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. – Two weeks into the new year, the Nationals had only one relief pitcher on their roster with any kind of substantial big league experience: Derek Law. Clearly, Mike Rizzo still had plenty of work to do before the start of spring training.

The process remains slow, but the Nats have managed to add three experienced relievers over the last month. They signed right-hander Jorge López to a $3 million deal on Jan. 11. They signed left-hander Colin Poche to a minor league deal on Feb. 7. And then on Wednesday they signed right-hander Lucas Sims to a $3 million deal.

At long last, a bullpen that was woefully short on proven arms now has four veterans to take some pressure off the organization’s young relievers.

“These guys have done it. They understand it. They’ve done it at the major league level,” manager Davey Martinez said. “They can teach our younger guys what it takes to go out there and compete, to be put in these high-leverage situations. Talk to them about controlling your heartbeat, always being ready, what their routine is like in every situation. I’m excited about the guys we brought in, the veteran guys, because they’re willing to do that.”

All three newly signed veterans have said the right things about their individual responsibilities and their desire to mentor younger teammates who haven’t been through the meat grinder before.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Before his team took the field for the first official full-squad workout of the spring, Davey Martinez gathered everyone together this morning for his first “Circle of Trust” meeting of the spring.

No, there weren’t any camels. Nor any other live animals. Yet. (There’s still five weeks of camp to go, of course.)

There was, however, a message from the manager that didn’t resemble any of the previous seven camp-opening messages he has delivered during his time here. Martinez’s first four teams were veteran-laden squads that expected to win big. His last three teams were firmly in the rebuilding category, with long-term development taking precedence over short-term success.

The tone this year, Martinez believes, should be different.

“I hear a lot about how our core guys are going to be really good, and they’re coming. I don’t really want to hear that anymore,” he said. “I told them today: ‘We’re here. This is the core. These are the guys we anticipated would be here. You guys are here. You got your feet wet. It’s time to go out there and perform every day, go 1-0 every day.’

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.”

The days leading up to and through pitchers and catchers reporting to West Palm Beach next week are likely to include more additions to the Nationals roster via minor league signings with big league camp invites.

That trend started this morning when the Nats announced they have agreed to terms with left-handed reliever Colin Poche on a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.

Poche, 31, has spent his entire four-year major league career in Tampa Bay, going 22-12 with a 3.63 ERA, 1.099 WHIP, 12 saves, 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.95 strikeouts per walk in 225 relief appearances. After making his debut in 2019, he missed all of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the 2021 campaign while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery (his first coming after his sophomore season at the University of Arkansas in 2014).

The Rays non-tendered the southpaw in November after he had a 3.86 ERA and 1.152 WHIP in 37 ⅓ innings over 43 appearances in 2024.

Part of his struggles last season came from his inability to get out left-handed hitters. Lefties hit .260 with an .811 OPS off Poche while he held righties to a .193 average and .592 OPS. That was a stark contrast from his career splits, in which he’s held lefties to a .197 average and .679 OPS while righties have hit .202 with a .630 OPS off him.

With less than 24 hours now until Friday's 5 p.m. deadline to sign 2012 draft picks, the Orioles remain optimistic that they will come to terms with their top pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman. The Orioles and Gausman's representatives at Legacy Sports have had ongoing talks throughout today, and it appears that they have closed the gap somewhat in terms of a signing bonus. The pool allotment for the draft's fourth pick is $4.2 million, and an industry source said he believed Gausman's reps...

The Orioles have until Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time to sign their top draft pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman. An Orioles source tells MASNsports.com that the club made a new offer yesterday and that the Orioles "still feel pretty confident" that they will get this deal done. The club source would not reveal any details of the new offer, but the slot amount listed for the fourth pick in the draft is $4.2 million. "The ball is in their court," the source said. Gausman is the...

In the fifth round of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected a left-handed pitcher from a Texas high school. They selected Colin Poche with the 162nd overall pick. Poche is a 6-foot-3, 190-lb. hurler from Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. He has a college commitment to the University of Arkansas. He was rated as the 99th-best prospect in the state of Texas by Baseball America. He becomes the second high school player and third pitcher the Orioles have taken in this...