After solid 2020 season, Cedric Mullins is looking for a repeat
After solid 2020 season, Cedric Mullins is looking for a repeat
Steve Melewski
Orioles
For Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, a 2020 season that began with him going 1-for-13 and getting optioned to the alternate site ended with him re-establishing his career while leading the majors in bunt hits. The .077 batting start reminded us of his .094 start to the 2019 year. That led to his demotion all the way down to Double-A Bowie, and Mullins ended that season playing in the Eastern League playoffs. But that was also the beginning of his road back. In 48 games last summer he hit...
Nationals announce 2021 spring training radio broadcast schedule
Nationals announce 2021 spring training radio broadcast schedule
Doug Miller
Nationals
This year, fans will be able to listen to a record number of Nationals Spring Training games. The flagship station of the Washington Nationals, 106.7 The Fan (WJFK-FM) in Washington D.C., and The Team 980 (WTEM-AM) will broadcast a total of eight Nationals Spring Training matchups. For the first time, the Nationals are also pleased to offer seven Spring Training games streamed through Nationals.com. Please see the full radio broadcast schedule below (all programming is subject to change). In...
Kieboom tries to block out the noise and trust himself
Kieboom tries to block out the noise and trust himself
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Carter Kieboom has heard all your theories. That he wasn't aggressive enough at the plate. That he was hampered by an injury. That he couldn't handle the pressure of replacing Anthony Rendon at third base. And he heard all the chatter this winter about his future with the Nationals. That the club was going to trade for a new third baseman, either Kris Bryant or maybe Eugenio Suárez. Or sign a free agent who would bump him out of the lineup, like Justin Turner or DJ LeMahieu. Here, though,...
Hyde remains confident in Sulser, plus other notes
Hyde remains confident in Sulser, plus other notes
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Right-hander reliever Cole Sulser's first season with the Orioles started off pretty well, but it didn't end up that way. He went 1-5 with a 5.56 ERA and with 17 walks and 19 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old Sulser went 1-2 with five saves, a 3.46 ERA and a .116 (5-for-43) opponent's batting average in his first 10 outings. But he finished 0-3 with an 8.38 ERA and a .316 (12-for-38) opponent's batting average in his last nine outings. In this entry from last month, Sulser...
Leftovers for breakfast
Leftovers for breakfast
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Making it through spring training healthy is a priority for the Orioles, but so is keeping players away from the injured list through the regular season. Breaking camp with them is important. So is avoiding shutdowns and extended absences later. Reliever Hunter Harvey talks about it every spring. Outfielder Anthony Santander came to the Orioles as a Rule 5 pick recovering from shoulder surgery and his last two seasons have been cut short, most recently due to the oblique strain in September...
Notes on Scherzer, Jeffress, live BP and exhibition games
Notes on Scherzer, Jeffress, live BP and exhibition games
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
For the first time this spring, all 72 players in the Nationals' big league camp were on the field and participating today. On the second day of full-squad workouts, the only two pitchers who had yet to participate (Javy Guerra and Jeremy Jeffress) were cleared to join their teammates. Guerra, who had been in Arizona with his wife as she gave birth in recent days, arrived in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday and on Tuesday cleared his mandatory intake testing. Jeffress, meanwhile, passed his...
Jones on trade to Orioles and decision to play baseball
Jones on trade to Orioles and decision to play baseball
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Jahmai Jones is getting most of his reps in Orioles camp at second base, with the occasional shifts coming to the outfield. Jones, the former second-round draft pick acquired from the Angels in the Alex Cobb trade, brings a healthy level of experience at both positions and doesn't care where he settles. He isn't worried about the possibility of wearing a utility label. Being a major leaguer is the identity that he craves. And like everything else in today's Zoom conference call, he can...
What does Ryan Mountcastle have coming as a follow-up act?
What does Ryan Mountcastle have coming as a follow-up act?
Steve Melewski
Orioles
When your debut season went as well as it did last summer for Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle, the encore can be challenging. "I think year two is always difficult," manager Brandon Hyde said today via Zoom of the challenges facing Mountcastle in 2021. "When you get to the big leagues, there is not a whole lot of major league data on you. But now that Ryan got some at-bats, teams are going to dissect how to try and get him out from the previous year. Year two is about making adjustments...
How will the Turner-Soto Era of Nationals baseball be defined?
How will the Turner-Soto Era of Nationals baseball be defined?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
The Nationals, like every franchise, have been through multiple eras over the years. Break down their 17 seasons in the District into smaller chunks, and you can rattle off each of those eras with only a handful of names. The Frank Robinson Era. The Ryan Zimmerman Era. The Adam Dunn Era. The Stephen Strasburg-Jordan Zimmermann Era. The Bryce Harper-Jayson Werth Era. The Max Scherzer-Strasburg-Anthony Rendon Championship Club. And now, the Trea Turner-Juan Soto Era. Make no mistake, that's the...
Digging deeper into Matt Harvey's offseason transformation
Digging deeper into Matt Harvey's offseason transformation
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The initial attempts to fix Matt Harvey couldn't begin until the people running the facility in Pleasantville, N.J., trusted that he was willing to surrender to their methods. To the technology that he hadn't been exposed to and didn't really need in his dominant years. Ed Charlton and Mike Adams, co-owners of Baseball Performance Center, didn't need much convincing. Any doubts about Harvey's commitment evaporated in one brief exchange. "He came in and we didn't really know what to...