Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle's path toward the majors took another significant step forward yesterday. He joined pitchers Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer and outfielder Ryan McKenna as additions to the Orioles' 40-man roster Wednesday. The Orioles now have 39 players on that roster. Mountcastle was an easy addition after a season when he was named both International League Most Valuable Player and the Orioles' Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year. The 36th overall pick in the...

The Orioles are protecting four prospects by placing them on the 40-man roster today prior to the Rule 5 draft that's held this year on Dec. 12 in San Diego. The roster grew to 39 players with the additions of infielder/outfielder Ryan Mountcastle, pitchers Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer, and outfielder Ryan McKenna. The Orioles selected the Mountcastle, Akin and Kremer contracts from Triple-A Norfolk and the McKenna contract from Double-A Bowie. Notable omissions include pitchers Cody Sedlock, a...

The Nationals have added Ben Braymer to their 40-man roster, protecting the minor league left-hander from being swooped up by another club in next month's Rule 5 draft. Facing an 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline to add prospects to their 40-man roster, the Nats so far have only announced the selection of Braymer, who went 4-10 with a 4.53 ERA in 26 starts between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Fresno this season. Braymer, 25, was an 18th round draft pick in 2016 who was named the organization's...

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Ben Braymer on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Braymer, 25, led Washington's Minor League system with 26 starts, ranked third with 139.0 innings pitched and sixth with 116 strikeouts in his fourth professional season in 2019. Between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Fresno, he went 4-10 with a 4.53 ERA. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander started the...

The Washington Nationals Foundation has launched a donation match of $150,000 to local nonprofits for Giving Tuesday, celebrated on Tuesday, December 3. During the World Series, the Nationals Foundation experienced record-setting ticket sales for the 50/50 raffle at home games at Nationals Park, with a combined total jackpot of $300,000. The Nationals Foundation will now use their half of that jackpot to match fans who donate through nationals.com/GivingTuesday. The Foundation will grant up to...

Baby Shark is swimming across the Pacific to begin a new chapter in his career. Gerardo Parra, who surprisingly became a major contributor to the Nationals' World Series title on and off the field, signed overnight with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Central League, dashing any hope the popular outfielder would return to Washington for another season. Parra agreed to a deal that includes a $2 million guaranteed salary, plus $500,000 in bonuses and a $3 million vesting option for 2021,...

In part two of our discussion, Nationals right-handed reliever Jacob Condra-Bogan said he is working on pitches besides his fastball, including the slider and the changeup. "My changeup is probably my best secondary pitch," he said. "It's good, late tumble, low-spin-rate type pitch that moves a lot. I just don't throw it a lot, but when I do throw I think it's a very good pitch." Condra-Bogan said he also throws a slider/curveball that is starting to gain some traction and...

Nothing that the Orioles are doing as you read this first sentence is geared toward making a significant jump in wins in 2020. It's building up various departments in the organization, especially in scouting, analytics and internationally. It's a restructuring that reaches every level, with recent dismissals or reassignments in ballpark operations, sales and community relations. It's creating new positions such as director of baseball development, with an industry source confirming yesterday...

As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Gerardo Parra, whose mid-May acquisition didn't seem significant at the time but proved to be among the most important developments of the season. PLAYER REVIEW: GERARDO PARRA Age on opening day 2020: 32 How acquired: Signed as free agent, May 2019 MLB service time: 10 years, 145 days 2019 salary: $555,000 (Nats were responsible for $429,677) Contract...

We will see a few rule changes in Major League Baseball in 2020. One involves relief pitchers. A pitcher that enters the game must stay in to face three batters or until the end of the inning. There will be a provision for an injury that could keep the pitcher from facing three hitters or getting to the end of the inning. So will this rule change much about how pitchers are used? Will it speed up the game? Is it even a good move? This rule certainly will put an end to the one-batter pitchers, a...