A host of arbitration-eligible players

The Nationals have gotten the option decisions out of the way, with Denard Span returning for 2015, and Adam LaRoche and Rafael Soriano heading for free agency after having their options declined.

In the coming days, the Nats will have to continue adjusting their 40-man roster, clearing space for minor leaguers who need to be added, and cutting players who aren't deemed necessary to the efforts to defend the National League East title and make a deeper postseason push next season.

But a little bit further down the road, the Nats will need to deal with their arbitration-eligible players, and there are many. These players have all accrued enough service time to be eligible for arbitration, which will guarantee them raises and affect the Nats' payroll for 2015.

Here's the list of arbitration-eligible players the Nats have to deal with this offseason:

Jerry Blevins
Tyler Clippard
Ross Detwiler
Danny Espinosa
Doug Fister
Kevin Frandsen
Jose Lobaton
Wilson Ramos
Stephen Strasburg
Drew Storen
Craig Stammen

The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is Dec. 2, so we're still a little ways off from there. But don't be surprised if every player whose name you see above is tendered a contract.

The only real non-tender possibility, in my mind, is Detwiler, who made $3 million last season and is due a raise from that in his final arbitration year.

Detwiler didn't play as big a role in 2014 as the Nats had originally intended, but he still holds value, both because he throws a baseball with his left hand and because he's shown that he can be an effective starting pitcher in the majors. That's why he'll likely be tendered a contract, even if the Nats just intend to shop him this offseason.

We talk about payroll and how that might limit things from the Nats' perspective, and we look at how the contracts of Jayson Werth (who will go from making $13 million in 2012 to $21 million in 2015) and Gio Gonzalez (who will go from making $3.25 million in 2012 to $11 million in 2015) and others who have signed free agent contracts or extensions will impact things.

But it's also important to factor in the arbitration-eligible players. There are 11 of them, and their raises will likely shoot the Nats' payroll up higher than last season, even if the organization doesn't make a big splash in free agency for an Andrew Miller or a Pablo Sandoval this winter.