Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kendall Graveman will take the ball on opening day for Oakland in a second straight season, eager to be the leader of a young rotation at age 27."It's fun. I feel healthy," Graveman said as he begins his fourth season with the A's. "It's special. It's the longest I've ever been somewhere. ... It just feels like home. This is a special place and I think we've got something really good going on."The right-hander spent a pair of stints on the disabled list last season with soreness in his pitching shoulder. Now, he is thankful for a new year.Slugger Khris Davis will try to keep the baseballs flying out of the ballpark after hitting 85 home runs over the past two seasons.Manager Bob Melvin is counting on the production of both Graveman and Davis.Melvin said of Graveman's spot atop the rotation, "He's ready for it.""It's an honor to be able to go out and kind of set the tone for the season and to be that guy," Graveman said.He will have a new catcher in Jonathan Lucroy... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs, expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With Khris Davis slugging in the middle of a young lineup, the Oakland Athletics realize they still have much ground to overcome in a division featuring the World Series champion Houston Astros.And that's fine with this group, which is counting on using the momentum from a strong September finish going into spring and a new season.Last month, Davis received a $10.5 million, one-year contract, more than doubling his salary after he beat the team in arbitration last winter.He hit a career-best 43 home runs in 2017, connecting on the season's final day to surpass the season high he set the previous year for Oakland. The 30-year-old is the only A's player aside from Jimmie Foxx from 1932-34 with consecutive 40-homer seasons.The A's won 17 of their final 24 games after trading more stars in favor of the youth movement."I'm glad we had the success that we did at the end of the year because we talked about it the last day going into this next season, 'Remember what's happening... [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:___Washington NationalsManager: Dave Martinez (first season).2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Chicago Cubs in NLDS.Training Town: West Palm Beach, Florida.Park: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, C Jose Lobaton, 1B-LF Adam Lind, RHP Matt Albers.Going campin': It's become an all-too-familiar story for the Nationals and their fans: terrific regular season, followed by quick playoff exit, followed by a managerial change. Martinez will be the latest skipper to try to lead the club to postseason success — and GM Mike Rizzo has made it clear that ownership expects nothing less than a World Series championship. Martinez has been Joe Maddon's right-hand man with the Chicago... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — There will be one very important question hovering over Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals throughout spring training and the entire 2018 season: Will this be his last year with the club?Sure, there are plenty of other story lines to keep an eye on, from Dave Martinez's debut as a manager in the majors, to the pursuit of a third consecutive NL East title, to Max Scherzer's bid for a fourth Cy Young Award.Nothing will generate as much interest, or will have as profound an effect on the team, as what happens with Harper, who can become a free agent after the coming season.The 25-year-old Harper's representative, Scott Boras, already has been talking about his guy as an iconic player with iconic value , and it's hard to argue. Which is why, after making a little more than $13.5 million last year and a little more than $21.5 million this year, the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, 2015 NL MVP and five-time All-Star is sparking conversation about deals worth a half-billion... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shortstop Marcus Semien is one of five players who reached agreement on a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid salary arbitration, receiving a hefty raise to $3,125,000 from $545,000.Also Friday, right-hander Kendall Graveman asked for $2.6 million and the A's offered $2.36 million.Slugger Khris Davis received a $10.5 million, one-year deal Wednesday.Semien played until mid-April before missing the remainder of the month and all of May and June with a right wrist injury that eventually required surgery. He batted .249 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs in the injury-shortened season during which he didn't play from April 14-July 6. He earned $545,000 last season.When healthy in 2016, Semien hit 27 home runs with 75 RBIs in 159 games.Graveman started on opening day in place of injured ace Sonny Gray, later dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline. The 27-year-old went 6-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 19 starts and 105 1/3 innings. Graveman missed time with a shoulder... [More]

RHP Ryan Madson was drafted by the Phillies in 1998 and Thursday he pitched against them for the first time. "Pretty crazy," he told Comcast of Philadelphia. "Somebody just texted me and said that was the last team I hadn't pitched against. Now I've pitched against them all. I didn't even know it."

RHP Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his first appearance since Aug. 12. He was activated from the disabled list Friday after missing nearly three weeks with an injury to his right index finger.

RHP Ryan Madson was activated from the 10-day disabled list but might need a little more time before he can return to action for the Nationals. Acquired at the deadline from Oakland, Madson went 2-0 without allowing a run in nine appearances before landing on the disabled list with a sore right index finger on Aug. 17.

RHP Ryan Madson is scheduled to return to the Nationals duing their weekend series in Milwaukee. Madson left the team a week ago to consult a specialist in Arizona for his sprained right finger and has been on the disabled list since Aug. 17.

Ryan Madson (right finger strain) will join the team in Milwaukee when the road trip begins Thursday, manager Dusty Baker said. Madson has missed 15 games since going on the disabled list Aug. 17.

RHP Ryan Madson remains in Arizona undergoing tests to determine the extent of the right finger sprain that landed him on the 10-day disabled list on Aug. 17. Madson, 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in nine games for Washington, did not accompany the team on its trip to Houston from San Diego.

RHP Ryan Madson was placed on the disabled list with a sore finger. Madson hadn't allowed a run since coming from the A's on July 16. "It turned out to be a little more than a blister," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "There was soreness in his index finger in his throwing hand. It's better that it happened now rather than later."

RHP Ryan Madson has a problem with his finger, according to manager Dusty Baker. "It's not a blister," Baker told reporters Wednesday. "I thought it was a blister. It's his finger. We are getting it analyzed right now. I don't know what it is, but it's something in his finger." He did not pitch Wednesday.

RHP Ryan Madson had a blister on his finger and was not available for the second game Sunday, said manager Dusty Baker on Tuesday. Madson was also not used on Tuesday.

RHP Ryan Madson was traded Sunday to the Washington Nationals, along with LHP Sean Doolittle, for RHP Blake Treinen and two highly touted minor league prospects, SS/3B Sheldon Neuse and LHP Jesus Luzardo. Madson, a late-innings reliever, went 2-4 with a 2.06 ERA in 40 appearances for the A's this season, holding opposing batters to a .188 average. He signed a three-year contract with the A's as a free agent after the 2015 season. He has won World Series rings with the Phillies in 2008 and the Royals in 2015. "Ryan Madson's probably about as easy a guy to manage as far as a reliever goes that I've ever had," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He's ready to pitch for you in any number of roles." In 662 career appearances, Madson is 56-43 with 86 saves and a 3.40 ERA.

RHP Ryan Madson was acquired from the Oakland A's on Sunday along with LHP Sean Doolittle in exchange for three prospects. Madson has been a steady reliever for Oakland the past two seasons, posting a 2.69 ERA with 34 saves in 171 appearances since 2015. He gives the Nationals an option for the eighth or ninth innings.

RHP Ryan Madson was acquired by the Washington Nationals on Sunday as part of a five-player trade with the Oakland Athletics. Over his past 13 outings, Madson, 36, has allowed just one earned run in 14 innings with five holds and 12 strikeouts. He did not walk a batter during this stretch and did not allow any of the seven runners he inherited to score. Madson had 30 saves in 2016.