where the Nationals tonight open a four-game series against the floundering Pirates. They've done a very good job this summer of beating up on bad teams. Here's a golden opportunity to feast some more on a Pirates club that is a staggering 7-27 since the All-Star break, worst in the majors. We'll see if the Nats lineup can keep it going after absolutely terrorizing the Brewers pitching staff over the...

Nats officially add Cabrera to roster, drop Barraclough (Nats lead 5-1)

Nats officially add Cabrera to roster, drop Barraclough (Nats lead 5-1)
SAN FRANCISCO - It's been five years, and only a few of the faces remain the same, but that didn't diminish the smile on Asdrúbal Cabrera's face today as he looked around the visitors' clubhouse at Oracle Park and realized he was playing for the Nationals again. "I played here in 2014, and I had fun here," the veteran infielder said. "Good group of guys. Now they have a new staff. I'm happy to be back and be part of the Nationals." Released by the Rangers over the weekend and signed...

Doolittle blames pitch execution for late homer, Nats fall in extras

Doolittle blames pitch execution for late homer, Nats fall in extras
Nationals closer Sean Doolittle has allowed two solo homers in his last two appearances. The homer given up to the Braves pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson on Friday night didn't hurt as much because the Nats were up by four runs and won the game 6-3. But the margin for error was much different Wednesday afternoon. With the game tied at 4-4 in the top of the 10th inning, Doolittle (6-3) surrendered a no-doubt solo homer over the center field wall to Braves slugger Josh Donaldson. Donaldson's...

Game 100 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies

Game 100 lineups: Nats vs. Rockies
After a thrilling Tuesday night at the ballpark - thrilling, at least, once Trea Turner completed his second career cycle in the bottom of the seventh - the Nationals are right back at the park this morning for what promises to be a long day and night of baseball. Monday's rainout - did it ever actually rain during the evening hours? - forced them to schedule a day-night doubleheader today. The good news: The Nats were able to avoid burning up their bullpen during an 11-1 win over the Rockies....

Scherzer goes on paternity leave but will start Saturday

Scherzer goes on paternity leave but will start Saturday
Max Scherzer is about to add the biggest event yet to his already eventful summer. With his wife, Erica, due to give birth to the couple's second daughter Thursday, Scherzer has been placed on the paternity leave list. The transaction allows the right-hander to take three days off to be with his growing family without missing a start, and it allows the Nationals to add an extra player (Adrián Sanchez) to their bench in the interim. Scherzer has been anticipating this event all year, with a...