MIAMI – The Nationals are looking to turn the page after getting swept at home this week by the Dodgers. They arrived in Miami for four games against the Marlins as their usual up-beat bunch.

The Nats had more reasons to be happy upon arriving at loanDepot park than their three-game losing streak might suggest, as they got encouraging news about some their injured players.

Victor Robles, on the 10-day injured list since April 4 with a left hamstring strain, is nearing a minor league rehab assignment and should be ready to head out sometime next week.

“He sprinted up to about 90 percent yesterday,” manager Davey Martinez said before tonight’s series opener. “He's running the bases and did some defensive work, so he's getting close. Hopefully by the end of this weekend or next week, we can get him out on rehab assignment.”

Robles was hitless in four games to start the year, but did post a .600 on-base percentage by drawing three walks in five plate appearances while also stealing two bases and scoring two runs. This comes on the heels of a 2023 campaign in which he was limited to just 36 games by injuries.

Given the circumstances, it was fair to wonder if Mitchell Parker’s impressive major league debut last week was a bit flukish. Was that five-inning victory before a sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium as good as it was ever going to get for the Nationals’ 2020 fifth-round draft pick?

Given what he just accomplished today in his follow-up start against the Astros, it feels more appropriate to start wondering if this just might actually be the start of something really special.

With seven scoreless innings on only 73 pitches, Parker led the Nats to an easy 6-0 victory, improved to 2-0 as a big leaguer and authored Chapter 2 in what has suddenly become the most compelling – and unexpected – pitching story in recent club history.

"It doesn't seem like anything really fazes him," manager Davey Martinez said. "He goes out there and he challenges hitters. He competes. He's been giving us what we need."

The 24-year-old left-hander was in complete control throughout his home debut. He surrendered three hits (all singles). He allowed only one runner to reach scoring position. He didn’t issue a walk for the second straight outing. And he pounded the strike zone in a manner rarely seen in these parts.

LOS ANGELES – Mitchell Parker’s major league debut takes center stage tonight, but the left-hander’s promotion was only one of five transactions the Nationals made prior to their series opener against the Dodgers.

With Nick Senzel ready to return from his fractured thumb, Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester. And with the team desperately needing a healthy second catcher, Keibert Ruiz was finally placed on the 10-day injured list with influenza and Drew Millas was recalled from Rochester.

The decision to demote Lipscomb was the most difficult for manager Davey Martinez, who has been among the rookie infielder’s biggest supporters since spring training. But Senzel was ready to return only 2 1/2 weeks after suffering his injury prior to Opening Day. And with second baseman Luis García Jr. off to a strong start himself, there wasn’t going to be an opportunity for Lipscomb to get everyday at-bats the way he did since taking Senzel’s spot.

“That was really tough. Such a great kid,” Martinez said. “The whole premise is he’s got to play every day. Luis is playing well. We need to get Nick back. So he’s going to go down and play every day, and I don’t foresee him being down there long. … He’ll be back. He did really well.”

Lipscomb burst onto the scene with five hits in his first 11 big league at-bats, including a homer in Cincinnati. But he regressed since then, going just 6-for-38 over his last 11 games. In 14 total games, the 23-year-old was batting .224 with a .278 on-base percentage and .286 slugging percentage.

LOS ANGELES – It’s Jackie Robinson Day across baseball, but really there’s only one place to be for this occasion. And the Nationals have the distinct honor of being at Dodger Stadium this year for this all-important day. There was already a ceremony outside the park at the statue of Robinson, with players and coaches from both clubs attending. There will be more pregame festivities, as well.

And then there will be a ballgame, with a very fresh face on the mound for the Nats. Mitchell Parker is making his major league debut, and while the Nationals probably would have preferred a bit of a softer launch for the young left-hander than this, circumstances dictated that he get the assignment. Parker’s assignment tonight: Somehow try to contain one of the toughest lineups in the sport, especially right off the bat in the bottom of the first. If nothing else, he needs to force them to make contact to get on. Can’t be giving away free bases against the Dodgers.

The Nationals lineup scored six runs Sunday against the Athletics. They’ll need to keep that going tonight against Tyler Glasnow, the hard-throwing former Rays right-hander who now anchors the L.A. rotation. They'll do so with several roster changes announced this afternoon: Nick Senzel has been activated off the 10-day injured list, and Drew Millas has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Rochester, and Keibert Ruiz was placed on the 10-day IL with influenza.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 61 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Nick Senzel
LF Eddie Rosario
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

SAN FRANCISCO – CJ Abrams is out of the lineup for the third straight day, but the Nationals shortstop appears to be progressing from an injured finger well enough to think he will be ready to return Tuesday night.

Abrams, who suffered a bone bruise in his left pinky sliding into second base Friday night, was due to take a full round of batting practice and fielding drills prior to tonight’s series opener against the Giants. Barring any setbacks, he could be available to come off the bench tonight and then return to the lineup Tuesday.

“He felt better today,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s going to go out and do all baseball activities. Hopefully he’ll be available to pinch-run, pinch-hit, whatever we need him for. But if he goes through everything well, he’ll probably be back in the lineup tomorrow.”

The bone bruise is on Abrams’ glove hand, so it doesn’t really impact him in the field. The larger issue is at the plate, but he’s made progress the last few days and should be able to play through it soon.

“Right now, it’s his swinging,” Martinez said. “He said he swung the bat better today in the cage. But it is his top hand. Every time he goes to turn like that, it kind of catches him. But they taped him up; he said the tape helped. Hopefully he’ll go out there today, take batting practice and get out in the field.”

CJ Abrams was scratched from the Nationals’ lineup about two hours prior to first pitch, most likely still feeling the effects of Friday night’s slide into second base in which he jammed his left hand into the bag.

Rookie infielder Nasim Nuñez will take Abrams’ place at shortstop today against the Phillies, marking the Rule 5 Draft pick’s first career start in the major leagues.

Abrams lined a one-out single to right in the bottom of the third Friday night, advancing Luis García Jr. from second to third. Apparently believing García was going to attempt to score on the hit, he rounded first and continued to second, only to be thrown out when Bryce Harper cut off Nick Castellanos’ throw and relayed it to Trea Turner, who applied the tag in time. (García never attempted to score on the play, held up by third base coach Ricky Gutierrez.)

Abrams stayed on the ground for several seconds after the play, looking at his left hand, though he remained in the game and continued to play the rest of the way. He lined out to right his next time up and was robbed of a possible hit by left fielder Brandon Marsh in his final at-bat.

A Nationals lineup that has scored only 27 runs through seven games this season will miss Abrams’ presence. The 23-year-old leadoff man is slashing .321/.387/.607 with a team-leading two homers, five RBIs and three stolen bases.

CINCINNATI – Trey Lipscomb had just completed his first workout Thursday at Innovative Field in Rochester and was preparing to board a bus with his Triple-A teammates for Syracuse, the site of the following day’s season opener. First, though, Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy wanted to let his players know who they would be sharing hotel rooms with on the road, so he pulled names out of a hat and announced as he went along.

Lipscomb’s name, as it turned out, was the last one drawn. The 23-year-old figured that meant he would get his own room in Syracuse. Instead, LeCroy announced to everyone in the clubhouse he was heading to Cincinnati to join the Nationals.

“He drew my name and he said: ‘You get your own hotel room, and you’re going to The Show,’” Lipscomb recalled this afternoon from the dugout at Great American Ball Park, where tonight he’ll make his major league debut. “It was pretty cool. Pretty cool.”

Lipscomb nearly made the Nats’ Opening Day roster, surviving the entirety of spring training and traveling with the team to D.C. for Tuesday’s exhibition finale. In the end, the club decided to keep Luis Garcia Jr. at second base and Rule 5 draftee Nasim Nunez on the bench, so Lipscomb was to begin the year with Rochester and spend most of his time at second base.

Then Nick Senzel fractured his right thumb trying to field a bad-hop grounder during batting practice before Thursday’s game, and the Nationals were left to scramble and call Lipscomb up before he ever had a chance to play his first Triple-A game.

CINCINNATI – The Nationals had a plan all mapped out for Trey Lipscomb.

Lipscomb, the last player demoted from the spring training roster, would report to Triple-A Rochester, where he would get the bulk of his playing time at second base. There would be occasional starts at both shortstop and third base, but manager Davey Martinez wanted the versatile infielder to start getting comfortable at the position he has played the least coming up through the minors.

“It was a new position for him coming into the spring,” Martinez said around 1:45 p.m. Thursday, shortly before his team took the field at Great American Ball Park for batting practice. “So that was a big reason why we sent him over there, to get him accustomed to turning two all the time. And to be ready when he’s called upon.”

Maybe 30 minutes after making that statement, Martinez saw Nick Senzel leave the field with his right hand in a cup of ice. A short while late, the Nationals got the official word: Senzel had fractured his thumb trying to field an errant grounder during pregame warmups.

And just like that, the plan for Lipscomb was thrown out the window.

CINCINNATI – A season of renewed optimism ran headfirst into a brick wall this afternoon. Opening Day saw Josiah Gray get lit up by a 33-year-old journeyman, the Nationals lineup get shut down by a 31-year-old making his first start in two seasons and their starting third baseman get taken out by a pregame ground ball.

An 8-2 loss to the Reds – a game that essentially was over after three innings – was demoralizing enough. The injury to Nick Senzel might as well have been a kick to the groin, one that came 90 minutes before the season’s first pitch was even thrown.

Senzel, the former Cincinnati first-round pick who signed for a modest $2 million over the winter in hopes of resurrecting his career, was fielding grounders during batting practice when a ball struck him on the thumb. Instead of trotting out of the dugout with his new teammates in his old ballpark for player introductions, he was getting an X-ray, which revealed a broken right thumb, according to manager Davey Martinez.

"It's awful," Martinez said. "He was in a good spot, and we were in a good spot with him. He was excited for today. And then just a freak accident."

"I was warming up in the training room, and I see him roll in," Gray said. "I'm not really paying attention, but I hear him saying something happened. I feel terrible for him, because obviously the significance of coming back here - he had a long career here - and for it to happen in pregame as well, that's a tough blow for him. I feel for him."

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals hope to have more clarity in the next 24 hours on Mason Thompson, who is set to be re-examined by team doctors after being shut down the last two weeks with a sore elbow.

Thompson reported soreness after one of his final offseason bullpen sessions at home in Texas, and the Nats instructed him not to throw when he arrived at spring training, giving the elbow a chance to calm down before a decision on how to proceed would be made.

That decision is now coming, with Thompson scheduled to be examined later today as the right-hander and the club hold their collective breaths.

“Keeping my fingers crossed,” manager Davey Martinez said. “To be honest with you, I’m a little concerned.”

Thompson had Tommy John surgery nine years ago as a junior in high school. He’s avoided major injuries since then, though he did miss three months in 2022 with a right biceps strain.

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.)

Sleep is precious for Lane Thomas these days, with a newborn son at home. So when he woke up one morning last week, checked his phone and saw he had missed a 12:30 a.m. call from Nick Senzel, he was incredulous at first.

“I called him back and was like: ‘Dude, I go to sleep at 9 with a child. What were you calling me at 12:30 for?’” Thomas recalled. “And he said: ‘I’m a Nat!’”

Thus did Thomas and Senzel become teammates, and not for the first time.

Flash back two decades to a youth field in Knoxville, Tenn., and there you find a travel ball team of 7- and 8-year-olds starring a couple of kids named Nick Senzel and Lane Thomas. Being 7-year-olds who didn’t know any better, they absolutely would’ve believed they’d someday not only both be major leaguers, but teammates for the Nationals (a team that didn’t even exist at the time, by the way).

As they got older, that dream scenario faded. Who really thinks like that once they have just a little bit of life perspective?

Much has already been made of Nick Senzel’s friendship with Lane Thomas (with more to come) and how that factored into his decision to sign a one-year, $2 million deal with the Nationals that includes an extra $1 million in incentives.

But there were other enticing aspects of joining the Nats that the 28-year-old considered when making his decision.

Of course, the opportunity to play third base, his natural position, every day after moving all over the field during his five-year career with the Reds was one.

Another factor was who he would be playing alongside on the left side of the infield.

CJ Abrams emerged as the Nats’ shortstop of the future this season after putting together a promising campaign. The 23-year-old slashed .245/.300/.412 with a .712 OPS, 28 doubles, six triples, 18 home runs, 64 RBIs and a new Nats single-season club record 47 stolen bases. Defensively, he posted a 4 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop.

The Nationals went to last week’s Winter Meetings in Nashville with a list of needs that included an everyday third baseman.

They left Thursday morning after signing former Reds utilityman Nick Senzel for $2 million plus an extra $1 million in incentives.

Senzel, 28, was non-tendered by the Reds last month after slashing .236/.297/.399 with a .696 OPS, 10 doubles, a career-high 13 home runs and 42 RBIs, and six stolen bases while playing third base, second base and all three outfield spots. The 2016 No. 2 overall pick from the University of Tennessee finished his five-year career in Cincinnati with a .239 average, .671 OPS, 33 homers and 125 RBIs.

The Nationals believe Senzel’s subpar results were partially a product of moving around the field too much and that they could improve if he is given the chance to play one position consistently alongside his childhood best friend, Lane Thomas.

“I'd like to say both,” Senzel said in a Zoom meeting with reporters when asked how much his decision to sign with the Nats was based on what they could offer and the chance to play with Thomas. “Obviously, me and Lane, we grew up playing together. And this opportunity that was brought to me, an opportunity to be able to play every day and get a new start in a historic franchise, was just kind of just kind of a no-brainer for me. And just having Lane, one of my best buddies I grew up with, playing right field, it's really insane, to be honest.”

The Nationals officially announced last week’s signing of third baseman Nick Senzel this afternoon, then added another signing for good measure: veteran reliever Dylan Floro.

Both Senzel and Floro have officially signed one-year deals, Senzel’s worth $2 million plus incentives and Floro’s worth $2.25 million plus incentives, sources familiar with the terms confirmed. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was first to report Floro’s salary.

Needing to clear one spot on their 40-man roster in order to announce these moves, the Nats designated infielder Jeter Downs for assignment.

Senzel, who came to terms on his contract last week as the Winter Meetings wrapped up, is expected to start at third base for the Nationals, hoping to finally realize the potential that made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 Draft by the Reds. Even if he does, he’s still viewed as a stop-gap at third until top prospect Brady House (who finished this season at Double-A Harrisburg) is ready to debut.

The Floro signing, which just came together in recent days, gives the Nats something they suggested last week they were seeking: Bullpen depth to help take some workload off top late-inning arms Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey.

The Nationals almost left the Winter Meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville without a major league signing.

On Wednesday, the last official day of the meetings, they added infielder Nasim Nuñez through the Rule 5 Draft and signed first baseman/outfielder Juan Yepez to a minor league deal.

But in the wee hours of Thursday morning, before the Nationals braintrust left for the Nashville airport, they finally made one major addition by signing former Reds utilityman Nick Senzel to a $2 million contract that includes an extra $1 million in incentives.

Parallels have already been drawn from this signing to the addition of Dominic Smith last offseason.

They both were former first-round picks: Smith out of high school by the Mets in 2013 and Senzel out of the University of Tennessee by the Reds in 2016. Both were non-tendered by their respective clubs after not realizing their full potential and then signed with the Nats for $2 million with another year of club control.

The Nationals’ first major league free agent signing feels a lot like one of their major league free agent signings from a year ago.

Nick Senzel might as well be Dominic Smith. Not necessarily in his playing profile, but certainly in his career situation.

Smith was a 27-year-old first baseman who was once a Mets first-round pick but was non-tendered after failing to live up to his full potential, ultimately signing with the Nats for $2 million plus another year of club control.

Senzel is a 28-year-old third baseman who was once a Reds first-round pick but was non-tendered after failing to live up to his full potential, ultimately signing with the Nats for $2 million plus another year of club control.

We all know how the Smith acquisition worked out. Though he played a smooth first base and was well-liked in the clubhouse, he didn’t hit nearly enough for his position and thus was cut loose after one season.

The Winter Meetings officially ended Wednesday. The Nationals stuck around Nashville a bit longer and went home with their first major-league free agent signing of the offseason.

The Nats signed former Reds utilityman Nick Senzel for $2 million (plus $1 million in incentives) overnight, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. This came shortly after Cincinnati signed former Nats third baseman Jeimer Candelario for a reported three years and $45 million.

Senzel, 28, was non-tendered by the Reds last month after a second straight disappointing season, during which he batted .236/.297/.399 with 13 homers and 42 RBIs in 104 games. His defensive versatility, though, remains a strength.

Senzel has played center field, third base, second base, left field and right field during his five-year career. The Nationals could use help at several of those positions in the short-term, so it’s possible they’ll have him move around the field depending on their needs on any given day, though a club source said the initial intention is to play him primarily at third base as the organization waits for top prospect Brady House to reach the majors.

The second-overall pick in the 2016 Draft out of Tennessee, Senzel came to the Reds with high hopes of becoming a star. It didn’t happen. After a solid rookie season in 2019, he missed significant time in 2020 and 2021 with injuries, then struggled in both 2022 and 2023 after returning healthy.