The unselfish Tanner Roark

VIERA, Fla. - Max Scherzer's addition to the Nationals' five-man rotation leaves Tanner Roark as the odd man out. Definitely not what Roark was expecting after delivering a 15-10 record with a 2.85 ERA and 1.093 WHIP in his first complete season as a starter last year.

On Saturday, Roark began spring training grouped with Scherzer in the first bullpen session. Afterward, he sat in front of his locker and showed remarkable composure when discussing the situation.

"What are you going to say? You can't worry about it," he said. "Some things you have no control over. I don't make those calls. The manager does. The GM does. The owner does. I play for them. I play for the team. And I'm just fortunate enough, as hard as I've worked and the mental part of the game I've been through, it's helped me out tremendously. Can't let it bother you. The more stuff in your head, the more you think about it and it's just going to mess you up."

As spring training gets into gear, Nationals manager Matt Williams doesn't want to alter Roark's preparation for the season, at least for now.

"I can't tell him this is the plan because the plan can change," said Williams. "You just don't know. He's training as if he was going to start every fifth day. If we get to the point where we have to make an adjustment on that, he's aware that's a possibility, and we'll make that adjustment. But right now, he's going to be one of our starters, one of our six or seven starters in spring training and we'll go from there."

It's unclear exactly how Roark will be used in the bullpen. The logical assumption is he becomes a long reliever. But with the incredible talent Williams will send to the hill to start each night, it's hard to believe there will be many long relief situations. On Saturday, Williams expressed that Roark could also be used as a late-inning reliever, a role that needs to be filled after Tyler Clippard was traded to Oakland last month.

"Because he ticks up," Williams excitedly explained. "He ticks up when he gets in the bullpen. He goes from 90 to 93 (mph) to 92 to 95 (mph). And so that's an opportunity. The fact that he can come in and he feels confident and we certainly feel confident, that when he comes in he throws strikes, he changes speeds, he holds baserunners, he fields his position. All of those things speak to both of them. But, again, it's a little bit of a different look, the bullpen this year and there's opportunity in that regard for him and everybody else to solidify those roles as we go."

Roark, 28, is 4-0 with a 1.19 ERA in nine career relief appearances, all during his rookie season in 2013. He pitched out of the bullpen in the National League Division Series last year, giving up three hits and one run in 2 2/3 innings over two appearances. Unfortunately, the one run came in the top of the 18th inning in Game 2 when Giants first baseman Brandon Belt deposited a Roark fastball into the second deck at Nats Park for a lead the home team would not overcome.

Yesterday, Roark explained the contrast between starting the game on the mound versus receiving that call out of the bullpen.

"It's just a mindset, I guess," he said. "The biggest thing is the mindset. You have tons of time to prepare between a start, compared to you throw two innings one day but you only throw like 20 pitches so you got to be ready to go the next day. So you got to be ready to go within seven pitches, 10 pitches. You got to get hot fast. You got to come out there if there's guys in scoring position you got to be ready to pick-up the guy that came off, the starter or the reliever that came out. You pick them up and get outs. Not let any runs score."

Roark is amazingly convincing when he speaks about his expected new role. It's easy to take his unselfish demeanor as completely authentic.

"You don't get an inch, ever," he said. "You do it more for the guy that came out that you want to help out that guy 10 times more than yourself. That's what ultimately makes a good team, and that's what's good about this team is there's no 'I' guys. There's no 'I only care about myself.' We're a team, and teams win."

Roark's magnanimous attitude during this enigmatic situation is no surprise to his manager.

"He's phenomenal," said Williams. "It doesn't change whether it's starting, relieving, where he pitches in that rotation. When I give him the ball and it's his day to pitch, he's excited and ready to pitch and he competes. And, boy, you can't ask for any more than that."

It's having solid guys like Roark in a clubhouse that translate into forming a team chemistry that can result in playing for a championship deep into October.

"That's all I care about: winning the World Series, no matter where I'm at," Roark said. "I'm just happy to be a part of it and excited to be a part of it and excited for the season to start."