Baseball’s second significant roster deadline of the week comes this evening, when teams are required to tender contracts to all players on the 40-man roster who aren’t already signed for the upcoming season.

Tendering a contract doesn’t mean actually agreeing to a 2024 salary. That process can still take place over the next two months, with any cases that aren’t settled ultimately heading to arbitration. This first step merely involves a team indicating its intention to sign a player for another season.

And the vast majority of these cases are cut-and-dried. Almost everyone involved in this process will have his contract tendered by the end of the day. Anyone who doesn’t get tendered … well, that’s the real newsworthy event.

Dozens of players across the sport get “non-tendered” every year on this date. Most are arbitration-eligible and due to earn more money via standard raises than the club is willing to pay after disappointing performances, making them free agents who can then sign anywhere they like.

The Nationals used this to their advantage last winter. They not only non-tendered Luke Voit, Erick Fedde and Tommy Romero, they wound up signing two players who were non-tendered by other clubs: Jemier Candelario and Dominic Smith.

Major league rosters expand to 28 players today, allowing teams to carry two extra players from now through the end of the regular season.

For general manager Mike Rizzo and the Nationals, there are a couple of different ways they can utilize the extra spots.

“We talked about a few things,” manager Davey Martinez said before last night’s opener against the Marlins. “Mike and the crew upstairs are really bearing down and figuring out what we want to do and which direction we want to go in.”

Teams are allowed to have a maximum of 14 pitchers in September. The Nats will call up one pitcher and have a 10-man bullpen at least for the weekend while starter MacKenzie Gore is on the bereavement list, which means he has to miss at least three games.

If Gore needs more time before returning, the Nationals will still be able to start Patrick Cobin on regular rest thanks to Monday’s off-day and the six-man rotation. The extra man in the bullpen also helps as added insurance. Left-hander Joe La Sorsa was activated to the roster yesterday to take Gore’s roster spot for now.

MIAMI – It seemed like only a matter of time before the Nationals made another roster move. After Stone Garrett’s injury and subsequent successful surgery on his fractured left fibula, the Nats had a shortage of true outfielders and a surplus of infielders, whose versatility allows them to play the outfield in a pinch.

So to add an outfielder to their roster, the Nats brought up one of their fastest-rising prospects: Jacob Young.

“We wanted to get another outfielder up here and Jacob has done really well,” said manager Davey Martinez before the Nats’ second game against the Marlins. “He's one of our young, up-and-coming prospects that has developed really well down there in the minor leagues for us. So we're gonna give him an opportunity to play. He just got here today, so gonna ease him in. But I'm looking forward to watching him play up here and utilize everything he can do because he can do a lot of different things. He could play all three outfield positions. He's a leadoff-type guy. He gets on base, steals bases for us. He's got a lot of speed. But we're gonna ease his way in and hopefully he does well. As good as he's done in the minor leagues, he comes up here and can give us a little bit of a spark again.”

No, Young is not as highly touted as Dylan Crews, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Elijah Green or Cristhian Vaquero, as he is the Nats’ No. 30 prospect per MLB Pipeline. But the 24-year-old has been one of the best hitters in the Nationals system, allowing him to quickly rise through the ranks.

A 2021 seventh-round pick out of the University of Florida, Young has hit wherever he’s been on the Nats farm. He is hitting .305 on the year with 21 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 58 RBIs, 42 walks, 39 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 112 games between three levels of Washington’s minor league system.

Inside a rollicking Nationals clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, Luis García was all smiles. He was kidding around with Victor Robles. He was intently watching Ildemaro Vargas get interviewed about his game-winning run in a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Brewers. By all accounts, he had no idea the news he was about to receive.

García was optioned to Triple-A Rochester a few minutes later, after reporters had left the clubhouse, before the team departed for a weekend series in Cincinnati. The team’s starting second baseman since Aug. 26, 2022, was now a minor leaguer again.

The García move – as well as the requesting of unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson – caught people off-guard because of the timing, minutes after an inspiring, come-from-behind win over a playoff contender. Truth be told, it was probably in the works for a while, the odd timing an unfortunate byproduct.

Make no mistake, García was in a prolonged slump. Over his last 27 games, he was batting .196 with a .227 on-base percentage and .272 slugging percentage. Those are paltry numbers. His defense was fine – he was charged with only two errors over his last 31 games – but that couldn’t make up for his offensive decline.

So the Nationals made the move, perhaps hoping it would serve as something of a wake-up call to the 23-year-old, who has now played in 303 big league games and taken 1,170 plate appearances but just learned he’s not as secure as he perhaps thought.

The Nationals have their utility man back in the dugout tonight, with Ildemaro Vargas activated from the 10-day injured list about 3 1/2 weeks after he jammed his left shoulder making a diving play in the field.

Vargas rejoins the team after a brief rehab stint with Triple-A Rochester, where he appeared in three games and went 1-for-10 at the plate.

“I watched some of his swings last night,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I know he struck out, but he hit some balls hard. He felt good. He said he had no pain whatsoever.”

The 31-year-old infielder hurt himself April 9 in Colorado when he jammed his shoulder while making a play at second base against the Rockies. He finished the game but was in significant pain the following day, so the Nationals placed him on the IL and called up Jeter Downs to fill his role on the bench.

Downs, 24, wound up appearing in only one game during his three weeks on the big league roster, and that came late in Saturday night’s blowout loss to the Pirates. A onetime top prospect of the Dodgers and Red Sox, he was claimed off waivers this winter by the Nationals, who intended to have him play every day at Triple-A and see if he could recapture the form that made him so coveted he was a key piece in the trade that sent Mookie Betts from Boston to Los Angeles.

NEW YORK – The Nationals had one noticeable player missing from the clubhouse before tonight’s series finale against the Mets. Ildemaro Vargas, on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain since April 11, left the team to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester.

“He went out this morning, though they, unfortunately, had a day game today,” manager Davey Martinez said of his backup utility infielder. “So he's got to start playing tomorrow.”

Vargas jammed his shoulder while making a diving play earlier this month in Colorado. He had recently been able to most of the usual baseball activities, but Martinez had said it still bothered the switch-hitter when swinging right-handed.

When he arrives at Rochester, Vargas will get most of his reps at shortstop while also getting at-bats from both sides of the plate.

“Yeah, he's got to go out there,” Martinez said. “I want him to play some shortstop. I want to see him field. He's definitely got to swing the bat. Hopefully, he can swing both left-handed and right-handed. But we'll see how he does and we'll see how long it's gonna take for him to go out and come back. There's no timetable yet, but hopefully it's only a few days.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jeter Downs is used to being in the spotlight.

He was a 2017 first-round pick (32nd overall) by the Reds out of Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Fla. He has been a central piece of two major trades during his professional career, including the blockbuster Mookie Betts trade between the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2020. And he has been considered a top prospect in baseball, topping the Red Sox system and ranking as high as No. 44 in the sport, per MLB Pipeline.

But he now finds himself with his fourth organization in his sixth season of pro ball. No longer a top prospect, he’s battling for the backup infielder’s job with the Nationals.

Excuse the pun, but he is not down on himself.

“It's been great,” Downs said of his first spring training with the Nats. “I thank God for this opportunity. The guys have been great, super fun group we have here and we're just taking it one day at a time.”

The Nationals’ latest waiver claim was noteworthy in that it was a well known name that was surprisingly available.

Jeter Downs, whom the Nats claimed on outright waivers from the Red Sox yesterday, is known for being a former top shortstop prospect and being included in two major trades since the Reds made him the No. 32 overall pick in the 2017 draft.

He was grouped with Homer Bailey and Josiah Gray – the latter now his Nationals teammate – in a Dec. 21, 2018 trade to the Dodgers for Kyle Farmer, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood. Then on Feb. 10, 2020, he was famously included in the package with Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong that went to the Red Sox for Mookie Betts and David Price.

A central piece in two major trades and a highly rated prospect before turning 22 years old, Downs was, surprisingly, exposed to waivers when the Red Sox designated him for assignment last week after signing outfielder Masataka Yoshida. But of course, there’s a reason for that. His struggles in the Red Sox system and during his brief stint in the majors forced Boston to give up on the now 24-year-old.

Now, almost four years to the day since his trade to Los Angeles, Downs joins a Nationals organization where he is reunited with fellow former Dodgers prospects Gray and Keibert Ruiz. And he brings much-needed infield depth, whether he’s on the major league roster or in the minor league system.

Just three days before Christmas, general manager Mike Rizzo remains busy checking things off his list.

The Nationals announced this afternoon they have claimed infielder Jeter Downs on outright waivers from the Red Sox. Downs was designated for assignment last week when the Red Sox signed outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract.

Downs, 24, was born in San Andrés, Colombia, where his father was a professional baseball player. He was named after Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, and ironically would go on to record his first major league hit and RBI then score the game-winning run against the Yankees and hit his first big league home run at Yankee Stadium this season.

He was a 2017 first-round pick (32nd overall) by the Reds out of Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Fla. He has since been traded twice, first with current Nationals starting pitcher Josiah Gray and Homer Bailey to the Dodgers in exchange for Kyle Farmer, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and cash in December 2018. But Downs is probably most known for being a central piece in the package along with Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong to go to Boston in the Mookie Betts and David Price trade in February 2020.

Primarily a shortstop, Downs was considered a top prospect around the sport. He was the Red Sox’s No. 1 and No. 2 prospect in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and was ranked as high as the No. 44 prospect in baseball two years ago, per MLB Pipeline.