Span gearing up, no regrets for Suarez, plus 30 more grapefruits

Span gearing up, no regrets for Suarez, plus 30 more grapefruits
Denard Span is coming off an outstanding season in 2014. His 184 hits tied Philadelphia's Ben Revere for most in the National League. For the year, Span batted .302 with 39 doubles and 31 stolen bases, and once again played stellar defense in center field. In early December, Span underwent surgery to repair a nagging sports hernia. On Tuesday, Span appeared on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" and provided an update on his recovery. "I'm working towards Day One being able to work through all the...

Nats sign 22 draft picks, plus updates on Espinosa, Moore

Nats sign 22 draft picks, plus updates on Espinosa, Moore
The Nationals announced that they've signed 22 of the 39 players they selected in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, including eight of their first nine draft picks. Among those to have agreed to terms so far are right-hander Jacob Johansen (second round), third baseman Drew Ward (third), right-hander Austin Voth (fifth), third baseman Cody Gunter (sixth), first baseman Jimmy Yezzo (seventh), left-hander David Napoli (eighth), right-hander Jake Joyce (ninth) and shortstop Brennan Middleton...

More on Johansen and the Day 2 picks

More on Johansen and the Day 2 picks
When Nationals second-round pick Jake Johansen went to D.C. to work out for the Nats leading up to the draft, general manager Mike Rizzo and scouting director Kris Kline told him that they viewed him as a starter, which went contrary to what Johansen was hearing from other scouts, who projected him as a reliever at the pro level. That was something that immediately stood out in the 22-year-old's mind. "I logged it away and I was just hoping that the Nationals would be able to get the chance...

Jake Johansen discusses signing early, his future and his college numbers

Jake Johansen discusses signing early, his future and his college numbers
Just about 15 minutes after the Nationals announced that they had signed right-hander Jake Johansen, their top overall pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, Johansen hopped on a conference call with reporters to discuss officially being added to the Nats' system, his future plans and his performance at Dallas Baptist University in his three years there. The 22-year-old right-hander, who the Nats took with the No. 68 overall pick in the draft, said that he got a really good feel from the...

A quick draft note, plus some background on Krol

A quick draft note, plus some background on Krol
Tonight marks the first night of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, and while this is one of Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo's favorite days of the year, he'll have to wait a little while to get in on the drafting action tonight. The Nationals forfeited their first-round pick in this year's draft by signing free agent closer Rafael Soriano this offseason after Soriano had been given a qualifying offer by the Yankees. That means that the Nats won't get to make their...

Nationals sign first-round pick Lucas Giolito

Nationals sign first-round pick Lucas Giolito
It took a while, but the Nationals have signed their 2012 first-round pick, prep right-hander Lucas Giolito. With just minutes remaining until the league-imposed signing deadline of 5 p.m. this afternoon, the Nationals reached terms with Giolito, the 17-year-old they selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the June draft. The two sides agreed on a deal which gives Giolito a bonus of $2.925 million, according to reports, an amount which exceeds the Nationals' bonus pool limit. The Nats will...

Rizzo: Nats not necessarily focused on pitching in draft

Rizzo: Nats not necessarily focused on pitching in draft
In each of the last five years, the Nationals have owned a top-10 pick in the First-Year Player Draft. In 2009 and 2010, they held the top overall selection, and everyone and their mother knew that Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper would be the Nats' picks in those two respective drafts. This year, there's much less certainty when it comes to what the Nats might do with their first-round selection. Holding the No. 16 pick, general manager Mike Rizzo and the Nats will rank their top 16...

The Orioles rank 11th in draft bonus pool allotment for 2012

The Orioles rank 11th in draft bonus pool allotment for 2012
Under Major League Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement all teams will be allotted a certain amount by MLB in a bonus pool to sign its top 10 round picks, starting with the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. The amount of the pool total depends both on how high the team picks in the first round of the draft and how many selections a club has in the top 10 rounds. Baseball America released a list today of the bonus pool money allotted each club. Here is the list published today by BA....