The Nats arrived back in Washington late on Wednesday night as players settled into their 2016 residences. Today, weather permitting, the Nats will face the Minnesota Twins (formerly the 1960 Washington Senators) in an exhibition game at Nats Park and will have another game tomorrow against the Twins.
The Nats have not released their final Opening Day roster, and while we have spent days, weeks and months speculating who would make the roster, we also know that the roster could change on April 13th and then again on May 30th, and rosters these days are never set in stone. In the digital age, you click and type and voila you have the updated roster!
A large group of Washington Nationals players and dignitaries started their morning at the Nats Youth Academy in Southeast Washington DC. Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Ben Revere, Michael Taylor and Blake Treinen all played with the kids on this damp Friday morning. Rendon takes Ian Desmond’s spot as the Nats ‘ambassador’ at the Nats Youth Academy.
Rain nor clouds have gotten the Nats down this past week and a half as these Nats see sunshine on a cloudy day and optimism in this 2016 season. Dusty Baker has brought a new attitude to NatsTown, and the media are starting to pick the Nats to win the NL East. Self-described Mets fan Casey Stern, who anchors the afternoon drive-time on MLB Network Radio on Sirius/XM, has picked the Nats and so has Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports and many others see the Nats in the post-season with the NY Mets.
The games for the Nats begin for real on Monday in Atlanta, and the real marathon will start. It’s a grueling schedule of 162 games played from the beginning of April and finishing up at the beginning of October, and for the lucky few, the postseason begins in October. As the Boys of Summer get going, this should be a fun ride.
Today’s line-up (subject to change) is:
- Ben Revere CF
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Bryce Harper RF
- Ryan Zimmerman 1B
- Daniel Murphy 2B
- Jayson Werth LF
- Wilson Ramos C
- Danny Espinosa SS
- Tanner Roark RHP
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