The Washington Nationals hired a new sideline reporter with news of the organization leaving MASN, while both a new scout and hitting coach have joined the organization.
It's been a quiet offseason for the Washington Nationals with the ongoing MacKenzie Gore storyline still dominating the headlines despite consistent reports of no traction with teams around the league. While we dove into five free agents who could boost the 2026 roster, the Nationals also announced its 15-man international signing class on Thursday, but there was more news around Washington through the week and with spring training inching closer:
New area scout...the Nationals will have another area scout joining the program with Billy Henley reportedly set to join the organization, per Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball. Henley joins Washington after serving as an assistant coach at Northwestern State and one season as a hitting and catching coach at Florida Southwestern State College. Henley helped produce the program's first All-American position player in AJ Shaver, who went on to become a draft selection after the Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 17th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. A Georgia native who began his coaching career at South Forsyth High School, Henley also spent time with both the Green Bay Booyah of the Northwoods League where he served as a hitting coach.
New hitting coach...the Nationals have added another coach to its minor league staff with Travis Fitta announcing his new role within the organization this week. Fitta announced he will serve as a hitting coach in Triple-A this season, joining the organization after three years working as a hitting coordinator and senior trainer with Driveline Baseball Enterprises. This marks the second coaching stint in the minor league for Fitta after serving as the hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs for the 2020 season where he worked across multiple levels. He began his coaching career as the director of hitting development at Ohio University during the 2019 season after playing at El Paso Community College.
New sideline reporter...with news that the Washington Nationals are officially leaving the MASN network in 2026 after news became official that the organization will work with MLV TV, that brings in new broadcast changes. Including a new sideline reporter.
Alexa Datt is reportedly joining the organization, per Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. She joins the organization after serving as a host with FanDuel Sports Network Midwest and recently covering the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues, while she also previously served as a stadium host and reporter for the New York Mets from 2014 to 2017. But this marks a homecoming for Datt.
Her career also includes an internship with Comcast SportsNet while the Derwood, Maryland native graduated from Magruder High School in 2003 and the University of Maryland in 2007.
Spring training report date...while the Nationals front office is capitalizing on a retreat style meet-up in the nation's capital this weekend, per Talk Nats, Washington will head down to the team's training complex in Florida next week for a supplemental training camp with spring training looming. Report dates officially emerged this week with pitchers and catchers set to report to the Nationals' first workout of Wednesday, Feb. 11 before a full squad workout on Feb. 16.