WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals continue to believe Victor Robles will miss only a few days after bruising his left knee making a difficult catch Wednesday afternoon, but they were concerned enough to send the center fielder for a follow-up ultrasound today.

Robles wasn’t seen at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches while reporters were in the clubhouse prior to tonight’s exhibition against Israel, but he was walking with a slight limp after the game Wednesday against the Tigers in Lakeland.

“He’s going to be day-to-day,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s going to be checked out. I want to make sure that everything’s OK with him. So he’s going to get an ultrasound today, because we want to be cautious.”

Robles was chasing down Spencer Torkelson’s second-inning drive to deep center field when he crashed into the fence at Joker Marchant Stadium, his left knee striking the wall. He made the catch but immediately fell to the ground in pain. After attempting to get up and walk it off, he went back down to the ground, prompting Martinez and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard to jog out of the visitors’ dugout to tend to him.

Martinez said Robles’ kneecap struck a pipe that sits directly behind that portion of the wall, causing the injury.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Typically, major league regulars wouldn’t make the six-hour round trip from West Palm Beach to Lakeland. But teams have to bring at least a handful of major leaguers to keep the competition level up.

The Nationals only brought three players projected to be in the Opening Day starting lineup: Lane Thomas, Victor Robles and Keibert Ruiz. Part of the reason these guys don’t typically make these trips is to avoid injuries after long bus rides.

Unfortunately, the Nationals couldn’t get out of town without a starter getting banged up. Not as importantly, they lost the game 2-1 loss in front of 4,329 fans.

Victor Robles departed today’s game in the bottom of the second inning after tracking down a deep fly ball from Spencer Torkelson in center field and running into the wall, seemingly where there is no padding. He went down to the ground immediately and tried to get back up, but hobbled around before laying back down.

Manager Davey Martinez and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard went out to check on Robles and attempted to help him off the field before a golf cart came to take him back to the visiting clubhouse at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Managers aren’t always eager for the start of exhibition play. Some would prefer their guys get more time to work on things, more fundamental drills, more opportunities to face pitchers and hitters in controlled environments, before taking the field against another ballclub.

Davey Martinez has felt that way some years. He doesn’t feel that way this year.

“I am ready,” the Nationals manager said. “I’ve been here for a while, so I’m ready to get these games going. I’m looking forward to watching some of the guys, especially the guys I haven’t really seen play live.”

Martinez and Co. won’t have to wait any longer. The Nats open Grapefruit League play this afternoon against the Cardinals in Jupiter. The first of 30 exhibition games before their March 30 opener against the Braves will offer everyone a first glimpse at the 2023 roster, though not everyone who is projected to be in the lineup five weeks from now.

Martinez named four regulars who aren’t scheduled to play today: catcher Keibert Ruiz, first baseman Dominic Smith, third baseman Jeimer Candelario and left fielder Corey Dickerson. All are expected to play in one of Sunday’s split-squad games, either at home against the Astros or on the road against the Mets.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Four hundred eighty games into his major league career, what exactly is Victor Robles?

Is he the dynamic rookie who seized the Nationals’ center field job in 2019, delivered 33 doubles, 17 homers and premier defense to help his team win the World Series? Is he the hitter who has produced a paltry .597 OPS in the three years since? Is he an all-glove, no-bat outfielder destined to bat ninth for the rest of time? Is he an out machine on the bases who can’t avoid killer mistakes?

The Nationals still don’t know for sure. Or, at least, they still believe it’s worth trying to find out for sure. Robles, for his part, agrees the time has come to step up in this, his fifth full season in the majors.

“Absolutely, I think myself and my team know I haven’t given my 100 percent potential that they expected, and that I expect,” he said Wednesday, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I think with the help of God this season, I will have a great season and show them what I can do.”

It’s been roughly the same story for Robles every spring since 2019. He comes to camp hearing the Nationals want him to do more, to play smarter, to be a more well-rounded ballplayer. And he insists he will do all that.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Day two of live batting practice saw nine more pitchers take the mound to face hitters for a simulated inning of work, most notably Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli.

Every pitcher has specific things he’s focusing on during these sessions, but the theme is pretty universal: Keep your mechanics in sync and throw strikes.

For Gray, that ties in with a specific change he made this winter as he attempts to close up his stride, finishing more on a straight line toward the plate instead of to his left, which often caused his fastball to tail back over the heart of the zone. If his first session facing hitters this spring was an indication, all of the pertinent parties were pleased with what they saw.

“It was good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He wasn’t trying to overdo it. He wasn’t trying to step on it. But the ball was coming out the way he wanted it to, and the misses weren’t crazy, which is the big thing we want to do. … The misses were way better than I’ve seen from him before.”

Gray, who had thrown with an open stride his entire pitching life until now, admits it’s not coming fully natural to him yet. But he’s getting there.

For the second straight year, the Nationals and Victor Robles filed for arbitration. And for the second straight year, they ultimately avoided an actual arbitration hearing, agreeing to a salary figure before reaching the courtroom.

The Nats announced today they settled with Robles on a one-year contract for 2023, while also agreeing to a club option for 2024.

The deal establishes a $2.325 million salary for Robles this season, according to the Associated Press, only slightly more than the $2.3 million the team was offering him through arbitration. Robles had been seeking $2.6 million, with a hearing before a three-judge panel set to take place in the coming days. 

This whole process, of course, was quite familiar to both parties. One year ago, Robles and the Nationals filed for arbitration, the player seeking $2.1 million while the team offered $1.6 million. They wound up settling at $1.65 million before going to a hearing.

Robles proceeded to labor through another frustrating season, batting a mere .224 with six homers, 33 RBIs, a .273 on-base percentage and career-worst .584 OPS across 407 plate appearances. He did rediscover his top defensive form in center field, finishing with 12 Defensive Runs Saved while being named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award.

It’s never easy trying to predict how any ballplayer is going to perform in the coming season, but it feels like an especially difficult task trying to guess how the members of the Nationals’ projected lineup will perform in 2023.

Seriously, is there one sure thing in the entire group? One guy you can definitively say will reach certain statistical mileposts? It sure doesn’t look like it.

On the bright side, there’s the possibility for a lot of these players to have big seasons, whether youngsters realizing their potential or experienced hitters finding the form they displayed only a few years ago. On the down side, there’s also the possibility of complete disaster, from flash-in-the-pan candidates to supposedly highly touted youngsters failing to take that critical next step and enjoy success in the majors.

There’s a wide variance of possibilities for the 2023 Nationals lineup. You can see that when running through each player’s potential best-case and worst-case scenario for the coming year …

KEIBERT RUIZ
Best case: Up to 120 games started, with a batting average over .275, an increase in power to get his slugging percentage over .400, one of the highest caught-stealing percentages in the league and his first career All-Star selection.
Worst case: Nagging injuries prevent him from catching 100 games, he makes too much weak contact and bats .250 again with a .360 slugging percentage. Loses his magic touch behind the plate and tries to compensate by throwing too many balls away for costly errors.

Less than one year ago, Victor Robles and the Nationals were unable to come to terms on a salary figure for the 2022 season, so the two sides filed for arbitration. This was after the lockout-delayed spring training had begun, creating a very narrow window for negotiations and for a hearing to be scheduled.

The disparity between the two sides’ official arbitration filings ($500,000) wasn’t nothing. Robles was seeking $2.1 million, while the Nats countered at $1.6 million. He was the team’s only arbitration-eligible player who didn’t sign before the deadline.

But as so often is the case in these matters, they did ultimately agree to a deal before ever setting foot in an arbitration hearing. Twelve days later, just as camp was about to wrap up, Robles and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $1.65 million contract.

That’s right, Robles accepted an amount that was only $50,000 greater than the team’s official arbitration offer.

It was with that prior negotiation in mind that the two sides once again were unable to work out a deal prior to this year’s deadline, which came Friday night. So once again, Robles was the Nationals’ lone arbitration-eligible player who did not come to terms in time and was forced to submit a formal offer to the league.

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).

The last two seasons of Nationals baseball have been defined by one particular type of transaction: the trade.

From July 29, 2021 through Aug. 2, 2022, general manager Mike Rizzo made eight deals with other clubs, sending 11 veterans to contenders in exchange for 19 players (all but one of them prospects).

It’s not hyperbole to say those trades completely changed the complexion of the Nationals franchise. Gone were the likes of Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Josh Bell, Daniel Hudson, Yan Gomes and others. In were a host of potential young building blocks who remade a barren farm system and have begun to take over the major league roster, including Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, Lane Thomas, Mason Thompson and more.

Now, Rizzo is attempting to supplement that new core group of youngsters with a few free agents who could help fill holes in the rotation and lineup. But is the free agent market his only path to address those needs?

Is it even possible for the Nats to make more trades this winter?

When Rawlings announced the finalists for the annual Gold Glove Awards last week, a lot was made about Juan Soto’s inclusion in right field. His advanced metrics showed he was actually one of the worst defensive right fields in all of baseball this year.

Not a lot of attention was given to Victor Robles, however, since his inclusion in center field made more sense. Despite more struggles at the plate this year, the 25-year-old outfielder returned to a high level of defense in center.

But Robles was denied his first Gold Glove in his second time as a finalist for center field in the National League, losing to the Padres’ Trent Grisham last night.

Let’s compare the center fielders.

Robles’ 12 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) led all NL center fielders and ranked behind only the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor and the Guardians’ Myles Straw among all major league center fielders. He also had a 4.8 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), 1.8 arm rating, five outs above average, six runs above average and a 4.1 defensive rating, per FanGraphs. Robles recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists, while also having an NL-high six errors. In 971 ⅔ innings in center field, Robles had 340 putouts with a .983 fielding percentage.

One current Nationals outfielder and one former Nationals outfielder were named Gold Glove Award finalists this afternoon, with Victor Robles and Juan Soto sharing that distinction despite no longer being teammates.

Robles is a finalist among National League center fielders, joining the Padres’ Trent Grisham and Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas. Soto is a finalist among NL right fielders, joining the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Diamondbacks’ Daulton Varsho.

Gold Glove Awards are selected via a combination of analytics and a vote among managers and coaches, all of which are submitted prior to the end of the regular season. The top three finishers at each position in each league are considered finalists, with the winners set to be announced Nov. 1, prior to Game 4 of the World Series.

This is the second time Robles has been named a finalist, coming three years after his breakthrough rookie season in 2019. He stands a good chance of winning this time, given the fact his 12 Defensive Runs Saved led all NL center fielders and ranked behind only the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor (another former teammate) and the Guardians’ Myles Straw among all major leaguers at his position.

Robles also recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists, though he was charged with six errors (also an NL-high).

Davey Martinez knew what he was getting into during the 2022 season, his fifth as manager of the Nationals. In the first full year of the Nats’ rebuild, he wouldn’t have the most talented roster in the major leagues and they wouldn’t win a lot of games. But he at least expected his players to give their best efforts and make fundamental plays every night.

The effort was always there. The same cannot be said about the fundamentals.

It was a roster filled with inexperienced players and journeyman veterans during a season in which development was the focus. Still, it seemed like the Nationals too often had difficulty with even the most basic plays, especially on defense and on the basepaths. Common signs of a rebuilding team.

The Nationals finished the season with a -39 defensive rating and -47 defensive runs saved as a team, both second-worst in the majors per FanGraphs. However, they did fare slightly better in ultimate zone rating, another widely used defensive metric, at -8.8, which ranked 21st in the majors.

So how can the Nats improve defensively in 2023? Aside from the obvious solutions of practicing in spring training, making routine plays, acquiring better defenders to fill out the roster and perhaps even pitching better, they could benefit simply by players playing in their proper positions for the majority of the season.

PLAYER REVIEW: VICTOR ROBLES

Age on opening day 2023: 25

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2013

MLB service time: 4 years, 33 days

2022 salary: $1.65 million

NEW YORK – The Nationals limp into Game 162 of the season with a battered and bruised lineup that won’t include CJ Abrams, Victor Robles or Nelson Cruz.

Abrams and Robles both are sitting after departing games from Tuesday’s doubleheader with injuries. Abrams jammed his left shoulder trying to make a diving catch of a ball at shortstop. Robles felt his right calf tighten up as he ran out a double to deep left field.

Abrams got an MRI this morning, and though he was still waiting for results this afternoon, the rookie said he was feeling better and wasn’t overly concerned about any long-term issue. Robles said his calf still felt a little stiff, so manager Davey Martinez decided not to take a chance with either, even if it means he’s disappointed to write out a depleted lineup card for the final game of the season.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “Plus, some of our younger guys, I wanted to continue to see them play, especially the last game. But unfortunately, that’s sometimes how this game rolls. The good news is that they’re both going to be fine moving forward, and they’ll be ready for spring training.”

Also absent from the lineup again is Cruz, who hasn’t played since Sept. 13 due to a left eye infection that never fully healed to the point the 42-year-old was comfortable facing live pitching for fear of blurry vision.

If this is the way the Nationals are going to play all weekend, they’re probably going to help the Phillies clinch their first postseason berth in 11 years.

With a chance to deal their fading division rivals a serious blow in their attempt to hold off the Brewers for the final wild card berth in the National League, the Nats put forth a lackluster performance during today’s 5-1 loss in the opener of a day-night doubleheader as the first wave of rain from former Hurricane Ian began to reach the region.

The Nationals were shut out for six innings by Phillies starter Bailey Falter, then pushed across only one run against their bullpen, stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. They got another laborious five innings out of Erick Fedde. They also ran themselves into multiple outs on the bases and committed an error in the field to round out a disappointing showing in the opener of a scheduled four-game weekend series.

"We keep battling; we had the tying run up at the plate, and it just didn't happen," manager Davey Martinez said. "But when you give teams extra outs, it's tough. It really is."

Having now lost 14 of 16 to the Phillies this season, the Nats will try to reverse that trend in the scheduled 7:05 p.m. nightcap, though the status of that game is very much in question due to the rain that is expected to wreak havoc through the remainder of the weekend and could potentially force both teams to return to town Thursday to make up any un-played games that could decide the playoff race.

The first question posed to Davey Martinez following Tuesday night’s 8-2 loss to the Braves was about Paolo Espino, who once again cruised through an opposing lineup for three innings before collapsing once he had to face that lineup a second time.

The Nationals manager immediately pivoted to what he believed was the biggest reason for this loss: His team’s poor play in the field.

“I mean, we gave them six extra outs,” Martinez said. “We played two extra innings on defense.”

To be sure, this was the Nats’ worst defensive game in a while. There was only one official error (on a poor throw by shortstop CJ Abrams) but there were several more substandard moments in the field, from a couple of casual (and thus, late) throws by second baseman Cesar Hernandez and third baseman Ildemaro Vargas, plus a misplayed grounder by Espino that helped keep the top of the fourth alive and ultimately set the stage for Atlanta to score two runs.

It was tough to watch at times, but it was a reminder just how much better the Nationals have been in the field for weeks now.

The Nationals have legitimately been getting quality work from a deep stable of relievers for months now, helping keep far more games close than was the case during the season’s first half. And that includes several relievers capable of going multiple innings and posting multiple zeros.

If only they didn’t have to keep asking a couple of those relievers to start games and extend themselves beyond the point where they remain effective.

A lack of reliable (or healthy) starters has left the Nats in this position, needing to keep giving starts to the likes of Paolo Espino and Cory Abbott, who might be good for two or three innings but haven’t been able to sustain that success beyond that point.

It happened again tonight to Espino during an 8-2 loss to the Braves. After retiring the first 10 batters he faced, the right-hander retired only six of the last 11 he faced before, in the process failing to earn his long-coveted first win of the season.

Espino and those who followed him out of the bullpen weren’t helped a ton by their infield defense, which played its sloppiest game in a while.

MIAMI – The notion of Aníbal Sánchez wrapping up the season as the Nationals’ most consistently effective starter would’ve sounded ludicrous two months ago, when the notion of Sánchez still being a member of the Nats rotation seemed far-fetched.

Funny how things play out, though, because as the 2022 campaign winds down there’s really no disputing the fact that the Nationals’ best starter has been a 38-year-old right-hander who sat out the entire 2021 season and then missed 3 1/2 months this season with a neck injury.

Sánchez added another impressive chapter to his out-of-nowhere resurgence this afternoon, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing only two hits to the Marlins during a feel-good, 6-1 victory over the franchise for whom he made his major league debut 16 long years ago.

Thanks to the efforts of Sánchez, four relievers, another Joey Meneses home run and three hits from CJ Abrams, the Nationals left town with one win to salvage the weekend. They end their season series against the Marlins with an abysmal 4-15 record, but today’s win at least ensured they didn’t drop a 16th game to one opponent for the first time in club history.

They also avoided reaching the 100-loss mark for the first time since 2009, though it will take a perfect 10-0 finish now against the Braves, Phillies and Mets to prevent that inevitable event from occurring.