How many current players are locks for the 2022 roster?

On Sunday afternoon, Lane Thomas became the 54th player to appear in a game for the Nationals this season. That's an exceptionally high number, only three shy of the club record set way back in 2006. And with 44 games still to go, and more players likely to join the roster before this is over, it's quite possible this year's team will establish a new record.

The pertinent question right now, though, isn't how many guys will play for the Nationals in 2021. It's how many of the guys currently playing for them in 2021 will be part of the organization's plan for 2022.

And that's far more difficult to answer at this juncture.

Let's start with the obvious ones, the players who we know with absolute certainty will be back next season.

We know Juan Soto and Josh Bell will be here. Soto is now the face of the franchise, and Bell will remain an affordable cleanup hitter entering his contract year.

And we know Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin aren't going anywhere, though it's anybody's guess whether Strasburg will have fully recovered from thoracic outlet surgery and be able to start the season on time, or whether Corbin will have regained any semblance of the pitcher who earned a $140 million contract and was a major contributor to the Nats' championship run in 2019.

Josiah Gray hasn't been here for long, but the 23-year-old right-hander sure looks like the real deal. And Erick Fedde, for all his faults, will still be under club control and positioned to hold one of the spots at the back end of the rotation.

Joe Ross? Well, that depends entirely on what Keith Meister, the orthopedist who performed Tommy John surgery on him four years ago, determines his partially torn elbow ligament needs now.

In the bullpen, Kyle Finnegan is probably a keeper, though perhaps not as the closer. Tanner Rainey, Wander Suero, Sam Clay, Mason Thompson, Gabe Klobosits, Ryne Harper and Andres Machado all have shown various levels of effectiveness at times, but none can be considered a sure thing yet.

What about the young building blocks in the lineup? Can we say with any certainty yet that Victor Robles, Carter Kieboom and Luis García are assured of starting jobs next spring? No. The Nationals sure hope all earn those jobs, but none has shown enough yet to guarantee it.

Behind the plate, the Nats have three intriguing young catchers in Keibert Ruiz (who is still at Triple-A Rochester), Tres Barrera and Riley Adams. You have to assume Ruiz is the No. 1 guy next season, with Barrera and Riley competing for the backup job.

But there are still big question marks at shortstop and in left field, not to mention the bench. Would the Nationals bring back Alcides Escobar or seek a more accomplished shortstop? Are Yadiel Hernandez, Andrew Stevenson and Thomas enough to get by in left field? You wouldn't think so.

And does Ryan Zimmerman want to return for another season and put his body through everything just to be a backup first baseman on a rebuilding club?

Who from a revamped farm system will be ready to debut in the big leagues? Cade Cavalli is at the top of the list, but it wouldn't be a shock if the Nationals decided to slow play their 2020 first-round pick and wait until May or June to call him up. But is anybody else knocking on the door at this point?

If it's not clear by now, that's a whole lot of players and positions up in the air right now. There's plenty of time for the Nats to figure things out, and who knows how they'll approach this offseason, with a lot of money coming off the books but a lot more uncertainty looming as the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1.

The final 44 games of this unexpected season will help shape those decisions. But even if they provide some clarity, the Nationals will be heading into the winter with very few sure things and very many questions that need to be answered.