The 26-man roster that will take the field Thursday features seven infielders (including both Jorbit Vivas and José Tena), four outfielders, two catchers and 13 pitchers.
Depends on the inning. Late in the game Wood would switch to the OF and they’d have to PH the reliever. When he was with LA there was talk about making Jorbit an IF-OF but I guess they tried it outside a game and decided against it. Nunez had several games under his belt too with RRW and Nats
I assume any waiver claims the team has put in from transactions made in recent days are still pending, which could mean we see a Tena (or any other player on the roster fringe) move still to come in the next day or two? Would imagine they still have something pending there, the redundancy doesn't make much sense
Nope. I couldn’t make it that day. It was a few days earlier. I texted and he told me where to meet him near the broadcast booth. Signed my jersey and scorebook. Such a great guy!
I haven't bought any since 2019 and will not buy another one until someone signs a long-term deal. I had Abrams put on the SPH gift jersey a couple of years ago, but he is the only current player I have.
I was at the wild card game in 2019 when Soto made the hit that gave us the lead. When the Nats won the Series, I got a Soto jersey with the World Series patch on the sleeve. It's been hanging in my closet since he got traded. Maybe I'll let my niece wear it.
I'm keeping my Brad Wilkerson and Jose Guillen jerseys, and my Livan Hernandez autographed ball with "1st pitch in Nat's History" and Strasburg's autographed ball with '19 WS MVP. I'm also keep a host of other ones I have including Frank Howard autographed photo of the two of us, and a couple baseballs with his autograph. Cool Stuff!
The Nationals traded Brad Wilkerson to the Texas Rangers on December 8, 2005, in a package deal to acquire All-Star second baseman Alfonso Soriano. Along with Wilkerson, the Nationals sent outfielders Terrmel Sledge and pitching prospect Armando Galarraga to Texas.
Not that it will make a difference, but what is the thought process of keeping both Tena and Rivas over Franklin? I'm not sure I understand it, outside of neither of them having options. They're the same player, neither of which can play outfield. Boy that's a bad hitting lineup.
They’ll maintain bench flexibilty on days when House is the DH. If they only kept Vivas then days when House DHs and Garcia is at first then both their backup 3rd basemen ( Vivas and Nunez) will be in the field. By keeping Tena you’ll still have an extra 2B/3B/SS on the bench.
Spencer Nusbaum says Cavalli, Mikolas and Irvin will pitch in that order against the Cubs. That puts Mikolas in line for our home opener, which is really disappointing.
What I take from that is the outfielders have options to send them down and there is still competition going on with what infielders they want to carry that can't be sent down. I suspect both will get chances to state their case over the first week or so of the regular season.
The shifting roster, especially in the bullpen, is today's baseball as played by successful teams. It stinks to have a constantly shifting roster but it is what is done today given the rules. While I dearly loved Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez and what they brought us in 2019, this is the new reality and it is good to see this organization doing it. I'd love to hear what Doolittle thinks if he wouldn't mind being honest on the record.
Lots of options, literally
I’ve made the mistake of getting attached to players way too quickly. Won’t do that again. I’ll be in attendance tomorrow!
Put your emotional investment in a dog instead and you’ll be forever rewarded.
I always had a soft spot for Pirates outfielder Bob “Doggie” Skinner.
Please claim Ramos or Kowar from Orioles! Both no brainer claims!
The Tena situation is kind of a head scratcher. If Wood plays at DH and the other three outfielders are playing, who goes in if there's an injury?
You'll see a lot of players that they're turn at DH. You'll also likely see more than 4 outfielders very soon.
Probably Nasim. He played two games in CF last year.
Depends on the inning. Late in the game Wood would switch to the OF and they’d have to PH the reliever. When he was with LA there was talk about making Jorbit an IF-OF but I guess they tried it outside a game and decided against it. Nunez had several games under his belt too with RRW and Nats
I assume any waiver claims the team has put in from transactions made in recent days are still pending, which could mean we see a Tena (or any other player on the roster fringe) move still to come in the next day or two? Would imagine they still have something pending there, the redundancy doesn't make much sense
Hard to believe the four outfielders/seven infielders split will last very long.
So what I’m hearing is definitely drop big dollars on a custom Jorbit Vivas jersey
He’s gonna be great and then traded at the deadline
Man, the jerseys I have in my closet of ex-Nats is crazy.
I'm done.
Put your name on the back and you can wear it forever and stump fans who don’t remember gonatsgo as a player.
Those are funny sometimes. As in...somebody walks by you and you do the, "didn't know that Holzaphel played for us."
Mine says SEEULATER on the back. I had it signed by Bob Carpenter late last year.
Very cool. Assume that was the day he was signing in the team store? I got him to sign my scorebook on the pages for that day's game.
Nope. I couldn’t make it that day. It was a few days earlier. I texted and he told me where to meet him near the broadcast booth. Signed my jersey and scorebook. Such a great guy!
I haven't bought any since 2019 and will not buy another one until someone signs a long-term deal. I had Abrams put on the SPH gift jersey a couple of years ago, but he is the only current player I have.
I'm sure I'm not alone. I bought a pricey Soto jersey.
Now I can confer and commiserate with fellow Padres and Yankee fans.
I was at the wild card game in 2019 when Soto made the hit that gave us the lead. When the Nats won the Series, I got a Soto jersey with the World Series patch on the sleeve. It's been hanging in my closet since he got traded. Maybe I'll let my niece wear it.
I have two Soto jerseys! One is the default white regular day style. The other has the WS gold patch.
A jersey from anyone on that 2019 team is evergreen. Wear it with pride.
Same with 2005. I have a road Nick Johnson jersey I will still wear with pride.
Brian Schneider here
oooooooooo nice
I'm keeping my Brad Wilkerson and Jose Guillen jerseys, and my Livan Hernandez autographed ball with "1st pitch in Nat's History" and Strasburg's autographed ball with '19 WS MVP. I'm also keep a host of other ones I have including Frank Howard autographed photo of the two of us, and a couple baseballs with his autograph. Cool Stuff!
Nice. Those are real keepsakes.
Remember when Wilkerson was the first "face of the franchise?" He did those spots for PNC Bank. And then disappeared.
The Nationals traded Brad Wilkerson to the Texas Rangers on December 8, 2005, in a package deal to acquire All-Star second baseman Alfonso Soriano. Along with Wilkerson, the Nationals sent outfielders Terrmel Sledge and pitching prospect Armando Galarraga to Texas.
Sledge is a great (and usually unknown) answer to one of my favorite Nats trivia questions: who hit the first Nationals homer?
Always a great bar trivia winner!
I missed this before. The Nats yesterday acquired veteran infielder Zack Short (on a minor league contract) from the Yankees for cash. Relevant?
No. Minor league depth
Mark answered in his Q&A earlier. Straight to the minors.
I suspect you can just add him to the long list of guys who will shuttle back and forth between the minors and D.C.
Thanks. I missed the Q&A.
Not that it will make a difference, but what is the thought process of keeping both Tena and Rivas over Franklin? I'm not sure I understand it, outside of neither of them having options. They're the same player, neither of which can play outfield. Boy that's a bad hitting lineup.
Maybe they r looking to trade Tena? Who knows, I don't imagine the 26 man roster will look the same even 2 weeks from now.
They’ll maintain bench flexibilty on days when House is the DH. If they only kept Vivas then days when House DHs and Garcia is at first then both their backup 3rd basemen ( Vivas and Nunez) will be in the field. By keeping Tena you’ll still have an extra 2B/3B/SS on the bench.
I think they are still having an open competition between the two and we will see both get action in the first two weeks while they choose.
Leo Jimenez DFA'd. Another fit as a right handed middle infielder with a high walk rate.
Spencer Nusbaum says Cavalli, Mikolas and Irvin will pitch in that order against the Cubs. That puts Mikolas in line for our home opener, which is really disappointing.
Kind of a bummer, as I just bought opener tickets this morning.
Thursday looks like a rainout in Chicago
What I take from that is the outfielders have options to send them down and there is still competition going on with what infielders they want to carry that can't be sent down. I suspect both will get chances to state their case over the first week or so of the regular season.
The channels are dropping https://bsky.app/profile/nationals.com/post/3mhvxgxcpxk2p
Xfinity/Comast in Moco. There's nothing on my system to indicate that Ch. 1261 (as noted in the link) is showing the Nats.
But I'm just waiting for tomorrow anyway as they've been saying all along it could be day of game.
How crazy is this?
Yes I got home and checked also and it's not yet showing but 1261 is in a group of Sports Channels and just to the other side of Monumental Number 2
The notion of shuttling relievers incessantly back and forth on a 90-loss team is . . . interesting.
With no regular DH, we'll have infielders in the spot 50% of the time, as they were most of camp..
The shifting roster, especially in the bullpen, is today's baseball as played by successful teams. It stinks to have a constantly shifting roster but it is what is done today given the rules. While I dearly loved Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez and what they brought us in 2019, this is the new reality and it is good to see this organization doing it. I'd love to hear what Doolittle thinks if he wouldn't mind being honest on the record.