Williams and Sanchez optioned, Noll still on roster

The Nationals optioned reliever Austen Williams and infielder Adrián Sanchez to Triple-A Fresno this morning, all but finalizing their opening day roster with only one final question left to answer: Has non-roster invitee Jake Noll made the club, or is there another outside acquisition pending to fill the last spot on the bench?

The Williams and Sanchez moves leave the Nationals with 28 players officially on their spring training roster. Included on that roster, however, are three players expected to open the season on the injured list: Howie Kendrick, Michael A. Taylor and Koda Glover.

Thus, only 25 healthy players remain, and Noll unexpectedly is among that group.

The 25-year-old corner infielder came to spring training as one of more than a dozen non-roster invitees to big league camp, given a uniform number (71) and locker location that suggested he would be sent down to minor league camp in short order. But he quickly impressed the coaching staff and front office with his bat, going 9-for-20 with two homers, two doubles, six RBIs and three walks out of the gate.

As camp progressed and others were jettisoned, Noll remained, one of the few players still around in that corner of the clubhouse and included on the team charter from West Palm Beach for Monday's final exhibition game in Washington. He finished the spring hitting .320 (16-for-50) with two homers, four doubles, 10 RBIs and five walks.

Now the Nationals must decide if Noll, who hit a combined .291 with 11 homers last season at Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg, is worthy of the 25th spot on the opening day roster, or if there's another available player who better fills that role.

Regardless, this would appear to be a short-term roster opening, with Kendrick expected to be ready to return from a left hamstring strain within a week or two. Taylor probably needs more time to return from his sprained left knee and ankle, and barring another acquisition, Andrew Stevenson is in line to hold that roster spot as the Nationals' fourth outfielder.

Williams' demotion comes in spite of a dominant spring in which the right-hander retired 22 of 24 batters faced. In the end, the Nationals chose to keep fellow righties Justin Miller and Wander Suero (who each held more prominent roles in last season's bullpen) over Williams, who made his major league debut in September and appeared in only 10 games.

The Nationals plan to begin the season with an eight-man bullpen, but that includes No. 5 starter Jeremy Hellickson, who because of off-days won't be needed in the rotation until two weeks from now in Philadelphia. The rest of the relief corps features closer Sean Doolittle, setup man Trevor Rosenthal, right-hander Kyle Barraclough, lefties Tony Sipp and Matt Grace, plus Miller and Suero.

The bench, for now, features first baseman Matt Adams, infielder Wilmer Difo, catcher Kurt Suzuki, Stevenson and Noll.

The Nationals must submit their final 25-man roster and place others on the IL on Wednesday.