Minor league schedules announced by Major League Baseball
Minor league schedules announced by Major League Baseball
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
Major League Baseball this morning announced the schedules for the 2021 Minor League Baseball season, the final step in a year's worth of tinkering that saw MLB assume operations for all of its clubs' farm teams. The Rochester Red Wings, the Nationals' new Triple-A affiliate, will begin play on Tuesday, April 6 at Buffalo, the first of six straight road games against the Bisons. Rochester opens its home campaign at Frontier Field on Tuesday, April 13 with the first of six consecutive home...
Strasburg back to normal, but Scherzer has sprained ankle
Strasburg back to normal, but Scherzer has sprained ankle
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
The Nationals ace everyone's been waiting to hear about is fully healthy and throwing in the early days of spring training. The one nobody had been asking about, however, is currently being held back after suffering a minor injury before camp officially began. While Stephen Strasburg has fully recovered from last summer's right wrist surgery and is fully participating at workouts, Max Scherzer is not throwing for now after spraining his left ankle two weeks ago. According to manager Davey...
Hernández on signing with Orioles, health and more
Hernández on signing with Orioles, health and more
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The reasons are simple. Why Félix Hernández signed a minor league deal with the Orioles and why he wants to keep pitching after 15 seasons in the majors. Short answers from a man with a lengthy baseball resume. The six-time All-Star and former Cy Young Award winner with the Mariners said today that opportunity led him to the Orioles, who will pay $1 million if he's on the club. And his latest attempt to earn a rotation spot after sitting out the 2020 season due to health concerns is...
What to expect as Nationals go to work in West Palm Beach
What to expect as Nationals go to work in West Palm Beach
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
The day has arrived. This morning in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nationals pitchers and catchers will take the fields outside The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches as a group and conduct their first official workout of 2021. It's quite all right if you need a moment here to compose yourself, wipe a tear from your eye or just take a few seconds to enjoy the meaning of all this. If it feels like a long time coming, it is. And it's not just that the 2020 season ended 3 1/2 months ago. It's how little...
Pondering innings limits and a few other topics
Pondering innings limits and a few other topics
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, his pitching coaches Chris Holt and Darren Holmes and the club's front office, among others, have to ponder something important about pitchers for the coming season: How do they get from here to there? In this case, the here is the innings load that pitchers were given in a shortened 60-game 2020 season, and the there is how it will work out now with 162 games facing the club. Last year Alex Cobb led O's pitchers with 52 1/3 innings and John Means was second with...
Nationals announce 2021 non-roster invites
Nationals announce 2021 non-roster invites
Doug Miller
Nationals
The Washington Nationals announced their 32 non-roster invites for 2021 Spring Training on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. RHP LHP C INF OF Aaron Barrett Luis Avilán Welington Castillo Jackson Cluff (L) Gerardo Parra (L) Bryan Bonnell Tim Cate Israel Pineda Drew Mendoza (L) Carlos Tocci Cade Cavalli Matt Cronin Jakson Reetz Jordy Mercer Yasmany...
Nats invite 71 total players to big league camp
Nats invite 71 total players to big league camp
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
The Nationals have invited 32 players on minor league contracts to spring training, bringing their total big league camp roster to a whopping 71. The extensive list of non-roster invitees includes several well-known veterans with prior experience either with the Nationals (Gerardo Parra, Javy Guerra, Aaron Barrett, Adrián Sanchez) or other clubs (Luis Avilán, T.J. McFarland, Welington Castillo, Jordy Mercer, Hernán Pérez, Blake Swihart, Yasmany Tomás). It also includes several of...
This, that and the other
This, that and the other
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The atmosphere at the Ed Smith Stadium complex would seem a lot stranger if the Orioles hadn't experienced the weirdness of a 2020 regular season. The separation and staggered arrivals became the norm. Getting back together has been celebrated - at the appropriate social distancing. "It's fun to get started again in spring training, Day One, pitchers and catchers," manager Brandon Hyde said during yesterday's Zoom conference call with the media. "We had a great day and looking forward to...
Harvey deal official, Hyde on having veterans in camp
Harvey deal official, Hyde on having veterans in camp
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Veteran pitcher Matt Harvey was still in the process of undergoing his physical this morning while Orioles pitchers and catchers took the field at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. It's now official. Harvey will report to camp and increase its total to 73 players, two short of the limit. Harvey agreed to terms over the weekend and will earn $1 million if he's on the club. Manager Brandon Hyde said the rest of the pitchers and catchers are in camp. The gathering in misty Sarasota included veterans...
Means ready to add leadership to his duties in 2021
Means ready to add leadership to his duties in 2021
Steve Melewski
Orioles
He will turn 28 in April and is a veteran of just 202 big league innings. But in leading an Orioles rotation that could feature two rookies at the start - and more joining the fun late - left-hander John Means is likely to add leadership to his roles during the 2021 season. "It's crazy, the fact that I have two years of service time and I'm stepping into a leadership role," he said during a Zoom interview this afternoon. "But that's the way this team works and that's the way it needs to...