TBNL No. 303 covers the Nationals and Orioles agreeing to their first trade; suspensions are handed down after the Nats and Red Sox brawl; the Rays prepare to honor Evan Longoria; and the KBO’s Bears add a slugging infielder.

Major League Baseball relocated killed the Montreal Expos franchise and moved it(s carcass) to Washington D.C. ahead of the 2005 season. The Washington Nationals were born.

The Nats and their “in-state” rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, have lived in a world filled with tension for the last two decades. The Orioles balked at giving up part of their territorial rights to allow another franchise into “their market”, leading to constant battles and disputes over broadcasting rights (and the associated revenues). The two franchises have never gotten along, though some of the hostilities started to change when David Rubenstein purchased the Orioles in 2024.

On Wednesday, the two clubs agreed to a trade — albeit a minor one — for the first time in more than 20 years. The Nationals are acquiring right-hander Kyle Nicolas. The Orioles will receive minor leaguer Randal Diaz in return.

Nicolas, 27, was initially a 2nd round pick by the Marlins in 2020 out of Ball State Univ. (IN). The Nationals are the reliever’s third organization this season: he started spring training with the Pirates before a March trade to the Reds, and, by June, he was purchased by the Orioles. His only MLB time this season has been brief, totaling seven appearances with an 8.59 ERA, 13 BB, and 7 SO in 7.1 IP. Over a four-year career, Nicolas has made 93 appearances with a 4.96 ERA, 66 BB, and 103 SO in 105.1 IP.

Diaz, 23, was a 5th-round pick by the Nats in 2024 out of Indiana State Univ. The infielder has spent the season at High-A Wilmington, hitting .253/.360/.406 in 200 PA (52 G) with 9 2B, 5 HR, and 13 SB. He was not ranked on any major outlet’s top prospect list for the Nationals.

Things in Boston took an ugly turn on Tuesday night in the 4th inning.

Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli struck out Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras. Contreras had “brushed past” Cavalli at the end of the first inning. Cavalli can be seen on video shouting “sit down, boy” in Contreras’s direction as he walked back to the dugout, prompting him to head to the mound and the benches (and bullpens) to clear. Contreras had to be restrained by teammates before he threw his helmet in Cavalli’s direction.

Contreras, Sox infielder Nate Eaton, and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas were all ejected from the game. Eaton (3 games) and Mikolas (5 games) were suspended for their roles in the brawl.

Cavalli wasn’t ejected from the game — he struck out a career-best 13 hitters in seven scoreless innings — but received a seven-game suspension from the league.

Contreras was also suspended for seven games, but his situation is slightly more complex. The league is making him sit out four games for his role in the bench-clearing brawl. The additional three games were the result of Contreras violating league rules by going on social media in the clubhouse after he was ejected from the game (he responded to a fan on Instagram who had insulted him).

All four players are appealing (which usually does little more than delay the suspensions and sometimes they’re reduced by a game).

Tampa Bay is averaging roughly 16,405 per game in attendance this season, per Baseball Reference figures entering play on Thursday. Only the Marlins and Athletics are drawing fewer fans per game than the Rays. Next weekend, however, the Rays are anticipating larger-than-usual crowds, to the point where they plan to open the upper deck at Tropicana Field, according to MLB.com’s Adam Berry.

Franchise icon Evan Longoria will be honored throughout the Rays’ final home series before the All-Star Break, a three-game set with the Mariners from July 10-12. Longoria will be added to the Rays Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony on Saturday. His No. 3 will be retired before Sunday’s game.

The Rays selected Longoria with the third overall pick in the 2006 Draft out of Cal. State Univ. Long Beach. The third baseman spent just two seasons in the minors before arriving in Tampa Bay in April 2008, where he quickly became a fan favorite and franchise cornerstone. Longoria played in 122 games during that first season, hitting .272/.343/.531 (127 OPS+) with 31 2B, 27 HR, and 85 RBI en route to an All-Star appearance and the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Longoria spent 10 years with the Rays, batting .270/.341/.483 (125 OPS+) with 338 2B, 261 HR, totaling 51.7 bWAR, while adding three All-Star appearances, three Gold Glove Awards, and a Silver Slugger Award.

Despite his place in the franchise’s history, the Rays were looking to trim payroll heading into the 2018 season. Longoria was approaching his 10-and-5 rights kicking in (similar to how the Diamondbacks were repeatedly rumored to be shopping Ketel Marte this past offseason). Tampa Bay agreed to trade Longoria (and cash; Longoria was still owed $81M through 2022, with a team option for 2023, from a six-year, $100M extension he had signed ahead of the 2017 season) to the Giants in Dec. 2017 for four players: OF Denard Span, INF Christian Arroyo, LHP Matt Krook, and RHP Stephen Woods. Arroyo (1), Krook (25), and Woods (29) were all ranked among the Giants’ Top 30 prospects at the time of the deal. Longoria spent five seasons with the Giants and another with the D-backs before retiring after the 2023 season.

Longoria will be the sixth member of the Rays Hall of Fame, joining OF Carl Crawford, 3B Wade Boggs, 1B Fred McGriff, long-time coach Don Zimmer, and radio broadcaster Dave Wills.

Boggs (No. 12), Zimmer (No. 66), and Jackie Robinson (No. 42) are the only other uniform numbers retired by the franchise.

The KBO’s Doosan Bears announced a pair of roster moves on Thursday, officially extending left-hander Wes Benjamin for the remainder of the season and signing infielder Yunior Severino. According to the Yonhap News Agency’s Jee-ho Yoo, Benjamin will earn $450,000 and Severino will be paid $200,000.

Benjamin, 33 in late July, was signed as a temporary (six-week) injury replacement by Doosan in early April after right-hander Chris Flexen landed on the injured list with a tear in his rotator cuff. Flexen was released on Monday after experiencing another setback in his recovery. The two sides have already extended that deal once, but now Benjamin will remain with the Bears through the end of the season. He’s made 13 starts for the team with a 2.66 ERA, 21 BB, and 68 SO in 74.1 IP.

Severino, 26, is expected to take over at first base for the Bears, per Yoo. He originally signed as an amateur free agent with the Braves out of the Dominican Republic and spent the 2017 season with the organization before MLB declared him and 12 other prospects free agents again in Nov. 2017 after the Braves were found to have violated several international signing rules. Severino signed with the Twins a month later, receiving a $2.5M bonus (in addition to the $1.9M bonus the Braves paid him).

Severino spent the next seven seasons in the Twins’ minor league system, topping out at Triple-A. In 597 minor league games between the two organizations, he slashed .263/.349/.460 in 2572 PA with 126 2B and 97 HR. He’s spent the first half of 2026 playing in Mexico, hitting .340/.402/.529 in 229 PA (54 G).