Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs, expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Washington NationalsManager: Dave Martinez (first season).2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Chicago Cubs in NLDS.Training Town: West Palm Beach, Florida.Park: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, C Jose Lobaton, 1B-LF Adam Lind, RHP Matt Albers.Going campin': It's become an all-too-familiar story for the Nationals and their fans: terrific regular season, followed by quick playoff exit, followed by a managerial change. Martinez will be the latest skipper to try to lead the club to postseason success — and GM Mike Rizzo has made it clear that ownership expects nothing less than a World Series championship. Martinez has been Joe Maddon's right-hand man with the Chicago... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves haven't closed the door on adding a free agent, preferably on a short-term deal.General manager Alex Anthopoulos said Saturday he's still considering free-agent options at third base, the outfield and in the bullpen. He said he's not looking to add a long-term contract that would block the path of outfielder Ronald Acuna or third baseman Austin Riley."I would say our focus, unless it's somebody we really believe in, would be on a shorter term deal because we don't want to block a Riley, we don't want to block an Acuna," Anthopoulos said.Acuna and Riley will be closely watched in spring training as non-roster invitees.Anthopoulos helped to clear Acuna's path to the major leagues by trading outfielder Matt Kemp to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 16.Acuna, 20, is the star of a rebuilding process otherwise built around pitching. He was the most valuable player of the Arizona Fall League and Baseball America's minor league player of the year.The Braves had interest... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have released third baseman Adonis Garcia so he can play overseas.The team says on Twitter that Garcia has a "desire to play in South Korea for the 2018 season."The 32-year-old Garcia likely would have entered spring training behind Johan Camargo and Rio Ruiz in Atlanta's competition at third base. New president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has said the team may add another option at third through a trade or free agency.Garcia hit .273 with 14 homers and 65 RBI in 134 games in 2016. His playing time decreased in 2017, when he hit .237 with five homers in 52 games. He missed about three months while recovering from finger surgery.The move was announced Wednesday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

3B Rio Ruiz drove in a career-high three runs in the Braves' 5-1 victory over the Cubs on Sunday. Ruiz finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base and finished the weekend series against the Cubs by going 5-for-11 with four RBIs.

3B Rio Ruiz went 1-for-4 with a homer on Saturday. He has gone 3-for-7 with a double and homer in two games since being recalled from Triple-A. It was his first home run since June 13 at Washington.

3B Rio Ruiz was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday and was immediately inserted into Friday's lineup against the Chicago Cubs and went 2-for-3 with a double. Ruiz, 23, hit .175 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 31 games with the Braves this season.

3B Rio Ruiz was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett. The rookie played 30 games and hit .175 with two homers and nine RBIs. He was in an 0-for-13 slump when he was returned to the G-Braves. Manager Brian Snitker said the organization would rather have Ruiz play every day in the minors than ride the bench in Atlanta.

C Rio Ruiz gave the Braves a 4-3 lead with a two-run homer to right off Joe Ross in the sixth Tuesday. It was the second career homer for Ruiz, who went deep against Max Scherzer of the Nationals on May 20 for a two-run shot for his first MLB homer.

3B Rio Ruiz became the first Braves pinch hitter to have a walk-off hit since Juan Francisco in 2012 as he singled in fellow rookie Dansby Swanson in the ninth inning Friday night against the Mets. The hit came on the first pitch to Ruiz. The last previous Braves pinch-hitter to deliver a win on the first offering he saw was Brian Hunter in 2000, who homered.

3B Rio Ruiz has impressed the Braves front office since being recalled, first to fill Freddie Freeman's place on the roster and then being plugged into third base with Adonis Garcia on the disabled list with a left Achilles strain. Ruiz is hitting .270 with five RBIs and had a key hit in Monday's six-run third inning. Ruiz was an Angels fan growing up in Southern California, attending Bishop Amat High School. "I don't want to get carried away with it," he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "I want to keep my feet on the ground, definitely. I think of it as just trying to help the team win. I was very fortunate that I was able to be put in a situation to ... get some big hits and keep rallies going, and I'm very fortunate for those things to happen."

3B Rio Ruiz had three hits on Thursday against the Pirates, his second consecutive multi-game. The rookie has played eight games since being promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett is batting .320 with a homer, four RBIs and five runs. Ruiz played five games with the Braves last season.

3B Rio Ruiz had two hits, including the first double of his career on Wednesday. Ruiz is batting .238 (5-for-21) in seven games since being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

3B Rio Ruiz's first major league homer on Saturday against the Nationals came off National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. The rookie connected on a 2-2 pitch in the second inning. It was the first two-strike homer that Scherzer had allowed this season, and it was the first time a Braves player hit his first homer against a Cy Young winner since Evan Gattis went deep off Philadelphia's Roy Halliday on April 13, 2013. Ruiz was 2-for-4 after going 0-for-4 in the previous three games since being promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

INF Rio Ruiz was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett by the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. Ruiz, who made his major league debut after playing in five games in 2016, is batting .262 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 37 contests with Gwinnett this season.

Atlanta Braves superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman sustained a fractured left wrist and is expected to miss at least 10 weeks, the team announced on Thursday.Freeman, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Thursday, sustained the injury after being hit by a fastball from Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Aaron Loup in Wednesday's interleague game. The 27-year-old slowly walked toward the dugout with his head down after being hit by the pitch.Initial X-rays were inconclusive, but MRI and CT scans on Thursday revealed that Freeman sustained the second significant wrist injury of his young career. The two-time All-Star missed considerable time in 2015 while dealing with a right wrist injury."It's a tough blow. It wasn't the news I wanted to hear," Freeman said. "I had a feeling, but I was hoping for the best."It was just one of those pitches that got away. There was no intent. He was just trying to get me out."Freeman was off to the best start of his career, batting .341 with a National... [More]

Atlanta Braves superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman sustained a fractured left wrist and is expected to miss at least 10 weeks, the team announced on Thursday.Freeman, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Thursday, sustained the injury after being hit by a fastball from Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Aaron Loup in Wednesday's interleague game. The 27-year-old slowly walked toward the dugout with his head down after being hit by the pitch.Initial X-rays were inconclusive, but MRI and CT scans on Thursday revealed that Freeman sustained the second significant wrist injury of his young career. The two-time All-Star missed considerable time in 2015 while dealing with a right wrist injury.Freeman was off to the best start of his career, batting .341 with a National League-best 14 homers and 25 RBIs in 37 games. He is hitting .290 in his career with 152 homers and 540 RBIs in 946 contests."When the best hitter in the game goes out, it really (stinks)," Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz said following Wednesday's 8-4 victory over Toronto.The Braves recalled infielder Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move on Thursday. Ruiz, who made his major league debut after playing in five games in 2016, is batting .262 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 37 contests with Gwinnett this season.

3B Rio Ruiz, 22, had his contract selected from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday after hitting .271 with 10 homers and 62 RBIs in 133 regular-season games. The left-handed batter hit .294 against right-handed pitching, but just .203 after lefties.

Ruiz is slashing .191/.315/.234 with zero home runs and one stolen base in 169 plate appearances with Double-A Mississippi.

Mississippi is one of the toughest places to hit in all the minor leagues, and possibly the toughest place to hit home runs, so his numbers should not cause severe panic in dynasty league owners. He is still walking at a 14.8 percent clip and striking out at a very manageable 17.2 percent clip, so the approach is not broken. A .239 BABIP and poor conditions for power seem to be mostly to blame here. Hopefully the Braves will get Ruiz out of Mississippi at some point this season so that fantasy owners can get a better read on Ruiz's current skills.