Nationals face tender decisions with nine players today

Nationals face tender decisions with nine players today
After a frantic Monday that saw a handful of clubs handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to free agents like candy, every major league club now faces a busy Tuesday deciding whether or not to retain a bunch of its own players. By 8 p.m. today, teams must tender contracts to all arbitration-eligible players. Those who don't receive offers are non-tendered and immediately become free agents. So while the Nationals have been awfully quiet on the transaction front so far this winter, they...

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...

Have Nats reached a crossroads with erratic Fedde?

Have Nats reached a crossroads with erratic Fedde?
PLAYER REVIEW: ERICK FEDDE Age on opening day 2022: 29 How acquired: First-round pick, 2014 draft MLB service time: 3 years, 99 days 2021 salary: $575,000 Contract status: Arbitration-eligible in 2022, free agent in 2025 2021 stats: 7-9, 5.47 ERA, 29 G, 27 GS, 0 CG, 133 1/3 IP, 144 H, 90 R, 81 ER, 23 HR, 48 BB, 128 SO, 4 HBP, 1.440 WHIP, 74 ERA+, 4.66 FIP, 1.2 fWAR, minus-1.0 bWAR Quotable: "Especially the last three or four starts, I thought my stuff has been great. And then I just haven't...

Nats must start turning draft picks into quality big leaguers

Nats must start turning draft picks into quality big leaguers
At the crux of the Nationals' decision to trade away eight veterans and begin a franchise rebuilding project this summer was an acknowledgment by the front office that its farm system desperately needed to be restocked. Had their system been filled with more prospects who could step in and take over when veterans either got hurt or saw their skills fade, the Nats might well have stayed the course and made an attempt to continue winning now instead of shifting focus to the future. But that...

Nats fall to Rockies in rain-delayed marathon road finale (updated)

Nats fall to Rockies in rain-delayed marathon road finale (updated)
They played two-plus innings in a little more than an hour before the heavy rain arrived in Colorado, then waited through a two-hour delay before taking the field again. They then played 6 1/2 more innings across nearly three more hours, each team using up most of its expanded bullpen, all in a vain attempt simply to complete this 159th game of a season that long ago was lost by both participants. And when it finally ended, when the Nationals lost 10-5 some 5 hours and 57 minutes after Rockies...

Corbin won't pitch again in 2021, Sunday starter TBD

Corbin won't pitch again in 2021, Sunday starter TBD
Turns out Patrick Corbin's start Tuesday night in Colorado was his final outing of the season. Nationals manager Davey Martinez met with the left-hander this morning and emerged with the decision not to send him back to the mound for one final start in Sunday's season finale against the Red Sox, for both physical and emotional reasons. "You saw Patrick make his last start yesterday," Martinez said in his Zoom session with reporters prior to today's game against the Rockies. "He's got a...

Ruiz's tools on display in 7-6 loss to Reds (updated)

Ruiz's tools on display in 7-6 loss to Reds (updated)
Keibert Ruiz joined the Nationals at the trade deadline as a prospect with a reputation for being undeniably toolsy. His offense took a while to get going, but both his bat and his defense were on full display Saturday night in a 7-6 loss to the Reds. Ruiz threw out two runners on the bases, one of which took the Reds out of a bigger inning, and his one-out solo homer in the seventh snapped a 5-all standoff. It was the second night in a row that Ruiz went deep, and the rookie backstop is now...

Game 155 lineups: Nats at Reds

Game 155 lineups: Nats at Reds
October is a week away and right-hander Erick Fedde (7-8, 4.66 ERA) is still searching for consistency. Though he's won three out of four decisions since Aug. 17, he's got a 5.05 ERA over that span, allowing opponents to slash .274/.308/.527. But his strikeouts have ticked up: 42 over his past 35 2/3 innings. Fedde is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two career starts against the Reds, who are trying to remain relevant in the National League wild card race. In one lifetime start at Great American Ball...

Late mistakes cost Nationals in 10-inning loss (updated)

Late mistakes cost Nationals in 10-inning loss (updated)
There is little sense at this point judging a Nationals-Marlins game on the performance of the two clubs after five or six innings. As much as they've faced each other in the last month, everyone should understand by now every game is going to be decided late, either by the bullpens or by some other manner of back-and-forth chaos. So it was again tonight in Miami, where the two teams at the bottom of the National League East standings engaged in another high-scoring affair that went right down...

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins

Game 150 lineups: Nats at Marlins
If you feel like you've seen the Nationals and Marlins play each other enough already this season, well, join the club. Alas, there are three games remaining on the head-to-head schedule between these two division foes and those will be taking place over the next three nights. When they wrap things up Wednesday night, the Nats will have faced the Marlins 19 times for the season, but nine times over the previous month. That's a lot. And the result of this series in Miami could go a long way...

Once a pitching-rich club, Nats have lost their way

Once a pitching-rich club, Nats have lost their way
In a summer full of agonizing losses, Wednesday's 8-6 defeat at the hands of the Marlins had to rank among the Nationals' worst. Not just because of the end result, but because of the path they took to reach that result. After getting five scoreless innings from starter Josh Rogers, and after getting a well-balanced offensive attack from a lineup that has been better than advertised since the trade deadline, the Nats still found a way to lose after their bullpen imploded. Five relievers...

Zimmerman's blast sets tone in Nats' lopsided win (updated)

Zimmerman's blast sets tone in Nats' lopsided win (updated)
Nobody in a Nationals uniform gets a bigger ovation when he steps to the plate these days than Ryan Zimmerman. He's far from the team's best player at this point, but with only three home series remaining on the 2021 schedule, everyone in attendance is well aware there are only so many more guaranteed Zimmerman plate appearances to witness. The original face of the franchise has not yet offered any clues about his intentions beyond this season, though he suggested tonight he probably won't...

Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins

Game 145 lineups: Nats vs. Marlins
The Nationals avoided the ignominy of being no-hit for the first time Monday night, but let's be honest: Even if it happened, it would've come against a worthy foe in Sandy Alcantara, an All-Star who was in peak form in the series opener. Tonight, they face a highly touted, but far less accomplished opponent in Jesús Luzardo. Yes, the same Luzardo the Nationals drafted and then traded to the Athletics in the Sean Doolittle/Ryan Madson deal. The same Luzardo who was traded to Miami this...

Nats battle Braves one final time before falling in 10th (updated)

Nats battle Braves one final time before falling in 10th (updated)
If the final month of this lost season is about giving young players a chance to grow and establish their place within the Nationals' plans in 2022 and beyond, tonight's 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves provided no shortage of evidence for several potential building blocks on the roster. In both positive and negative ways. The positives: Carter Kieboom and Lane Thomas delivered clutch hits in the late innings. Luis García produced a highlight-reel sequence at the plate and in the field in...

Game 140 lineups: Nats at Braves

Game 140 lineups: Nats at Braves
The Nationals gutted out a 4-2 victory Wednesday night in Atlanta, thanks to 8 2/3 innings from six relievers who were thrust into overtime duties after Sean Nolin was ejected eight pitches in for throwing at Freddie Freeman. Where does that leave them for tonight's series finale at Truist Park? Well, first and foremost, they need innings from Erick Fedde. That's a big ask for a guy who needed 80 pitches just to get through three innings against the Mets last weekend. Not to mention a big ask...

Nats rally from 9-0 hole, fall 11-9 to Mets in extras (updated)

Nats rally from 9-0 hole, fall 11-9 to Mets in extras (updated)
Erick Fedde is still searching for consistency and the Nationals continue to seek an elusive victory. Francisco Lindor led off the ninth inning with a moonshot two-run homer off Kyle Finnegan and the Mets, who blew a 9-0 lead and allowed the Nats to tie the game on Andrew Stevenson's two-run homer in the seventh, outlasted the Nats 11-9 in nine innings in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Lindor connected on a 97 mph Finnegan sinker, completing a four-RBI day with a...

Game 134 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Game 134 lineups: Nats vs. Mets
If the Nationals are going to halt their six-game skid, they're going to need a decent start from right-hander Erick Fedde (6-9, 5.08 ERA), who goes in the seven-inning opener of a doubleheader this afternoon. Though he's coming off a loss to the Mets on Sunday at Citi FIeld, Fedde has won two of his last three outings after a stretch that saw him drop four consecutive decisions. In his 9-4 loss to the Mets in his last start, Fedde allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits over 5 1/3...

Made-over Nats eager for arrival of yet another acquisition

Made-over Nats eager for arrival of yet another acquisition
When Keibert Ruiz joins the Nationals later today, he'll need to work the clubhouse like a D.C. politician, introducing himself to teammates who have only heard second-hand of his exploits and connecting with pitchers of all experience levels eager to forge a relationship with their new batterymate. There's not a stack of "Hello, My Name Is" cards at the clubhouse entrance, but there could be. Ruiz will become the sixth new player added to the roster from outside the organization over the...

Nationals end road trip with a thud in 9-4 defeat (updated)

Nationals end road trip with a thud in 9-4 defeat (updated)
The Nationals ended a nine-game road trip with a thud Sunday afternoon, managing just one hit against a rookie pitcher and falling 9-4 to the New York Mets to finish their 11-day trek with a 3-6 record. Nationals starter Erick Fedde pitched in trouble for much of the afternoon, but much of the traffic was of his own making. He hit two batters, yielded a home run and balked home a run. Josh Bell homered twice and Juan Soto also went deep for the Nationals, Bell taking the team lead in the...

Game 129: Nats at Mets

Game 129: Nats at Mets
Erick Fedde (6-8, 4.91 ERA) has already set a career high in victories, innings pitched and strikeouts this season. Now he'll try to get a little closer to .500 and cement himself as a rotation piece for the Nationals next season. The right-hander has gone 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in his last three starts, winning his past two decisions after going 10 straight decisions without a victory. Fedde is still seeking his first career triumph over the Mets, after going 0-2 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.357 WHIP...