Four Nats qualify for early arbitration as Super Two players

Four Nats qualify for early arbitration as Super Two players
Four Nationals players will qualify for salary arbitration this winter despite having yet to accrue three full years of major league service time because each has crossed the lower threshold used to designate each year's so-called Super Two players. MLBTradeRumors.com reported Saturday the cutoff for Super Two qualification this winter is 2 years, 116 days of service time. That means Ryne Harper (2 years, 135 days), Austin Voth (2 years, 127 days), Tanner Rainey (2 years, 127 days) and Andrew...

What kind of payroll is reasonable to expect from Nats next year?

What kind of payroll is reasonable to expect from Nats next year?
The Nationals' lengthy run as one of baseball's most consistently successful franchises coincided with ownership's willingness to spend like one of the sport's richest franchises. In each of the last nine seasons, dating back to 2013, the Nats had one of the majors' 10 highest payrolls. They peaked, appropriately, in 2019, spending more than $205 million on players' salaries en route to their first World Series championship. And while the final tally has fluctuated a bit year to year, it...

Can Voth still develop into reliable reliever for Nats?

Can Voth still develop into reliable reliever for Nats?
PLAYER REVIEW: AUSTIN VOTH Age on opening day 2022: 29 How acquired: Fifth-round pick, 2013 draft MLB service time: 2 years, 127 days 2021 salary: $587,700 Contract status: Likely arbitration-eligible in 2022, free agent in 2026 2021 stats: 4-1, 5.34 ERA, 49 G, 1 GS, 0 CG, 57 1/3 IP, 57 H, 35 R, 34 ER, 10 HR, 28 BB, 59 SO, 1 HBP, 1.483 WHIP, 76 ERA+, 4.90 FIP, minus-0.1 fWAR, minus-0.4 bWAR Quotable: "My nose is still straight. I'm still pretty good looking, I feel like." - Austin Voth,...

Gray battered early, bullpen blasted late in 13-6 loss (updated)

Gray battered early, bullpen blasted late in 13-6 loss (updated)
On a day in which they watched their brightest young starting pitcher get beat around for the second time in a week, the Nationals yet again found a way to overcome an early deficit and make the Mets sweat. And they yet again found a way to turn a potentially inspiring comeback into a calamitous, late-inning meltdown that made it all moot. At some point, this young team needs to show it has the ability to finish what it starts. Comebacks are nice, but curly W's are better. So it was that in...

Nats rally in ninth, but fall 6-2 in 10 innings (updated)

Nats rally in ninth, but fall 6-2 in 10 innings (updated)
A last-of-the-ninth rally nearly made up for eight innings of Nationals offensive struggles, but an out-of-contention club playing only for pride (and to stay in fourth place in the National League East) opened a five-game holiday weekend series with another loss. The Mets tallied four times in the 10th inning off Austin Voth for a 6-2 victory that extended Washington's losing streak to six games. "The guys are competing," manager Davey Martinez said in his postgame Zoom session with the...

With flurry of walks, Nats hand series finale to Brewers (updated)

With flurry of walks, Nats hand series finale to Brewers (updated)
An inexperienced pitching staff is going to make mistakes. Davey Martinez understands and accepts that. What the Nationals manager has a harder time accepting is a pitching staff that is killing itself not by getting hit by more accomplished hitters, but by handing them free bases over and over and over. It happened during Saturday's loss in Milwaukee, and it happened in even more mind-numbing fashion during today's 7-3 loss to the Brewers. Five Nationals pitchers combined to issue 11 walks...

Voth, McGowin rejoin bullpen; Guerra, Stevenson off roster

Voth, McGowin rejoin bullpen; Guerra, Stevenson off roster
An ever-changing Nationals bullpen saw the return of two familiar right-handers today, with both Austin Voth and Kyle McGowin activated off the injured list. And an ever-changing Nats roster saw the departures of two familiar faces as a result, with Javy Guerra designated for assignment while Andrew Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. The transactions, announced about 90 minutes before today's series finale in Milwaukee, give the Nationals a couple of moderately experienced arms, in...

Full coaching staff set to return at last tonight in New York

Full coaching staff set to return at last tonight in New York
As much as the Nationals roster has undergone massive changes in the last two weeks, let's not forget what happened to manager Davey Martinez's coaching staff as well. Just one day before the frenzied 36-hour stretch that saw eight veteran players traded away for 12 prospects, the Nats learned five of their big league coaches, plus four other staff members, had tested positive for COVID-19. With pitching coach Jim Hickey, bench coach Tim Bogar, first base coach Randy Knorr, third base coach...

Coaching staff remains out, Escobar returns to lineup

Coaching staff remains out, Escobar returns to lineup
One week after learning they had tested positive for COVID-19, two remaining Nationals players, five coaches and four other staffers still have not been cleared to rejoin the club. Manager Davey Martinez said the affected personnel are anxious to get back to work but are forced to remain away from the team until getting the green light from officials. "Not yet. Nothing," Martinez said during his Zoom session with reporters prior to tonight's game against the Phillies. "We're still waiting...

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...

Bullpen blowup follows Schwarber injury in painful loss (updated)

Bullpen blowup follows Schwarber injury in painful loss (updated)
Max Scherzer walked off the mound after a scoreless top of the sixth, his pitch count an even 100, his Nationals holding a two-run lead on a night they were again missing Trea Turner, out with a finger injury, and then lost Kyle Schwarber to an apparent hamstring injury. Upon reaching the dugout steps, he engaged in a brief conversation with Davey Martinez. A series of high-fives and fist bumps then commenced from the rest of the roster and coaching staff to the 36-year-old ace. He did not put...

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...

Reinstated and ready to pitch, Voth can make light of broken nose

Reinstated and ready to pitch, Voth can make light of broken nose
It might not always show, but Austin Voth is a down-to-Earth guy. It's especially hard to notice when the majority of his meetings with the media over the past year and a half have been over Zoom conference calls. It's always hard to get a read on someone's personality through a computer screen. Not to mention, how often do we get to interact with a fringe starting pitcher turned long-relief arm out of the bullpen, nonetheless in person? Usually, not that often. But that situation presented...

Castro easing back in from restricted list, plus injury updates

Castro easing back in from restricted list, plus injury updates
The Nationals started the weekend by making a flurry of roster moves ahead of their four-game series against the Mets on Friday. Manager Davey Martinez clarified the statuses of some players while providing other updates on some injured high-profile starting pitchers before tonight's opener. First, the roster moves: * Starlin Castro was returned from the restricted list* Austin Voth was reinstated from the 10-day injured list* Andrew Stevenson was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June...

Game 66 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Castro returns)

Game 66 lineups: Nats vs. Mets (Castro returns)
It's hard to make too much of a weekend series against a division rival in the middle of June. But considering the circumstances surrounding this four-game series against the Mets over the next three days, you have to put some level of importance on it if you're the Nationals. Coming off a sweep of the Pirates, riding a four-game winning streak and having won six of their last eight games, the Nationals should feel confident facing the division-leading Mets this weekend. They also have a...

Scherzer hopes to avoid IL, but admits it may be needed

Scherzer hopes to avoid IL, but admits it may be needed
Max Scherzer hopes to make his next scheduled start, but the Nationals ace admitted today he'll need to be able to complete a bullpen session Monday without being too restricted by his tweaked groin muscle in order to avoid a short stint on the injured list. "That I can definitely say: I have to be able to throw a bullpen tomorrow if I'm going to make the start," Scherzer said in a brief on-field interview shortly after he played catch prior to today's series finale against the Giants....

Fedde will rejoin rotation for Saturday twinbill

Fedde will rejoin rotation for Saturday twinbill
Rain continues to fall steadily at Nationals Park, the tarp is on the field and some players are running or throwing in the outfield. The Nationals are in firmly in pregame mode, even as manager Davey Martinez simultaneously plans for a single game tonight, a split doubleheader tomorrow and the possibility of back-to-back twinbills should tonight's scheduled contest be rained out. "We're preparing to play (tonight), obviously, but we haven't heard anything," Martinez said during his...

Voth out "for some time" after surgery to repair nose

Voth out "for some time" after surgery to repair nose
Austin Voth is recovering from surgery to repair multiple fractures in his nose, and though the Nationals right-hander is feeling fine after getting hit by a fastball during Sunday's game in Philadelphia, he will need some time to heal before returning to pitch. In addition to needing to have his nose reset in multiple places during Monday's surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Voth's left eye is swollen shut. He posted a message to his Instagram account thanking...

Voth hit in face during disastrous series finale (updated)

Voth hit in face during disastrous series finale (updated)
There were events out of their control, from their starter for this bullpen game, Austin Voth, taking a fastball to his face in the top of the third to a string of poorly struck balls by the Phillies that somehow didn't become outs to a 20-minute delay in the top of the eighth after the backstop netting at Citizens Bank Park collapsed. (Yes, that last event actually happened.) But there were so many things the Nationals could've done better today to make this game far more competitive than it...