PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Hello from the Gulf Coast of Florida, the opposite side of the state from where you usually hear from us. The Nationals are making a rare overnight spring training trip, with back-to-back games against the Rays here in Port Charlotte and then the Braves in nearby North Port. Most of the regulars have made the trip and will play in both games before heading back to West Palm Beach on Friday night.

DJ Herz takes the mound for what is arguably an important start for the young lefty. With the race for the fifth starter’s job still wide open, Davey Martinez and Mike Rizzo are just waiting for somebody to step in and seize it. Mitchell Parker made his case with a strong start Monday against the Marlins. Herz now gets his chance to make his own case this afternoon against Tampa Bay.

The Nats lineup includes the starting outfield trio of Alex Call, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews, with James Wood serving as the designated hitter. Luis García Jr. is starting at second base. And CJ Abrams is leading off and starting at shortstop after coming out of Wednesday’s game in the first inning with cramps in both quad muscles.  

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TAMPA BAY RAYS
Where: Charlotte Sports Park, Port Charlotte, Fla.
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Rays’ feed)
Weather: Sunny, 77 degrees, wind 11 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
DH James Wood
3B Paul DeJong
2B Luis García Jr.
LF Alex Call
1B Juan Yepez
CF Jacob Young
C Andrew Knizner

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The conversation happened a few weeks ago and was the type of conversation that doesn’t always go over well with the player involved.

The Nationals used their first round pick in 2019 on Jackson Rutledge because they believed he could be a frontline starting pitcher for them for a long time. Now, nearly six years later, they were telling the right-hander they wanted to convert him into a reliever, a tacit acknowledgement the original plan never came to fruition.

So, how did Rutledge take that news from manager Davey Martinez earlier this spring?

“I’m here to just help the team win,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve signed a few guys since that conversation, but it’s kind of like, we need bullpen arms. They’re really important to winning games, a lot of times even more important sometimes than a starter. I feel like if I can be a guy that keeps us in a lot of games, can pitch long innings, pitch short innings, whatever it may be, I feel like I can help the team get a bunch of wins this year.”

So it was that Rutledge officially made the transition from a guy who tries to throw as many innings as possible every five days to a guy who tries to throw one or two innings at a time every two or three days.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The sight of CJ Abrams racing around the bases for a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first today was a beautiful thing for the Nationals. The sight of the All-Star shortstop walking off the field and seeking out a trainer two batters later was the last thing anyone wanted to see.

By all accounts, it doesn’t appear to be anything serious. Abrams said both of his quadriceps muscles cramped up during the leadoff triple, according to manager Davey Martinez, who suggested he had no reason to be concerned following a 9-3 exhibition victory over the Astros.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” Martinez said. “He came in and got treatment. I haven’t seen (director of athletic training Paul Lessard) yet, but I’ll check up on him. He should be OK. They said they did some tests, and it was fine. He just cramped up.”

Abrams looked good on his 270-foot trek around the bases after he ripped a pitch from Astros left-hander Brandon Walter down the right field line to open the bottom of the first, coasting into third with ease. He remained there as Dylan Crews grounded out to the mound and as James Wood struck out for the inning’s second out.

It was after that strikeout that Abrams could be seen hunching over, dealing with some kind of discomfort. Martinez signaled from the dugout for Abrams to come out of the game, and he walked all the way back, greeted at the steps by Lessard.

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. – The Nationals embark on a rare spring training road trip Thursday, with back-to-back games on the other side of the state. But first up is one more home game, this one against their fellow tenants at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

MacKenzie Gore makes what’s actually only his second official start of the spring. The left-hander has still been getting his full workload in, throwing on back fields and in simulated games due to scheduling and the need to get other guys innings in real games. He’s good to go up to five innings or 80 pitches today, per Davey Martinez. And though nothing has officially been said yet, Gore remains on a schedule that lines up with Opening Day.

We’ll see plenty of regulars in the lineup as well, with CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood again batting 1-2-3 against Astros left-hander Brandon Walter. Among the potential relievers on today’s list are Jose A. Ferrer, Colin Poche and Eduardo Salazar.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Astros’ feed)
Weather: Sunny, 77 degrees, wind 5 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Paul DeJong
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Amed Rosario
CF Jacob Young

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There are 11 days to go in spring training, 12 exhibition games left to play if you count the March 24 finale against the Orioles in D.C. So the Nationals are about to enter crunch time, when decisions that have been looming since mid-February suddenly come to a head.

There haven’t been that many decisions already made this camp. The players who have been cut so far were mostly expected to be cut all along. That leaves 48 players remaining in big league camp: 38 of them from the 40-man roster, with another 10 non-roster invitees still participating with the others.

Suffice it to say, there’s still a lot of work to be done to trim 48 down to 26 before Opening Day.

Let’s take a look, then, at the current state of the spring roster and try to figure out who’s sitting pretty, who still has a chance and who’s probably on the outside looking in …

CATCHERS (4)
Sitting pretty: Keibert Ruiz
Still has a chance: Riley Adams, Drew Millas
Outside looking in: Andrew Knizner
Comment: We know Ruiz is still the No. 1 catcher, and to his credit, he’s had a very good spring at the plate so far (7-for-24, three homers). There’s still a big question who will back him up when the season begins. Adams has hit two homers, but is just 3-for-13 overall and has had some shaky moments behind the plate. Millas, though, is 1-for-16 (with four walks) and surprisingly hasn’t looked great defensively. Knizner has experience with the Cardinals and perhaps could force his way into the conversation, but he’s just 2-for-15 at the plate himself.

The past six months must have felt like déjà vu for Robert Hassell III.

After his regular season was hampered by injury, he reported to the Arizona Fall League. Then he reported to West Palm Beach in February looking to prove he’s healthy and still a top prospect in the Nationals farm system.

Unfortunately, that has been a repeating cycle for the 23-year-old outfielder ever since he came over as one of the five prospects returned to the Nats in the 2022 blockbuster Juan Soto trade with the Padres.

So here he is once again: Back at Nationals spring training, trying to show he’s healthy, trying to prove his worth.

But before we get to what Hassell is doing this year, let’s go back to last spring training.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals are off today, but that doesn't mean your trusty beat writer is off. There's plenty still to discuss about the first month of camp and what's still to come over the final two weeks.

This has been an eventful spring to date. We've seen the Nats sign four players who are likely to make the Opening Day roster (Kyle Finnegan, Lucas Sims, Colin Poche, Paul DeJong). We've seen James Wood come back from a minor quad injury and tear the cover off the ball. We've seen Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr. and Robert Hassell III all deliver big at the plate. And we've seen some mixed results from the pitching staff, especially those trying to win the fifth starter's job.

Surely, you've got questions you'd like answered, so let's use this opportunity today to delve into a bunch of topics. One important caveat: If you could please avoid questions about the Nats' current and future TV situation, understanding I really can't provide any insight into that subject, I would greatly appreciate it.

JUPITER, Fla. – This was pretty much assumed all along, but Davey Martinez confirmed it this morning: There’s only one open spot in the Nationals’ Opening Day rotation. The precise order has yet to be announced, but MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Michael Soroka and Trevor Williams will begin the season as the team’s top four starters.

Which leaves one more job for a trio of young left-handers: DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker and Shinnosuke Ogasawara. And what will the Nats base their final decision on?

“I want to see these guys – it’s going to happen during the season sometimes – in high-leverage situations, how they’re going to handle it,” Martinez said. “And it’s about throwing strikes, pounding the strike zone.”

So consider what Parker did this afternoon in what wound up a 9-9 tie with the Marlins a much-needed step in the right direction, all the more so after Ogasawara labored once again later in the evening. Though Parker gave up a pair of solo homers with a stiff wind blowing out at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, he otherwise was quite efficient, needing only 48 pitches (33 of them strikes) to complete four innings.

“Just being able to get out of the innings without throwing a lot of pitches was definitely a good thing,” said the lefty, who threw an additional 16 pitches in the bullpen afterward to build up his total count. “That’s what we did good at last year. I’m hoping to carry that over to this year.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Who’s ready for some more baseball? The venues have switched, but the teams remain the same as the Nationals and Marlins play the second half of their day-night, split-squad doubleheader, this time at the friendly confines of CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

With Mitchell Parker having looked pretty sharp in today’s matinee, there’s some increased pressure on Shinnosuke Ogasawara to perform better tonight. The Japanese left-hander hasn’t blown anyone’s socks off so far in his first three spring training starts. At some point as we move into mid-March, results do start to matter.

The top of the lineup features the big boys, headlined by the enticing 1-2-3 of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood. Luis García Jr. and Jacob Young are also starting tonight against Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (ss) vs. MIAMI MARLINS (ss)
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain ending, 73 degrees, wind 21 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Amed Rosario
1B Juan Yepez
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

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. – The Nationals are Marlins are going to see a lot of each other today. These two teams are playing a split-squad, day-night, two-city doubleheader. They’ll meet again tonight at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. First up, though, it’s a matinee at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

Mitchell Parker finally gets to make his first start of the spring after pitching in relief up to this point. The left-hander needs to start building up his pitch count, and he needs to start making his case for the wide-open final spot in the Opening Day rotation. He can set the tone with a solid outing this afternoon, putting pressure on Shinnosuke Ogasawara (who starts the nightcap).

The Nationals who made the short trip to Jupiter for this one are going to have to face one of the best arms in the game in Sandy Alcantara. Best of luck to Nathaniel Lowe, Keibert Ruiz, Josh Bell, Paul DeJong and Co. as they try to get something going at the plate against the Marlins ace.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (ss) vs. MIAMI MARLINS (ss)
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Marlins’ feed)
Weather: Chance of rain late, 85 degrees, wind 23 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
RF Alex Call
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
DH Josh Bell
3B Paul DeJong
CF Robert Hassell III
LF Daylen Lile
SS Nasim Nuñez
2B Trey Lipscomb

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have a long day ahead, with a split-squad, day-night, two-city doubleheader coming up against the Marlins. Before we get to that, though, a look back at some other noteworthy events from Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the Mets in Port St. Lucie …

* Luis Garcia Jr. had his best offensive day of the spring, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. In the process, he raised his Grapefruit League batting average to .400, his OPS to 1.167.

Garcia did this despite striking out in his first at-bat, whiffing at a changeup from Clay Holmes. (To be fair, Holmes was doing that to everyone, totaling eight strikeouts in only 3 2/3 innings.)

Garcia wound up being the only National to record a hit off Holmes, coming back in the top of the fourth to blast a double to the gap in right-center, a 106-mph laser off a first-pitch sweeper from the New York right-hander.

Two innings later, Garcia turned on an inside cutter from reliever Grant Hartwig and ripped a sharp single through the right side of the infield, the ball leaving his bat at 104.8 mph. And one inning after that, he recorded the Nats’ first RBI of the afternoon with another sharp single to right, this one a 102.7 mph shot off a slider from left-hander Genesis Cabrera.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The last thing any starting pitcher wants to see is his manager walking up the dugout steps and making his way toward the mound in the first inning. There is no scenario in baseball in which that can be construed as a good thing.

Jake Irvin’s reaction when he saw Davey Martinez make that walk early this afternoon at Clover Park?

“Lock in for the second inning,” the Nationals right-hander said.

In a scene that would never be possible from April through October but is permissible in March, Irvin handed the ball to his manager with two outs in the bottom of the first after giving up six runs to the Mets, then returned to the dugout to mentally prepare himself to re-enter the game in the bottom of the second as if it had never happened.

Major League Baseball instituted the re-entry rule a few years ago for exactly this type of situation. If a starter’s pitch count gets too high in one particular inning, he can be pulled but then re-inserted the following inning and proceed through the rest of his outing.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Riley Adams appears to have made quick progress from a bruised right wrist and could be back in the Nationals lineup as soon as Monday, according to manager Davey Martinez.

Adams was hit by a pitch Friday night and had to be scratched from Saturday’s lineup, replacing behind the plate by Drew Millas. X-rays on his wrist were negative, and he was diagnosed with a contusion.

The 28-year-old was ready to resume a full workout this morning, though. If he made it through that session feeling strong, he could be back in the lineup for one of Monday’s split-squad games against the Marlins.

“He took a few swings yesterday off the tee, said he felt a lot better. So he’s going to hit today out on the field,” Martinez said. “I’ll get something back, and then if he’s OK, we’ll plop him back in tomorrow.”

This is an important spring for Adams, who is trying to hold onto the No. 2 catching job on the Opening Day, backing up Keibert Ruiz. He was twice optioned to Triple-A Rochester last season after falling into slumps at the plate, with Millas called up to replace him.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Nationals hit the road this afternoon, making the 45-minute trek up Interstate-95 to face the Mets. And a decent number of regulars are making the trip, headlined by CJ Abrams and James Wood, who will bat first and second, respectively.

Wood is serving as designated hitter, and Dylan Crews and Jacob Young aren’t on the trip, so today’s outfield has a different look, with Alex Call in left field, Andrew Pinckney in center and Daylen Lile in right. They’ll all get a chance to face Clay Holmes, the former Yankees reliever who is now getting a chance to become a full-time starter with the Mets.

Jake Irvin becomes the first member of the Nationals rotation to make his fourth start of the spring. Irvin has already completed four innings in his last outing, so he should be good to ramp up to five frames today, provided he keeps the pitch count reasonable.

You can watch today’s game live on MASN, the broadcast beginning at 1 p.m. That’s 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time, of course. Hope you all remembered to change your clocks last night!

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Clover Park, Port St. Lucie
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 85 degrees, wind 11 mph out to left field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Progress in early March looks different than it would later in the year, or even in the spring. The Nationals still have two weeks to name a fifth starter, which means DJ Herz still has three more exhibition outings to make his case.

So even though this afternoon’s start during a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals didn’t look great on paper, both Herz and manager Davey Martinez were able to point to some positive developments that represented progress from his two previous appearances.

“He threw a lot of strikes,” Martinez said of Herz, who was credited with 46 of them among his 71 total pitches. “The big thing with him is, he got ahead, and then he got hitters back in the count: 3-2, 2-2. Once he gets ahead, he’s got to stay ahead. But he did throw the ball around the plate. It was way better today. A better outing for him today, so we’ll build from that.”

High pitch counts and an inability to throw strikes were the defining characteristics of Herz’s prior spring starts, most notably last week’s effort against the Astros in which he walked four and didn’t even make it out of the second inning.

The lefty again got himself in trouble in the top of the second today, with two runs scoring on three hits, and a leaping catch in center field by Jacob Young saving the inning from going on any longer. Even so, Herz walked off the mound with his pitch count already up to 48, a product of all those long at-bats, most of which lasted at least five or six pitches.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The ball shot off CJ Abrams’ bat and made a beeline for the left field wall, clearing it with some room to spare as the Nationals shortstop rounded the bases to applause Friday night from the crowd at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

A solo homer on March 7 from an established big leaguer isn’t all that noteworthy, but this one felt different not because of who hit it, but where he hit it.

Abrams hit 20 home runs for the Nats last season. Every single one of them was hit to right or right-center field. This one, of course, went to the opposite field, which made it very notable to the 24-year-old.

“It was big,” Abrams said. “I’ve been seeing it really well up there. I’ve been swinging at better pitches. The results early on probably wasn’t the best, but I was getting good contact.”

Abrams entered Friday only 3-for-19 at the plate this spring, making a lot of contact early in the count. He hadn’t struck out, but he hadn’t been hitting the ball with much authority, either.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have a quick turnaround from Friday night’s walk-off win over the Mets, facing the Cardinals today at the extra-early time of 12:05 p.m. Davey Martinez decided to let the guys sleep in a little, canceling formal morning workouts and batting practice. And most of the regulars who started Friday night are not in today’s lineup.

DJ Herz should be well-rested, though, and eager to perform better than he did in either of his previous two spring starts. The young lefty has been pulled with two outs in the second each time, having allowed two runs. He’s also walked six in those 3 1/3 combined innings while striking out only two, the exact opposite of what should be expected of him. He’s in a battle with Mitchell Parker and Shinnosuke Ogasawara for the No. 5 starter’s job; this would be a good time for him to step up and make the case for himself.

The Nationals lineup faces veteran left-hander Steven Matz. With many of the regulars sitting, Jacob Young gets a chance to lead off, with Robert Hassell III bumped all the way up to the No. 2 spot.

You can watch today’s game live on MASN, with Bob Carpenter and Kevin Frandsen together on the call for the first time in 2025. The radio broadcast with Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler, meanwhile, is streaming online only today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EST
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: Nationals.com, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 81 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Finnegan woke up early this morning, raring to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t need to report to the ballpark until lunchtime, because the Nationals had a night game against the Mets.

“I woke up early like usual and was just staring at the clock like: ‘When can I go in the field?’” the veteran closer said with a laugh. “Being around for a while now, that’s a good thing to still be super excited to throw in a back field spring training game.”

Finnegan indeed only threw an inning of a simulated game this afternoon, facing a quartet of teammates while coaches watched from behind a screen. Hardly anything to get excited about. But for the 33-year-old, who re-signed with the Nats only a week ago, this was a big deal: the first time he faced live hitters since the end of the 2024 season.

Though he kept himself ready while unsigned this spring throwing off a mound at home in Houston, the only “batter’ Finnegan had faced was a cardboard cutout figure positioned in the batter’s box. Not quite the same as facing Robert Hassell III, Brady House, Stone Garrett and José Tena on Field 2 outside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

“I was anxious to throw today, super excited,” he said. “It’s that natural progression of taking that next step. No matter what you do in the offseason, nothing can prepare you for that first week of spring training, just how you body responds to it. Today was a big step forward.”