WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals and Orioles are set to close out their respective exhibition seasons with one final game against each other later this month, but that’s just a precursor to more games against each other in coming years.

The two clubs today announced a five-year deal to play exhibitions against each other, including an annual home-and-home series from 2026-29.

This year’s standalone game is set for Monday, March 24 at 1:05 p.m. at Nationals Park. The Nats also announced today all current and former federal employees are eligible to receive two free tickets to that game “as a special expression of gratitude for their services.” Federal workers can claim their free tickets at the first base box office beginning at 11:45 a.m. on the day of game. Additional details can be found at nationals.com/federal.

The clubs will expand this series with annual home-and-home games beginning in 2026, one game played at Nationals Park, one at Camden Yards. The specific schedule has yet to be announced, but the games are expected to take place on the Sunday and Monday prior to Opening Day, which would require the Nats to finish spring training in Florida one day earlier than usual.

This is a return to a previous era when end-of-spring exhibitions between the Nationals and Orioles was commonplace. They met each other every year from 2006-09, with games played in both cities.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Hello once again from sunny South Florida. It’s good to be back after a short respite at home. Many thanks as always to Bobby Blanco for a dynamite job covering the team all week in my stead.

The Nationals are back home with a night game against the Mets, and most of the regulars are in there for this one. That includes, for the first time this spring, the 1-2-3 of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood atop Davey Martinez’s lineup. That seems to be the order they have in mind to open the season, if everyone’s healthy and productive. We’ll see how they look against New York right-hander Paul Blackburn this evening.

Trevor Williams gets the ball for the Nats in his third outing of the spring. The veteran right-hander gave up a costly, two-run homer to the Marlins in his debut. He then held the Astros to one run over 2 1/3 innings last time out, but did give up five hits and a walk in the process. Williams faces a New York lineup tonight featuring Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and old pal Joey Meneses.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 73 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
CF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
3B Paul DeJong
2B Luis García Jr.
RF Alex Call
DH Andrés Chaparro
C Andrew Knizner

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – CJ Abrams arrived to spring training as one of, if not the, biggest storylines at the start of a new season.

How would the young shortstop respond to his disciplinary demotion that prematurely ended his 2024 campaign?

At the start of camp, all signs pointed to Abrams responding very well. He added 10 pounds of muscle, said he got even faster over the offseason and still flashed that noticeable smile while walking around the Nationals clubhouse.

“I just put it behind me,” Abrams told the media in his first public appearance since the demotion on the first day of spring training. “Things happen, and you’ve got to move forward. I’m here now, and I'm excited to get going with the team.”

As we’ve moved to the halfway point of camp, the off-field issues have been left in the past. Now the attention has turned to Abrams’ on-field performance.

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 will be trying some new things this weekend as they continue to get their pitchers ready for the regular season.

For the most part, the starters are staying in the same rotation. There are just some tweaks as to how and where they’ll be getting their work done over the next couple of days.

The rotation following Michael Soroka’s start today against the Cardinals includes Trevor Williams starting tomorrow night against the Mets, with MacKenzie Gore and Kyle Finnegan pitching on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. DJ Herz starts Saturday’s game against the Cardinals and Jake Irvin starts Sunday’s game against the Mets, with both matchups on MASN. And Shinnosuke Ogasawara will start one of Monday’s split-squad games against the Marlins.

Mitchell Parker is still day-to-day with a stiff neck after not pitching on his regularly scheduled day yesterday behind Ogasawara.

“Parker is still day-to-day,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame session with the media. “I want to make sure that we get this neck thing right before we send him back out.”

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.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Automated Balls and Strikes system won’t be used in Major League Baseball during the regular season. But it’s getting a good look during spring training.

The Nationals don’t have access to the technology at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. It’s only available at spring training stadiums that house full-season minor league teams. The Nats and Astros only have their Florida Complex League teams playing on the back fields of the complex.

But the Nats get a chance to test the system when they visit Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter or Clover Park in Port St. Lucie. And it provided two interesting moments in yesterday’s 8-7 win over the Marlins.

A Nats lineup filled with regulars got to face former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara as he works his way back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery. Some for the very first time. The Miami right-hander was efficient over his 2 ⅔ innings, but his only mishaps came while using his ABS challenges.

Budding Nats stars James Wood and Robert Hassell III – both of the blockbuster Juan Soto trade in 2022 – displayed impressive eyes at the plate against one of the league’s best pitchers.

JUPITER, Fla. – Today’s Grapefruit League matchup between the Nationals and Marlins started off slow. In fact, it started late before it started off slow.

After a 23-minute rain delay, the first three innings seemed to drag along with nothing really of note happening. James Wood was playing left field for the first time since dealing with right quad tendinitis, but he only had one ball hit toward him.

A slow-paced, actionless game is not uncommon during spring training.

Then the action picked up real fast and all of a sudden the game – which resulted in an 8-7 Nationals victory – was quite interesting. The batters started taking advantage of the 20-plus mph wind gusts out to left-center field, as opposed to the incoming winds yesterday in West Palm Beach.

Through the first three innings, the only things of note were Andrew Pinckney’s strong throw from right field for an out at home, and Wood and Robert Hassell III winning two Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) challenges against former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara.

JUPITER, Fla. – The time has come for James Wood to finally return to the outfield after dealing with right quad tendinitis over the first few weeks of Nationals spring training.

Wood will play four or five innings in left field while batting second behind leadoff man CJ Abrams in this afternoon’s game against the Marlins in Jupiter. The big outfielder has appeared in two games as the designated hitter, going 2-for-6 with one run, one walk and one strikeout, and faces a tough challenge today in Miami starter Sandy Alcantara.

“He's gonna probably play about four or five innings out there,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame media session. “We'll see how it goes, but he played well yesterday. He looked good. He says he's ready to go, so we'll get him out there and get him some regular reps out in the field.”

Wood took part in the Nationals’ fly ball drills yesterday and then played a couple of innings in the outfield during a simulated intrasquad game on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. The 22-year-old reported that he was fine afterwards and told his manager he’s ready to return to the field in an actual Grapefruit League game.

“I think everything went well yesterday and he felt good,” Martinez said. “He's been itching to get back out there. So we'll get him going.

JUPITER, Fla. – This afternoon the Nationals will make their first of back-to-back trips to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium over the next two days. They’ll play the Marlins in their first 15-minute trip up the road from their home in West Palm Beach.

We’ve landed on another multiple-starter day as Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Mitchell Parker are both scheduled to pitch against the Fish. The plan is for each left-hander to get up to 40 pitches and about three innings.

Ogasawara had a tough time during his last outing against the Mets’ A lineup. He completed 1 ⅔ innings with four hits, four runs (two earned), one walk and two strikeouts on 32 pitches, 24 strikes. He also served up a two-run home run to Juan Soto. But he should have a better time against this Marlins squad that is projected to finish last in the National League East.

Parker was charged with five hits, a double, two runs and two strikeouts in 2 ⅓ innings on 42 pitches, 31 strikes, against the Mets on Friday. He did, however, strike out Soto on a high fastball.

The lineup – which includes regulars James Wood, making his first appearance in the outfield, and Luis García Jr. – will have a tough challenge to start this one. Former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara makes his third start of the spring. The right-hander has yet to give up a run or walk over three innings, recording four strikeouts and allowing only three hits. Alcantara missed all of last season while recovering from October 2023 Tommy John surgery.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Early March in spring training brings the anticipation of the first roster cuts. Usually, it’s a group of minor leaguers who have been in major league camp but are running out of opportunities to play as the everyday big leaguers need more reps to get ready for the season.

Technically, it is a demotion. But none of the young players should hold their heads down as they move from the Nationals clubhouse to the minor league side down the hall at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches complex.

The Nats made their first cuts of the spring yesterday, reassigning right-handers Daison Acosta, Marquis Grissom Jr., Jack Sinclair, Tyler Stuart and Jarlin Susana, and catchers Caleb Lomavita and Max Romero to minor league camp.

“We had some young guys that threw the ball really, really well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So now that we're trying to get our starters stretched out and see some of these other guys go multiple innings, it's time for them to get ready for their season as well. But I saw a lot of really good things. As I said earlier, for me, this is the first camp where I really feel like we have some depth. Our young guys are doing well and they're coming. So it was a lot of fun to watch these guys pitch early.”

Demoting Susana, who is the Nats’ No. 3 ranked prospect and the No. 78 ranked prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, wasn’t unexpected. But it is unfortunate that we’ll see less of the 6-foot-6, 235-pound flamethrower, who draws attention every time he steps on a mound. He could still be called up from minor league camp for games, plus one of the two Spring Breakout games next week.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training results, especially early in camp, don’t really carry much weight for a variety of reasons. Starters don’t play the whole nine innings. Pitchers often work on different pitches. And minor leaguers can fill out a lineup against major leaguers.

Another factor affecting play, especially in South Florida, is the weather.

The sun can blind fielders on popups. Clouds can roll in and out in a matter of seconds. Rain can downpour and then vanish just as quickly. And the wind can blow all over the field at high speeds.

It seemed like the wind was the 10th fielder for both teams during the Nationals’ 6-4 loss to the Cardinals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. With gusts between 20-30 mph coming in from the right field corner, most fly balls died in the outfield.

The benefactors: Starting pitchers Jake Irvin and Michael McGreevy.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals were back to work on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches after Monday’s true off-day. No one reported to the complex yesterday. Everyone returned today.

That included Luis García Jr., who was a late scratch from Saturday’s nightcap of a split-squad doubleheader with an illness that included a throat issue and fever. The second baseman said he was feeling better in the clubhouse this morning. Manager Davey Martinez said García will be back to baseball activity today.

That activity will take place on the back fields while the Nats host a split-squad Cardinals team inside the stadium for today’s Grapefruit League action (which will also be live on MASN at 1 p.m.). The Nats will play a simulated intrasquad game on the back fields for those who aren’t playing against the Cards.

“He's going to do all baseball activity,” the skipper said of García during his pregame media session. “He's going to go back there and play in that game. And then if he feels good, he'll be back in there tomorrow.”

James Wood will also play on the back fields, which is a significant development because he will be playing a few “innings” in the outfield for the first time since reporting to camp with right quad tendinitis. The big outfielder has appeared in two games as the designated hitter, going 2-for-6 with one run, one walk and one strikeout.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals return to action today after their first true off-day of the spring. No one reported to the complex at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on Monday. A well-deserved break.

But now they’re back at it and are seeing one of their frontline starters make his third Grapefruit League appearance. Jake Irvin will look to build upon his last start in which he pitched into the third inning and was capped off at 37 pitches. Facing a split-squad Cardinals lineup may also be a good opportunity for the right-hander to experiment with some things.

Manager Davey Martinez has a lot of regulars in the lineup, although James Wood (right quad tendinitis) and Luis García Jr. (illness) are both absent.

It is very cloudy and windy down here in West Palm Beach, with 20-30 mph gusts coming in from the right field corner. Don’t expect to see too many balls fly out of the yard. Routine popups could be interesting, as well.

For those who want to watch the game back home, you’re in luck! You can join Dan Kolko and Mark Zuckerman on the MASN broadcast starting at 1 p.m., while I’ll have complete game coverage from here in West Palm! Those of you on the go can also listen to Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler on the radio broadcast streamed on Nationals.com and MLB.com.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Mitchell Parker figured to make his major league debut sometime in 2024. He was added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, so his time in the big leagues was coming at some point.

No one expected it to be as early as it was, nor that the left-hander would stay in the major league rotation through the end of the 2024 season.

When Josiah Gray landed on the injured list after only two starts in mid-April, the Nats made the surprise call to Parker to make his big league debut. Not to mention it was to be at Dodger Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day.

No pressure, new guy.

But Parker dazzled, striking out Shohei Ohtani once and Mookie Betts twice over five strong innings to become the franchise’s first rookie starter to win his big league debut since Stephen Strasburg. His rookie season was off and running.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Trey Lipscomb was the surprise standout of Nationals spring training this time last year. A former third-round pick and top-30 prospect who was invited to major league camp for the first time and was expected just to learn from the experience.

But the Frederick, Md., native did much more than learn. He took that opportunity and ran with it, nearly making the Opening Day roster out of camp. In 21 Grapefruit League games, Lipscomb slashed .400/.455/.540 with a .995 OPS, two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBIs, a stolen base and five walks to seven strikeouts, all while playing excellent defense all over the infield.

After a less-than-spectacular spring by Luis García Jr., who needed to prove he deserved his spot on the major league roster, Lipscomb played his way into the conversation for Opening Day.

Ultimately, the Nats decided to stick with García and have Lipscomb start his season at Triple-A Rochester. But then Nick Senzel fractured his thumb on Opening Day in Cincinnati and Lipscomb was on his way to the big leagues for the second game of the season.

What followed was an up-and-down year for the young infielder. Literally.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals know they need to hit for more power in 2025. They hit the second-fewest home runs in the major leagues last year with 135, only two more than the woeful White Sox.

The offseason additions to the lineup are supposed to address that lack of power. They already know Josh Bell’s homer potential. They believe Nathaniel Lowe can tap into the power he displayed in Texas. And Paul DeJong, while not known for his batting average, has been able to provide some pop throughout his eight-year big league career.

Bell hit his first home run in yesterday’s loss to the Cardinals, a two-run shot for the Nats’ only runs in the first game of their split-squad doubleheader. Lowe has yet to go long. And DeJong finally went deep in today’s 4-3 win over the Astros.

Against Astros closer Josh Hader, DeJong got ahead in the count, ran it full and drove the seventh pitch over the visiting bullpen in left field. There are no Statcast measurements at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, but it traveled far.

“He's been good. He's been really good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Another veteran guy that knows himself really well. When he connects, he can hit the ball a long way. We saw that today. What I really love, though, is that, honestly, he plays defense really well, too, which is going to help us. It really is. We know when he's up there, he's got a chance to put us in the lead. And I love that about him. So he's been great.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After some initial confusion this morning, James Wood will return to the Nationals lineup as the designated hitter for this afternoon’s spring training game against the Astros.

Manager Davey Martinez said after Wood’s spring debut Friday that the towering outfielder would DH again today. But when the Nats lineup was initially submitted, it did not include Wood and instead had Josh Bell batting fourth as the designated hitter.

A brief moment of panic and concern was quickly quashed by Martinez in his pregame media session. The error was caused by the skipper’s habit of filling out lineups days in advance and not knowing Wood’s availability while doing so earlier this week.

There were no setbacks or anything of the sort. All is well.

“He's feeling good,” Martinez said of Wood, who has been dealing with right quad tendinitis. “Depending on how long the game goes, we'll hope to get him three at-bats again. Then we'll see how he's doing.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – If yesterday’s split-squad doubleheader wasn’t enough, we’re right back for more baseball this afternoon!

Trevor Williams gets the ball for his second start of spring this afternoon against the Astros. The veteran right-hander was the first Nationals starter to go multiple innings in his first outing, tossing 23 pitches, 16 strikes, Tuesday against the Marlins.

Williams had a quick first inning with only seven pitches against the Fish, but he ran into some trouble in the second, serving up a two-run home run. He wasn’t as concerned with that longball as he was proud of his ability to throw all of his pitches for strikes. But he is only two years removed from leading the National League in home runs allowed, so keeping the ball in the yard would be welcomed today, especially against a Houston lineup filled with regulars.

James Wood (right quad tendinitis) is not in the lineup as the designated hitter as manager Davey Martinez said he would. Wood had the day off yesterday following his spring debut on Friday, in which he went 1-for-2 with a walk in three plate appearances against the Mets. And the Nats will again be without Luis García Jr., who is not in the lineup after being scratched from last night’s game with an illness. (Although, he probably wasn’t scheduled to play today anyway).

The Nats bats will have their work cut out for them against Astros starter Ronel Blanco (no relation to yours truly). But the Nats, too, have a number of other regulars playing this afternoon, hopefully making for an entertaining spring training game.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – MacKenzie Gore entered spring training as the presumed Opening Day starter for the Nationals. Patrick Corbin is no longer here and Josiah Gray is going to miss at least the first half of the season due to injury.

So the 26-year-old left-hander with electric, albeit inconsistent stuff is a likely choice to take the ball for the regular season opener against the Phillies.

First, he had to make the first of his handful of Grapefruit League starts Saturday in a 7-0 win over the Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Gore was originally scheduled to start last weekend’s spring opener, but his debut was pushed back so he could build up and go multiple innings against an actual opponent.

“Yeah, it was good,” Gore said after his outing. “It was good to finally get back out here. So yeah, I felt good.”

Gore completed three shutout innings with two hits, one walk, four strikeouts and one wild pitch. The free pass came against the Marlins’ first batter of the game, Xavier Edwards, and Gore issued first-pitch balls to three other batters over the course of the night as well. But once the southpaw settled in, he looked like his usual self getting some ugly swings against some nasty pitches.