Huh. That was a longer break than I thought. Thanks for the kind words in the comments. Yes, I'm not as motivated to post as I have been in the past, but rest assured I won't end the blog with a ghosting. First I'll try a couple new things if I really can't keep up what I've done in the past. Then I'll let you know if that ain't working for me. Speaking of what I've done in the past - Off-season position reviews. The Nats catcher situation was bad. Having your ca...
From Nationals Baseball
| 22 days ago
| 2 reads
After firing 64 year old Mike Rizzo, Nationals owner Mark Lerner has seemingly been searching for the Fountain of Youth. In the past six weeks he has hired a 35 year old GM, a 33 year old manager and a 30 year old pitching coach. Clearly, the Washington Nationals have a new and very young […]
From Federal Baseball
| 22 days ago
| 3 reads
So, the Washington Nationals have a new pitching coach and his name is Simon Mathews. That is right, only one T in Mathews. At 30 years old, he continues the trend of the Nationals hiring young. However, Mathews is deeply knowledgeable about the current trends in modern pitching. He is equipped to bring the Nats […]
From Federal Baseball
| 22 days ago
| 3 reads
Since taking over as the pitching coach/guru/director for the Cincinnati Reds, the club has consistently established itself as a pitching-first organization that’s earned quite the bit of respect around the league. They’ve drafted well in that time, too. Adding the likes of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Rhett Lowder, Chase Burns, Tony Santillan, Graham […]
From Red Reporter
| 23 days ago
| 5 reads
While it is possible, I find it unlikely that the Washington Nationals will be shopping at the top of the free agent market. However, I do think and hope that they attack the middle of the free agent market. The Royals 2023/24 offseason is always one I look at and think why can’t the Nationals […]
From Federal Baseball
| 23 days ago
| 3 reads
Daylen Lile was the best thing Washington Nationals fans had in the second half of the 2025 season. As the rest of the team floundered, Lile looked like a star. His September was the most exciting month from a National since Kyle Schwarber’s June in 2021. He got rewarded with a 5th place finish in […]
From Federal Baseball
| 24 days ago
| 5 reads
The Washington Nationals rebuild started at the 2021 trade deadline when they traded away a large chunk of their roster. However, 4.5 years later it is clear that those moves set the rebuild back rather than giving it the intended jolt. I wanted to look back and analyze the moves made at that deadline. Let’s […]
From Federal Baseball
| 25 days ago
| 3 reads
Over the years we have seen a few pitchers who struggled in the MLB reinvent themselves in the KBO. A couple recent examples are Merrill Kelly and Erick Fedde. This offseason, there is a former big league pitcher who put up record setting numbers in Korea and his name is Cody Ponce. If you have […]
From Federal Baseball
| 25 days ago
| 3 reads
Ryan Loutos started the season in the Cardinals organization and ended the year with the Nationals. But in between he spent 40 days with the Dodgers. The Dodgers tied their franchise record by using 40 pitchers in 2025, matching 2024. Loutos was No. 25 on the list, when he debuted for them on May 16 […]
From True Blue LA
| 25 days ago
| 3 reads
While Paul Toboni has not made any big splash moves, he signaled that big changes are coming this offseason. Minor League depth has been something the Nationals have been missing for years and Toboni is making it clear that he wants to change that. The Nats had 34 Minor Leaguers elect free agency, the most […]
From Federal Baseball
| 26 days ago
| 6 reads
In a season where the Nationals pitching staff was pretty brutal, Brad Lord was a bright spot. The former Home Depot employee stepped up for the Nationals in a variety of roles. However, as we enter 2026, Lord’s role is still up for debate. As a starter Lord was reliable, but he showed flashes of […]
From Federal Baseball
| 27 days ago
| 3 reads
The Nationals have a glut of outfielders currently in the major leagues, including James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Daylen Lile, as well as others who will be arriving soon, such as Christian Franklin and Andrew Pinckney. James Wood is locked into left field for the Nats, as he is the club’s brightest young star and […]
From Federal Baseball
| 28 days ago
| 3 reads
With the offseason fully underway, I wanted to introduce Nats nation to the 2026 MLB draft. Due to the lottery rules, we already know the Nationals will be picking 11th this year. With new POBO Paul Toboni’s background, the draft will be a massive emphasis for the Nats. Here are some players they should be […]
From Federal Baseball
| 28 days ago
| 2 reads
After yesterday’s minor deal with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire a potential bullpen arm in Cole Wilcox, POBO Jerry Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander remain active in their efforts to add to The Pile this offseason and claimed RHP Ryan Loutos from the Washington Nationals. The move puts the 4o man roster at 38. […]
From Lookout Landing
| 28 days ago
| 4 reads
Paul Toboni made a bunch of moves to the 40-man roster this afternoon. None of them were huge moves individually, but together the moves created a lot of space on the 40-man roster. With the offseason here, Paul Toboni will look to optimize that 40-man roster as much as possible. Earlier this afternoon, it was […]
From Federal Baseball
| 28 days ago
| 3 reads
For a second time this offseason, a former Washington National has become a manager. This time it is former reliever Craig Stammen, who got hired as the manager of the San Diego Padres. Stammen had a 13 year career, which was split almost evenly between DC and San Diego. Now he will be managing the […]
From Federal Baseball
| 29 days ago
| 2 reads
Baseball America is probably my favorite resource for all things prospects. There is a small paywall, but it is a price worth paying in my humble opinion. Today the great folks over there released their top 10 Washington Nationals prospects going into the 2026 season. They have a lot of boots on the ground, so […]
From Federal Baseball
| 29 days ago
| 3 reads
The new era of Nationals baseball is right around the corner. Today the Washington Nationals released their 2026 Spring Training schedule. There is always an element of hope and newness to Spring Training, but this year will have even more of that with the new regime. The Nats open up their spring on February 21st […]
From Federal Baseball
| 29 days ago
| 3 reads
Yesterday, Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni took some questions from local media about his hiring of Blake Butera. This was the first time he shed light on the process and what is next. A lot of interesting stuff came out of the presser, so I wanted to talk about it. It has been […]
From Federal Baseball
| 30 days ago
| 4 reads
The front office and coaching overhaul continues as Scott Harris and his front office reshape both groups this offseason. Evan Petzold of the Free Press reported on Tuesday that back in September, the Detroit Tigers moved their director of international operations, Tom Moore, into a new senior advisor to the department position. In his place […]
From Bless You Boys
| about 1 month ago
| 4 reads
This afternoon, Paul Toboni held a virtual presser to talk about the Blake Butera hire, as well as other updates. He talked about what went into the Butera hire and why he trusted the person. Butera did not attend due to having his first child on Thursday. However, the biggest updates came in the front […]
From Federal Baseball
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
Cade Cavalli’s return to the big leagues has been well documented by now, both by us and by the media. To recap, after making his big league debut in August 2022, Cavalli would be shut down for the year with a shoulder injury, followed by tearing his UCL in Spring Training of 2023, costing him […]
From Federal Baseball
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
If you missed it, the Washington Nationals hired 33 year old Blake Butera to be their next manager. He will be the youngest manager in over 5o years. This is a bold hire and a move that I like. However, for this to work, the Nationals need to put experience around their young manager. Bringing […]
From Federal Baseball
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
One of the biggest discussions this offseason will be whether the Washington Nationals trade MacKenzie Gore. After not being dealt despite his name being in the rumor mill, MacKenzie Gore’s name is at the center of trade discussions again. MLB Trade Rumors put Gore at number 1 on their list of 40 potential trade candidates. […]
From Federal Baseball
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
After an insane Game 7 of the World Series, fans’ attention now turns to MLB offseason. With that in mind, I wanted to do a little bit of an offseason primer just to talk about some of the important dates. This tweet actually does a good job listing off some of the dates, but I […]
From Federal Baseball
| about 1 month ago
| 2 reads