--CF Lastings Milledge was named the Nationals' leadoff hitter, getting the role for the first time after bouncing around Washington's lineup most of last season. Manager Manny Acta had planned for Milledge to hit in one of the top two spots, but he felt Milledge's patience at the plate made him a better choice than SS Cristian Guzman.
--C Josh Bard signed a minor league deal with the Nationals, giving the team another veteran catcher to compete with Wil Nieves for the backup job. Bard, who had been cut by the Red Sox this spring, is a switch hitter with a better offensive track record than Nieves. --2B Anderson Hernandez strained his left hamstring running out a groundball during the March 25 game against the Braves. The injury is a possible blow to the 26-year-old, who has established himself as the front-runner for the Nationals' second base job.
--LHP Wil Ledezma appears to be in the mix for the Nationals' left-handed specialist job out of the bullpen. The former Tigers reliever is competing with Mike Hinckley for the role. Manager Manny Acta said that Ledezma's strong work this spring (1.86 ERA through March 27), as well as his effectiveness against right-handers, has made him an intriguing option.
--RHP Collin Balester, seen as a diminishing candidate to make the rotation, bolstered his chances with possibly his best outing of the spring on March 25 against Atlanta. He went five innings and allowed just two runs, both of them coming on a Chipper Jones home run. Balester had been struggling for much of the spring, possibly losing ground to RHPs Jordan Zimmermann and Shairon Martis in the fight for the Nationals' last two rotation spots.
BY THE NUMBERS: 9 -- Combined years of major league service time the Nationals are likely to have in their rotation at the beginning of the year.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's not the ideal scenario. But ... we're not going to make a bad baseball trade just to alleviate one of the outfielders. So we're going to do what's best for the club short-term and long-term." -- Acting GM Mike Rizzo, on how he'll handle the glut of outfielders Washington has on its roster.
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