The nerve issue in Stephen Strasburg's right wrist that ended his 2020 season after five innings would get aggravated every time he threw a baseball, he said Sunday, and “basically would go from numbness in my thumb to numbness in my whole hand.” Speaking to reporters for the first time since before he was shut down in August, the Washington Nationals ace said the problem went away immediately after the 15-minute carpal tunnel surgery. “I haven't had any residual effects from it. ... I think, if anything, all the work I’ve done strengthening it has only improved the movement of my pitches," Strasburg said. The 2019 World Series MVP began preparing for this season much earlier than usual, doing a light catch on Nov. 1 instead of mid-December, and throwing bullpens early in January instead of late in the month. “Endurance-wise, stamina-wise, I feel like I’m a lot further along than I have (been) in years past,” he said. “I wanted to give myself some extra time to work through some mechanical... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Even during a pandemic, the appetite to sit in the sun and watch Major League Baseball spring training appears robust. The Arizona Diamondbacks sold out their entire spring allotment of tickets in less than 24 hours after they went on sale to the public. Approximately 2,200 tickets were sold for all 14 of the team's home games, with fans spread throughout the park in pods of two, four or six seats and masks are required except when eating or drinking. That's 20 percent of the stadium's normal 11,000-person capacity. “The fact that it sold out as fast as it did — that fires me up,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We've been looking forward to this day as much as them.” The Colorado Rockies — who share the Salt River Fields facility with the D-backs — have also sold out of tickets to their home games. The two teams open their spring training schedule against each other next Sunday. Spring training facilities across Arizona and Florida have been making their own decisions... [More]

The nerve issue in Stephen Strasburg's wrist that ended his 2020 season after five innings would get aggravated every time he threw a baseball, he said Sunday, and “basically would go from numbness in my thumb to numbness in my whole hand.” Speaking to reporters for the first time since before he was shut down in August, the Washington Nationals ace said the problem went away immediately after the 15-minute carpal tunnel surgery. The 2019 World Series MVP began preparing for this season much earlier than usual, doing a light catch on Nov. 1 instead of mid-December, and throwing bullpens early in January instead of late in the month. “Endurance-wise, stamina-wise, I feel like I’m a lot further along than I have (been) in years past,” the right-handed starter explained. “I wanted to give myself some extra time to work through some mechanical things and be ready to go on Day One.” That he was: The 32-year-old was throwing off a mound alongside teammates during Friday’s workout. “He’s one of... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The sport of baseball, much like the rest of the world, is craving normalcy after a full year of disruptions caused by the pandemic. So the familiar feel of February spring training has pitchers eager to unleash fastballs, spin a few breaking balls and get ready for the 162-game long haul. But the message from coaches and executives is clear: No need to rush. “Spring training is 50 days long,” Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “To put that in perspective, our season last year was 66 days long. So we have time.” As of Thursday, almost all 30 teams had started workouts for pitchers and catchers. Now organizations are working on how to manage their pitchers' workloads after most threw less than half of their usual innings in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Pitch counts or innings limits are hardly new concepts. Organizations do everything in their power to protect their pitchers, especially elite prospects. The bump in workload from 60 games to 162 just provides... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The sport of baseball, much like the rest of the world, is craving normalcy after a full year of disruptions caused by the pandemic. So the familiar feel of February spring training has pitchers eager to unleash fastballs, spin a few breaking balls and get ready for the 162-game long haul. But the message from coaches and executives is clear: No need to rush. “Spring training is 50 days long,” Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “To put that in perspective, our season last year was 66 days long. So we have time.” As of Thursday, almost all 30 teams had started workouts for pitchers and catchers. Now organizations are working on how to manage their pitchers' workloads after most threw less than half of their usual innings in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Pitch counts or innings limits are hardly new concepts. Organizations do everything in their power to protect their pitchers, especially elite prospects. The bump in workload from 60 games to 162 just provides... [More]

Stephen Strasburg was among the first players manager Dave Martinez ran into at the Washington Nationals' spring training facility Thursday before the team's first official workout for pitchers and catchers. That's significant because the 2019 World Series MVP pitched only five innings in 2020 before he was shut down because of a nerve problem in his right wrist that required surgery. “He’s going to get ready to start the season just like normal. Normal spring training for him," Martinez said about the 32-year-old starter who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft. “He looks good. He looks great, actually. And he feels good, which is the most important thing.” As much a key part of Washington's desire to move past a tied-for-last finish during last year's pandemic-shortened season as the many offseason roster changes, Strasburg is slated to throw a bullpen session Friday. “He is in preparation mode,” general manager Mike Rizzo said, "not in rehabilitation mode.” One of the... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad: ___ Atlanta Braves Manager: Brian Snitker (sixth season). 2020: 35-25, first place, lost to Dodgers in NL Championship Series. Training Town: North Port, Florida. Park: CoolToday Park. First Workout: Feb. 18/23. He’s Here: RHP Charlie Morton, LHP Drew Smyly, RHP Carl Edwards, SS Ehire Adrianza, RHP Victor Arano. He’s Outta Here: OF Nick Markakis, OF Adam Duvall, INF Charlie Culberson, RHP Mike Foltynewicz, RHP Mark Melancon, C Tyler Flowers, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Darren O’Day, RHP Jhoulys Chacin, INF Adeiny Hechavarria, LHP Cole Hamels. Going campin’: The key offseason move was re-signing left fielder Marcell Ozuna to a four-year, $65 million deal. Morton and Smyly add experience to the rotation. The team can take a cautious approach with 2020 opening day starter Mike Soroka’s return from... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jon Lester has been a part of three World Series champions and collected nearly 200 wins in the majors. He's been a five-time All-Star and a Cy Young runner-up. Now 37 and heading toward his 16th season in the big leagues, the left-hander is looking forward to being a member of a stacked Washington Nationals rotation that features three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. “I’ll tell you what: It's going to be nice to just kind of sit back and watch these guys work. I mean, obviously, I’ve seen them from afar and got to compete against them for a long time. I’m excited to work with them. It’s always nice when you go to another team and you get to see how guys work,” Lester said Wednesday on a video conference after finalizing a $5 million, one-year contract that brings him to the Nationals after six seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Lester and Washington had a 2021 agreement in principle in place last week, pending... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jon Lester has been a part of three World Series champions and collected nearly 200 wins in the majors. He's been a five-time All-Star and a Cy Young runner-up. Now 37 and heading toward his 16th season in the big leagues, the left-hander is looking forward to being a member of a stacked Washington Nationals rotation that features three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. “I’ll tell you what: It's going to be nice to just kind of sit back and watch these guys work. I mean, obviously, I’ve seen them from afar and got to compete against them for a long time. I’m excited to work with them. It’s always nice when you go to another team and you get to see how guys work,” Lester said Wednesday on a video conference after finalizing a $5 million, one-year contract that brings him to the Nationals after six seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Lester and Washington had a 2021 agreement in principle in place last week, pending... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Left-handed starter Jon Lester and the Washington Nationals finalized a $5 million, one-year contract Wednesday, giving the team a fourth member of a rotation led by Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. Lester and the team had an agreement in principle in place last week, pending the successful completion of a physical exam. The five-time All-Star and Nationals manager Dave Martinez know each other well: Martinez was the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs when Lester helped that club win the 2016 World Series for its first title in 108 years. Coming off a last-place finish in the NL East in 2020, Washington has had a busy offseason that already includes adding outfielder Kyle Schwarber — like Lester, from the Cubs — and lefty reliever Brad Hand via free agency, first baseman Josh Bell in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates and re-signing Ryan Zimmerman after he sat out last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lester turned 37 this month and will be... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo’s top offseason priority is adding a middle-of-the-order hitter, likely a corner outfielder or first baseman — and by the sound of things, he won’t do that by trading for a certain past NL MVP currently with the Chicago Cubs. Rizzo laid to rest any such speculation pretty plainly during a video conference call with reporters Tuesday. “We haven’t had a serious conversation about Kris Bryant in probably two years. He was not a big guy on our radar, last year or this year,” Rizzo said when asked about the three-time All-Star. “He’s a great player, but at this point in time, with where we’re at and what we have in our farm system, and where we’re going, we think we can allocate our dollars and prospect capital in a better way.” Well, then. Both Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez spoke with the media for the first time since September — when Washington wrapped up the pandemic-truncated season at 26-34 and tied for last in the NL East, a year... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Nationals hired Jim Hickey on Monday as their pitching coach. Hickey is entering his 38th season in pro baseball after spending the past two with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a special assistant for player development. He has 15 years' experience as a pitching coach in the majors. Hickey succeeds Paul Menhart, who was not brought back after his contract expired. The 59-year-old Hickey coached alongside current Washington manager Dave Martinez with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008-14. Hickey will oversee a Nationals pitching staff led by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. “He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to the job," Martinez said. “He’s led a lot of really good pitching staffs over the years and has been a part of many successful clubs along the way. He’s helped countless pitchers improve, achieve their full potential and become All-Stars.” Hickey was last a pitching coach in 2018 with the Chicago Cubs. Before his decade with the Rays, he spent three seasons with the Houston Astros. Before that, Hickey spent seven years as a pitcher in the minors from 1983-89. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals pitching coach Paul Menhart will not be brought back next season after working in the organization for 15 years. A team spokesman confirmed Sunday that the team would let Menhart go. His contract is up after this season. Menhart was the Nationals' minor league pitching coordinator when he was brought up to work with the major league club in May 2019, replacing fired pitching coach Derek Lilliquist. Led by starting pitchers Stephen Strasburg — the World Series MVP — Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, and a bullpen that went from a serious problem to a postseason strength, the Nationals won the franchise's first championship a year ago. But this pandemic-altered season was a struggle right from the get-go for manager Dave Martinez's team, and Washington finished tied for last in the NL East with a 26-34 record. Menhart’s departure is the first significant fallout from that best-to-worst decline. Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo were both given multiyear... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t tell Max Scherzer this year didn’t count. Yes, there were fewer than half as many games as normal. Sure, there were rules changes. All Scherzer knows is there was a Major League Baseball season played in 2020, his Washington Nationals were coming off a World Series championship, and they ended up tied for last in the NL East with a record of 26-34. “We weren’t able to replicate the success we had last year into this year. It’s just the way it goes. Everybody has a hand in it. Everybody needs to reflect upon what they did -- and didn’t -- do well and try to make those adjustments going into next year. That’s just life in the big leagues. When you don’t win, there’s going to be a lot of attention to why you didn’t win. You’re always going to have that pressure to perform,” the three-time Cy Young Award winner said. “I’m sure there’s people that are going to look at this and say, ‘Hey, it’s only 60 games.. ...’ But that’s not my mentality,” Scherzer continued. “I came... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Manager Dave Martinez and the Washington Nationals agreed to a multiyear contract extension that the team announced Saturday. Martinez led the Nationals to the franchise’s first World Series championship in 2019, his second season as the team’s skipper. When he initially was hired, Martinez signed a three-year deal with a club option for 2021 that had not yet been picked up by the Nationals. “I can’t say enough about Davey’s leadership qualities and the poise he shows under pressure,” said Nationals president and general manager Mike Rizzo, who recently was given a three-year extension by the club. “The players, coaches and staff have the utmost respect for him as a manager and a person. There is no one else our team would rather have at the helm.” After a title defense slowed by injuries and inconsistency during a 60-game season delayed and shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, Washington entered Saturday — Martinez’s 56th birthday — with a 23-34 record and in last place... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Yan Gomes was asked about the 2019 World Series champion Washington Nationals essentially playing out the string over the last four games of this season, the catcher was put off by the premise. “I don’t think we’re technically out of it yet,” Gomes said. Technically, at that moment, he was right. About four hours later, once Wednesday had turned into Thursday and a game involving other teams ended the wrong way for Washington’s tiny remaining hopes, the Nationals were officially done. For the second straight season, manager Dave Martinez’s club got off to a 19-31 start. This time, there were not enough games to dig out of that hole. A year after winning the franchise’s first championship thanks to a historic turnaround, the Nationals woke up Thursday in last place in the NL East with a 23-33 record and no mathematical chance of returning to the playoffs in a pandemic-shortened 2020. That extends a trend: No team has won the World Series in consecutive years since... [More]

For a second straight season, the Washington Nationals are off to an awful start.There may be no coming back from this one.A 10-3 loss to Atlanta on Sunday dropped the Nationals to 14-25 on the season. Washington famously started 19-31 last year before going on to win the World Series. In this shortened season, the Nationals don't have much time to right themselves. Even with an expanded postseason, Washington is five games behind the final playoff spot in the National League.In the NL, only Pittsburgh (13-26) has a worse record than Washington. The Nationals have had some bright spots — Trea Turner (.365) leads the majors in hitting, and Juan Soto (.354) would be close behind if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.Other numbers aren't as pretty. Washington has a 5.27 ERA as a team — even Max Scherzer's is just a tick under 4.00. Stephen Strasburg made two starts and is now out for the season. Anthony Rendon left in the offseason.Actually, this year's Nationals kind of resemble Rendon's... [More]

Now this was an out-of-the-box ejection.Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was tossed for yelling at umpires from a luxury suite in Atlanta on Sunday, with longtime crew chief Joe West saying, “enough is enough.”“I wouldn’t take that from a player. I wouldn’t take that from a manager,” West told The Associated Press. “If it was Donald Trump, I’d eject him, too. But I’d still vote for him.”The 67-year-old West, on track to set the record for most games umpired in big league history next year, said the crew told the commissioner’s office Friday that Rizzo was hollering at umpires earlier in the Nationals-Braves series.“We informed the office that if it continued we’d stop it,” West said. “And we did.”This latest incident occurred with the last-place Nationals batting in the seventh inning, trailing NL East-leading Atlanta by six runs in a game the defending World Series champions eventually lost 10-3.After Chris Martin threw a pitch to Eric Thames with two outs, umpire Hunter... [More]

Now this was an out-of-the-box ejection.Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was tossed for yelling at umpires from a luxury suite in Atlanta on Sunday, with longtime crew chief Joe West saying, “enough is enough.”“I wouldn’t take that from a player. I wouldn’t take that from a manager,” West told The Associated Press. “If it was Donald Trump, I’d eject him, too. But I’d still vote for him.”The 67-year-old West, on track to set the record for most games umpired in big league history next year, said the crew told the commissioner’s office Friday that Rizzo was hollering at umpires earlier in the Nationals-Braves series.“We informed the office that if it continued we’d stop it,” West said. “And we did.”This latest incident occurred with the last-place Nationals batting in the seventh inning, trailing NL East-leading Atlanta by six runs in a game the defending World Series champions eventually lost 10-3.After Chris Martin threw a pitch to Eric Thames with two outs, umpire Hunter... [More]

Aug. 271897 — Roger Bresnahan, later a Hall of Fame catcher, made his major league debut as a pitcher for the Washington Senators by shutting out the St. Louis Browns 3-0.1937 — Brooklyn’s Fred Frankhouse pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. The game was stopped with two out in the eighth inning with the Dodgers leading 5-0.1974 — Benny Ayala of the Mets became the first National League player in 13 years to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, connecting against Houston’s Tom Griffin in New York’s 4-2 victory at Shea Stadium.1977 — Toby Harrah and Bump Wills of the Texas Rangers hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning as the Rangers beat the Yankees 8-2 at Yankee Stadium.1978 — Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds hit his 200th career home run to become the first player in major league history to have 200 homers and 500 stolen bases.1982 — Rickey Henderson of Oakland broke Lou Brock’s 1974 record of 118... [More]