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The Nationals are still talking to a number of veteran pitchers, Livan Hernandez among them, but don't feel like they absolutely have to have one before Opening Day, according to a team source.
They'd like to get one more veteran and feel comfortable bumping some of their young guys back because they all have options. But they're prepared to go into the season with a couple young pitchers in the rotation.
The source said the Nationals have been talking to Hernandez since the fall - though I didn't get the sense those talks have been continuous - and he's "one of many" pitchers in whom they still have interest.
The team has also scouted Jose Julio Ruiz, the 25-year-old Cuban defector who is reportedly close to signing with a team and had as many as six clubs pursuing him, but a source said the team wasn't interested enough in the first baseman to make him an offer.
