PLAYER REVIEW: VICTOR ROBLES

Age on Opening Day 2024: 26

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2013

MLB service time: 5 years, 33 days

2023 salary: $2.325 million

PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS

Age on Opening Day 2024: 27

How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021

MLB service time: 2 years, 50 days

2023 salary: $728,800

PLAYER REVIEW: JAKE ALU

Age on Opening Day 2024: 26

How acquired: 24th-round pick, 2019 Draft

MLB service time: 73 days

2023 salary: $720,000

PLAYER REVIEW: JACOB YOUNG

Age on Opening Day 2024: 24

How acquired: Seventh-round pick, 2021 Draft

MLB service time: 37 days

2023 salary: $720,000

The Nationals are cutting ties with infielder Michael Chavis, outfielder Blake Rutherford and reliever Hobie Harris, clearing necessary space on their 40-man roster as they prepare to enter the offseason.

Chavis, Rutherford and Harris cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Both Chavis and Rutherford, who ended the season on the active big league roster, had the right to declare free agency and chose to do so, leaving the organization. Harris, who made the Opening Day bullpen but spent most of the season with Rochester, will be a minor league free agent at the conclusion of the World Series.

Those three moves, plus comparable moves with reliever Victor Arano and outfielder Travis Blankenhorn earlier this month, cleared a total of five spots on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, which ultimately will be needed for players who ended the season on the 60-day injured list.

The Nats had six such players on the 60-day IL at season’s end: catcher Riley Adams, outfielders Stone Garrett and Victor Robles, and right-handers Cade Cavalli, Carl Edwards Jr. and Stephen Strasburg. Edwards becomes eligible for free agency after the World Series and is unlikely to return.

Strasburg has already come to the conclusion he’ll need to retire after a failed attempt to return from thoracic outlet surgery, but until he and the organization come to an agreement on how to handle the $105 million he’s still owed through 2026, he will need to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

Lane Thomas has been recognized for his stellar defensive season with his first career Gold Glove Award nomination.

Thomas today was named by Rawlings Sports one of three finalists for the award among National League right fielders, along with the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr.

Winners at all positions will be announced Nov. 5 on ESPN.

It’s the first time Thomas has finished in the top three at his position in voting conducted by major league managers and coaches near the end of the regular season. The ultimate winner will be determined both by those votes and a sabermetic component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research, which accounts for 25 percent of the final tally.

Thomas enjoyed a breakthrough season for the Nationals not only at the plate (where he hit 28 homers and stole 20 bases) but also in the field. He was second among all NL outfielders with 18 assists, trailing only the Rockies’ Nolan Jones (who played all three outfield positions, plus first and third bases) by one.

PLAYER REVIEW: STONE GARRETT

Age on Opening Day 2024: 28

How acquired: Signed as free agent, November 2022

MLB service time: 1 year, 50 days

2023 salary: $720,000

PLAYER REVIEW: ALEX CALL

Age on Opening Day 2024: 29

How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Guardians, August 2022

MLB service time: 1 year, 66 days

2023 salary: $721,800

PLAYER REVIEW: LANE THOMAS

Age on Opening Day 2024: 28

How acquired: Traded from Cardinals for Jon Lester, July 2021

MLB service time: 4 years, 14 days

2023 salary: $2.2 million

PLAYER REVIEW: ILDEMARO VARGAS

Age on Opening Day 2024: 32

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, May 2022

MLB service time: 4 years, 7 days

2023 salary: $975,000

The Nationals are adding another experienced name to a revamped scouting department, hiring Brad Ciolek away from the Orioles to serve as senior director of amateur scouting, a source familiar with the move confirmed.

Ciolek spent 12 of the last 13 seasons with the Orioles in a variety of roles, most recently as director of draft operations. Owner of a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in computer information systems, and having spent a year working as an analyst for Bloomberg Sports, he brings an analytical background to a Nats scouting department that appears to be making an effort to bolster that area.

In D.C., Ciolek will hold a title not previously held by anyone in the front office. He’ll work for recently hired vice president of amateur scouting Danny Haas, who replaces longtime head of scouting Kris Kline, who is moving into a new role as a special assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo.

Haas, who came from the Diamondbacks, previously worked for the Orioles with Ciolek, so the two are being reunited in Washington, tasked with overhauling an amateur scouting department that has produced few notable big league players in recent years.

Ciolek first joined the Orioles in 2011 as a player development intern at their spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla. He left after one year to work for Bloomberg Sports but returned to Baltimore in 2013 as scouting administrator, advancing to assistant director of scouting, supervisor of domestic scouting operations and ultimately director of draft operations the last two seasons.

PLAYER REVIEW: CARTER KIEBOOM

Age on Opening Day 2024: 26

How acquired: First-round pick, 2016 draft

MLB service time: 2 years, 167 days

2023 salary: $733,400

PLAYER REVIEW: CJ ABRAMS

Age on Opening Day 2024: 23

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

MLB service time: 1 year, 130 days

2023 salary: $724,200

PLAYER REVIEW: LUIS GARCÍA

Age on Opening Day 2024: 23

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2016

MLB service time: 2 years, 142 days

2023 salary: $739,000

PLAYER REVIEW: DOMINIC SMITH

Age on Opening Day 2024: 28

How acquired: Signed as free agent, January 2023

MLB service time: 5 years, 81 days

2023 salary: $2 million

PLAYER REVIEW: JOEY MENESES

Age on Opening Day 2024: 31

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, January 2022

MLB service time: 1 year, 65 days

2023 salary: $723,300

Davey Martinez is returning for his seventh season as Nationals manager, but he’ll do so with a number of changes to his coaching staff.

Several members of Martinez’s big league staff have been informed in recent days their contracts are not being renewed, including bench coach Tim Bogar, third base coach Gary DiSarcina, first base coach Eric Young Jr. and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, a source familiar with the decisions confirmed.

Jim Hickey will be brought back for his fourth season as pitching coach, the source said. It wasn’t immediately clear if decisions have been made on hitting coach Darnell Coles, catching and strategy coach Henry Blanco and bullpen coach Ricky Bones, along with others on the staff who aren’t among the official eight coaches the team employed.

The Athletic was first to report these changes.

With everyone on the staff working on contracts that were due to expire Oct. 31, the possibility of changes has loomed for weeks. Asked during the season’s final week about the fate of his coaches, Martinez said no decisions had been made at that point, and he intended to meet with general manager Mike Rizzo once the season ended to discuss each position.

PLAYER REVIEW: KEIBERT RUIZ

Age on Opening Day 2024: 25

How acquired: Traded from Dodgers with Josiah Gray, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021

MLB service time: 2 years, 64 days

2023 salary: $1.375 million

Now that the 2023 season is a wrap, we’ve taken broad looks at the year that was for the Nationals. Individual player reviews will start coming out on a daily basis this week, with Mark Zuckerman handling the major league roster and me taking a look at some of the top prospects.

But before we take a deeper dive into each player's performance, I wanted to have one overarching view of the minor league system in the form of a fun exercise.

Overall, the Nats’ minor league system did not fare too well this year in terms of win-loss records. The Dominican Summer League Nationals finished 11-39, the Florida Complex League Nationals 24-25, Single-A Fredericksburg 65-63, High-A Wilmington 55-75, Double-A Harrisburg 59-77 and Triple-A Rochester 66-80.

But among those results, there were some really strong individual performances.

“The best part of the minor league season was that all the players that we really were looking forward to take a step forward, we believe have,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “We think that was a success in that regard.”

Never let it be said we don’t hold ourselves accountable around here. For more than a decade, all of us who cover the Nationals have made Opening Day predictions for the coming season. And each year, we revisit those predictions and reveal just how we all did.

Some years, we have a pretty good take on things large and small. Other years, we don’t come close to getting anything right. This year was a mixed bag. While as a group we did pretty well in some categories, we completely whiffed on some others.

As always, a profound thanks to all my colleagues who were willing to subject themselves to this particular form of torture. And with that, here’s how we did in 2023 …

WHICH NATIONALS WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME?
Bobby Blanco (MASNsports.com) – Keibert Ruiz
Jessica Camerato (MLB.com) – Keibert Ruiz
Jesse Dougherty (Washington Post) – Hunter Harvey
Andrew Golden (Washington Post) – Joey Meneses
Craig Heist (106.7 The Fan) – Keibert Ruiz, Dominic Smith
Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) – Keibert Ruiz
Bill Ladson (MLB.com honorary) – Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz
Mark Zuckerman (MASNsports.com) – Joey Meneses

Correct answer: Josiah Gray earned the first All-Star selection of his career with a strong first half. The right-hander struggled for a good chunk of the second half but did close strong to finish with a respectable 3.91 ERA.