WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Everything was going swimmingly for Michael Soroka. He had bounced back from his first rough start of the spring, completing the first four innings of tonight’s start against the Marlins on a mere 48 pitches.

And then came the top of the fifth, at which point the narrative took a sharp turn in the opposite direction.

Unable to get out of that frame, Soroka threw a whopping 43 pitches to eight batters, ultimately charged with six runs to turn what should’ve been an encouraging finale to his spring schedule into a discouraging evening.

“It was clicking really, really well for four innings. And then guys get on, and I want to kind of try to be the hero, and again just do too much,” the right-hander said following a 6-0 loss to the Marlins in which the Nationals managed only two hits themselves. “I just lose track of it for a second, then you fight back, and hits fall and things happen. You’ve got to get out of those innings and not let it snowball like that.”

This was the second straight start Soroka allowed six runs, this after back-to-back scoreless outings. There are no more exhibitions for him to pitch; his next start will count.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There’s a bit of a chill in the air here in South Florida. OK, maybe not the kind of chill all of you back home have dealt with the last six weeks, but just enough to make this feel a little more like the kind of springtime weather we’re all going to experience soon enough when the season begins.

The Nationals play their third-to-last Grapefruit League game this evening, hosting the Marlins. All of the contenders for spots in the rotation have run out of time to make their cases, so these remaining starts will all go to guys guaranteed to make the team. That includes Michael Soroka, who tonight will look to bounce back from his first (and only) shaky start of the spring.

The rotation question may have resolved itself at this point, but there are still several other jobs up for grabs during these final days. So these remain important games for the backup catchers, potential bench players and the relievers fighting for the two open slots on the Opening Day roster.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Marlins’ feed)
Weather: Clear, 66 degrees, wind 12 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
DH Josh Bell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
2B Amed Rosario
3B José Tena
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The frustration was palpable in Michael Soroka’s body language and in his words. This may have been one spring training start from a veteran with a guaranteed spot in the Nationals’ Opening Day rotation, but it wasn’t at all what Soroka had in mind when he took the mound this afternoon.

“I just couldn’t make an adjustment,” the right-hander said after four laborious innings during an 11-5 loss to the Rays. “I didn’t make it early enough. I didn’t find it until it was too late. That’s unacceptable.”

Soroka’s nightmare afternoon started from the get-go. He walked the first three batters he faced, the last of them on four pitches to warrant a mound visit from pitching coach Jim Hickey.

He managed to right his ship enough to get out of the inning with two runs across, but the struggles continued throughout his outing. He finished with six walks surrendered, a far cry from the one free pass he issued in his previous two Grapefruit League starts combined.

The problem: Mechanics. Soroka knew he was off, but he simply couldn’t figure out how to get his body and arm back on track as the start progressed. That, more than anything, is what bothered him.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s going to be a long day at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, where the Nationals play twice. Later this afternoon (5:05 p.m., to be precise), the organization’s top prospects take on the Mets’ top prospects in the Spring Breakout game (televised live on MASN). But first up, it’s the regular Grapefruit League game of the day, this one against a split-squad group from the Rays.

Michael Soroka gets the start, and it’s only the third time he’s officially pitched this spring. He has also, for the record, twice thrown to live hitters on a back field or in the cage, so his arm is built up just as it normally would be at this point in the spring. The right-hander has looked good wherever he’s pitched, allowing just one run on four hits, striking out nine while walking only one over seven official innings.

Davey Martinez has many of his regulars in the lineup, including the fearsome threesome of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood atop the order. Nathaniel Lowe is batting cleanup while his brother, Josh, bats third for the visiting Rays.

Kyle Finnegan and Derek Law are also scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen this afternoon for the Nats, the primary relievers starting to get more regular work as the final week of camp arrives. This will be Law's long awaited spring debut.

UPDATE: Lineup change for the Nats, with Andrew Knizner now catching in place of Riley Adams, who was scratched about 90 minutes before first pitch.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – With 11 days to go in spring training, seven starting pitchers competing for five jobs and a rare, cross-state, overnight trip looming, mapping out the Nationals’ rotation schedule is no simple task for manager Davey Martinez and pitching coach Jim Hickey. They finally settled on a plan this morning, one that takes all of those factors into consideration.

MacKenzie Gore is starting this afternoon’s game against the Astros. It’s only his second official start of the spring, but the left-hander has still been throwing every five days, whether on a back field against minor leaguers or in a simulated game against teammates.

While Gore faces Houston inside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, Trevor Williams is facing minor leaguers outside the stadium. The veteran right-hander, who Martinez confirmed this week will open the season in the rotation, has already made three Grapefruit League appearances.

DJ Herz will take the long bus ride from West Palm Beach to Port Charlotte on Thursday morning and then start that afternoon’s game against the Rays. Herz, who is competing for the fifth starter’s job, has looked shaky so far in three Grapefruit League outings, walking seven while striking out only three in 6 2/3 innings.

Jake Irvin’s turn comes up Friday, but the right-hander will stay back in West Palm Beach and face minor leaguers instead of traveling to North Port to face the Braves. That makes Friday’s game a bullpen game for the Nats, with a host of relievers set to pitch one or two innings a piece.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – For nearly a month, Derek Law has been at Nationals camp. He’s been in the clubhouse. He’s been on the practice fields. He’s been healthy. And until today he hadn’t participated in anything that resembled a game situation.

“I’ve been super antsy,” the reliever said. “These guys get here, and I’m just playing super-light catch, and these guys are ripping it like that. You just get the itch, because everybody’s having fun. You want to be a part of it. It almost feels like a rehab, but I’m not.”

Law isn’t rehabbing from any injury. He’s simply been on a pre-planned, delayed throwing program as the Nats attempt to get him ready for Opening Day without using up too many bullets in spring training.

One year after becoming the Nationals’ first reliever to total 90 innings since Tyler Clippard in 2010, three innings shy of Saul Rivera’s club record from 2007, Law is setting the bar high. He wants to be available anytime Davey Martinez needs him. Which means he wants to enter the season with a full tank, while still finding a way to adequately prepare.

So that meant sitting back and watching everyone else fully participate from day one of spring training while he waited for his time to come.

JUPITER, Fla. – As the starting lineups were announced for this afternoon's Grapefruit League action at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, one could have thought we had traveled back in time.

The starting pitcher for the visitors: Michael Soroka. The starting pitcher for the home side: Erick Fedde.

No, this was not a Nats-Braves matchup from 2019. This was a 2025 spring training game between the Nationals and Cardinals, which the good guys won in a 12-1 rout.

The two right-handers became good friends during their time with the White Sox last year. They’re even roommates here in the greater West Palm Beach area for spring training. But today they were rivals.

“It was fun. It was fun to watch Fed do what he had to do,” Soroka said after his outing was done. “I got to watch him a lot last year. I'll see what our guys are saying and I'll talk to them. Yeah, he's a special guy, first and foremost, and it's fun to go up against a friend.”

JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals return to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium after yesterday’s 8-7 win over the Marlins. But this time, they’ll take on the Cardinals and an old friend.

Erick Fedde, the Nats’ first-round pick in 2014, will make this third start of spring for St. Louis. The right-hander was traded from the White Sox to the Cardinals as part of a three-team deal at last year’s trade deadline after signing a two-year, $15 million contract with Chicago following his standout year in Korea.

Opposing him will be Michael Soroka for the Nats. The right-hander is making his second start of spring after debuting here Saturday against the Red Birds. Soroka pitched three shutout innings with three strikeouts and one walk on 39 pitches.

Both pitchers would be wise to keep batters from getting balls in the air. Once again, strong winds are blowing out toward the outfield. As we saw yesterday as the Nationals and Marlins combined hit five home runs, balls can fly here if they get caught in the jet streams.

And this game is back on MASN! You can join Bob Carpenter and Dan Kolko on the broadcast starting at 1 p.m., while I’ll continue having game coverage from here in West Palm! Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler are also back on the radio broadcast streamed on Nationals.com and MLB.com.

JUPITER, Fla. – Michael Soroka hadn’t jogged out of his own dugout to start a game since May 12 with the White Sox. Over his last 16 appearances in 2024, he had to jog in from the bullpen as a reliever.

On that day, he gave up five runs (four earned) in 5 ⅓ innings to start what would be a 7-0 loss to the Guardians, inflating his season ERA to 6.39. From that point on, he posted a 2.75 ERA over 36 innings as a multi-inning reliever for Chicago.

But when he signed his one-year, $9 million contract with the Nationals over the offseason, he was promised a chance to return to the rotation as the highest-paid pitcher on the team. Today’s start in a 3-2 walk-off loss to the Cardinals was his first step back toward being a full-time starter.

Soroka completed three scoreless innings with one walk and three strikeouts on 39 pitches, 27 strikes. A perfect outing to match the goals laid out for him for his first Grapefruit League appearance of the spring.

“I felt pretty good,” the 27-year-old right-hander said. “I felt a little amped up early. I was kind of throwing through a couple things and just couldn't quite find that tensionless delivery that I kind of found earlier. Then kind of clicked it all into place at the back end of the first inning and let it ride. So I felt pretty good about the adjustments I made. That's just kind of everything I guess you could ask for in your first time out there.”

JUPITER, Fla. – It’s not really spring training until you play a split-squad doubleheader. Unfortunately for the Nationals staff (and your trusty beat reporter), today features a split split-squad doubleheader with an afternoon game against the Cardinals in Jupiter followed by a night game against the Marlins in West Palm Beach.

This is March.

After some initial confusion, it will be Michael Soroka making his Nats debut today against the Cards. The 27-year-old right-hander figures to have his position in the Opening Day rotation secured after he signed a one-year, $9 million contract in the offseason, making him the Nats’ highest-paid pitcher.

Soroka is hoping to recapture the form that made him the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year runner-up. He went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.111 WHIP in 29 starts with the Braves that season, but injuries have derailed his once-promising career ever since.

He did, however, post a 2.75 ERA in 16 relief appearances with the White Sox last year, so he’ll look to build off that as he works back into a full-time starter’s role.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – It’s only the first five contests of Grapefruit League play, but no team wants a star player to have to sit out game action this early in spring training. Any time one does, panic ensues and is not quelled until said player returns to the field.

James Wood’s absence during the Nationals’ first week of spring training games struck fear into the hearts of fans. But the young outfielder and the team were not concerned his right quad tendinitis would hold him out for long.

He’s been able to take batting practice the entire time and returned to outfield work over the weekend. Now he’s ready to make his 2025 game debut.

Wood will be the Nats designated hitter and lead off to start this afternoon’s game against the Mets. Manager Davey Martinez moved him up to the top spot so he can get his at-bats quickly and be done for the day.

“He's gonna DH. We'll hopefully get him three at-bats,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “I led him off to see if we can get him at least three at-bats, but we'll see how he feels. I want him just to go get his at-bats.”

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. – As Saturday’s exhibition opener creeps closer, the Nationals are trying to make sure they cover all their bases during these final days of full-squad workouts. Literally.

This morning’s session included the entire defense on the field as one, specifically working on proper relay technique. Outfielders tracked down balls hit to the gaps or corners. Infielders positioned themselves to either receive the relay throw, back up the relay throw or cover an open base. Pitchers ran to their correct backup position in foul territory.

It can all sound mundane, especially for players at the major league level. But manager Davey Martinez pointed out the importance of everyone involved getting it right.

“It is repetitive, but what we’re trying to teach them is: These things do matter,” Martinez said. “The dropping of the ball, the making of a good throw to the bases, to understand that you don’t leave your feet if the guy throws the ball, we’ve got a trail guy behind, all that stuff. Believe it or not, when you see them do it, sometimes they forget. As I always say … we treat these guys like they’re from Mars, they don’t know anything from the game.”

Martinez believes the Nationals cost themselves runs during the course of the 2024 season with seemingly little mistakes that allowed runners to take extra bases (especially trailing runners). That’s why he wants all cut-offs to be caught cleanly, and why he wants the other infielders and pitchers in correct position to cover bases or back up the play in case someone does try to steal an extra 90 feet.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – By any reasonable measure, DJ Herz’s 2024 season was a success. The young left-hander pitched well enough in 10 starts at Triple-A Rochester to earn a promotion. And then he pitched well enough in 19 starts with the Nationals (4.16 ERA, 1.263 WHIP, 106 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings) to feel like he had established his big league credentials.

That should guarantee Herz a spot in the Nats’ Opening Day rotation this season, right? Not at all.

When the team signed two major league veteran free agents (Michael Soroka, Trevor Williams) as well as an established Japanese pitcher (Shinnosuke Ogasawara), the 2025 rotation suddenly looked overcrowded. At least two, maybe all three, of those guys are going to make the rotation. And MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin are locks, given their performances the last two seasons and high ceilings for success.

That could leave both Herz and fellow young lefty Mitchell Parker on the outside looking in. Not that they’re bothered by it.

“I feel like we only got stronger,” Herz said of the Nationals’ offseason additions. “For me, I love the competition. I don’t like feeling comfortable or complacent. I like the feeling of: I’ve got to compete and go win a spot. I think it makes me a better player. I’m excited to be with them.”

During the early parts of this offseason, the Nationals were in search of starting pitchers. It didn’t need to be filled right then and there, but the front office brass left December’s Winter Meetings in Dallas without any additions to the major league roster except for Rule 5 Draft pick Evan Reifert.

Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams became free agents at the end of last season. Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz, while impressive in their respective rookie seasons, weren’t sure things to stay in the big league rotation in 2025.

Josiah Gray is expected to miss most of this year while recovering from his Tommy John surgery and internal brace procedure. Cade Cavalli still needs to prove he can pitch every five days in the majors while working his way back from his own Tommy John surgery.

MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin were the only sure things in the Nats rotation heading into the new season.

But then a week after returning home from Dallas, the Nats signed right-hander Michael Soroka to a modest one-year, $9 million contract. On New Year’s Eve, they brought back Williams on a new two-year, $14 million deal. And in January, they signed left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara to a two-year, $3.5 million contract, the first ever given by the club to a player directly from Asia.

Friday’s signing of Shinnosuke Ogasawara truly came out of left field. Not only because the Nationals had never signed a free agent out of Japan (or any other Asian country). But because they didn’t seem to be in the market for another starting pitcher, at least not one who wouldn’t instantly slot into the front of the rotation, as opposed to the back.

Ogasawara, by all indications, does not project to be a frontline starter in the major leagues. He figures to get a shot to earn the fourth or fifth starter job coming out of spring training. But there’s also reasonable speculation his chances of long-term success here will increase if he becomes a reliever.

The Nats didn’t give the 27-year-old left-hander a guaranteed, two-year deal worth a reported $3.5 million, though, if they didn’t expect him to be part of the Opening Day pitching staff. And Ogasawara, whose 45-day negotiating window was set to expire Friday if he didn’t sign with any major league club, likely chose Washington because of the opportunity he’ll get here that perhaps he wasn’t guaranteed to get elsewhere.

We’re scheduled to hear from general manager Mike Rizzo this afternoon, so hopefully we’ll get a better idea then what exactly the club’s plans for Ogasawara are. But if he truly is given a chance to make the rotation, he’s going to join a crowded group of arms competing for only a couple of open spots.

Barring a trade – which, of course, you can never rule out – the Nationals will go into spring training with MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin assured of starting jobs, based on their performances last season. That now leaves five others, in theory, competing for three more spots in the rotation.

We’re less than a month away from the start of spring training and there are still plenty of questions swirling around the baseball offseason.

As it pertains to the Nationals, we know you still have a lot of questions before the team reports to West Palm Beach next month. Mark Zuckerman’s weekly Q&A sessions with readers have been filled with your inquiries on the club’s roster, farm system and projections for the 2025 season.

But this morning, I had the thought to turn the tables on you, the readers.

Here are some Nats-related questions for you to ponder and answer in the comments section below:

Which offseason addition (so far) will have the biggest impact this season?

It’s officially 2025 now, and that means a fresh start and raised expectations for a Nationals club that made strides in 2024 but still hasn’t climbed all the way out of the franchise rebuild they first embarked on in July 2021.

This is the year, everyone hopes, when the Nats end their streak of five consecutive losing seasons. This is the year, everyone hopes, when they return to contention for the first time since 2019. This is the year, everyone hopes, when their new core of young players realizes its full potential and leads the club to heights not experienced since the last star-studded core did it over an eight-season run of success.

And this is the year, everyone hopes, when the Nationals start adding established big leaguers via free agency and/or trade to bolster that promising young core.

Alas, that didn’t happen during the final two months of 2024. The Nats made very little news through all of November and the majority of December, but the final two weeks finally saw a flurry of activity with the acquisitions of four major league players.

It began with the signing of Michael Soroka to a one-year, $9 million contract, giving the pitching staff a former All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up whose career in Atlanta was sidetracked by freak injuries but may have been rejuvenated late last season in the White Sox bullpen.

As he explored his options this winter, Michael Soroka was struck by the Nationals’ interest in him. Interest that stemmed not as much from what he had done in the past, but from what they feel he’s still capable of doing in the future.

“It seemed like the best place to move forward with, for myself and for the organization,” the right-hander said Friday in an introductory Zoom call with D.C. reporters. “I’m excited to be a part of that. It’s an organization that’s going in the right direction.”

The Nats on Thursday made Soroka their first major league acquisition of the offseason, giving him a one-year, $9 million contract to join their 2025 rotation. It’s a gamble in some ways, because he hasn’t been a full-time, big-league starter since 2019 with the Braves (when he finished runner-up for Rookie of the Year and sixth for the Cy Young Award).

Soroka’s career has been on a winding path since, with two full seasons lost to a freak Achilles’ tendon tear (and re-tear), then a slow and at times ineffective return to the mound that culminated this season with an 0-10 record, 4.74 ERA and demotion from the rotation to the bullpen for an historically awful White Sox team.

The Nationals, though, saw what Soroka himself felt during the latter stages of a tough season in Chicago. Upon moving to a long-relief role, he enjoyed newfound success with some changes both to his mechanics and his pitch usage. In 16 relief appearances totaling 36 innings, he produced a 2.75 ERA, 1.222 WHIP and a whopping 60 strikeouts.

The Nationals’ long-awaited first free agent signing of the offseason didn’t qualify as a big splash. Michael Soroka isn’t the big slugger they need for the middle of their lineup. He’s not the closer they lack since non-tendering Kyle Finnegan. And he’s probably not the ace of the staff, even if he did pitch like one as a rookie for the Braves way back in 2019.

Soroka’s deal – one year, $9 million – is modest by 2025 standards. If anything, it might even be a bit of a stretch considering his lack of success and lack of good health, the last five seasons.

But that’s the price of doing business in the free agent pitching market. Nobody with any kind of track record comes cheap, and the best of the best are paid exorbitant amounts of dollars over a number of years that leaves general managers around the league shivering.

The Nats didn’t sign Soroka to lead their rotation. They signed him in the hopes he can rekindle some of his past success and health and perform at a level that makes his $9 million salary look like a bargain.

In short, they signed him hoping he can do in 2025 what Trevor Williams did in 2024.