WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It was something of an offhand comment, thrown in near the end of a longer answer to a question about his bench options to begin the season. But what Davey Martinez said Wednesday made a few ears perk up.

“We’re going to have a battle for center field with Young and Robles,” the Nationals manager said in his first media session of the spring, suggesting Victor Robles and Jacob Young were on equal footing entering camp.

That was a bit surprising, if only because Robles was re-signed over the winter for $2.65 million after missing most of the season with a back injury. Young, meanwhile, began 2023 at Single-A Wilmington and finished with 33 big-league games in D.C.

So, the inevitable follow-up question came Thursday during Martinez’s second media session of the spring: Is there an open competition in center field, with both Robles and Young having the same chances of starting Opening Day?

“If I had a say right now, I’d say Vic has a little bit of the upper hand,” Martinez clarified. “But I liked everything I saw about Jacob. He’s young, but you’ve got to remember, Vic is still really young. And he got hurt. I want to give him the opportunity to come back this year, and have a good spring training and see what he can do. I love what Jacob did, and I know he can play up here and help us win games. I think he showed that, and I think he’s going to get better. But Vic was our center fielder, and right now I say they’re going to compete. If they both were equal, I would say that Vic has the upper hand.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Mason Thompson was enjoying what he believed was a productive offseason. Determined to bounce back from an erratic 2023, the Nationals reliever set out to make some mechanical changes to his delivery, and a couple weeks ago faced a live hitter near his home in Texas for the first time this year.

Everything was going swimmingly. Until his elbow told him otherwise.

“It felt great. Ball was coming out good,” Thompson said. “Made it towards the end and just felt something, just felt some discomfort, something that just didn’t feel great. Gave it a couple of days, kind of was hoping that it was just some fatigue from the first time facing hitters throwing full speed. Unfortunately, it just kind of continued to persist, and now we’re here.”

Neither Thompson nor the Nationals know exactly where “here” is yet. He’s been shut down for two weeks, at which point he’ll be re-evaluated and a course of action will be determined.

Thompson, though, is no stranger to arm injuries. He had Tommy John surgery nine years ago while still a junior in high school. He dealt with a biceps strain in 2022 with the Nats and missed three months as a result.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – When he threw his first pitch off the mound Monday, Cade Cavalli could have flashed right back to the last time he performed such an act, that horrible day nearly one year ago and about 50 miles up the road in Port St. Lucie when he tried to throw a changeup to Brandon Nimmo and felt his elbow ligament snap in the process.

Instead, Cavalli chose to focus on what this moment – his first bullpen session since Tommy John surgery – meant for him. There was no feeling of regret, only a feeling of achievement and optimism for what he hopes will come in another few months when he finally pitches for the Nationals again.

“To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it much,” the right-hander said when asked about the pending anniversary of his injury. “I just want to forget about it and move on. I’ve got a new elbow. It’s a new me. That’s how I’m approaching it. It’s been a great 11 months.”

Cavalli already was something of a “power of positive thinking” guy before any of this happened. The injury only pushed him to embrace that mindset even more as he began the long, slow, often infuriating process of rehabbing from ligament replacement surgery.

“It’s something that happens, and I believe like I said to you guys 11 months ago, it’s how you look at it and how you approach it,” the 2020 first-round pick said. “If you just approach it with a positive mindset – that this is a blessing in this moment, and I believe God is putting me through something to get me stronger to be able to help this club in the long run – that’s what my mindset’s been.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s impossible to miss inside the Nationals clubhouse. It’s prominently located, at the end of a row of lockers belonging to the rest of the members of the team’s starting rotation.

It’s the same locker Stephen Strasburg has used since the organization began training here in 2017. And it continues to be adorned with his name, his jersey, his shoes and a stack of correspondence, virtually unchanged from the state it was in one year ago.

And as was the case one year ago, Strasburg isn’t here using his locker. He remains at home in Northern Virginia, having conceded last summer he could no longer attempt to revive his pitching career.

But because Strasburg and the Nationals have not been able to agree to the financial details of his retirement, he remains on the club’s 40-man roster. Which means he still gets a locker. Which, it appears, the organization now believes he is obligated to use.

Do the Nats actually expect Strasburg to come to West Palm Beach this spring?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Though a number of Nationals who ended the 2023 season injured reported for spring training on target to return as planned, a new ailment cropped up over the winter for one potential member of the bullpen.

Mason Thompson experienced elbow discomfort while throwing an offseason bullpen session and was told not to throw after arriving in West Palm Beach. The right-hander will be shut down for two weeks before he’s re-evaluated, according to manager Davey Martinez.

“Mason, right now, he’s got a little arm issue,” Martinez said this afternoon in his camp-opening session with reporters. “We’re going to see what’s going on with him. We’ll take it slow with him.”

Thompson, who turns 26 next week, has a history of arm injuries, most notably a biceps strain that forced him to miss nearly three months of the 2022 season. He hasn’t missed any time due to arm injuries since, but he spent 15 days on the injured list last summer with a bruised knee.

“We’re a little bit concerned,” Martinez said. “Like I said, we’ll take it slow with him. We’re still really early in spring training, so we’ll see. We’ll rehab him and see where we’re at in two weeks.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There admittedly hasn’t been a lot of juice at Nationals spring training in recent years. Such is life when you tear down the remnants of a championship roster and start over, recognizing it’s going to be a while until the fruits of your labor pay off.

For the last two years, it felt like there was more reason to pay attention to minor-league camp than major-league camp, as the franchise’s next wave of prospects began the long trek up the organizational depth chart.

The Nats aren’t all the way there yet. There is no serious talk of contention in 2024. When the season begins, those prospects are almost certainly all still going to be in the minor leagues.

But for the first time, several of them will be participating in major-league camp. And even if none of them survive to the end of March, their presence alone is going to create some sorely needed juice that’s been lacking in recent springs.

The three big non-roster invitees to camp are Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House, the organization’s consensus top three prospects. Two first-round draft picks (House in 2021, Crews in 2023) and perhaps the best of the five young players acquired in the Juan Soto trade (Wood). All closed out last season at Double-A Harrisburg, suggesting all could be on track to debut in D.C. sometime this season.

One of the least eventful winters in Nationals history concludes today, spring officially commencing Wednesday when pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach, Fla., for their first workout of 2024.

This offseason saw precious little action from the Nats. They added only four players on major-league contracts, signing Joey Gallo, Nick Senzel and Dylan Floro for a combined $9.25 million and adding Nasim Nuñez (who has never played above Double-A) via the Rule 5 Draft. They didn’t make a single trade.

Even by recent Nationals standards, this was a dead winter.

But does that mean they’re done adding players? There were reasons all along to believe they might not be done. And then they did do something Monday evening, albeit on a minor-league deal.

Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were pretty clear about their wish list back when the offseason began. Both specifically mentioned an experienced starting pitcher. Both specifically mentioned more power for their lineup.

It didn’t happen until the second-to-last day of the offseason, but the Nationals finally added another potential bat to their 2024 lineup.

The Nats have signed veteran outfielder Jesse Winker to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. Though he didn’t get a guaranteed contract, Winker should have a good chance to make the Opening Day roster if he’s healthy after an injury-plagued 2023 season.

An All-Star with the Reds in 2021, Winker is the owner of a strong .369 on-base percentage and .813 OPS over a seven-year career. His breakthrough 2021 campaign included 32 doubles and 24 homers in only 485 plate appearances, with a .305/.394/.556 slash line.

But the last two seasons saw a drastic drop in Winker’s production, from a .688 OPS with the Mariners in 2022 to a .567 OPS last season with the Brewers. His one year in Milwaukee, though, was marred by neck, back and leg injuries, leading to two long stints on the IL.

A minor league deal signed two days before pitchers and catchers report for spring training signals the lingering doubts the Nationals and other clubs had about Winker. But the 30-year-old’s track record, combined with the Nats’ specific need right now, suggests he’s likely to come north with the team if he proves he’s healthy again.

What was the most unexpected development of the Nationals’ 2023 season? How about the way they managed to keep the vast majority of their roster healthy?

The Nats used only eight starting pitchers, and five of them topped 120 innings. Seven of their regular nine position players avoided the injured list altogether. Four relievers appeared in 50-plus games.

It was a remarkable run of good health for an organization that didn’t exactly boast a lot of depth to account for major losses.

Not that the Nationals completely avoided the IL. Cade Cavalli tore his elbow ligament in March and missed the entire season. Victor Robles hurt his back in May and barely played after that. Stone Garrett broke his leg and injured his ankle on a scary play in August. Riley Adams broke a bone in his wrist in September. Oh yeah, and then there was Stephen Strasburg.

When the team reports for spring training this week, though, optimism will reign throughout the clubhouse. This should be, for the most part, a healthy roster to open camp. But plenty of eyes will be focused on the aforementioned players returning from injury.

The most significant moment of the Nationals’ 2023 spring training didn’t happen on the field. It happened in an office room at the team’s complex, when Keibert Ruiz grabbed a pen and signed a long-term extension with the club.

Whether Ruiz’s eight-year, $50 million deal was a good move for the organization or the player remains to be seen. He enjoyed an improved season at the plate but regressed behind the plate, calling into question his ability to stick as a franchise catcher for years to come.

But the significance of the move doesn’t change. After countless attempts to get other young cornerstone players to sign long-term extensions before reaching free agency fell flat, the Nats finally got this one done. And they got it done five years before Ruiz would’ve even been eligible for free agency, making him the first player in club history to agree to such an extension at such an early stage of his career.

That, of course, produced an obvious follow-up question: Can they do it with anyone else?

“This is the first one we’ve ever got done, yeah,” general manager Mike Rizzo said at the time. “But it wasn’t the first attempt at it.”

We’ve entered the homestretch of the offseason at last. Pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach on Wednesday, at which point the 2024 season begins in earnest.

So we’re going to spend these final days of winter previewing the top stories that are likely to play out at spring training. And one of the more intriguing ones involves a couple of still-young everyday players who could be running out of time to retain their jobs.

Neither Victor Robles nor Luis García Jr. enjoyed a positive 2023 season. Robles because he barely played due to a back injury that proved far more serious than initially believed. García because he regressed at the plate and in the field and wound up demoted to Triple-A for a brief while.

Entering the offseason, there was real reason to wonder if one or both wouldn’t be back this spring. Or, at the very least, if the Nationals might bring in some competition to push them.

At this point, that hasn’t happened. Robles enters camp as the starting center field. García comes to West Palm Beach as the starting second baseman. But neither should feel totally secure about his standing yet.

The Nationals’ minor-league coaching staffs are mostly unchanged for the 2024 season, with one notable exception: They’ve overhauled much of their hitting staff.

The organization announced its full player development staff this afternoon, five days before pitchers and catchers officially report for spring training. Though there was a change at the top of the depth chart – former director of scouting operations Eddie Longosz replaced De Jon Watson, who was let go after two seasons leading the department – most of the coaches and trainers are returning to their same roles.

That includes the managers of all six minor league affiliates: Matt LeCroy (Triple-A Rochester), Delino DeShields (Double-A Harrisburg), Mario Lisson (High-A Wilmington), Jake Lowery (Single-A Fredericksburg), Luis Ordaz (Florida Complex League) and Sandy Martinez (Dominican Summer League).

Most of the pitching coaches return, as well: Rafael Chaves (Triple-A), Mark DeFelice (High-A), Justin Lord (Single-A) and Franklin Bravo (FCL). Rigo Beltran, formerly the Guardians’ bullpen coach, replaces Joel Hanrahan as Double-A pitching coach (though Hanrahan is staying with the Nats as rehab pitching coordinator). Feliberto Sanchez is the new pitching coach in the Dominican Summer League.

All development coaches also return this season: Billy McMillon (Triple-A), Oscar Salazar (Double-A), Mark Harris (High-A), Carmelo Jaime (Single-A) and Destin Hood (FCL).

Nationals pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in five days for the start of spring training. Two weeks later, as the Grapefruit League gets rolling, MASN will be in town for the first of seven exhibition broadcasts.

MASN’s spring broadcast schedule, revealed this morning, includes six games in Florida, plus the new-look exhibition finale in D.C. featuring the club’s Opening Day roster against the organization’s top prospects.

The spring training slate commences Feb. 28 when the Nats host the Red Sox at the newly renamed CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. The crew will be back four days later for a March 3 tilt with the Marlins.

Three of MASN’s spring broadcasts are for road games, though two of those (March 9 and 22) still take place in West Palm Beach, with the Astros the designated home team in the shared facility. But on March 15, the broadcast will originate from Port St. Lucie, where the Nats face the Mets at 6:05 p.m. in the nightcap of an exhibition doubleheader that opens with a 3:05 p.m. game between both club’s top prospects.

The Nationals’ March 17 home game against the Mets also will be broadcast live on MASN from West Palm Beach.

The countdown is on, at last. Pitchers and catchers are set to report to West Palm Beach in six days, at which point the longest, slowest offseason ever will come to an end and we can all turn our sights upon the 2024 season for real.

There will be much to preview about spring training in the coming days, so be sure to check each day for those articles. But before we get to that, let's do one final Q&A to wrap up the offseason.

Submit your questions in the comments section below, then look for my responses throughout the morning ...

We’ve spent much of the winter discussing the Nationals’ offensive strengths and weaknesses, asking if the changes they’ve made will make a positive difference this season. We looked at the pitching staff and wondered where the improvement will come from in 2024.

But what about the Nats’ defense? Should it be improved from last season? Could it be worse? It’s about time we tackled that subject as we move within a week of the start of spring training.

For those who don’t remember, the Nationals were not a good defensive team in 2023. They were 26th in the majors (tied with the Phillies) with minus-30 Defensive Runs Saved. They were charged with 90 errors, ranking in the bottom half of the league. Their “Defensive Efficiency” – the percentage of balls in play they converted into outs – was 68.2 percent, ranked 24th. Their catchers threw out only 14 basestealers, tied for second-fewest in the majors.

Which isn’t to say everything was bad in the field.

CJ Abrams made major strides at shortstop, and by season’s end he was both making all the routine plays as well as a number of non-routine plays, looking every bit like a keeper there.

Planning to come to spring training? Or just thinking you might like to come to spring training someday, but aren’t sure what to expect? You’re in luck, because we’re giving you all the advice you need right here.

On Monday, we detailed everything you can expect at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, both on workout days and game days. If you missed it, please check out that article as well as this one.

Today, we’ll discuss everything important that takes place away from the ballpark. Consider this your definitive guide to West Palm Beach …

First, though, you have to get to West Palm Beach. You have several options.

Both American Airlines and JetBlue offer nonstop flights from Reagan National Airport to Palm Beach International Airport. United has a limited number of nonstops from Dulles, though it’s a seasonal service and doesn’t appear to start until March. And you can also get there from BWI on Southwest.

Would you believe the Nationals are about to enter their eighth spring training in West Palm Beach? Doesn’t it feel like yesterday we were all still in Viera, complaining about long drives to road games and controlled brush fires off in the distance beyond Space Coast Stadium?

The Nats made the move south to their new complex in 2017, and it’s been a win for the organization, no doubt. The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is one of the nicest spring training facilities in baseball, and after more than a decade spent driving all over the state of Florida for road games, the majority of Grapefruit League games are now no more than 15 minutes away.

Is West Palm Beach better than Viera for fans? I’ve heard both sides of the argument over the years, if we’re being honest. While the new complex is much nicer, and there’s more to do in the area, West Palm Beach is considerably more expensive and access to players isn’t quite as unrestricted as it used to be.

Having said all that, it’s still a great fan experience. And if you’ve never been before, what are you waiting for?

It’s been a while since I published one of these fan guides – looks like the last one was in 2019! – so it’s probably a good time to revisit the subject. We’ll focus today on what you can expect baseball-wise at the complex each day, then Tuesday we’ll run through everything you need to know about everything else away from the ballpark.

As the offseason dwindles down and pitchers and catchers prepare to report to spring training in 10 days, the last few bits of offseason content are getting pushed out.

Among them continues to be the latest prospect and minor league farm system rankings.

Baseball America has come out with their updated lists two weeks ago. Dylan Crews came in as the No. 6 overall prospect in the sport, with James Wood at No. 11 and Brady House at No. 55. Cade Cavalli, Yohandy Morales, Jackson Rutledge, Robert Hassell III, Cristhian Vaquero, Elijah Green and Jarlin Susana round out the top 10 in Baseball America’s new top 30 Nats prospects rankings.

Over the past week, some new rankings dropped.

A little over a week ago MLB Pipeline released its new top 100 prospects list to conclude their series of ranking the top 10 at each position.

We are now inside of two weeks until pitchers and catchers report, so the offseason is nearly finished.

And what an offseason it’s been for the Nationals, who have … acquired a total of four major league players, not even totaling $10 million spent on those players.

OK, so it’s been an awfully quiet winter on South Capitol Street. There’s still time for Mike Rizzo and Co. to make more moves, though. And given the swath of still-unsigned free agents out there, we may see teams continue to add significant players after spring training has already commenced.

But since we’re getting close to the finish line now, it’s probably a good time to take an updated look at the state of the Nationals’ organization depth chart. We did this way back on Nov. 8, at the outset of the offseason. How does it look today compared to then?

(Note: Players listed below are on the 40-man roster, except for those with an asterisk next to their names.)

The Nationals opened the 2023 season with one left-hander in their bullpen: Anthony Banda. Not necessarily because Banda had a strong track record or performed well in spring training. But because they felt they needed a lefty in their Opening Day bullpen.

One month later, Banda and his 6.43 ERA were designated for assignment. And the Nats spent the next seven weeks functioning with nothing but right-handed relievers.

By late June, Joe La Sorsa had been claimed off waivers from the Rays and called up to the majors, followed soon thereafter by homegrown prospect Jose A. Ferrer. And on Aug. 1, the team claimed Robert Garcia off waivers from the Marlins, giving it three lefty relievers for most of the rest of the season.

What had been a huge void in the organization now appears to be in much better shape. Garcia and Ferrer each performed well at times and will be in the mix for spots in this year’s Opening Day bullpen. La Sorsa was more erratic and was DFA’d this offseason, though he remains in the organization and will be at spring training as a non-roster invitee.

And now the Nationals are adding another potential left-handed option to their bullpen plans after signing veteran Richard Bleier to a minor-league deal Thursday evening.