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Nationals' Clayton Beeter: Melts down in loss, blown save
Rotowire
Beeter (3-2) took the loss and blew the save Saturday against the Yankees, allowing two runs on three hits and no walks in the eighth inning. He failed to record an out.
Washington summoned Beeter after Orlando Ribalta was able to get just one out in the eighth frame, but Beeter was unable to help extinguish the fire in a disastrous outing. The Nationals' much-maligned bullpen continues to search for answers in high-leverage spots, as its now blown a staggering 27 saves in 2026 already. Beeter still appears to remain one of the club's favorites for saves due to a lack of alternatives, holding a 3.62 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 31:18 K:BB with seven saves in 12 attempts over 27.1 frames.
Mikolas will serve his five-game suspension starting Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
The suspension stemmed from his actions during a bench-clearing brawl with the Red Sox on July 2 that also involved Cade Cavalli (suspension) and Willson Contreras (suspension). Mikolas appealed the five-game ban, but MLB ruled that the right-hander must begin his five-game suspension Sunday, which means he'll be available to return July 21 against the Rockies. Mikolas enters the All-Star break with a 5.78 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 50:19 K:BB across 90.1 innings.
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Nationals' Cooper Harris: Heading to Washington
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Harris with the No. 106 overall pick in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
Harris, a prep righty from Texas, had some impressive starts in front of top evaluators over the past year, even though his stuff isn't overpowering right now. There is a lot to work with, as Harris has good command of a deep repertoire and excellent movement traits on his fastball.
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Nationals' Luke Williams: Popped by Washington
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Williams with the No. 79 overall pick in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
The 18-year-old Williams has elite speed and strong overall tools but has some rawness to his game. His ability to remain at shortstop will likely depend how well he matures and allows the game to slow down since he currently plays at full speed all the time.
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Nationals' Chase Brunson: Early second-round pick by Nats
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Brunson with the No. 42 overall pick in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
While Brunson may not bring loud tools to the table, he's considered a well-rounded prospect out of TCU. He may not have the speed to stick in center field long term, and there are questions about his aggressiveness within the strike zone, but Brunson could end up being a nice value for Washington outside the top 40.
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Nationals' Jacob Young: Absent from lineup
Rotowire
Young isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees.
Young went 1-for-4 with a stolen base during Friday's loss and will now retreat to the dugout to begin Saturday's events. Daylen Lile, Dylan Crews and James Wood will start across the outfield with Young on the bench.
Ruiz isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees.
Ruiz will get a chance to rest his legs after slugging a home run during Friday's series opener. Drew Millas will replace him behind the dish Saturday and bat eighth.
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Nationals' Chris Hacopian: Lands with Nats in first round
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Hacopian with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
There's no reason Hacopian can't have a long big-league career as a hit-first second baseman or left fielder, but he lacks loud physical tools or projection at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. He attempted eight steals in 149 games in college -- two seasons for Maryland before transferring to Texas A&M -- and logged a .697 OPS with a wood bat on the Cape in 2025. Hacopian hit between 11 and 15 homers all three years in college, with his 15 as a freshman marking his career high. He was limited to 42 games for the Aggies this year due to a back issue and walked more (12.8 BB%) than he struck out (10.8 K%) for the third year in a row. Aside from his poor showing in the Cape Cod League last summer, there's nothing to nitpick with Hacopian's hit tool, but he needs to max out as a power hitter to be more than a boring hit-over-power bat-first player in the Brendan Donovan mold.
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Nationals' James Wood: Goes yard again Friday
Rotowire
Wood went 3-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees.
The 23-year-old superstar took Tim Hill deep in the seventh inning to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead, but the bullpen blew another save in the ninth. Wood has left the yard six times in the last 10 games, slashing .417/.571/1.056 over that sizzling stretch, and his total of 26 homers on the season in just 95 games is five shy of the career high he set in 2025.
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Nationals' Zack Littell: Comes away with no-decision Friday
Rotowire
Littell didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees, allowing one run on five hits over four innings of relief. He struck out five without walking a batter.
The veteran right-hander put together one of his better outings of the season, tossing 49 of 69 pitches for strikes after taking over in the fourth inning from opener Carson Palmquist, but the Nationals' bullpen cost Littell his eighth win of the season with another meltdown in the ninth. He's given up two runs of fewer in four straight starts, heading into the All-Star break with a 2.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB through 19 innings over that stretch.
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Nationals' PJ Poulin: Opening Saturday
Rotowire
Poulin will serve as the opening pitcher in Saturday's game against the Yankees, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Poulin will receive his 11th opening assignment of the season and will likely remain in the game for an inning or two before turning the game over to bulk reliever Miles Mikolas. Poulin has given up just two runs in 10.1 innings since coming up from the minors in mid-June and carries a 2.83 ERA through 35 frames on the year.
Lile is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Yankees.
The left-handed-hitting Lile will get a break as the Yankees send southpaw Ryan Weathers to the hill. Andres Chaparro is getting a start in Lile's place and will occupy the designated-hitter slot.
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Nationals' Tom Cosgrove: Contract selected
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Cosgrove's contract from Triple-A Rochester on Friday, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.
Cosgrove was acquired via trade from the Astros last week and is now joining up with the big club. The lefty reliever has logged a 4.15 ERA and 32:22 K:BB across 30.1 innings of work at the Triple-A level this season.
The Nationals placed Lord on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left side tightness.
Lord last pitched Sunday, when he was rocked for five runs over 1.1 innings. His absence could end up being around the 15-day minimum if he is indeed only dealing with tightness, but the Nationals may need to send Lord for imaging to see if he has a strain.
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Nationals' Zack Littell: Slated for bulk relief Friday
Rotowire
Littell will operate as a bulk reliever for the Nationals in Friday's game versus the Yankees, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Lefty Carson Palmquist will get the ball first as the Nationals' opening pitcher, but he'll likely work just an inning or two before giving way to Littell. Littell has made 12 starts and six bulk-relief appearances this season and has fared much better in the latter role, holding a 3.03 ERA and 17:7 K:BB over 29.2 innings.
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