Spencer Nusbaum's Avatar

Spencer Nusbaum

@spencernusbaum.bsky.social

Washington Nationals reporter at The Athletic | Past: Washington Post | he/him

5,282 Followers  |  237 Following  |  289 Posts  |  Joined: 02.12.2023
Posts Following

Posts by Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum.bsky.social)

The Nationals and Zack Littell are in an agreement on a one-year contract pending a physical, source confirms.

@kileymcd.bsky.social and @jeffpassanbot.bsky.social were first.

08.03.2026 16:52 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

March 16 for me, and amped for it! Can’t speak for anyone else, though.

08.03.2026 15:33 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Washington Nationals 2026 top 20 prospects: Eli Willits, Gavin Fien lead the way The Nationals have a lot of talent at the top of their list, but some underperformed last year and are in need of bounce-back seasons.

With Caleb Lomavita, I’ll be keeping an eye on which trait improves at the plate this year: walks or homers.

He’s 20th on Keith Law’s Nats’ Top 20:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/702...

08.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Bryce Montes de Oca and Tyler Baum: WSH has a ton of flexibility in how it manages, options and add/DFAs from the pen this year.

That’s why it was smart to add a bunch of NRI relievers who may be a tweak or two away. More options, better chance of striking gold.

08.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Given that the only middle infielders on the Nats 40 man are CJ Abrams, Luis GarcΓ­a Jr., Nasim NuΓ±ez and JosΓ© Tena, it feels like the two infielders here (Orelvis Martinez and Sergio Alcantara) have a path to playing in the majors this year.

08.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Luis Perales: I’ll be keeping a close eye on how the staff in Rochester manages his workload and helps him with the command. Because the stuff? It’ll play! x.com/tjstats/stat...

08.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

Riley Cornelio! There’s β€œnew Brad Lord” potential here, for sure.

Stuff has ticked up. Look at the sinker this spring (first image) vs. last year (second image is AAA metrics).

Feels like a matter of when he will make starts in Washington, not if.

08.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

My job hasn’t started yet, but marginal moves call out to me like the green goblin mask

so here is some context from afar on the Nats spring training cuts:

08.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Me too!

08.03.2026 13:12 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey! My first day is March 16, so you won’t see anything on site until then.

08.03.2026 13:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

My first day at @theathletic.com is March 16!

I’ll keep breaking news and writing features, but there’s a new element to this, too β€” answering your questions directly. (More on that soon!)

Hope you’ll come along for the journey!

New IG & TikTok: byspencernusbaum

05.03.2026 17:39 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

As expected, top prospects Jarlin Susana and Travis Sykora were among the first cuts at Nationals spring training.

They will head to MiLB camp alongside Andry Lara, Eddy Yean and Max Romero.

02.03.2026 15:47 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Andrew crystallized, to me, what it takes to be a great reporter. That’s by being yourself β€” which, in Andrew’s case, meant being kind, grounded, funny and eager to poke at anything that made him curious.

This role, as such, is a perfect fit. He’s gonna crush it.

28.02.2026 01:44 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you! I feel welcomed already!

28.02.2026 01:42 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Will keep you posted, but it appears likely!

28.02.2026 01:41 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

lol that’s all you!

28.02.2026 01:40 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you! I’m amped! And will post here when I have that date locked down!

28.02.2026 01:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh, yeah, subscribe to @theathletic.com

26.02.2026 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, this is surreal. Yes, this is quite the list of people to see my name alongside.

And if you’re curious about the beat structure, I’ll have more on that soon! But it’ll be a whole lot of me talking to you all, you all talking to me, and deep reporting. Let’s ride!

26.02.2026 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Athletic Welcomes New Colleagues | The New York Times Company We’re excited to announce the hiring of several Washington Post journalists as The Athletic expands its coverage of the Commanders, launches a new Nationals beat and adds to its growing roster of…

Well, Nats fans, I’m sticking around.

Thrilled to announce that I’m joining the @theathletic.com as the Washington Nationals beat reporter.

I’m amped about our plans for the beat, and believe you will be, too.
www.nytco.com/press/the-at...

26.02.2026 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 173    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 19    πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
Live from West Palm Beach ... it's reporting day! Nationals pitchers and catchers officially report for spring training today. Here's what's on tap, plus a shoutout to some other local sportswriters on Substack.

Good morning from CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Glad to be here with MLBdotcom's Jessica Camerato. Wish our friends @andrewgolden.bsky.social, @spencernusbaum.bsky.social and @chelseajanes.bsky.social were here, too.

Here’s what’s on tap today: natsjournal.com/p/live-from-...

10.02.2026 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 38    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Anyways, yeah. This is an incalculable loss for the region and sports journalism. It will be jarring to wake up in the morning β€” in one of the biggest metro areas in the country β€” and not have a sports section (and so many other great parts of The Post) to turn to.

04.02.2026 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 33    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Also, it was really nice that my final story for the Post was one I co-bylined with @andrewcgolden (and was edited, as always, by an incredible team of editors).

We did some great work together

04.02.2026 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

The sports section basically taught me how to read growing up. Somehow, years later, they let me write in those pages. I’ll cherish that forever.

04.02.2026 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

I was laid off by The Washington Post today. This is gutting for our readers and our section, but I’m grateful for the 4 years I had to cover sports alongside friends and legends.

If you’re hiring or know of someone who is: spencernusbaum(at)gmail(dot)com

04.02.2026 15:48 β€” πŸ‘ 81    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 12    πŸ“Œ 0

Just wanted to take a minute, for no particular reason whatsoever, and celebrate some of the brilliant work that my
@postsports.bsky.social colleagues have done in recent weeks.

These stories take time and resources. They're also what make The Post so great. All gift links/free to read...

26.01.2026 16:51 β€” πŸ‘ 94    πŸ” 21    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 5
Post image Post image

He keeps every story I write in boxes in his home. He calls me to ask if I know when my stories make it on the front page of the sports section.

It’s an honor to be part of the @postsports.bsky.social team. Always have felt that way but especially today.

26.01.2026 20:07 β€” πŸ‘ 68    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

If nothing else, I’ve always hoped our work in the Washington Post’s sports section could give readers a meaningful connection to (and understanding of) something bigger than themselves.

I’ve seen today: It has. Forever grateful to be a part of this team. #SaveThePost

26.01.2026 19:20 β€” πŸ‘ 79    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
They were traded for MacKenzie Gore. Here’s what MLB evaluators see. The Post talked to several talent evaluators employed by teams across MLB, asking them about the return for MacKenzie Gore. Here’s what we learned.

I know what you're thinking: man, I wish @spencernusbaum.bsky.social and Andrew had a story detailing what they've heard from talent evaluators across baseball about the prospects acquired in the MacKenzie Gore trade.

Lucky for you, we came through:

23.01.2026 19:23 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

The Washington Nationals are acquiring five prospects back from the Rangers for MacKenzie Gore, per source. Biggest names among them: SS Gavin Fien and RHP Alejandro Rosario.

22.01.2026 20:43 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1