WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jake Irvin planned to throw two innings tonight. That would be the standard ramp-up after throwing only one inning in his spring debut five days ago.

Just one problem: Irvin was too good during those two innings. He faced six batters, he retired all six and he needed only 23 pitches to do it.

So the Nationals sent the right-hander back to the mound for an unplanned third inning. At which point the sharpness and efficiency that defined the start of his night eluded him and brought a quick end to his night.

Back-to-back walks with one out in the third raised Irvin’s pitch count to 37 and brought manager Davey Martinez out of the dugout. It wasn’t a big deal; it’s still Feb. 27, after all. But for Irvin, it left a bit of a sour taste in his mouth at night’s end as the Nats took a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Braves.

“I’m excited to ride the wave of the first two innings going into the next one,” Irvin said when asked about the third inning.

JUPITER, Fla. – MacKenzie Gore arguably is the Nationals’ No. 1 starter. Michael Soroka is the Nats’ highest-paid starter. So why hasn’t either pitched in a game yet this spring, and why isn’t either scheduled to start any of the next four days?

“They’ll pitch here soon,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning. “We’ve still got time. We figured if we get them six starts here, they’ll be in good shape.”

So, this was by design, not the result of any setbacks?

“They’re both good,” Martinez said. “It’s based on conversations with them, what they need.”

Both Gore and Soroka confirmed that sentiment. Both have been throwing off a mound. Both threw Monday when the Nationals were off, with Gore saying he threw two innings against live hitters in the batting cage.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals’ second game of the exhibition season provides a first opportunity for the team’s new infield to work as one unit.

Today’s lineup against the Mets features returning shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis García Jr., plus new first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and third baseman Paul DeJong. It’s a quartet club officials believe could work extremely well together.

“We should be able to catch the ball,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And I’m looking forward to our pitchers getting on the mound and watching those guys work.”

The Nats knew they were getting a premier defensive first baseman when they traded reliever Robert Garcia for Lowe (who won the Gold Glove Award in 2023 with the Rangers). They believe his presence will especially aid García and Abrams, who now have a security blanket to their left.

“He catches the ball. He makes all the plays,” Martinez said. “It’s a good target for our infielders to throw over there as well. It makes things a lot easier.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A bunch of guys are going to play for the Nationals today in their Grapefruit League opener against the Astros. But not everyone.

Some prominent regulars are being held back and are expected to debut Sunday against the Mets, including CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe. That’s the routine in late February, when hardly anyone plays in back-to-back games.

Then there are those players who aren’t ready to take the field for game action quite yet. And there are some significant names on that list.

Most notable is James Wood, who has been dealing with right quad tendinitis. The 22-year-old outfielder continues to take batting practice, and on Friday he was cleared to begin light running. But there doesn’t appear to be a rush to get him into games just yet.

“He’s been hitting. He’s starting to a run a little bit,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But we’re kind of going to slow play this a little bit and try to nip this in the bud.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – If there was any reason to debate who will hold the top spot in the Nationals’ batting order to begin the season, Davey Martinez put it to rest today with a fairly definitive revelation.

“CJ is going to lead off,” the eighth-year manager said. “The 3-4-5 will be kind of different. The 2-spot might be a little different at times. But we do know CJ’s going to lead off for us, and we’ll go with that for now.”

So there you have it: CJ Abrams will reclaim the leadoff spot he held for the majority of the 2024 season but did lose at one point when he was struggling at the plate.

The Nats have long believed in Abrams as their long-term answer at the top of the lineup. And over a 13-month stretch from July 2023 into August 2024, he held that job nearly every day, batting .252 with a .318 on-base percentage, .441 slugging percentage, 111 runs scored, 35 doubles, nine triples, 28 homers, 89 RBIs and 56 stolen bases.

But Abrams’ second half slump last summer prompted Martinez to move him out of the leadoff spot for a while, giving him a chance to clear his mind and hopefully get himself back on track. During that stretch – and during the final week of September after Abrams was demoted to the minors for disciplinary reasons – rookie Dylan Crews took over the No. 1 position in the order.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After 10 days of official workouts, not to mention plenty more unofficial workouts that took place before camp actually opened, the Nationals are undoubtedly ready for something different. Like exhibition games, which fortunately start showing up on the schedule Saturday.

“Yeah, we’re ready,” manager Davey Martinez said. “As I’ve said before, these guys have been here for a while now. They’re itching to get out there and compete.”

The Nationals wrapped up the first portion of spring training today with one final full-squad workout on the back fields behind CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. They’ll finally set foot inside the main stadium Saturday to face the Astros in both teams’ Grapefruit League opener.

Don’t expect the entire projected Opening Day lineup to be out there right off the bat. We already know James Wood (who is dealing with left quad tendinitis) is being held back for the moment. It also sounds like CJ Abrams will sit Saturday, with veteran utilityman Amed Rosario getting the nod at shortstop.

“We’re still in February,” Martinez said. “I’m going to give everybody a chance to get out there and play and get going. We’ve just got to be careful. The ultimate goal is to keep everyone healthy and get them ready for Opening Day at the end of March.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – James Wood sat out defensive drills on the first day of full-squad workouts, the Nationals left fielder hampered by left quadriceps tendinitis.

Wood insisted it’s nothing serious, and he was able to take batting practice today with no apparent issues. The ailment has been bothering him since the offseason, though, enough to warrant an MRI. That test, Wood said, showed no structural damage.

“It’s just inflammation,” he said. “The muscle’s just a little (ticked) off. I trust the training staff. I feel good about everything I’m doing, so I have no doubt I’ll be just fine.”

Asked what his level of concern is, Wood replied: “Zero.”

Wood has been a regular presence on the practice fields for the last week as one of many early-arriving position players who took batting practice and faced live pitching. But when the entire squad officially assembled today and everyone took his place in the field, Wood stayed back and watched from foul territory as Alex Call and Juan Yepez alternated drills in left field.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – If you can’t be optimistic on the first day of spring training, what’s even the point?

So obviously the Nationals were optimistic Wednesday as pitchers and catchers officially reported, with a plethora of position players also already on hand at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches several days before they are required to be here.

But they also have legitimate reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season. Three years into the franchise’s rebuild, they look around the clubhouse and see a room full of promising players who could come together to produce the team’s next contender.

“Absolutely. We’ve got incredible, young, talented players here now,” right-hander Jake Irvin said. “There’s no reason we can’t win right away.”

The Nationals haven’t had a winning record since they won the World Series in 2019. They bottomed out in 2022 at an abysmal 55-107, then rebounded to go 71-91 the following season. An identical record in 2024 wasn’t what anyone had in mind, but it can be reasonably argued it still represented progress because of the arrival of several top prospects, headlined by James Wood and Dylan Crews.

There are 57 players set to report to Nationals spring training in the next week-plus, 28 of them position players, 29 of them pitchers. That number is a little smaller than in some previous years, but it probably underscores the likelihood of several more free agent signings during these final days of the offseason, or even during the first few weeks of camp.

For now, though, this is your team. Only 26 of them will head north at the end of March and make the Opening Day roster. Obviously, some of them are in far better position to make the club than others, but everyone will get a chance to play in front of the big league coaching staff and front office in West Palm Beach, Fla., and make a case for himself.

You know most of these guys, but you probably don’t know all of them. So with that in mind, let’s run through the entire camp roster, with some quick thoughts on each entering the spring. We’ll do position players today, then pitchers tomorrow …

CJ ABRAMS, SS
The 2024 All-Star may have biggest spotlight on him of anyone in camp after his surprise, disciplinary demotion in late September. First, he needs to satisfactorily address the situation for the first time, then he needs to prove he can play at an All-Star level the entire season.

RILEY ADAMS, C
The Nationals tendered him a guaranteed contract for $850,000 after a rough 2024 season, but he still needs to earn the No. 2 catching job over Drew Millas and Andrew Knizner. He’s out of options, so the team would have to DFA him and eat his salary if he doesn’t make the roster.

It’s rare for a player to be traded away and then return to that same team later in his career. It's even rarer still for that to happen and the player becomes teammates with the players he was once traded to acquire.

That will be the case when Josh Bell reports to West Palm Beach for the second time in his career next month. He’ll be back in the clubhouse where he last reported ahead of the 2022 season, only this time he’ll be joined by young players to whom he’s forever linked but have never before been his teammates.

Halfway through that 2022 season, Bell was included in the biggest trade deadline deal in major league history. Joining superstar Juan Soto, the veteran first baseman was sent to the Padres for a historic returning package of prospects: CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood, Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana.

Three of those prospects – Abrams, Gore and Wood – will be key figures for the Nationals this season. As will Bell, who signed a one-year, $6 million deal last week to return to Washington 2 ½ years after his departure.

“It's exciting. It's definitely a lot of people that can be household names here very soon,” Bell said of the young talent on the Nats roster during his re-introductory meeting with the media over Zoom. “Just looking from afar, I've heard great things about James Wood. Obviously, I've seen CJ play. Dylan Crews, you name it. You have superstar talent. Guys that have gotten a taste of the big leagues, had some success and coming back for more time. This is when they can continue to take that step forward and make themselves elite in this game. So I'm excited to hopefully help guide and also learn from them. Also benefit from having speed in front of me. So I'm definitely excited. I know that both parties will benefit, myself and them.”

The notion of scribbling out potential lineups for the 2025 Nationals has seemed pointless most of the offseason, because there were too many vacancies still to fill, vacancies in prime spots in the batting order.

It may still be too early to attempt this exercise, because more moves are possible between now and the first day of spring training, especially as it pertains to third base. But the recent additions of Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell did fill the two most significant holes in the lineup, so it’s not impossible to start thinking about Davey Martinez’s plan for his regular one through nine.

There’s no perfect order to arrange the current group, whether due to a lack of track record for some, a lack of recent power for others and an excess of left-handed hitters who are going to have to be stacked together by default. But here’s one possible look Martinez could consider for Opening Day against the Phillies …

1. SS CJ Abrams (L)
2. RF Dylan Crews (R)
3. LF James Wood (L)
4. 1B Nathaniel Lowe (L)
5. DH Josh Bell (S)
6. 2B Luis Garcia Jr. (L)
7. C Keibert Ruiz (S)
8. 3B Jose Tena (L)
9. CF Jacob Young (R)

The biggest question Martinez faces is at the top of his lineup. The Abrams-Crews-Wood trio is likely to occupy the top three slots, but the order isn’t necessarily a sure thing.

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2024. We conclude the series today with the long-awaited arrival of James Wood and Dylan Crews to the big leagues …

For three years, the Nationals’ best pitch to fans and the baseball world in general was to ask for patience. The franchise had torn down its championship roster, and it would take some time for the next generation of potential stars to rise through the ranks and take over in D.C.

It’s not easy to be patient, especially when it pertains to a ballclub that enjoyed eight straight winning seasons (five of those resulting in playoff berths) before falling into five consecutive losing seasons (one of which featured a club-record 107 losses). But the Nats insisted there was a light at the end of the tunnel. And the best evidence of that came this summer with the long-awaited promotions of two of the best prospects in baseball.

When James Wood debuted on July 1 and Dylan Crews followed on Aug. 26, the Nationals entered a new phase of the rebuild. They weren’t a winning team yet, far from it. But the addition of two elite young players to a roster already filled with other potential building blocks felt extra significant. For the first time since the teardown began in July 2021, the field was awash not in veterans set to be flipped at the trade deadline, not in stopgap solutions who had no real future here. No, everyone on the field had a chance to be part of the next winning team in D.C.

“They’re going to grow together,” manager Davey Martinez said at the conclusion of Crews’ first full series. “We’re going to do some really good things, and a lot faster than people think.”

We spend most of our time around here asking what the Nationals are going to do about their most glaring roster needs. Are they going to sign a big-name slugger to play first base? Are they going to spend money on a proven starting pitcher? Are they going to bolster a now-depleted bullpen with experienced late-inning arms?

So far, we don’t have the answers to any of those questions. The Nats have not yet acquired a major league player this offseason, aside from reliever Evan Reifert in last week’s Rule 5 Draft. Their most glaring holes remain holes to this point.

Let’s start this week off, though, looking at the roster in an entirely different way. We know what the Nationals need. Which means we also should know what they already have. It’s worth remembering where around the field they already appear to be set, because it’s actually a majority of the positions on the team.

The Nats have a middle infield, no questions there. CJ Abrams, despite his end-of-season demotion, is the everyday shortstop, coming off an All-Star year that showcased his elite combination of skills. Yes, he needs to prove he can put those skills together on a more consistent basis over a six-month season. But the team remains fully committed to him, of that there appears to be no doubt.

They’re also fully committed to Luis Garcia Jr., who after a spring full of tough love finally blossomed into the second baseman they always believed him to be. Garcia was the most pleasant development of the 2024 season, and the expectation will be for more of the same, if not even more improvement from him in 2025.

OK, maybe this hasn’t been as great a year as many probably hoped it would be. There’s still plenty to be thankful for today, though, right?

Of course there is. Even as it pertains to baseball, which may not be back to the level we’d all prefer but undoubtedly is trending in the right direction at last, with the ultimate payoff perhaps not as far off as you’d think.

So before you put the turkey in the oven and sit down to watch what on paper looks like three pretty blah football games, let’s run through everything the Nationals are thankful for on this day …

KEIBERT RUIZ
The opportunity to bounce back from a poor season that in some circumstances could have cost him his job, but won’t here because of the contract extension he signed in 2023.

LUIS GARCIA JR.
Just enough of a display of faith from his manager and general manager to get one last shot to realize his potential this year, which he most definitely did.

There’s already been a good amount of roster turnover for the Nationals since season’s end, with multiple veterans becoming free agents and several other notable players dropped from the 40-man roster earlier this week.

As the offseason gets underway, there are now four open slots on that 40-man roster, slots that could go to free agent acquisitions or in-house prospects ready for promotion. And if more slots are needed, there are a handful of current players who could still be dropped to create space.

What do the Nats currently have? What do they still need? Let’s take a look at the organizational depth chart as currently constructed to get a better idea of the state of things, going position by position. Players on the 40-man roster are listed first, with some minor leaguers not yet on the 40-man listed below them with an asterisk next to their names …

CATCHER
Keibert Ruiz
Drew Millas
Riley Adams
Brady Lindsly*
Onix Vega*
Caleb Lomavita*
Kevin Bazzell*

Comment: Ruiz was deemed the Nationals’ long-term answer behind the plate two years ago when he signed his $50 million extension, but there will be pressure on him to show real improvement after a disappointing season. Millas and Adams were on the D.C.-to-Rochester-and-back shuttle all year, neither seizing the job. And now that he’s arbitration-eligible, Adams could be a non-tender candidate later this month. For the first time in club history, the Nats used high draft picks on catchers this summer, selecting both Lomavita and Bazzell. Neither is going to be big league ready in 2025, but both are worth keeping an eye on.

PLAYER REVIEW: JAMES WOOD

Age on Opening Day 2025: 22

How acquired: Traded with CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit from Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022

MLB service time: 91 days

2024 salary: $740,000

We've been doing these Opening Day media predictions for 15 years now, and I'm always grateful to my colleagues on the Nationals beat for their willingness to participate and subject themselves to the inevitable ridicule that follows.

And there's definitely some ridicule to be doled out as we look back at our 2024 predictions. (Hey, I'm just as guilty as anyone!) A lot of things did not play out this season as any of us thought they would back in late March. But we weren't completely wrong on every category. There actually were several spot-on predictions by several members of the beat, and they deserve credit for being right.

And with that, it's time for some accountability. Here's a look back at all of our Opening Day predictions, what we got right and what we did not get right ...

WHICH NATIONALS WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME?
Bobby Blanco (MASNsports.com) – CJ Abrams
Jessica Camerato (MLB.com) – CJ Abrams
Craig Heist (106.7 The Fan) – Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz
Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) – CJ Abrams
Andrew Golden (Washington Post) – MacKenzie Gore
Bill Ladson (MLB.com honorary) – Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin
Spencer Nusbaum (Washington Post) – MacKenzie Gore
Mark Zuckerman (MASNsports.com) – Kyle Finnegan

Correct answer: CJ Abrams was set to be the Nationals’ lone All-Star this year, the first selection of his career, after his outstanding first half. Then on the day before the Midsummer Classic, Kyle Finnegan was added to the National League roster to replace Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, giving the Nats two All-Stars.

We have reached the finish line. It’s Game 162, and while this one doesn’t officially matter for either team, there are still some personal achievements on the line. And for the Nationals, a chance to close out the year with a surprising sweep of the playoff-bound Phillies and to top last year’s win total with No. 72.

It’ll be Jake Irvin on the mound one last time. And as was the case Saturday with MacKenzie Gore, he’ll be looking for win No. 11, a number no Nats starter has reached since 2019. Unlike Gore, Irvin can’t get his ERA down below the 4.00 mark – unless he can go 10 2/3 scoreless innings – but he can finish on a high note. And if he can complete 6 2/3 innings, he’ll reach the 190 mark for the season, no small accomplishment.

At the plate, James Wood needs another homer to reach 10 in his rookie season. Dylan Crews needs a good day to get his batting average over .200. Oh, and in the bullpen, Derek Law needs to record one more out to get to 90 innings for the season.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 3:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 74 degrees, wind 7 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
2B Luis García Jr.
LF James Wood
DH Juan Yepez
3B José Tena
RF Dylan Crews
1B Joey Gallo
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young
SS Nasim Nuñez

The Nationals want MacKenzie Gore to be the ace of their next winning team. MacKenzie Gore wants to be the ace of the Nationals’ next winning team.

To get there, the left-hander knows he needs to find a level of consistency that has heretofore eluded him in two full big league seasons. But if he can bottle up what he did over the last six weeks of this season – and especially what he did in the last of his six scoreless innings today – he’s got an awfully good chance of realizing his full potential.

With strikeouts of Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, Gore concluded his 32nd and final start of 2024 with a flourish. And though the final innings of today’s 6-3 win over the Phillies would feature plenty more drama – Turner’s game-tying homer off Jose A. Ferrer, a jawing match between Harper and Ferrer that prompted benches and bullpens to empty, Keibert Ruiz’s go-ahead single scoring James Wood, Joey Gallo’s three-run homer for good measure – none of that should overshadow the significance of Gore’s performance.

"Here's a guy who can win 18-20 games for us," said manager Davey Martinez, whose team matched last year's total with its 71st win. "When he's in the strike zone, he's really good. Today, he proved that."

The last two innings of this game, played before a bipartisan, sellout crowd of 38,135, had plenty of action (and offense) after a classic pitchers’ duel between Gore and Zack Wheeler.

CHICAGO – The Nationals’ primary focus during these final weeks of the season surely is on the bevy of young players they’ve added to the roster this summer, many of whom they believe will form the core of their next winning ballclub.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t still some opportunities for veterans to help their own causes here down the stretch. Which is why Trevor Williams was on the mound at Wrigley Field this afternoon.

Williams is not part of the Nats’ long-term plan. The 32-year-old right-hander spent the last 3 1/2 months on the injured list with a flexor strain in his elbow. He’s a pending free agent. But he worked his way back from the injury before season’s end, and the Nationals decided it was worth it to give him two big league starts, both to help him as he enters free agency and to give their other young pitchers some extra rest near the end of a long season.

Williams rewarded the Nats for giving him this opportunity, tossing five innings of one-run ball in his return to competition. They would end up losing to the Cubs, 3-1, but it certainly wasn’t their starter’s fault.

"It was awesome to see him pitch the way he did," manager Davey Martinez said. "He threw the ball really well. It almost looked like he didn't skip a beat, which was great."