As spring training nears, still a few roster questions for Nats

A flip of the page in the calendar, and you can almost hear the crack of the bat, the pop of the glove and the smell the hot dogs. February is here and in just 17 days the clubhouse lockers at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla., will be filled with brand new snow-white Nationals jerseys.

So how close is general manager Mike Rizzo from establishing which 25 players will don the curly W cap on opening day in Atlanta?

Probably the biggest surprise this offseason for the Nationals is that right-hander Jonathan Papelbon not only remains on the roster but appears poised to return as the team's closer. Following his infamous dugout brawl with Bryce Harper at the end of last season, all expected Papelbon's time with the Nats to be brief as Rizzo quickly attempted to sweep away the mess of a failed trade.

There was plenty of chatter about moving Papelbon, but Rizzo never liked any proposed deals, so for now, Papelbon stays. It's surely a story that will dominate the early stages of spring training.

Rumors continue floating about the Nationals' potential interest in upgrading at catcher, with Wilson Ramos coming off his worst season at the plate and entering a contract year. Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy's name seems to be kicked around the most, but he would likely cost some highly regarded prospects in a trade.

A broken left toe forced Lucroy to miss a chunk of time early last season and his offensive numbers suffered upon his return. He batted .264/.326/.391 with seven homers and 43 RBIs in 103 games. But Lucroy was an All-Star in 2014, finishing fourth in the National League MVP voting after slashing .301/.373/.465 with 13 home runs, 69 RBIs and a major league-leading 53 doubles.

Lucroy, who is under team control for two more years, has indicated recently that he would welcome a trade.

"I want to win," Lucroy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It's not guaranteed that I'm going to win if I am traded. But I'm going to be a 30-year-old catcher (in June). I can't put numbers on how much longer I'm going to play, but as players we want to win. I don't care about the money; I just want to win. That's the bottom line."

In his six-year career, Lucroy is a .282/.340/.430 hitter with the ability to also play first base.

Four Nationals up-and-comers made MLB.com's 2015 top 100 prospect list with right-hander Lucas Giolito leading the way ranked third overall. The 6-foot-6, 255-lb. Giolito also comes in as the top pitching prospect, possessing a high-90s fastball and a filthy curveball. In a couple of weeks, Giolito reports to Space Coast Stadium for his first major league spring training. The 21-year-old could find himself in the majors at some point this season.

Giolito wasn't the only Nationals prospect receiving a high ranking. Infielder Trea Turner, 22, was ranked 11th after getting a taste of the big leagues last season. Turner will compete with Danny Espinosa and Stephen Drew for playing time at shortstop, but could find himself starting the year at Triple-A Syracuse for more development.

After an impressive season in the minors, 18-year-old outfielder Victor Robles jumped into the top 100 with a ranking of 63rd. And 22-year-old right-hander Erik Fedde ranked 78th.