The Nationals will wait a couple of days before deciding who will take Michael Soroka’s place in the rotation, with Brad Lord a distinct option if the rookie isn’t needed out of the bullpen before then.

Soroka was supposed to start Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks but was placed on the 15-day injured list today (backdated to April 1) with a right biceps strain. The 27-year-old made his debut Monday night in Toronto but had to be pulled three pitches into the sixth inning when his biceps muscle cramped while delivering a slider.

Soroka was cautiously optimistic at the time the injury wasn’t serious and that he’d be able to take his next turn in the rotation. The one caveat: He needed to be able to throw off a mound first before knowing he would be good to go.

That bullpen session never happened. According to manager Davey Martinez, Soroka played catch Wednesday in Toronto and reported afterward he still felt a twinge of discomfort in his upper arm.

“He said he just barely could feel it,” Martinez said. “But when a pitcher says he can barely feel it in his arm, I don’t like it. I think the best thing is to get it to calm down a little bit and get him ready to come back out again.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – If this was one final opportunity for Shinnosuke Ogasawara to make his case for a spot in the Nationals’ rotation, he was going to have to do something eye-opening tonight against a tough Mets lineup.

Instead, the Japanese left-hander provided more of the same. And in the process probably sealed his fate.

Unable to put hitters away, Ogasawara racked up a gargantuan pitch count and didn’t even make it through the fourth inning in what wound up a 10-3 loss to New York.

The Nationals wanted to get Ogasawara up to at least 90 pitches, but the hope was he would reach the sixth inning in the process. Instead, he was already at 80 after only three laborious frames. He came back to face five more batters in the fourth and then departed with a hefty 98 pitches through in 3 2/3 innings, having surrendered eight runs on eight hits and three walks.

“He’s always been a strike-thrower,” manager Davey Martinez said. “For me, that’s a (sign) that he’s still trying to search for things. He’s got to pound the zone. The times he did get ahead, he was good. And I know he can throw strikes, because he’s done it.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – We’ve got quite a matchup tonight at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, not just for fans in Washington and New York, but also in Japan. The stars aligned perfectly to give us a head-to-head pitching showdown between Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Kodai Senga.

These two guys are in very different situations. Senga has already established himself for the Mets but is now trying to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2024 season. Ogasawara is still trying to earn himself a spot in the Nationals’ Opening Day rotation. He faces an uphill climb, given his struggles this spring and Mitchell Parker’s superior performance.

But the lefty gets one more shot tonight to make his case, and he’ll have to do it against a pretty fearsome lineup. Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso are batting 1-2-3 for New York. One way or another, we’re going to find out what Ogasawara is made of tonight. (In an extra twist, the Nats are calling up Elian Soto, Juan’s little brother, from minor league camp for this game. He’s not guaranteed to play, but the mere fact the 19-year-old will be in his No. 22 uniform against his brother is pretty cool.)

The Nationals lineup has almost every regular playing tonight. Only Nathaniel Lowe is sitting, which opens up first base for Josh Bell and the DH slot for James Wood. That allows Alex Call to get a start in left field.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: None
Weather: Clear, 83 degrees, wind 16 mph out to right field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Shinnosuke Ogasawara will get one last shot to face major league hitters in a spring training before the Nationals make a final decision on the identity of their No. 5 starter to begin the season.

Ogasawara, who has struggled to date in his first camp since signing with the Nats from Japan, was moved to a back field to start a minor league game Saturday while Mitchell Parker took the mound inside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches to face the Mets.

Parker proceeded to put together his second straight solid outing, allowing one run over five innings despite four walks on 76 pitches. Ogasawara, meanwhile, threw 53 pitches over five innings in the minor league game, with club officials noting progress from the left-hander compared to his four Grapefruit League starts.

With only one week left before the team heads north, there’s only one start day left for both Parker and Ogasawara in Florida. Though Parker seems to have taken the lead in the competition, the Nationals will give Thursday’s start against the Mets to Ogasawara and have Parker face minor leaguers this time.

“Shinno threw over there, got some good work in, so we wanted to see him pitch in a big league game,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And Parker pitched really well. He’s going to go down there, and we’re going to try to stretch him into about 85 pitches. But we can control his workload.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Sure, a dominant performance would’ve been nicer and may have firmly locked up the fifth starter’s job for Mitchell Parker.

But in some ways, the outing Parker did actually produce tonight might have been more valuable for the Nationals left-hander, who still made his case for the last spot in the Opening Day rotation thanks to his ability not to let a potentially disastrous third inning get out of hand.

“What I like is, he had to pitch in some high leverage situations,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And he was able to make some really good pitches and get out of it, which is just awesome.”

Parker went five innings overall during a 4-1 victory over the Mets, allowing one run on two hits while walking four. He got his pitch count up to 76, only 42 of them strikes.

It was the top of the third, though, that defined his evening. He put four men on base during the frame, three via walk. But he got out of the jam with only one run crossing the plate, and that came via a ground ball to third that still produced an out.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – With 11 days to go in spring training, seven starting pitchers competing for five jobs and a rare, cross-state, overnight trip looming, mapping out the Nationals’ rotation schedule is no simple task for manager Davey Martinez and pitching coach Jim Hickey. They finally settled on a plan this morning, one that takes all of those factors into consideration.

MacKenzie Gore is starting this afternoon’s game against the Astros. It’s only his second official start of the spring, but the left-hander has still been throwing every five days, whether on a back field against minor leaguers or in a simulated game against teammates.

While Gore faces Houston inside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, Trevor Williams is facing minor leaguers outside the stadium. The veteran right-hander, who Martinez confirmed this week will open the season in the rotation, has already made three Grapefruit League appearances.

DJ Herz will take the long bus ride from West Palm Beach to Port Charlotte on Thursday morning and then start that afternoon’s game against the Rays. Herz, who is competing for the fifth starter’s job, has looked shaky so far in three Grapefruit League outings, walking seven while striking out only three in 6 2/3 innings.

Jake Irvin’s turn comes up Friday, but the right-hander will stay back in West Palm Beach and face minor leaguers instead of traveling to North Port to face the Braves. That makes Friday’s game a bullpen game for the Nats, with a host of relievers set to pitch one or two innings a piece.

JUPITER, Fla. – This was pretty much assumed all along, but Davey Martinez confirmed it this morning: There’s only one open spot in the Nationals’ Opening Day rotation. The precise order has yet to be announced, but MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Michael Soroka and Trevor Williams will begin the season as the team’s top four starters.

Which leaves one more job for a trio of young left-handers: DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker and Shinnosuke Ogasawara. And what will the Nats base their final decision on?

“I want to see these guys – it’s going to happen during the season sometimes – in high-leverage situations, how they’re going to handle it,” Martinez said. “And it’s about throwing strikes, pounding the strike zone.”

So consider what Parker did this afternoon in what wound up a 9-9 tie with the Marlins a much-needed step in the right direction, all the more so after Ogasawara labored once again later in the evening. Though Parker gave up a pair of solo homers with a stiff wind blowing out at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, he otherwise was quite efficient, needing only 48 pitches (33 of them strikes) to complete four innings.

“Just being able to get out of the innings without throwing a lot of pitches was definitely a good thing,” said the lefty, who threw an additional 16 pitches in the bullpen afterward to build up his total count. “That’s what we did good at last year. I’m hoping to carry that over to this year.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Who’s ready for some more baseball? The venues have switched, but the teams remain the same as the Nationals and Marlins play the second half of their day-night, split-squad doubleheader, this time at the friendly confines of CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

With Mitchell Parker having looked pretty sharp in today’s matinee, there’s some increased pressure on Shinnosuke Ogasawara to perform better tonight. The Japanese left-hander hasn’t blown anyone’s socks off so far in his first three spring training starts. At some point as we move into mid-March, results do start to matter.

The top of the lineup features the big boys, headlined by the enticing 1-2-3 of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood. Luis García Jr. and Jacob Young are also starting tonight against Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (ss) vs. MIAMI MARLINS (ss)
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain ending, 73 degrees, wind 21 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Amed Rosario
1B Juan Yepez
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

JUPITER, Fla. – Today’s Grapefruit League matchup between the Nationals and Marlins started off slow. In fact, it started late before it started off slow.

After a 23-minute rain delay, the first three innings seemed to drag along with nothing really of note happening. James Wood was playing left field for the first time since dealing with right quad tendinitis, but he only had one ball hit toward him.

A slow-paced, actionless game is not uncommon during spring training.

Then the action picked up real fast and all of a sudden the game – which resulted in an 8-7 Nationals victory – was quite interesting. The batters started taking advantage of the 20-plus mph wind gusts out to left-center field, as opposed to the incoming winds yesterday in West Palm Beach.

Through the first three innings, the only things of note were Andrew Pinckney’s strong throw from right field for an out at home, and Wood and Robert Hassell III winning two Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) challenges against former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara.

JUPITER, Fla. – This afternoon the Nationals will make their first of back-to-back trips to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium over the next two days. They’ll play the Marlins in their first 15-minute trip up the road from their home in West Palm Beach.

We’ve landed on another multiple-starter day as Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Mitchell Parker are both scheduled to pitch against the Fish. The plan is for each left-hander to get up to 40 pitches and about three innings.

Ogasawara had a tough time during his last outing against the Mets’ A lineup. He completed 1 ⅔ innings with four hits, four runs (two earned), one walk and two strikeouts on 32 pitches, 24 strikes. He also served up a two-run home run to Juan Soto. But he should have a better time against this Marlins squad that is projected to finish last in the National League East.

Parker was charged with five hits, a double, two runs and two strikeouts in 2 ⅓ innings on 42 pitches, 31 strikes, against the Mets on Friday. He did, however, strike out Soto on a high fastball.

The lineup – which includes regulars James Wood, making his first appearance in the outfield, and Luis García Jr. – will have a tough challenge to start this one. Former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara makes his third start of the spring. The right-hander has yet to give up a run or walk over three innings, recording four strikeouts and allowing only three hits. Alcantara missed all of last season while recovering from October 2023 Tommy John surgery.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – When Shinnosuke Ogasawara took the mound on Sunday back in West Palm Beach, he faced a Mets lineup that wasn’t filled with everyday major leaguers for his first start on American soil. It was a relatively manageable order for him to navigate in his first taste of Grapefruit League action.

In his second start this afternoon, the Japanese left-hander had to don his gray Nationals pants for the first time and make the hour-long bus ride up to Clover Park to face the same Mets team, although with a vastly different lineup.

New York manager Carlos Mendoza ran out his gauntlet of a lineup, which has $1.298 billion invested in just the first four hitters alone in Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.

Ogasawara held his own in the first inning of the game – in which the Nats were shut out 7-0 – but had a rude introduction to the real National League East in the second.

“Even in Japan, we know everybody that are All-Stars,” Ogasawara said, via interpreter Jumpei Ohashi, “so (I was) so excited to get on the mound today.”

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – It’s only the first five contests of Grapefruit League play, but no team wants a star player to have to sit out game action this early in spring training. Any time one does, panic ensues and is not quelled until said player returns to the field.

James Wood’s absence during the Nationals’ first week of spring training games struck fear into the hearts of fans. But the young outfielder and the team were not concerned his right quad tendinitis would hold him out for long.

He’s been able to take batting practice the entire time and returned to outfield work over the weekend. Now he’s ready to make his 2025 game debut.

Wood will be the Nats designated hitter and lead off to start this afternoon’s game against the Mets. Manager Davey Martinez moved him up to the top spot so he can get his at-bats quickly and be done for the day.

“He's gonna DH. We'll hopefully get him three at-bats,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “I led him off to see if we can get him at least three at-bats, but we'll see how he feels. I want him just to go get his at-bats.”

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Nationals make their first “long” trip of the spring up to Port St. Lucie this afternoon. The hour-long drive feels especially long when they have yet to travel more than the 15 minutes it takes to get to Jupiter.

Any Nats fans that follow the team from West Palm Beach will be rewarded by seeing James Wood’s 2025 Grapefruit League debut. The young outfielder has been held out of game action so far with right quad tendinitis, but is now ready to at least get some live at-bats as the designated hitter. Wood was originally lined up to DH in last night’s home game against the Braves, but manager Davey Martinez wanted him to stick to his early morning routine and prepare for an afternoon game. Plus, waiting one extra day couldn’t hurt.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara makes his second start of the spring since signing a two-year, $3.5 million deal with the Nats, the first free agent the team has signed directly from Asia. The 27-year-old left-hander pitched a scoreless inning on eight pitches with a double in his debut on Sunday, but he did surrender a lot of loud contact to a Mets team he’ll face today.

And look who’s in the star-studded Mets lineup Ogasawara will be facing: None other than old friend Juan Soto. This will be the first time the Nats will see Soto in Mets blue and orange since he signed his historic 15-year, $765 million contract in December.

Mitchell Parker is scheduled to follow Ogasawara as part of his “start” day as well.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The first few weeks of spring training are like the first few weeks of school. Coaches and players are excited to reunite with longtime teammates and meet some new ones. The early assignments aren’t too hard, but everyone knows bigger tests are coming soon.

There’s excitement and nervousness in the air.

For the Nationals’ starting rotation, there’s a good mix of familiar and fresh faces. And while there’s a lot of excitement surrounding this young, impressive group, there are sure to be some nerves during camp as well while they compete in what might be the biggest position group battle of the spring.

MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin have solidified their positions at the top of the rotation. The 26-year-old left-hander with electric stuff may be the Nats’ Opening Day starter. The 28-year-old right-hander, who started the Grapefruit League opener on Saturday when Gore’s spring debut was pushed back to later this week so he could go multiple innings, is already lined up as the No. 2 starter.

Michael Soroka is the Nats’ highest-paid pitcher this year after signing a one-year, $9 million contract this winter, likely locking him into a spot in the rotation. And Trevor Williams was brought back on a two-year, $14 million deal to start games.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There were nerves, plenty of them, Shinnosuke Ogasawara admitted. And when the first major league batter he’d ever faced, Tyrone Taylor, ripped a ball to deep left-center, the Japanese left-hander held his breath for a moment as he waited to see where it would land.

Once Jacob Young tracked it down at the base of the wall, Ogasawara could breathe easy again. This was just another baseball game, ultimately an 11-6 drubbing of a split-squad Mets team, albeit one a continent away from every other baseball game he’d ever pitched.

And though his one-inning Nationals spring training debut included a healthy amount of loud contact, it nevertheless ended with a zero on the scoreboard and a wide smile on Ogasawara’s face.

“Of course the first hitter, he got good contact,” he said, via interpreter Jumpei Ohashi. “I was kind of nervous and upset, but after that it’s fine.”

Ogasawara’s first Grapefruit League outing lasted only eight pitches. The notorious strike-thrower lived up to that reputation, never reaching the fourth pitch to any of the four Mets batters he faced. He threw mostly fastballs, amped up a bit and reaching 92 mph, and never got to his slider before the inning was over.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – One of the most intriguing stories of the spring is the quest to find out if Shinnosuke Ogasawara is good enough to be successful against major league hitters. The Nationals have scouted the Japanese left-hander plenty, and they’ve seen him throw plenty during the first week-plus of spring training. But now they’re finally going to start to find out how he fares against a real opponent.

There’s only so much they can learn from the one inning Ogasawara is scheduled to pitch this afternoon against a split-squad Mets lineup. But it’s still going to be more tangible evidence than anything else they’ve gotten to date.

The Nats pulled off a 6-3 win over the Astros in Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener, despite a number of regulars sitting out. Those guys will be in the lineup today, so get ready to see CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe, in particular against Mets reliever Ty Adcock, who gets the start.

And, yes, you can indeed see this game in its entirety on MASN, the network’s 2025 spring debut telecast. Tune in at 1 p.m. for all the action live from West Palm Beach.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS (ss)
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m.
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After 10 days of official workouts, not to mention plenty more unofficial workouts that took place before camp actually opened, the Nationals are undoubtedly ready for something different. Like exhibition games, which fortunately start showing up on the schedule Saturday.

“Yeah, we’re ready,” manager Davey Martinez said. “As I’ve said before, these guys have been here for a while now. They’re itching to get out there and compete.”

The Nationals wrapped up the first portion of spring training today with one final full-squad workout on the back fields behind CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. They’ll finally set foot inside the main stadium Saturday to face the Astros in both teams’ Grapefruit League opener.

Don’t expect the entire projected Opening Day lineup to be out there right off the bat. We already know James Wood (who is dealing with left quad tendinitis) is being held back for the moment. It also sounds like CJ Abrams will sit Saturday, with veteran utilityman Amed Rosario getting the nod at shortstop.

“We’re still in February,” Martinez said. “I’m going to give everybody a chance to get out there and play and get going. We’ve just got to be careful. The ultimate goal is to keep everyone healthy and get them ready for Opening Day at the end of March.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – As Saturday’s exhibition opener creeps closer, the Nationals are trying to make sure they cover all their bases during these final days of full-squad workouts. Literally.

This morning’s session included the entire defense on the field as one, specifically working on proper relay technique. Outfielders tracked down balls hit to the gaps or corners. Infielders positioned themselves to either receive the relay throw, back up the relay throw or cover an open base. Pitchers ran to their correct backup position in foul territory.

It can all sound mundane, especially for players at the major league level. But manager Davey Martinez pointed out the importance of everyone involved getting it right.

“It is repetitive, but what we’re trying to teach them is: These things do matter,” Martinez said. “The dropping of the ball, the making of a good throw to the bases, to understand that you don’t leave your feet if the guy throws the ball, we’ve got a trail guy behind, all that stuff. Believe it or not, when you see them do it, sometimes they forget. As I always say … we treat these guys like they’re from Mars, they don’t know anything from the game.”

Martinez believes the Nationals cost themselves runs during the course of the 2024 season with seemingly little mistakes that allowed runners to take extra bases (especially trailing runners). That’s why he wants all cut-offs to be caught cleanly, and why he wants the other infielders and pitchers in correct position to cover bases or back up the play in case someone does try to steal an extra 90 feet.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Day two of live batting practice at Nationals camp saw several returning pitchers on the mound facing teammates. It also saw one especially notable newcomer who drew tons of extra attention.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara had a large crowd assembled on Field 3 behind the plate, in the dugouts and behind the fences, with everyone from club officials to teammates to media members to fans wanting to get a first look at the Japanese left-hander as he faced major league hitters for the first time.

Ogasawara faced an experienced group of position players including Josh Bell, Luis García Jr., Paul DeJong and Amed Rosario. There was some contact off him, but there were plenty of uncomfortable swings from hitters who were thrown off by the 27-year-old’s repertoire and hesitation delivery.

Garcia was impressed when he returned to the dugout, noting Ogasawara has not only a good changeup and slow curveball but also a sneaky fastball. That ability to change speeds and make everything look the same coming out of his hand could prove to be a challenge for big league batters.

“His arm action, it looks just like a fastball coming in,” manager Davey Martinez said of the changeup in particular. “The thing we talked with him is: If he throws it over the plate – it doesn’t have to be east-to-west as we always talk about – it’s really, really good. There’s a whole lot of swings, not very good swings, as we saw today. But he’s got to understand that he needs to be over the plate with it, down.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The early days of spring training are defined by two time-honored morning drills: Bullpen sessions and pitchers’ fielding practice. The former draws most of the attention, because it’s an opportunity to see pitchers work on their primary craft. But the latter, while mundane, matters quite a bit.

And that’s especially true for the Nationals this spring. After seeing several of their pitchers struggle in the field last season, there is a renewed emphasis on PFPs in this camp.

“Get off the mound, get to the ball and get an out,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We don’t want to see a spectacular play. We just want to see you make the routine play and just get an out.”

Nationals pitchers combined for minus-7 Defensive Runs Saved last season. Only two members of the staff rated higher than 1 DRS: Jake Irvin (6) and Trevor Williams (2). MacKenzie Gore (minus-3), Hunter Harvey (minus-3) and Mitchell Parker (minus-4) all rated near the bottom of the league.

Every team runs through the standard PFP drills every spring. Fielding bunts. Covering first base. Pickoff plays. So the Nats aren’t doing anything revolutionary in that regard.