Back at the Winter Meetings in December, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo suggested that Danny Espinosa could become a solid backup middle infielder this season, largely because of his defensive abilities at shortstop and second base. Today, Espinosa said that Rizzo and new Nats manager Matt Williams have both told him that he'll get a chance to compete with Anthony Rendon for the Nationals' starting second base job, the job that Espinosa held in 2011, 2012 and early in the 2013 season...

If Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard has a sense of how his impending run through the arbitration process will unfold, he's keeping it close to the vest. "I don't know, we'll see how it all plays out," the veteran right-hander said when asked if he expected to go to an arbitration hearing with the Nats. Clippard has filed for arbitration and, since he wasn't able to reach an agreement with the Nationals, he and his representatives have exchanged proposed salary figures with the...

Bryce Harper says that he's been making solid progress in his recovery from offseason surgery to debride and repair the bursa sac in his left knee, but it sounds like there's a chance that he won't be full strength when spring training begins. Harper says that he's rehabbing the knee three times a week at this point and he's at week 12 or 13 in what he's been told is a 16-week rehab process. He sprinted for the first time three weeks ago and says that he felt good. But with position...

Anthony Rendon won't have to worry about switching between positions in spring training. No more grounders at third base, followed by intensive footwork sessions at second, then back to the hot corner. He goes into camp at the incumbent second baseman and thinks that comfort level will be a plus. "I think that will help me tremendously," he said at NatsFest. "I think that will be a positive that I can stay in one area, continue to work on my footwork, continue to learn the position as much...

Right-hander Drew Storen has had a busy offseason while training in Indianapolis. He's already thrown off a mound a few times and he's added about 15 lbs. as a cushion for the expected warmer weather he'll encounter once the Nationals convene in Viera, Fla., for spring training. Amid all the hard work, he's again been the subject of trade rumors. At NatsFest, Storen made it clear he wants to remain a National and hopes none of the incessant chatter about deals comes to fruition. "You...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo just met with reporters for nearly 10 minutes here at NatsFest, and covered a wide range of topics related to the Nats' roster and remaining offseason pursuits. Rizzo said that while the Nats are still open to upgrading their roster in any way that will improve the club, members of the front office aren't necessarily actively seeking to make more moves. Asked if it's reasonable to say that the Nats are receiving more phone calls from teams and agents...

For a change, Nationals outfielder Scott Hairston didn't go into an offseason wondering where he'd be playing the following campaign. He's got a new manager to get used to, and a new spring training base to acquaint himself with in a couple of weeks, but he knows his team and his role entering the 2014 season. "I think it takes a toll psychologically when you're not sure where you're going to be," Hairston said while meeting with reporters at NatsFest at the Gaylord Resort and...

I'm all set up here at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center for NatsFest 2014, and this place is already hopping. Fans have swarmed this enormous building and there's red everywhere. The fact that it's January and the temperatures are in the 20s doesn't seem to be dampening enthusiasm about the Nationals or baseball at all. Players will be rolling through the media room all day, and I'll have tons of quotes to pass along from our sessions with these guys. First on the docket...

Welcome to NatsFest! The gates were supposed to open for season ticket holders at 10 a.m., but they seem to have gotten a head start and are queuing up at the autograph station already. Guess you can't keep a good Nats fan down (or out). If you're one of the throngs of Nationals fans invading the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center today for the annual mid-winter event, enjoy it to the max. If you happen to see me - I'm in the red MASN jacket, probably the size of a Kolko and a half,...

If you look at all the New York Yankees' acquisitions this offseason, the best will probably turn out to be the most recent one. We all know the importance of pitching and signing right-hander Masahiro Tanaka could prove to be a season-saver for the Yankees. Tanaka pitched as well, if not better, in his last few years in Japan, than Yu Darvish did when he was there. For all the talk about the adjustment process pitchers coming over from Japan must make, like pitching every fifth day and so...