Draft tracker: Nats make final picks of 2022 draft (final update)

The 2022 MLB Draft concludes today before tonight’s All-Star Game. The Nationals have 10 picks this afternoon, one in each of the remaining rounds.

Through the first 10 rounds, the Nats drafted two third basemen, one shortstop, three outfielders, one catcher, two right-handers and one left-hander. They selected three high school players, highlighted by 18-year-old outfielder Elijah Green out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., with the No. 5 overall pick Sunday night, and seven players from the college ranks.

“There's gonna be some kids out there that maybe got their feelings hurt a little bit,” assistant general manager and vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline said on Zoom call with reporters at the conclusion of yesterday’s selections. “Maybe you want to circle back and they may really want to play. So we'll go back and talk to them about, you know, the guys that said no, we'll go back and talk to all of them that said no, and ask them where they stand, how they feel now. And put the board together to the best of our ability. But that being said, I thought this first two days of the draft was really, really good. A really positive thing for the organization that's kind of in a rebuilding process. Guys did a great job.”

With their first pick of the day, the Nats selected right-hander Luke Young out of Midland College in Texas with the 321st overall pick in the 11th round. He’s listed as 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds.

A reliever for Midland, the 20-year-old went 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA, 110 strikeouts, 27 walks and only three home runs allowed over 79 ⅔ innings this year.

Rizzo on the trade for Ross and the player to be named

Rizzo on the trade for Ross and the player to be named
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo just finished a conference call with the local media to make official what we've known for the past couple of days: The Nationals have dealt outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and minor league left-hander Travis Ott to the Padres for right-handed pitching prospect Joe Ross and a player to be named. Souza and Ott are then going from the Padres to the Rays as part of the deal that will bring 2013 American League Rookie of the Year Wil Myers to San Diego. Rizzo's...

Throwback Thursday: The catch

Throwback Thursday: The catch
I'm sure every Nationals fan already knows what this week's Throwback Thursday is about. Cue the goosebumps. Yesterday, it was reported that the Nationals were involved in a three-team trade, dealing Steven Souza Jr. to the Rays and receiving two prospects from the Padres. Automatically, I know the first thing that comes to mind is "The Catch," so without further adieu, relive the jaw-dropping play below. Your browser does not support iframes.

Report: Souza dealt to Tampa Bay in three-team trade

Report: Souza dealt to Tampa Bay in three-team trade
That memory of Steven Souza Jr.'s diving catch in left-center to seal Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter on the last day of the regular season may have to last you a while. It appears Souza is on his way out of D.C. in a mutliple-player, three-team trade that also involves the Padres and Rays. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com is reporting that a framework is in place that would send Souza and minor league left-hander Travis Ott to the Rays, with the Nationals receiving two prospects - shortstop Trea...

Souza's stock rising in Williams' eyes

Souza's stock rising in Williams' eyes
SAN DIEGO - Nationals manager Matt Williams likes to plan things out, down to the smallest detail. From lineup combinations to how every minute in spring training drills will be accounted for, Williams has a reputation as a taskmaster who doesn't relish wasting time or energy. So a proclamation by the manager at the Winter Meetings that Steven Souza Jr. has worked his way into the 25-man roster conversation is a significant step for the rookie outfielder. Williams said the 25-year-old made...

Quick hits from Williams' session with reporters (with video)

Quick hits from Williams' session with reporters (with video)
SAN DIEGO - Nationals manager Matt Williams just met with local reporters for nearly a half-hour, and while I don't have the time to pass along a full notebook from his session, here are some quick hits before I run off to take part in Mike Rizzo's nightly meeting with the media. * Williams understands the situation that Rizzo is in this winter when it comes to the crop of players that are set to become free agents in 2015, and he acknowledges that the Nats are listening to offers on Jordan...

Interpreting Rizzo's comments on bolstering Nats' bench options (with minor league note)

Interpreting Rizzo's comments on bolstering Nats' bench options (with minor league note)
SAN DIEGO - The dance between reporters seeking information and team executives reluctant to part with it is the crux of many conversations at the Winter Meetings. Whether it's an informal chat in the hotel bar or the packed lobby, or every afternoon's formal interview session, the tango begins anew with every conversation. We want information. They want us to have only the information they want to share. We ask, they answer. We ask again, they rephrase the original response - or scowl,...

Interested to see what lies ahead for Souza

Interested to see what lies ahead for Souza
Yesterday, I was thankful for family, friends and health. Today, I'm thankful that the button didn't pop off my pants during Thanksgiving dinner and that I won't be forced to participate in any Black Friday shopping. You couldn't pay me to go to a mall today and battle the crowds. Not my cup of tea. Not even close. Steven Souza Jr.'s 2014 season was beyond impressive. The 25-year-old outfielder hit a ridiculous .350/.432/.590 (that's a 1.022 OPS, folks) at Triple-A Syracuse, leading the...

NL East offseason preview: Do Nats look for a third baseman or a second baseman?

NL East offseason preview: Do Nats look for a third baseman or a second baseman?
Now that the San Francisco Giants have wrapped up their third World Series championship in five years, here's a look ahead to what will be going on this winter with the National League East: Atlanta: The Braves will try to rebound from their first losing record in six seasons. The first order of business for the new boss, John Hart, is to trade slumping outfielder B.J. Upton, who is still owed $46 million over three years. After hitting .251 with runners in scoring position last season, the...

A storybook ending to the regular season (Zimmermann named NL Player of the Week)

A storybook ending to the regular season (Zimmermann named NL Player of the Week)
A no-hitter is thrown by the pitcher, so he gets most of the attention for his well-deserved accomplishment. Jordan Zimmermann's name is plastered everywhere across the sports landscape today - newspapers, Web sites, national highlight shows. The right-hander pitched a gem yesterday, recorded the first no-hitter in Nationals history, and did it in grand fashion, on the final day of the regular season. But everyone on the Nationals' roster got to experience the joy of Zimmermann's no-hitter...

Williams, Ramos, Souza react to Zimmermann's no-hitter

Williams, Ramos, Souza react to Zimmermann's no-hitter
The regular season finale belonged to Jordan Zimmermann. A day that was supposed to be about getting the Nationals' regulars a couple of at-bats and then making sure they finished the season healthy suddenly turned into a, 'There's no way he could actually do this, right?' afternoon for a starting pitcher who hadn't appeared in a game in eight days and had been drilled on the right shoulder by a line drive in his last start. Zimmermann cut through the Marlins' lineup in a swift 121...

Hearing from Williams, Treinen and Souza after Nats' 3-1 loss

Hearing from Williams, Treinen and Souza after Nats' 3-1 loss
The Nationals fell short in their quest to sweep the Braves, but they do leave Atlanta with a National League East title in their hands. Washington finished the season series against Atlanta with an 8-11 record. Tonight, rookie pitcher Blake Treinen pitched five scoreless innings, but the Nats fell to the Braves 3-1. The lone Nats run came on Steven Souza Jr.'s first major league home run. Here's clubhouse reaction from manager Matt Williams, Treinen and Souza. Williams: On Treinen's...

Nats add six players to active roster

Nats add six players to active roster
LOS ANGELES - The Nationals added six additional players to their roster prior to tonight's game against the Dodgers. The club is taking advantage of Major League Baseball's Sept. 1 40-man roster expansion. The Nats will add right-handers Aaron Barrett and Blake Treinen as well as left-hander Xavier Cedeno to the bullpen. Additionally, catcher Sandy Leon, first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore and outfielder Steven Souza Jr. were added to the roster. Souza was activated from a rehab...

Nats recall Michael Taylor, place Souza on DL with left shoulder contusion

Nats recall Michael Taylor, place Souza on DL with left shoulder contusion
ATLANTA - Steven Souza Jr.'s collision with the Turner Field wall has landed him on the disabled list. The outfielder has been placed on the DL this afternoon with a left shoulder contusion. Michael Taylor has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Souza's place on the roster, marking his first stint in the big leagues. Souza tried to rob a home run Friday night but ran full-speed into the right field wall, his shoulder colliding with the wall. Souza fell to the ground in a heap. He...

Williams discusses Nats' thrilling 4-1, 11-inning win

Williams discusses Nats' thrilling 4-1, 11-inning win
ATLANTA - Are the Nationals and Braves capable of playing a normal, uneventful 5-2 ballgame? How about a quiet 3-1 contest? No? OK, then. The Nats and Braves waited out nearly a four-hour rain delay tonight and then battled for 11 innings before Washington was able to take a 4-1 win. Wilson Ramos' RBI single to center broke the 1-1 tie, and Kevin Frandsen then drove in two more with a double to right to break the game open in extras. Here's manager Matt Williams after the...

Williams on Roark, Werth and Souza (10:50 p.m. start time)

Williams on Roark, Werth and Souza (10:50 p.m. start time)
When Nationals manager Matt Williams wrote out the lineup card, he anticipated Jayson Werth could return to right field this evening, but that won't be the case. Werth was scratched from the Nats lineup with lingering soreness in his right shoulder and right ankle. Prior to being scratched, Williams said Werth was receiving treatment from the training staff. "When you get to this time of the season, you've got welts and scratches that can get kind of chronic if you allow it, so you've...

Trying to pull some positives from last night

Trying to pull some positives from last night
ATLANTA - Not only have the Nationals gone 0-4 at Turner Field this year and 4-10 in Atlanta dating back to the beginning of last season, but they always seem to come out of those games nursing a new batch of ailments. Last season, Stephen Strasburg twice came out of starts at Turner Field with injuries (forearm and oblique) and Bryce Harper injured his side trying to make a leaping catch at the right field wall. This year, Ryan Zimmerman broke his thumb in a game at Atlanta, Denard Span...

Souza diagnosed with shoulder inflammation

Souza diagnosed with shoulder inflammation
The Nationals' roster may have suffered another hit this evening in Atlanta. In the second inning, right fielder Steven Souza Jr., who was filling in for Jayson Werth, attempted to catch Freddie Freeman's two-run homer. Instead Souza slammed into the right field wall which is actually a chain link fence. Souza stayed in the game through the bottom of the inning, but was removed in the top of the third for Kevin Frandsen, due to shoulder inflammation. After the game manager Matt Williams...

Williams on Werth, Souza, the bullpen and more

Williams on Werth, Souza, the bullpen and more
Jayson Werth is noticeably absent from the lineup for tonight's series opener against the Braves. Over the last few days, Werth has been dealing with shoulder and ankle injuries, and Nationals manager Matt Williams wanted to give the veteran a night off. This comes one night after Werth played all 13 innings in the Nats' 5-3 win over the Mets. "He's pretty banged up. He's been dealing with the shoulder, the ankle," Williams told reporters prior to Friday's game in Atlanta. "Long...

Dave Nichols: Souza has taken an interesting path to the majors

Dave Nichols: Souza has taken an interesting path to the majors
The Nationals recalled Steven Souza Jr. from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday to replace Nate McLouth on the active roster, as the struggling veteran outfielder was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Souza's return to the bigs was met with giddy anticipation from a segment of the Nationals' fanbase that scours the minor leagues to boast about seeing the "next big thing" before they reach the big leagues. Souza has completely torn up the International League this...