NEW YORK – Though encouraged by the recent return of two key relievers from the injured list, the Nationals recently received bad news about one of their other key bullpen arms attempting to return from the IL.

Carl Edwards Jr. has been shut down indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right scapula, a significant derailment of the veteran’s rehab efforts.

Edwards, who has been out since June 20 with shoulder inflammation, appeared to be on track to return for the season’s final month, making two rehab appearances for Single-A Wilmington in the last week. The first appearance went well, with Edwards retiring the side on 12 pitches. But his second outing Saturday did not, with the pitcher retiring only one of the five batters he faced and surrendering two homers and a triple.

Edwards reported not feeling right after that most recent game, and the Nationals scheduled an MRI for him, which revealed the stress fracture.

“We’re going to shut him down indefinitely until this goes away,” manager Davey Martinez said. “It stinks, because he was working his way back. But his last outing, he said he just didn’t feel right. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but he’s going to be out for a while.”

It’s purely a coincidence of timing that so many injured Nationals relievers were ready to begin rehab assignments within days of each other. Intentional or not, the team is more than happy to monitor a bunch of these assignments, knowing each pitcher is getting close to returning to the active roster.

Mason Thompson and Carl Edwards Jr. got the process started, each tossing a scoreless inning of relief Thursday. Tanner Rainey will make his rehab debut tonight, hours after Thaddeus Ward pitched in West Palm Beach.

Thompson tossed a 1-2-3 inning for Double-A Harrisburg, striking out one and throwing seven of his nine pitches for strikes. The right-hander, out since Aug. 2 with a left knee contusion, is scheduled to return to make another appearance Sunday, ideally building up to 20-to-25 pitches.

Edwards also threw a perfect inning of relief, with six of his 12 pitches for strikes with Single-A Wilmington. The right-hander, out since June 20 with shoulder inflammation, is going to need more time on his assignment considering how long he’s been out. He’s next scheduled to pitch Saturday.

“He’s been out a little longer,” manager Davey Martinez said. “For me, it’s like spring training all over with him. I want to get him this outing tomorrow, see how that goes, and then possibly two or three more after. … But he said he felt way better yesterday.”

Most of the Nationals clubhouse was surrounding the back of the batting cage on the field at Nats Park at around 4 p.m. They were all waiting to watch Tanner Rainey and Hunter Harvey throw their simulated innings.

The plan was for Rainey, who is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery, to throw around 35-40 pitches. Harvey, who has been on the 15-day injured list since July 16 with a right elbow strain, was set to throw about 20-25 pitches.

Jeter Downs, Blake Rutherford, Michael Chavis and Riley Adams suited up to step into the box against their teammates.

Rainey went first, his first time stepping on the mound at Nats Park since July 4 of last year, with pitching coach Jim Hickey watching behind him and the rest of the coaching staff and teammates behind the cage.

Downs struck out, Rutherford got a base hit and Adams went deep down the left field line. But those results didn’t matter, as Rainey seemed satisfied when he stepped off the mound after his inning.

PHILADELPHIA – While this four-game series between the Nationals and Phillies actually gets underway this afternoon, let’s revisit some injury updates from manager Davey Martinez that he gave prior to yesterday's rainout.

The Nationals have seven relievers currently on the 15-day injured list, with a handful of them making significant strides toward returning soon.

Carl Edwards Jr., on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, is getting close to a rehab assignment with a minor league affiliate after throwing bullpen sessions and working toward a simulated game. If he clears those next two sessions while at the Nats’ facility in West Palm Beach, a rehab assignment would come next.

“Carl Edwards is continuing the throwing program,” Martinez said yesterday. “He'll throw a bullpen again tomorrow. If everything goes well, he's set to throw the sim game and then hopefully that goes well. And if everything goes well with that, we'll probably send him out on a rehab assignment. So progression, very good.”

Hunter Harvey, who is with the team in Philly while rehabbing his right elbow strain, was scheduled to throw another bullpen session today. If the Nats get a good report back from that, he too will head out on a rehab assignment soon.

NEW YORK – Two key Nationals relievers are ready to start facing live hitters in game-like situations. The club is motivated to get one of them off the injured list as soon as possible, not as much with the other.

Carl Edwards Jr. and Tanner Rainey are both scheduled to face hitters in a simulated game Friday in West Palm Beach, Fla., the first time each right-hander will reach that stage of his respective rehab program.

A simulated game is usually the final step for a recovering pitcher before he begins a minor league rehab assignment, but while Edwards may be ready to take that final step soon, the Nats appear likely to wait a bit longer with Rainey.

Edwards, on the 15-day IL with inflammation in his shoulder, has been out since June 19. The 31-year-old, who had a 3.69 ERA and two saves in 32 appearances before getting hurt, was going to be one of the Nationals’ top trade chips this summer. With the Aug. 2 deadline now only five days away, Edwards is almost out of time to make it back onto the active roster to prove to interested clubs he’s fully healthy again.

Teams are allowed to trade players who are on the IL – the Nats did it with Kyle Schwarber in 2021 – but the return for injured players is almost always going to be diminished to some extent. If the Nationals can get Edwards back on the active roster and to pitch at least once for them before Aug. 2, they might be able to find a taker willing to give up a prospect of more consequence for the veteran setup man.

Victor Robles bounded into the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon, bursting with the kind of energy that can mean only one thing: The injured outfielder is in a good mood about the current state of his body.

“Much better, thanks,” Robles said when asked how he’s feeling before making a beeline for Davey Martinez’s office to update the manager on the condition of his back.

Robles has played in only 36 games this season, only five since May 6 when he suffered his initial back injury sliding into second base in Arizona. After rehabbing that injury and returning to the active roster about six weeks later, he reinjured himself trying to make a lunging catch in center field before crashing into the wall.

That was five weeks ago. Robles has spent the bulk of that time at the Nationals’ spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., rehabbing and getting treatment. He still hasn’t progressed to the point where he’s doing any baseball activities, but the team is moving his home base back to D.C. to keep a closer eye on him and monitor his progress in person.

“I talked to him for a little bit in my office and he said he feels much better,” Martinez said. “We want to get eyes on him, get him moving around a little bit, and then we’ll go from there. He always has that bubbly energy, but it’s good to see him here.”

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals have gone most of this season without a left-handed reliever in their bullpen.

Now they have two.

The Nationals recalled left-hander Jose A. Ferrer from Triple-A Rochester and placed Patrick Corbin on the bereavement list before tonight’s series opener against the Phillies.

“Patrick Corbin is on the bereavement list right now,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame meeting with the media. “So we thought we'd bring in Ferrer, one of our young left-handed relievers. Give him an opportunity, hopefully in the next couple of days. With all the lefties they got, get him in the game. So yeah, he'll be here and we'll see how it goes for him.”

Ferrer joins the Nats after his first taste of Triple-A ball, where he was 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA, 1.550 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 40 innings over 34 appearances. The 23-year-old did not allow a run in his final five outings since June 17 while holding opponents to a .158 average (3-for-19) and striking out nine in six innings over that span.

An odd Tuesday night has turned into a busy Wednesday afternoon here at Nationals Park.

After some misplays in the field, a confrontation with MacKenzie Gore in the dugout and questions about his health, Victor Robles was placed back on the 10-day injured list today with back spasms in the lumbar spine, with the Nationals selecting the contract of Derek Hill from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot on the active roster

It was a rough couple of days in the field since Robles was reinstated from the IL on Friday after he seemingly recovered the same back spasms that had him inactive since May 8. On Monday, he got a late break on a ball over his head that turned into an RBI triple after he crashed into the wall trying to get back to make the catch. Then last night, he let a ball land in front of him while slowly moving to his left, leading to the animated discussion with Gore. Later in the game, he only made it to first base on a line drive off the left field wall and then struggled to go first-to-third on CJ Abrams’ double to right-center.

Davey Martinez mentioned after the game that he was going to have a discussion with Robles to see how he felt.

“We made a move today. We put Victor on the IL,” Martinez said before this afternoon’s finale against the Cardinals. “As I said last night, I was gonna have a conversation with him. I talked to him last night. I had to really stress that he needed to be honest with me. And he said he was a bit sore and that it bothered him running. It doesn't bother him hitting, it bothers him running.

The Nationals came into this weekend’s three-game series against the Marlins needing to find some way to beat their divisional foes.

Entering tonight, the Nats were 4-18 with a -41 run differential against the Fish since the start of last season. They played tight but were ultimately swept out of Miami last month, losing all three games by a total of four runs.

The Marlins aren’t world-beaters. Although they began the night in second place in the National League East, they had a -30 run differential on the year.

That ever so slightly improved tonight as did their record against the Nats. Despite another hard-fought game, the Nationals dropped the series opener 6-5 in front of an announced crowd of 22,379 at Nats Park, with the Marlins improving to 18-5 in one-run games already this season.

“We were down. We got a good pitcher in there. We come back," manager Davey Martinez said after the loss. "Score some runs early and then the bats, we had a couple of opportunities to score again. We just couldn't capitalize. And then big moment, ball up the middle. I think that inning really started with the walk. We always talk about not walking guys because, especially early in innings, it's gonna bite you. But overall, I thought you know we did well, we played well, we came back, we kept coming back. We just couldn't score any runs at the end.”

LOS ANGELES – Luis García skipped out of the batter’s box, looked toward the Nationals dugout and yelled with delight. One inning later, Keibert Ruiz took his time leaving the box, making sure the ball really was going to leave the park, before turning toward his teammates, pounding his chest and letting out a primal scream of his own.

At the end of a long road trip that saw way more well-struck balls die at the warning track than clear the fence, two months into a season that has seen far too few blasts from one of the majors’ least-home-run-hitting lineups, the Nats finally won a game not on the strength of their pitching, their defense or their ability to string together a bunch of singles.

No, this 10-6 victory over the Dodgers was characterized above all else by power. Lots of it.

The Nationals launched five homers on a gray, 65-degree L.A. afternoon. Two of them were produced by Ruiz, who had already homered during Tuesday night’s loss against his former organization. The biggest, though, came off the bat of García, whose three-run shot down the right field line in the top of the eighth gave his team the lead for good and served as the emotional high point of a game that featured all manner of wild, back-and-forth moments.

"We came with a good atmosphere today," said third baseman Jeimer Candelario, who homered himself and reached base four times. "The guys wanted to have a happy fight. We're going to D.C. It's a long flight. You don't want to lose that game and then (take) that long flight."

It was unrealistic to expect MacKenzie Gore to repeat a career-best outing this time against the Mets. That’s a difficult feat to accomplish on any given night, much  less twice against the same team in about a two-week time frame.

And sure enough, tonight’s outing was unlike when the young left-hander took the mound at Citi Field on April 26 and shoved for six innings of one-run ball with four hits and two walks while matching a career high with 10 strikeouts.

Though not as impressive tonight, Gore still gutted through four scoreless innings. Unfortunately, it was all for naught as the Nationals bullpen broke down, leading to a 3-2 loss to the Mets in front of an announced crowd of 31,904 at Nats Park.

Gore’s high pitch count did him in early. He needed 37 pitches to get through the first inning, in which he faced six batters while giving up a single and two walks with two outs. He needed 22 pitches to complete the second while giving up two hits. Then he needed 25 pitches to get out of the third after another couple of singles.

The Mets did what they could not do while striking out 10 times two weeks ago: wore Gore down with long at-bats. They took balls out of the strike zone and fouled off tough pitches to extend their time at the plate.

PHOENIX – A lot happened during Saturday night’s game, a wild 8-7 loss to the Diamondbacks. The Nationals got nine strikeouts from MacKenzie Gore in six innings. They pulled off a five-run rally in the top of the ninth, four of those runs scoring with two outs. They gave it back in the bottom of the ninth when Kyle Finnegan retired only one of the six batters he faced.

There were other developments of note, as well. And those shouldn’t be ignored as you process everything that took place in this highly eventful ballgame …

* Keibert Ruiz snapped out of his slump in a big way.

The young catcher insisted Friday night he wouldn’t hang his head after striking out three times and seeing his slump extend to 0-for-16. He made good on that promise Saturday, delivering a two-run double in the fourth and then a towering homer to lead off the ninth.

These were important swings for Ruiz. Not simply because of the results, but because of the authority with which he connected for those hits. His double carried an exit velocity of 106.4 mph. His homer was actually a bit lower, at 104.7 mph. He even made loud contact on a second-inning groundout to short, a ball that left his bat at 99.7 mph.

Had his lineup produced just one more hit among the countless scoring opportunities that presented themselves this afternoon, Davey Martinez might well have turned over the final innings of the Nationals’ doubleheader opener against the Pirates to his "A" bullpen.

Alas, with his team trailing by a lone run, Martinez opted not to use up his best relief arms, saving them instead for the nightcap. It didn’t take long for that one-run deficit to morph into a three-run deficit and ultimately a 6-3 loss.

A game that was tied at two in the sixth turned Pittsburgh’s way when Miguel Andujar launched a two-run homer off Carl Edwards Jr. The Nats would get one run back in the bottom of the inning, but they now needed rookie Thaddeus Ward and others from the "B" bullpen to keep the game close.

That did not happen. Ward did pitch his way out of a self-made jam in the seventh but then was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk to Andujar in the eighth. In came Anthony Banda, who proceeded to turn the rest of the inning into a mess.

Banda, the lone lefty in the Nationals bullpen since Opening Day, didn’t retire either of the left-handed batters he faced, plunking Tucupita Marcano on the hand, then allowing a bunt single to Ji Hwan Bae (denying third baseman Jeimer Candelario a chance to make what looked like an easier play than he had himself).

Carl Edwards Jr. has been one of the strongest relievers the Nationals have had over the past year. After signing a minor league deal and making the major league roster last May, the right-hander gave up three runs in his Nats debut and vowed he would be better.

He would go on to pitch to a 2.76 ERA over 57 games in 2022 and return this year as one of the back-end bullpen arms. He began the night allowing only one run in six innings.

But Edwards had one of those rough outings, leading to a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Guardians in front of an announced crowd of 21,367 at Nationals Park.

Edwards entered a 3-2 game with two outs in the seventh and the bases loaded. It only took Edwards five pitches to walk in the tying run. He then got a popup to finally end the frame.

Back out for the eighth, he looked all out of sorts. He couldn’t handle an easy comebacker and thus allowed the leadoff runner to reach first before former teammate Josh Bell hit a double to the same spot he had homered to the inning prior. Edwards then surrendered the go-ahead RBI via a groundout, and although the run was unearned, it was made possible by his own fielding error.

DENVER – As he mapped out his bullpen plan for Saturday night’s game, Nationals manager Davey Martinez knew he wanted to use Hunter Harvey to get out of a jam (which proved to come in the sixth inning). He knew he wanted Kyle Finnegan to face the top of the Rockies lineup (which happened to come in the eighth). And he knew he wanted Anthony Banda to face a string of lefties (which happened to be due up in the ninth).

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, until Banda took the mound for the bottom of the ninth with a 7-2 lead and couldn’t retire any of the three batters he faced, with Mike Moustakas blasting a two-run homer on the 10th pitch of his at-bat.

So now Martinez was left to summon the only remaining experienced late-inning arm in his bullpen: Carl Edwards Jr., who was thrust into an unexpected save situation.

“We mapped it out,” Martinez said afterward. “One, we wanted to get Finnegan back in there and get him some more work. He’s still searching a little bit with his mechanics. He threw the ball a lot better. He was able to throw the ball inside, get a ground ball, we turned a double play. And then we had the matchups with Banda, all lefties. It just didn’t work out. We had CJ as well. It was just one of those days here.”

It was one of those days that are all too common at Coors Field, but it did still have a happy ending for the Nationals. Despite giving up three hits and allowing two more runs to score while he was on the mound, Edwards gutted his way through the bottom of the ninth and struck out Kris Bryant to end the game with the tying runner in scoring position, the Nats surviving with a 7-6 victory.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have been anxiously awaiting the results of Derek Hill’s MRI on his right hamstring. The 27-year-old outfielder had to depart Wednesday’s game against the Yankees in Tampa after pulling up while running to first base trying to beat out a grounder to third.

Hill wasn’t able to get his MRI until Thursday night and the Nationals had to wait all day Friday for a doctor to read it, which caused the delay in the results. And the news wasn’t good: Somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 right hamstring strain that will set him back for an undetermined amount of time.

“He's got a, I'd say, between a (Grade) 1 and 2, so let's call it 1.5 strain with his right hamstring,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning. “There's really no timetable. Actually, I can say he's been kind of doing limited stuff, but they're working on it. So hopefully, he'll be back sooner than later.”

Hill has been competing for the fourth outfielder’s spot with Alex Call and Stone Garrett, and his chances of making the club have now taken a serious hit. As unfortunate as that is for him, the Nationals are going to be cautious before allowing him to return to the field.

"We want to make sure that he's healthy," Martinez said. "And I will talk to him today and reiterate that: 'Look, I love what I saw so far. I really did. So let's get you healthy. I don't know how long it's gonna take, but let's get you healthy. And we'll get you back out as soon as you can.'"

Despite the diagnosis and lack of a timetable, the Nationals are remaining optimistic Hill can return before the end of spring training.

“It's actually best-case scenario because it was the belly of the muscle,” Martinez said. “It wasn't low, where it's about your knee, which obviously takes a lot longer, or up in your glute area, which takes a long time. So we're very optimistic that he could come back here, hopefully, soon. But like you said, time will tell how he heals.”

The Nats actually had some good news today in that there was no health news to report on Carl Edwards Jr. After the right-hander was charged with four runs on three hits and two walks while only recording one out in the fifth inning of yesterday’s game against the Mets, Martinez expressed some postgame concern because Edwards’ velocity was down.

But a conversation with the reliever after arriving back from Port St. Lucie revealed the reliever feels fine physically.

“We talked to him last night and our trainer talked to him last night,” Martinez said. “He said he's fine. He said nothing's wrong. Just takes him a little while to get going in spring training. And I do remember last year when he was here, he came early to that early camp. So before we got into any games, he was already throwing quite a bit. But we're gonna keep a close eye on him to make sure that he's building up and getting ready for the season. He really reiterated yesterday he was fine.”

Edwards’ fastball was averaging 92 mph yesterday and only topped out at 94. It averaged 94 mph last year. His curveball averaged 77 mph yesterday, but averaged 80 mph last year. And his changeup averaged 87 mph yesterday while averaging 90 mph last year, but Martinez says that Edwards is actually working on slowing down his changeup.

“I think he's trying to be a little bit quicker with his delivery,” the skipper said. “And I told him, 'You don't have to be any quicker, you're quick enough.' And he's trying to take a little bit more off his changeup. So I don't know if that has anything to do with it. But I told him, I said, 'Hey, what you did last year worked great. So why are you gonna mess with that? Just go out there and attack the strike zone.'

“The biggest thing with him was that he threw strikes and he was ahead of hitters. When he's ahead of hitters, he's really good. When he falls behind hitters, it's when he gets himself in trouble. But we'll see. Hopefully, his next outing will be a little bit better. But I definitely want to keep an eye on him.”

* Aníbal Sánchez is visiting Nationals camp today, and before anyone gets too worked up about it, he is not here to sign with the team.

Sánchez, of course a member of the 2019 World Series champion team known for his “butterfly” changeup, was seen catching up with Martinez and former teammate Matt Adams outside the Nats clubhouse this morning.

With a smile on his face, as always, Sánchez was sharply dressed in all white, looking more like he was going to soak in a day of baseball here in West Palm instead of preparing to play some.

As the start of spring training gets closer and closer – pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in a mere nine days! – we’re looking at how unpredictable the upcoming season could be for each member of the Nationals’ potential roster on an individual basis.

With few established players that look like sure things entering the year, there’s a wide variance of possibilities in each case. We looked at the nine likely members of the lineup Friday. Today, we look at the pitchers most likely to be in the mix for spots on the Opening Day roster.

Here’s the best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2023 season for each of them …

MACKENZIE GORE
Best case: His elbow back to full health, the lefty picks up where he left off during the first half of last season in San Diego. Over 30 starts, he maintains an ERA around 3.00, striking out more than one batter per inning and establishing himself as the young leader of this rotation moving forward.
Worst case: A return of elbow discomfort would really be worst-case, but even if his arm feels fine there’s still a fear of diminished velocity and stamina. A fastball in the low 90s, combined with less-than-ideal command, could leave the Nationals questioning if he really will live up to his billing long-term.

CADE CAVALLI
Best case: Fresh off a restful winter, with his major league debut already behind him, Cavalli proves he’s ready to stick in the big league for the long haul. The Nats are still careful with his workload, limiting him to 26 starts or 140 innings, but he makes the most of those outings with a sub-3.50 ERA and more than 150 strikeouts.
Worst case: Even with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball, if he doesn’t maintain precise command, big league hitters will have success off that pitch. His secondary stuff helps bail him out sometimes, but a high WHIP leaves him looking like something less than a frontline starter.

The Nationals were bad last year, but you already know that. They want to be better this year, and you probably do, too.

But will they be better? That’s what we’re attempting to predict the last two days.

Though there’s still a month to go until spring training, and more additions or subtractions are possible, the Nats have already assembled what looks like it could be their Opening Day roster. So it’s not too early for this exercise.

We looked at position players yesterday, running through each of the positions (included designated hitter). Today, we look at the pitching staff, running through each slot in the rotation, plus multiple bullpen roles. Will the 2023 Nationals be better, worse or the same as the 2022 Nationals? Here we go …

NO. 1 STARTER: Slightly better, you have to hope
Who was the Nationals’ No. 1 starter last year? Patrick Corbin started Opening Day and threw the most innings. Josiah Gray led the staff in wins and strikeouts. Aníbal Sánchez (?!) led the starters in WAR. Point is, they don’t have a No. 1 guy, not yet. So for these purposes, we’ll go with Corbin and just look at how he may fare in 2023 vs. 2022. Enough has been said and written about the left-hander, who has steadily devolved over the last three seasons into the worst starter in baseball. He’s not going anywhere, not with two years still left on his contract. So, can he be better than 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA and 1.697 WHIP? You sure hope so, don’t you? Nobody’s going to suggest he can return to his elite 2019 form anymore. But it is fair to think he could become somewhat more respectable, and the main reason for that would be better defense behind him. His 4.83 FIP last season suggests he wasn’t solely to blame for his wretched numbers. Let’s see if an entire year of CJ Abrams at shortstop might actually bring Corbin’s ERA down under 5.00, which would have to be considered a major win.

It's deadline day for all major leaguers with more than three years and fewer than six years of service time to agree to terms with their clubs on 2023 salaries or else file for arbitration. The Nationals have six unsigned players facing today's deadline: Victor Robles, Kyle Finnegan, Lane Thomas, Carl Edwards Jr., Victor Arano and Hunter Harvey.

Bobby Blanco and I will be keeping track of any deals that come together over the course of the day, so check back for updates along the way ...

* Harvey is the first player to sign. The Nationals announced the right-hander has agreed to terms on his 2023 contract, avoiding arbitration. We don't have numbers yet, but MLB Trade Rumors projected a $1 million salary for him in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Harvey, 28, had something of a breakthrough season out of the Nats bullpen after years of injuries with the Orioles. He did miss several months with an elbow strain, but he returned strong and finished the season healthy, with a 2.52 ERA and 1.144 WHIP, striking out 45 batters in 39 1/3 innings. He should enter the season at worst as the Nationals' seventh inning reliever, setting up Edwards and Finnegan.

* Next up is Edwards, who has avoided arbitration with his own one-year deal. The Washington Post reports he'll earn $2.25 million, which is a nice bump from his league minimum salary last season after he joined the club on a minor league deal. The 31-year-old right-hander was a revelation, producing a 2.76 ERA and 1.226 WHIP over 57 appearances, his best season since 2018 with the Cubs.

It’s another deadline day across Major League Baseball, this one for all arbitration-eligible players to either agree to terms on their 2023 salaries or exchange figures with their clubs and file for an arbitration hearing.

How does that work? This applies only to players with more than three years but fewer than six years of big league service time. (There are also a group of players with fewer than three years who qualify early for arbitration, the so-called “Super Two” players, but the Nationals have nobody in that category this year.)

These players don’t have the right to become free agents yet, but they do have the right to negotiate their salaries. It’s up to them and their teams to find common ground and agree to a dollar amount. If they can’t, each side submits an offer, then a hearing is set for February, at which time a three-judge panel will pick a winner and declare the player’s salary.

A couple of things that are important to remember: 1) If a player doesn’t agree to terms today, that doesn’t mean he’s no longer under contract. He’ll still be part of the team this season, it’s just going to take a while longer to determine his salary. 2) Players and teams who don’t strike a deal today must file for arbitration, but they’re still free to continue negotiating up until the hearing and could still work something out before ever appearing before the panel. This is actually quite common.

So, which players does this apply to? The Nationals have 10 players with three to six years of service time, but four of them have already agreed to 2023 salaries, either because they were cut loose by other organizations and signed as free agents (Jeimer Candelario, $5 million; Dominic Smith, $2 million) or because they negotiated deals prior to today’s deadline (Tanner Rainey, $1.5 million; Ildemaro Vargas, $975,000).