WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It was posted on the Nationals’ official “X” account one week ago, Feb. 14. The caption read: “Jacob but he goes by Jacked ??” The accompanying photo showed Jacob Young in a batting cage, holding his bat behind his head as he looked at someone (A teammate? A coach?) behind and to the right of the camera, which was positioned

SARASOTA, Fla. – One more day of live and cage batting practices, bullpens and fielding drills before the Orioles play their first spring training game. Overreacting to workouts can be replaced by overreacting to exhibitions. The club seems to have avoided injuries in camp other than some knuckles bloodied from knocking on wood. Jorge Mateo is reco

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – As Saturday’s exhibition opener creeps closer, the Nationals are trying to make sure they cover all their bases during these final days of full-squad workouts. Literally. This morning’s session included the entire defense on the field as one, specifically working on proper relay technique. Outfielders tracked down balls hit

SARASOTA, Fla. – Because he didn’t play winter ball, Orioles pitcher Albert Suárez is in the best shape of his life. He really means it. Suárez didn’t join Caracas in Venezuela after making 32 appearances with the Orioles last season and totaling a career-high 133 2/3 innings in his return to the majors. He rested, he worked out and he earned the f

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – MASN will televise eight Nationals Grapefruit League games this spring, the team announced today, including one of this year’s two Spring Breakout Games featuring top prospects. The first televised game will be Sunday, when the Nats host the Mets at 1 p.m. at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, one day after their exhibition ope

SARASOTA, Fla. – The drama was building. Manager Brandon Hyde walked to the entrance of the baseball operations center, where media gathers for his morning scrum, and teased the day’s big news. Who’s starting the exhibition opener Saturday afternoon against the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium? Hyde asked for everyone’s predictions, which were written d

SARASOTA, Fla. – Spring training can be a whirlwind.  New faces, stars of the game and top prospects are scattered across the fields at the Orioles' spring training complex at Ed Smith Stadium.  A team fighting to recapture an American League East crown has plenty of storylines. On “The Bird’s Nest,” Annie Klaff and I broke down some of the standou

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Two weeks into the new year, the Nationals had only one relief pitcher on their roster with any kind of substantial big league experience: Derek Law. Clearly, Mike Rizzo still had plenty of work to do before the start of spring training. The process remains slow, but the Nats have managed to add three experienced relievers o

SARASOTA, Fla. – The transition is in such a young phase that some players don’t know whether changes are forthcoming in the way that the Orioles teach hitting or to what extent. Whether the general philosophy will be tweaked. If the approach will be scrambled a bit from the past. The full squad didn’t have its first workout until Tuesday. Meetings

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Two days into full-squad workouts, more than a few observers have noticed a crispness to the Nationals’ infield defense that wasn’t always there last year. With middle infielders CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. returning, now joined on the corners by Nathaniel Lowe and Paul DeJong, the unit as a whole looks sharper than it did