WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Managers aren’t always eager for the start of exhibition play. Some would prefer their guys get more time to work on things, more fundamental drills, more opportunities to face pitchers and hitters in controlled environments, before taking the field against another ballclub.

Davey Martinez has felt that way some years. He doesn’t feel that way this year.

“I am ready,” the Nationals manager said. “I’ve been here for a while, so I’m ready to get these games going. I’m looking forward to watching some of the guys, especially the guys I haven’t really seen play live.”

Martinez and Co. won’t have to wait any longer. The Nats open Grapefruit League play this afternoon against the Cardinals in Jupiter. The first of 30 exhibition games before their March 30 opener against the Braves will offer everyone a first glimpse at the 2023 roster, though not everyone who is projected to be in the lineup five weeks from now.

Martinez named four regulars who aren’t scheduled to play today: catcher Keibert Ruiz, first baseman Dominic Smith, third baseman Jeimer Candelario and left fielder Corey Dickerson. All are expected to play in one of Sunday’s split-squad games, either at home against the Astros or on the road against the Mets.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals open exhibition play Saturday, which means we’ll see the very first version of Davey Martinez’s 2023 lineup in action.

Don’t pay too much attention to the names in that lineup, though, or where they’re lined up.

Martinez said he plans to use these early Grapefruit League games as an opportunity to get certain players as many at-bats as possible before they depart. That’s why CJ Abrams will lead off Saturday against the Cardinals, with Luis García second and Joey Meneses third.

That’s not Martinez’s lineup plan for Opening Day, at least not at this point. He believes both Abrams and García could become top-of-the-order hitters in time, but that time isn’t yet. He wants to make sure both get comfortable with swing and approach changes they’ve been working on before moving up in the lineup.

“For me, it’s tricky,” Martinez said. “I don’t want to put them in a situation right away where they feel like they’ve got to get on base, they’ve got to rush. I might just let them hit at the bottom of the order first until they get going, and then we’ll see what happens.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – CJ Abrams is a young man of few words. Which is perfectly fine. That’s just who he is.

The soft-spoken 22-year-old, though, is one of the central figures of the Nationals’ rebuild, a highly touted, potential franchise shortstop acquired in one of the biggest trades in major league history. The spotlight on him is particularly bright, even if he’s the type to eschew the spotlight.

“No pressure, really,” Abrams insisted Thursday morning. “Every day, like I said, getting better with the young guys, growing together, having fun, getting wins.”

That’s all Abrams cares about at the moment. He’s 22, a starting shortstop in the big leagues and part of young core of newcomers that hopes to lift the Nationals back into regular contention again.

If extra attention happens to come with that, so be it.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – MacKenzie Gore’s first start in a Nationals uniform will come in the Nationals’ first game of the spring.

Gore has been picked to start Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Cardinals in Jupiter, manager Davey Martinez revealed today. He’s slated to throw 25-30 pitches, perhaps completing only one inning.

“He’s ready,” Martinez said. “He’s thrown multiple (live batting practice sessions against hitters), so he’s ready to go. I’m excited to watch him go out there and pitch.”

It’ll be Gore’s long-awaited first appearance as a member of the Nationals, even if it comes in an exhibition game. The left-hander, who turns 24 on Friday, was one of the marquee prospects acquired from the Padres in last summer’s trade for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, but he spent the rest of the season rehabbing from elbow inflammation.

Gore wound up making four rehab starts at Triple-A Rochester and appeared on track to make his Nats debut during the season’s final week. But the club decided not to bother, worried his arm and body weren’t built back up enough to start what would’ve been a meaningless game at the end of the year.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Four hundred eighty games into his major league career, what exactly is Victor Robles?

Is he the dynamic rookie who seized the Nationals’ center field job in 2019, delivered 33 doubles, 17 homers and premier defense to help his team win the World Series? Is he the hitter who has produced a paltry .597 OPS in the three years since? Is he an all-glove, no-bat outfielder destined to bat ninth for the rest of time? Is he an out machine on the bases who can’t avoid killer mistakes?

The Nationals still don’t know for sure. Or, at least, they still believe it’s worth trying to find out for sure. Robles, for his part, agrees the time has come to step up in this, his fifth full season in the majors.

“Absolutely, I think myself and my team know I haven’t given my 100 percent potential that they expected, and that I expect,” he said Wednesday, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I think with the help of God this season, I will have a great season and show them what I can do.”

It’s been roughly the same story for Robles every spring since 2019. He comes to camp hearing the Nationals want him to do more, to play smarter, to be a more well-rounded ballplayer. And he insists he will do all that.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The second day of full-squad workouts saw the arrival of Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner, the return of several pitchers for their second round of live batting practice and some moments of levity.

Mark Lerner made his first appearance of the spring at camp, his first public appearance since the death of his father, founding principal owner Ted Lerner, on Feb. 12. Mark Lerner was greeted by nearly everyone in the organization over the course of the morning, accepting condolences and offering thanks to everyone who has shared kind words about his 97-year-old father.

Lerner, who hasn’t spoken publicly about the potential sale of the franchise since early last year, wasn’t subjected to questions from reporters today.

Lerner did make a point to watch several drills up close, including live BP sessions by two of the organization’s top rotation candidates: Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli. Both faced hitters for the second time in camp.

Gray went up against a group of hitters that included Victor Robles and Matt Adams. The young right-hander continued to emphasize a straighter stride toward the plate upon delivery, his biggest point of emphasis over the winter. He also showed again what has made him most successful since arriving in the big leagues: his breaking ball, which he got Robles to whiff at during the session.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Joey Meneses walked into the Nationals’ clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and couldn’t help but be in awe of his new surroundings.

He may own a .324 career batting average, .563 career slugging percentage and .930 career OPS, but this – believe it or not – is the first time Meneses has ever been invited to big league spring training.

“Kind of weird, because it’s a little different to be treated so well,” the 30-year-old slugger said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I’m not a minor leaguer.”

No, he most definitely is not. And if he has anything to say about it, he never will be one again.

Meneses’ story has become well known to anyone who follows the Nationals, but it bears revisiting because it’s so unconventional and so uplifting.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The numbers suggest Luis García’s offensive performance last season wasn’t connected at all to his defensive performance. Which is a testament to the young Nationals infielder, because no matter how much he struggled in the field at shortstop in June and July, he didn’t take those struggles with him to the plate.

Ballplayers are human, though, and it’s hard to believe anyone can completely separate the two parts of the game. Someone who isn’t comfortable in the field probably isn’t going to be as comfortable at the plate as he could be.

That’s why the Nats’ decision late last season to move García back to second base – a move made possible by CJ Abrams’ arrival from the Padres – could have real ramifications for García beyond his defensive metrics.

Does his comfort level at second base allow him to focus more on improving his offensive game?

“Absolutely, I feel less pressure,” he said today, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I feel more comfortable at second base. I feel like there’s less pressure. You work hard. You’re still working hard at second base. Just the fact I play the position and feel comfortable, it relaxes me when I come to hit, also.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The primary practice field outside The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches was filled to capacity this morning, more than five dozen Nationals players, the entire coaching and training staffs, media members and fans alike in attendance for the first full-squad workout of the spring.

It could get a little crowded at times, like when multiple players were tracking down popups purposely launched into no man’s land, the extra players and pitchers having to scramble to get out of the way before getting bulldozed. The good news: The team posted a 100 percent success rate on the popup drill, nary a ball falling to the ground.

Much as manager Davey Martinez was pleased to see that, he was mostly pleased to see how his players looked physically as they reported to camp.

“It was nice to see everybody take to heart what we asked them to do, which was to come to spring training in shape,” he said. “They all look great. The energy was positive, which was amazing. It was a good first day for us.”

Can Martinez tell which guys are ready to go and which guys aren’t, just based on what he sees?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The most newsworthy aspect of Sean Doolittle’s spring so far is perhaps the fact there hasn’t been anything all that newsworthy to report.

Doolittle has been throwing off a mound since Christmas. He’s faced live hitters. He’s talking about the importance of pitching back-to-back days before the end of camp.

This is all normal stuff for any reliever at this time of year. Whether he’s trying to come back from a still-fledgling elbow surgery or not.

“I feel really good about everything we’ve done, and it’s been a long time since I had any doubts going into any throwing that we’ve done,” Doolittle said. “I have built up a lot of trust with it.”

Though he wanted to believe this would be the case all along, Doolittle had to have at least a few doubts creeping through his mind after he made the decision in July to undergo an internal brace procedure, a less-invasive alternative to Tommy John surgery that repairs but doesn’t replace a torn ulnar collateral ligament in a pitcher’s elbow.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Tanner Rainey knows the date. It was Aug. 3 when he underwent Tommy John surgery, saw his 2022 season come to an early conclusion and realized his 2023 season would be significantly delayed.

As much as he’s tried not to look at specific dates throughout the long rehab program, the Nationals reliever knows the two most significant mileposts. At the six-month mark, he was allowed to begin throwing again. At the 12-month mark, he hopes to be allowed to begin pitching in a big league game again.

“It’s been tough, I will say,” Rainey remarked of the mental challenge of returning from elbow ligament replacement surgery. “But at the same time, I know I have six more months now. I’m six months through. I’ve got six more months to continue to prepare, whether it’s physically or mentally, to be better than I was.”

Rainey entered the 2022 season as the Nationals’ closer, and things went swimmingly for a while. He didn’t give up a run in his first eight appearances, going 3-for-3 in save situations. And as late as July 1, he sported a 2.88 ERA, 30 strikeouts in 25 innings and 11 saves in 14 opportunities.

But then his elbow ligament gave out shortly before the All-Star break. And after consultations with doctors, it was determined he needed Tommy John surgery.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Position players officially reported for spring training today, and everyone was present and accounted for. Most guys had already been trickling in over the last few days, but now the entire roster is in place for good.

The first official full-squad workout is set for Tuesday morning, but all of the position players made a point to take the fields for an informal round of batting practice and defensive work. Their manager couldn’t help but notice how they looked.

“Did you watch our infield today,” Davey Martinez asked as he sat down for his daily media session. “Woooo. Man, they were moving the ball quick. We talked this winter about how it’s a quick game. Move your feet, get rid of the ball under control. Man, I was excited to see what I saw today. Double plays were crisp. They’re moving their feet. Backhands. Everything. There was good chatter, a lot of energy. It was fun to watch. I got a little excited. Hairs stood up a little bit.”

The defensive drill had the projected infield all together for the first time, with newcomers Dominic Smith (first base) and Jeimer Candelario (third base) joining the returning middle infield duo of CJ Abrams (shortstop) and Luis García (second base). For now, utility infielders Ildemaro Vargas and Jake Alu are at second base, though Martinez said both will bounce around to other positions throughout the spring.

Also bouncing around positions is Joey Meneses, whose primary job this season will be to continue hitting like he did in August and September (.930 OPS, tied with Manny Machado for tops among all qualifying National League batters). Meneses will serve as designated hitter many nights, but he’ll also get time at first base and in left field, according to Martinez.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – As the 67 players in big league camp retreat to the clubhouse following their daily workout here, they pass by another group of players in Nationals uniforms. They are younger, less experienced, though not necessarily less noticeable.

The organization’s top prospects who reported early for spring training ahead of the rank-and-file minor leaguers who will arrive in a few weeks are a physically impressive group. This is particularly obvious in the outfield, where James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Elijah Green and Cristhian Vaquero strike an imposing presence.

Add Jeremy De La Rosa (already in major league camp after he was added to the 40-man roster over the winter) to the mix, and the Nationals have every reason to believe they’ve got at least three future outfield studs in their farm system right now.

For these young players, the opportunity to work out alongside each other this spring is superseded only by the possibility of playing alongside each other in D.C. someday down the road.

“It’s exciting, for sure,” the 6-foot-7 Wood said Sunday. “I just want to get up there and keep doing my thing. And hopefully that becomes reality pretty soon.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Day two of live batting practice saw nine more pitchers take the mound to face hitters for a simulated inning of work, most notably Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli.

Every pitcher has specific things he’s focusing on during these sessions, but the theme is pretty universal: Keep your mechanics in sync and throw strikes.

For Gray, that ties in with a specific change he made this winter as he attempts to close up his stride, finishing more on a straight line toward the plate instead of to his left, which often caused his fastball to tail back over the heart of the zone. If his first session facing hitters this spring was an indication, all of the pertinent parties were pleased with what they saw.

“It was good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He wasn’t trying to overdo it. He wasn’t trying to step on it. But the ball was coming out the way he wanted it to, and the misses weren’t crazy, which is the big thing we want to do. … The misses were way better than I’ve seen from him before.”

Gray, who had thrown with an open stride his entire pitching life until now, admits it’s not coming fully natural to him yet. But he’s getting there.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The sentiment wasn’t unusual for a ballplayer during the first week of spring training. The ballplayer who uttered it, however, wasn’t one you’d expect.

“I’m as excited as I’ve ever been,” Patrick Corbin said Saturday afternoon inside the Nationals clubhouse.

Excited? On the heels of the worst of three consecutive subpar seasons that statistically have turned him into the worst starting pitcher in baseball? More excited than he was for his first big-league camp in Arizona? Or his first spring after signing a $140 million contract with the Nats? Or his first time back in West Palm Beach since he won Game 7 of the World Series?

Yes, Corbin insists. He’s more excited now than he ever was then.

Where does that feeling come from?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The first live batting practice session of the spring is always going to favor pitchers over hitters. Pitchers have been building up to this for a while. Position players, on the other hand, haven’t even officially reported to camp yet.

So most eyes this morning at Nationals camp were focused on the likes of Patrick Corbin, MacKenzie Gore and others who faced hitters free to swing away if they liked. Corbin went up against projected regulars Joey Meneses, Luis García and Dominic Smith. On an adjacent field, Gore faced Stone Garrett, Michael Chavis and Derek Hill, all trying to crack the Opening Day roster as bench players.

All told, 11 pitchers took the mound for about 10-15 minutes a piece: Corbin, Gore, Trevor Williams, Jose Ferrer, Hunter Harvey, Kyle Finnegan, Wily Peralta, Paolo Espino, Erasmo Ramirez, Alex Colome and Thaddeus Ward.

“My focus was really on watching pitchers, their mechanics and where they’re at,” said manager Davey Martinez, who bounced from field to field, trying to get a glimpse of as many guys as he could. “For today, basically I was trying to get everybody to throw the ball over the white of the plate. Just hit the white and focus on hitting strikes.”

Which isn’t to say there wasn’t some reason to notice what some hitters were doing. Chief among them was García, who after facing Corbin in the first round of live BP had to go up against the hard-throwing Harvey in the next round.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Mike Rizzo has found himself in this spot before. He’s been tasked with building a franchise from the bottom up, from a 100-loss season into a consistent contender. And he’s been asked to work without a contract beyond the current year.

So the Nationals’ longtime general manager isn’t about to publicly bemoan the situation he now finds himself in entering the 2023 season.

“I’ve got a job to do,” Rizzo said Friday in his first session of the spring with reporters. “It’s not the first time, won’t be the last time, I’m on a lame-duck contract. It doesn’t affect me. It doesn’t bother me. I have been there before. I was an area scout. I worked on 20 one-year contracts in a row. So I’m no stranger to limited security. My work will be my resume, and we’ll see how it goes on from there.”

Rizzo’s sentiment is accurate. He has been through plenty of contract years during his decade-and-a-half in D.C. And he indeed helped build the Nationals from back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2008-09 into a division champion in 2012 and eventually a World Series champion in 2019.

But there is one significant difference this time around. All of his previous challenges at least came with stability in the owner’s box at Nationals Park. Now, for the first time, there’s tremendous uncertainty.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – While preaching a measured, “day-by-day” approach with Stephen Strasburg, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo turned emotional Friday when talking about the veteran right-hander, whose career appears to be in peril following the latest setback in his attempt to return from thoracic outlet surgery.

“You’re talking about one of the best big-game pitchers that’s ever pitched,” Rizzo said in his first session with reporters this spring, his eyes appearing to well up as he spoke. “The best big-game pitcher the Nationals have ever had, and anywhere in baseball. You talk about an ultra-competitor, wasn’t afraid to take the ball in the toughest and most unique situations and perform admirably. We built this franchise on the back of him. I just feel bad that he can’t relish into the end of his career gracefully. He just feels terrible about it.”

Strasburg’s latest attempt to come back from the July 2021 surgery that derailed his career was sidetracked a couple of weeks ago when he reported the same nerve discomfort in his shoulder and arm he has experienced after trying to pitch. The Nationals shut him down after only two bullpen sessions, and he remains in Washington contemplating his next steps.

Those next steps, according to Rizzo, begin with doctor visits, including second opinions beyond what Strasburg already has been told. No final decisions have been made yet.

“We’re going to take it day by day, literally day by day,” Rizzo said. “We’ll get all the opinions. We’ll sit down with Stras. And we’ll make out a game plan.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Paolo Espino was immensely proud when Panama qualified for the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2009, and he was excited to represent his home country in next month’s international tournament.

But when the final bracket was unveiled and Panama was placed in Pool A, which will hold its first-round games in Taiwan, Espino came to a difficult conclusion: He couldn’t go.

Though he remains on Panama’s preliminary WBC roster, Espino said he has opted not to participate, citing his need to remain with the Nationals this spring as he tries to make the Opening Day roster.

“It’s just too far to go,” the right-hander said. “I would have to miss too much of camp, and I know I have work to do here.”

Panama’s first-round games are set to be played March 8-11 against the four other competitors in Pool A: Taiwan, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Cuba and Italy. Players will need to report to camps a week prior to that for workouts and exhibitions.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s easy to overlook just how much Keibert Ruiz had on his plate last season.

It’s tough enough for a young catcher – ostensibly a rookie, even though he no longer qualified by official standards – to learn how to lead a pitching staff through a full season. Now add the work required to become a productive big league hitter. From both sides of the plate. All while starting four or five times a week.

“Yeah, I wasn’t used to doing that in the minor leagues,” Ruiz said of the offensive-plus-defensive pressures he faced in 2022. “Like you said, a lot of responsibility. But I just learned from last year, and we keep going, keep doing my best. I feel that last year gave me a lot of confidence for this year.”

Despite the challenges he faced, Ruiz’s first full big league season was a resounding success in the Nationals’ eyes. He hit .251 with 22 doubles, seven homers, 36 RBIs and a .673 OPS. He threw out 22 baserunners, second-most among all major league catchers. And he learned how to be a leader behind the plate, taking charge of a pitching staff that endured through all kinds of troubles during a 107-loss season.

There is, however, more room to grow, everyone acknowledges. Ruiz was an above-average hitter in the Dodgers’ farm system before he was part of the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner trade. He hit 21 homers in 2021. He has the potential to be a true all-around catcher, maybe an All-Star.