Opening Day is under a month away as Mark & Al convene to discuss the latest with the Nationals. James Wood has been the star of  Spring Training and that is where the conversation begins. What are the chances the 21-year-old will be with the Nats on March 28th in Cincinnati?
(08:30) An update on how Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III have looked during Grapefruit League play.
(11:30) An explanation of the complicated Prospect Promotion Initiative (PPI) that factors into the decision of whether or not to put a highly regarded prospect on the Opening Day roster.
(14:45) A look at the starting rotation and who stacks up where in the pecking order.
(25:35) There have been rave reviews for Sean Doolittle in his new role as pitching strategist, a position he was hired for in mid January. Hear a brief explanation of what his duties entail.
(30:00) Then we turn our focus to what the bullpen looks like this year. Unfortunately there will not be Mason Thompson in 2024 as he will undergo Tommy Johnson surgery.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Wood's Chances to Make the Opening Day Roster

A Washington Nationals podcast offering recap and analysis after every game, plus all the breaking news throughout the year. Hosted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com & Al Galdi, host of "The Al Galdi Podcast". For sponsorship opportunities, contact Tim Shovers at natschatpodcast@gmail.com.

Sports

Baseball

The Nats fell 4-2 in Philadelphia on Friday night and have dropped three straight games on the road trip. Mark (From Citizen's Bank Park) & Al yet again go over a struggling offense that only collected four hits. Oddly enough, all four hits were doubles. One of them came from Joey Gallo, who was just called up from AAA following his rehab stint.
(12:30) Trey Lipscomb was the player sent down to AAA make room for Gallo on Friday afternoon. It is the second time this season that Lipscomb has demoted from Washington. Should Joey Meneses have been the player sent to Rochester instead?
(23:00) Jake Irvin took the loss after giving up four runs in five innings of work. He threw a wild pitch and also hit two Phillies batters during the start. Mark notes how Irvin was profusely sweating during the outing.
(29:00) Cade Cavalli will soon open his rehab window down in Florida. Mark explains what this means and when he might return to the mound in D.C.
(32:00) An update on Josiah Gray who has been on the IL for over a month.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nats Drop Their 3rd Straight

The Nats dropped the rubber match in Chicago as they were shutout for the second straight game in a 2-0 defeat on Wednesday afternoon. Mark (From the South Side) & Al discuss the batting order, which did not include many regulars and had Ildemaro Vargas hitting 3rd. Among those not in the starting lineup were CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker, Luis Garcia Jr., and Eddie Rosario.
(06:00) Keibert Ruiz went 0 for 4 and struck three times. This season has been a rough one for Ruiz and his OPS is at a startling .393.
(13:00) Mark gives an update on Lane Thomas after watching him run the bases during pregame warmups. He has been out three weeks with a sprained knee.
(17:20) Patrick Corbin was dealt the loss as he gave up a pair of runs off of six hits in 5.2 IP. Three bullpen arms behind arm did record the final eight outs without ceding a run.
(27:00) GM Mike Rizzo was on 106.7 The Fan and was not shy about the defense's recent struggles. Vargas committed an error on Wednesday and this came a day after the team made three in the same inning.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blanked Again by the White Sox

The Nats and White Sox split their doubleheader on Tuesday in Chicago. Mark (From the South Side) & Al begin with Game 2, where former National Erick Fedde threw seven scoreless innings in the 4-0 shutout vs. his old team. Fedde pitched in South Korea in 2023 and was non tendered by Washington in November of 2022.
(07:00) The Nats registered ten hits in their 6-3 victory in Game 1 as Joey Meneses had four of them. The last time he had that many hits in a game was September 1st, 2022 when he hit a walk-off homer vs. Oakland.
(11:00) Trey Lipscomb had a trio of hits in the win and stole a pair of bases. He did however commit his seventh error of the season as he did not play well defensively at 3B.
(18:30) Eddie Rosario won NL Player of the Week and followed that up with a hit in each game on Tuesday.
(20:00) Trevor Williams gave up his first homer of the season and had a no decision in his Game 1 outing as he did not have the benefit of good defense behind him. Mitchell Parker took the loss in Game 2 as he ceded three runs in five frames.
(33:00) Al was mystified at how empty Guaranteed Rate Field was during Game 1. Mark gives a firsthand account of just how few people were in the stands.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fedde Shutout Caps the Doubleheader Split

The Nats lost 3-2 in Boston on Sunday afternoon to lose the weekend series. Al & Tim scratch their heads at the mistakes made by Victor Robles as he dropped a routine fly ball and the next inning had inexplicable base running that led to a crucial out. Davey Martinez noted afterwards that he considered removing Robles from the game.
(13:00) Robles was not the only cuprit on the bases as the Nats made multiple outs that way on Sunday. Nick Senzel was picked off in the top of 7th and Jacob Young was thrown out trying to steal 2nd for the final out of the game.
(16:00) Eddie Rosario homered again as he continued his red hot start to the month of May. He is 10 for his last 22 with four homers mixed in there.
(22:00) MacKenzie Gore struck out nine hitters and overall pitched well despite the loss. All of the runs he gave up came in the wacky of the bottom of the 2nd. Gore tossed a career high 111 pitches on in six frames.
(30:00) The Nationals move their road trip to the White Sox for a three game series. Chicago is in last place, but recently won four straight.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robles' Miscues Lowlight the Loss

The Nats lost 4-2 in Boston on Saturday afternoon to return to .500 through 38 games. Al begins with Davey Martinez's decision to pitch Robert Garcia for the entirety of the bottom 8th as a tied game became 4-2 before the end of the frame.
(05:00) Jake Irvin lasted a career high seven innings and exited the game when it was tied 2-2. Irvin struck out six and threw 103 pitches in the outing. Al notes how big it is that it seems that Irvin can be a long term rotation piece as it shows the improvement in the franchise's player development.
(09:30) How much credit should we give Sean Doolittle for the pitching staff's performance thus far? He was hired in the off season as a "Pitching strategist".
(14:00) The offense had just two solo homers and only once had a runner in scoring position. Eddie Rosario homered for the third time in May and he is hitting .409 this month after hitting .053 in April.
(20:00) James Wood homered twice in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday. Wood has seven homers on the season and five of them have come this week.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Wood's Chances to Make the Opening Day Roster

Download our free app to listen on your phone