Nationals agree to terms with first baseman Ryan Zimmerman
Nationals agree to terms with first baseman Ryan Zimmerman
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Zimmerman, 36, has spent his entire 15-year Major League career with the Washington Nationals. Entering the 2021 season, he stands as the all-time Nationals (2005-pres.) leader in nearly every offensive category. In 1,689 career games, he's hit .279 with 401 doubles, 22 triples, 270 home...
Davey Johnson back home after hospital stint with COVID-19
Davey Johnson back home after hospital stint with COVID-19
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Former Nationals manager Davey Johnson was hospitalized this week with COVID-19 but was back at his Florida home resting comfortably Friday evening, according to a message from his wife to the Mets' longtime public relations director. Word of Johnson's illness first became public Friday afternoon when Ken Davidoff of the New York Post sent him a text message seeking his thoughts on Hank Aaron following the Hall of Famer's death. Johnson, 77, replied to Davidoff: "Loved him. Can't talk, in...
Sanders talks about Diaz, McKenna and Mountcastle
Sanders talks about Diaz, McKenna and Mountcastle
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles are counting on Yusniel Diaz, one of their top position prospects, to make his major league debut during the summer of 2021. A promotion that was put on hold due to COVID-19. Diaz will be in camp whenever position players are cleared to report. Published dates are written in hopeful strokes. First base coach Anthony Sanders doubles as the Orioles' outfield instructor and he had an opportunity to work with Diaz earlier this month at the three-day minicamp in Sarasota, Fla. "He...
Upon Hank Aaron's passing, the tributes poured in
Upon Hank Aaron's passing, the tributes poured in
Steve Melewski
Orioles
He was an All-Star player and person, and when Hank Aaron died Friday, the tributes poured in. And poured in and poured in. They talked with great reverence about him yesterday, but also many days before that as well. "As far as I am concerned, Hank Aaron is the best ballplayer of my era," Mickey Mantle once said. "The only man I idolized more than myself," once said Muhammad Ali. "Hank Aaron is near the top of everyone's list of all-time great players," Major League Baseball...
Zimmerman will return to Nats for 2021 on one-year deal
Zimmerman will return to Nats for 2021 on one-year deal
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Ryan Zimmerman will indeed play at least one more season for the Nationals after sitting out 2020. Zimmerman, as anticipated all along, agreed to terms on a one-year deal today with the only franchise that has ever employed him. Once finalized it will include a $1 million base salary plus incentives, a source familiar with the contract said. Though he opted out of last season for family health concerns - his wife, Heather, gave birth to the couple's third child in June; and his mother, Cheryl,...
Young arms need to step up if Nats want better prospect ranking
Young arms need to step up if Nats want better prospect ranking
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Prospect rankings should always be taken with a grain of salt. And if there's anyone in baseball whose mouth is over-seasoned from lack of interest in prospect rankings, it's Mike Rizzo. The Nationals general manager doesn't care what any outside publication says about his farm system. He cares only about what he sees with his own eyes and what his scouts and coaches see with theirs. OK, there's your caveat to the news that comes next: The Nationals do not currently have any of baseball's...
Pineda gained valuable experience in Fredericksburg over summer
Pineda gained valuable experience in Fredericksburg over summer
Byron Kerr
Nationals
One of the well regarded backstops in the Nationals organization is Israel Pineda, ranked No. 12 on the Nats top 30 prospects list from MLBPipeline.com. Nationals catching coordinator Michael Barrett said the 20-year-old out of Maracray, Venezuela, gained valuable experience by getting a taste of working with big leaguers at the club's alternate site over the 2020 summer season. "Pineda had an opportunity to go to Fredericksburg, which was a great experience for him," Barrett said. "He kind...
Getting back on the spin rate train
Getting back on the spin rate train
Steve Melewski
Orioles
It's been about a week since I first wrote in this space about four-seam fastball spin rates. So today, I am jumping back on the spin rate train and presenting more data that is available to all from the baseballsavant.mlb.com website. Once again trying not to hurt myself, pull a hammie or break a hamate and/or injure myself in any way as I jump on the train. Too close to the start of a new season for any reporter setbacks. Today let's look at breaking pitches - sliders, curveballs and cut...
Unassuming shortstop Joey Ortiz fits right in with fellow 2019 draftees
Unassuming shortstop Joey Ortiz fits right in with fellow 2019 draftees
Paul Mancano
Orioles
A sizable contingent of Baltimore sports media descended upon Ripken Stadium on July 29, 2019 for Adley Rutschman's debut with the Aberdeen IronBirds. A crowd of 4,403, some already donning Rutschman jerseys, packed in to see the No. 1 overall pick play pro ball in the state of Maryland for the first time. Rutschman, who had recently recovered from a bout of mononucleosis, struggled. The 21-year-old went hitless in five plate appearances. Seven spots lower in the batting order, shortstop Joey...
What's still left on the Nationals' shopping list?
What's still left on the Nationals' shopping list?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
The Nationals have made three significant acquisitions so far this offseason, and they addressed unquestionably the club's three biggest needs. They needed a first baseman, and they got one in Josh Bell. They needed a corner outfielder, and they got one in Kyle Schwarber. And they needed a No. 4 starter, and they got one in Jon Lester. But that's not all the Nationals needed to do this winter to bolster their roster. They had a longer list of priorities, and though they've now crossed off...