Nats Chat

The Nats will be in Wrigley Field in under three weeks, but before then the sport is focused on Spring Training & the World Baseball Classic.  Al & Mark begin with looking at how the new Front Office has made its impact on the club while down in Florida thus far. (09:00) Jacob Young is dealing with a wrist contusion and has been out of the lineup for an extended time. (22:20) Harry Ford, the catch...

The Nats have had a strong start to exhibition play in Florida; for whatever that is worth. Mark & Al begin with James Wood seeing a lot of action in RF so far this Spring Training. Wood has a lot of CF experience in the minors and LF duty in the majors, but has not found a permanent spot in the outfield.  There is also conjecture that Wood could switch to 1B within the next few seasons. (14:30) B...

Grapefruit League play is just days away. Mark (From West Palm) & Al open with Dylan Crews, who is looking to bounce back after an injury filled rookie season. Crews showed signs of power last year with 10 homers, but his average was barely over the "Mendoza Line". (10:10) Blake Butera was singing the praises of CJ Abrams and expects him to return to All-Star form.  The hosts also dive into the no...

"Pitchers & Catchers" (and a lot more) have reported to West Palm Beach to begin the 2026 Nationals campaign.  Mark (Live from Florida) & Al discuss the initial impressions of a camp run by Paul Toboni & Blake Butera.  Hear what the reaction has been to the upgrade in technology and infrastructure behind the scenes. (14:00) Washington signed veteran starting pitcher Miles Mikolas to a one-year dea...

For all of those wondering what Mark's next step would be after MASN, here is your answer! Mark tells Al about natsjournal.com and how to subscribe in this quick episode before "Pitchers & Catchers" get going this week. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Just one day after making his first big move as Nationals President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni joins the podcast for a wide ranging conversation.  Mark & Al begin by asking him about trading MacKenzie Gore to Texas in exchange for five prospects.  The discussion then touches upon Free Agency, 1B, building a bullpen, CJ Abrams' future, working with ownership, and more. Stay tuned after the...

Tim Shovers with a quick reaction to the news that MacKenzie Gore has been traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for 5 prospects. Mark & Al will have a full episode out Saturday morning. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nationals announced on Wednesday that the era of games airing on MASN is over and that the next chapter of local broadcasts will be on the newly formed "Nationals TV". Al & Tim explain what this means and how this will align with some other MLB team's broadcast situation. (06:00) A refresher on the decade plus litigation between the Orioles & Nats over MASN that suddenly ended last year. (12:1...

The new era of Nationals leadership just completed their first time representing the franchise at the annual MLB Winter Meetings. Mark (After returning from Orlando) & Al begin with the results of the Draft, where they were not allowed to end up with a top 10 pick.  The Nationals had the ping pong balls bounce their way initially, but due to the leagues rules they will settle for #11 overall. (06:...

Quick recap of the Nationals trade over the weekend with Seattle by Tim Shovers.  Closer Jose. A Ferrer was sent to the Mariners in exchange for catcher Harry Ford & RHP Isaac Lyon.  Get up to speed on the first trade executed by Paul Toboni.   **Next full episode with Mark & Al will be Friday morning December 12th after the MLB Winter Meetings take place in Orlando, FL. Hosted by Simplecast, an A...

The Nationals introduced their new 33-year-old Manager Blake Butera on Monday afternoon to the local media.  Mark & Al react to the press conference where Butera was joined on stage by Paul Toboni and fielded questions about becoming the youngest MLB Manager in a half century.   (17:00) An early look at Butera's coaching staff, which will include Sean Doolittle. (24:35) Luis Garcia Jr., Jake Irvin...

Tim Shovers provides a short recap of Paul Toboni's Conference Call on Tuesday to address the hiring of Blake Butera as new manager.  Butera and his wife welcomed a child the same day he accepted the job and his intro press conference is expected to be held later this month in D.C.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of person...

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Nationals hired the youngest Manager in over 50 years. Mark & Al discuss the news that Washington will soon name 33-year-old Blake Butera as the team's next skipper.  The surprising hire comes from the Rays organization and his only previous managerial experience was in Low-A. Butera was drafted in the 35th Round out of Boston College but became a minor league...

Tim Shovers with a quick reminder about the end of season Podcast Party.  This Friday night, October 10th, at 7pm at Walter's Sports Bar in Navy Yard.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nationals began a new era on Wednesday morning as Paul Toboni was officially introduced as the new President of Baseball Operations.  Mark & Al react to Toboni's first time meeting with the D.C. media in the press room at the ballpark.  Toboni was joined on the podium by three members of ownership in Mark Lerner, Ed Cohen, and Robert Tanenbaum. (07:00) Spending by ownership was brought up mult...

The Nats closed their last place season on a sour note as they were shutout 8-0 on Sunday afternoon by the visiting White Sox. Mark & Al put the 66 win campaign under a wide-angle lens on the heels of their 14th shutout defeat. It should be a more active October than the past few years as they remake the front office and likely will make a change at manager. (13:20) Hear what Dylan Crews said afte...

The Nats overcame an early four-run deficit to edge the White Sox 6-5 on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al begin with an ode to Bob Carpenter, who is calling his final Nats games this weekend for MASN. Carpenter was honored prior to the game after 20 years of being the TV voice of the team. (10:00) James Wood hit his 31st homer to take the lead for good in the bottom of the 7th. Wood has four homers t...

The Nats rallied all the way back from a seven run deficit, but Jose A. Ferrer could not close the door in the 10-9 loss to the White Sox. Mark & Al gather after maybe the craziest game of the season that saw the Nationals hit six homers, but also commit four errors. (06:00) Luis Garcia Jr. hit a trio of homers for the first time in his career.  Garcia's third homer of the night briefly put them u...

The Nats won 4-3 in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, but the major news came from ESPN's Jeff Passan.  Mark & Al spend plenty of time reacting to the report that Paul Toboni, Red Sox Asst. GM, will take over as Washington's new head of Baseball Operations. Toboni is 35 years old and has spent the last decade working in the Red Sox Front Office. (21:10) James Wood homered twice to reach the 30 home...

The Nats fell short 3-2 on Tuesday night as the Braves have now won ten games in a row.  Al & Tim begin with James Wood's 28th homer of the season, just his 4th since the All-Star Break.  Wood did not strikeout and remains eight Ks shy of Mark Reynolds' single season record. (08:00) Luis Garcia Jr. played 1B on Tuesday as it seems like his days at 2B are coming to an end. Daylen Lile was also in t...

The Nats were no match for the Braves in Monday's 11-5 loss. Al & Tim convene after the Nationals pitching staff needed six pitchers just to make it through six innings and combined for nine issued walks. (06:00) MacKenzie Gore was pulled in the top of the 3rd after having already thrown 71 pitches.  The Braves lineup fouled off 24 of them and now Gore's ERA is up to 4.17. (09:00) The bullpen real...

The Nats took the weekend series in Queens as they held off the Mets 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.  Before we get to Mark & Al's analysis, Executive Producer Tim Shovers comes on to deliver an annual end of season message.  If you would like to donate to the podcast, visit natschatpodcast.com and click on Merch to get directed to our Donation page. (04:30) Daylen Lile exited the game early after crashi...

The Nats handed the Mets a crucial defeat on Saturday afternoon in Queens.  Mark (From NYC) & Al meet after the Nationals blew an early 3-0 lead, but Daylen Lile's exciting 2-run Inside-the-Park-Home run put them ahead for good 5-3. (05:00) It looked initially that Lile's big hit would be a triple as he is one away from setting a franchise record. Lile's OPS is now ahead of James Wood (.814 vs. .8...

The Nats dropped their 5th straight on Friday night as they were beaten by the Mets 12-6.  Mark (From NYC) & Al gather after Washington guaranteed itself of having more losses this season than the previous two years. (04:30) The pattern of sloppy defense continued on Friday as the outfield combined for three errors; two of which were on Dylan Crews. (07:15) James Wood struck out two more times and...

The Nats lost 9-4 on Wednesday and dropped all four games this week against the Braves. Mark & Al evaluate the team's tired legs as they have shown recent signs of fatigue.  It has been a busy stretch for the team as they have played 14 games in the past 13 days. (07:30) James Wood had a RBI double and a single on his 23rd birthday. Wood did strikeout for the 210th time this season, extending his...