We begin today a periodic look at the state of the Nationals roster at the point spring training was suspended and project how things may look whenever baseball is played again. Up first is the infield ... No aspect of the Nationals roster underwent as much change last winter as the infield. There was only one major departure (Anthony Rendon) but Matt Adams and Brian Dozier also left as free agents, leaving general manager Mike Rizzo with a couple of different paths in an attempt to make up for...

Had the baseball season started on time, or whenever it does begin in the minor leagues, the Orioles are excited to see several first-year pro coaches at work. There is a heavy flavor of youth, especially among the organization's hitting coaches. Among the new hitting coaches on the farm as of 2020 are Tim Gibbons at Double-A Bowie, Ryan Fuller at Single-A Delmarva, Anthony Villar at short-season Single-A Aberdeen and Patrick Jones with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles. Tom Eller is...

This extended break is offering us a chance to write some stories we wouldn't normally write and to take a few trips down memory lane. So here's a trip back in time for you that includes an epic behind-the-scenes story from the postgame clubhouse. Maybe this will be the first of several such stories that can be shared with you until we have real baseball again. The date is July 15, 2005. The Nationals are in Milwaukee, facing the Brewers in front of a packed Friday night house at Miller Park....

So the question has now been asked countless times: Does the shutdown of baseball hurt a rebuilding team like the Orioles? An obvious answer is yes, because young players, especially those in the minors, are not getting at-bats or innings right now. They're not working with coaches and gaining information from data and analytics. They are not competing against an opponent and learning how doing the small things right can lead to big wins and big personal gains. The good news is that no team is...

It is fun to look back at great games in Nationals history, especially Max Scherzer's no-hitters of 2015, his first season with the Nats. The first no-no was June 20 against the Pirates and the second one that season occurred Oct. 3. "Nationals Classics" this weekend on MASN include Jayson Werth's grand slam in a win over Miami on April 9, 2014 (tonight, 9 p.m.), the April 30, 2017 win over the Mets in which Anthony Rendon crushed three homers and had 10 RBIs in a 23-5 runaway (Sunday,...

We don't know for sure, since there were no radar guns at the time, but those that saw lefty Steve Dalkowski pitch have said he threw his fastball well over 100 mph. Maybe 110 mph, maybe even 115 mph. Not kidding. His fastball was legendary. But so was his walk total. Dalkowski, once an Orioles farmhand, died recently at 80. Sadly, he died due to the coronavirus. As a kid, I heard about and read a bit about Dalkowski. He was an O's legend of sorts. One who never threw a pitch in the majors....

In addition to paying all full-time employees' salaries through at least the end of May, the Nationals have not yet discussed asking for the organization's highest-paid employees to reduce their salaries while baseball is shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. General manager Mike Rizzo, during his regular conference call with reporters today, confirmed the Lerner family's recent commitment to pay all full-time employees full salary and benefits through May, following a trend established...

The Major League Baseball season has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. So has the First-Year Player Draft, which has been pushed back from early June to at least sometime in July. It has been reported the event also will be cut to anywhere between five and 10 rounds, with the possibility of deferring signing bonuses into the 2022 season. But that doesn't mean the Nationals have stopped scouting, analyzing players or preparing for the draft. In his weekly conference...

At the risk of rubbing salt into an open wound caused by the sports shutdown, the Orioles are supposed to be playing the Royals tonight to begin a four-game series at Camden Yards. I would have spent the following weekend in Chicago for the three-game set against the White Sox, as the season rolled merrily along. A year ago today, the Orioles were in the middle of a series against the Twins in Minnesota that treated them with concrete gloves. No kidding. The Orioles were swept by a combined...

Wade LeBlanc expected to be pitching for a new team this season rather than becoming a stay-at-home dad. He was waiting to be placed on the 40-man roster, bypassing the opt-out date last month in his contract. But he retains status as an invitee to spring training despite the camp's closure and a sports shutdown with no known date to reopen. I've found it interesting how players are maintaining their focus on the season, with the Orioles keeping everyone connected and dispensing information...