Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, March 20.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. Let’s talk about these prospects!

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Projecting the Opening Day roster

We are getting closer and closer to Opening Day, so I think it’s about time we project who will make the roster. In the rotation, Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Patrick Corbin, Jake Irvin, and Trevor Williams are locked to return to their roles from last season. Zach Davies is a sleeper to make the roster, as he has had a strong spring, striking out over 27 percent of the batters he faced over 10.1 innings.

In the bullpen, things get a bit trickier. With the injuries of Mason Thompson and Jose A. Ferrer, two spots opened up for non-roster invites. Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Tanner Rainey, Jordan Weems, Robert Garcia, and Dylan Floro should all be locked to make the roster, which leaves two bullpen spots. If Davey wants an additional lefty, Richard Bleier makes the most sense. Otherwise, righties Jacob Barnes, Matt Barnes, or Derek Law are all the options for the other spot. Law has seen his stuff have a massive uptick, with a 30.8 percent strikeout rate and 7.7 percent walk rate, a sizable jump from his career 21.2 percent and 10 percent strikeout and walk rate respectively. Matt Barnes has shown that he is healthy and has looked good in a limited sample. If I had to pick, I would roll with Matt Barnes and Law for the final two spots, but I understand the desire in having a great left-versus-left reliever in Bleier.

On the position player side is where things can get fun. There are 13 spots, but ten spots are guaranteed to CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas, Keibert Ruiz, Joey Meneses, Joey Gallo, Nick Senzel, Ildemaro Vargas, Luis García Jr., Victor Robles, and the backup catcher, which is likely to be Riley Adams. That leaves three spots open for the everyday left fielder and two bench spots. Their Rule 5 draft pick, Nasim Nuñez, has been overmatched, hitting .120/.185/.160 so far this spring. Trey Lipscomb has greatly improved his selectivity at the plate, rocking a 11.4 percent walk rate so far this spring. He figures to make the team as a right-handed complement to García. As for the outfielders, I have not hid my preference for James Wood to break camp with the team. He has hit .325/.460/.625 so far in camp with a 24 percent strikeout rate. Left-handed hitters Jesse Winker and Eddie Rosario are the remaining two options, with Winker providing the higher offensive ceiling, but is a worse defender and baserunner. The Nationals have tried Rosario out in center field some as well, which hey, I wouldn’t recommend rolling him out as the everyday center fielder, but more power to them.

Our 40-man Roster Breakdown Continues

We will be breaking down every player on the 40-man roster until Opening Day. You can read the previous editions by clicking the button below.

Click here for the latest off-season headlines, rumors, trades, and more.

ICYMI: Latest articles on the Nats Report

Even though it is the offseason, we have been extremely busy producing great content on the Nats Report. Here are just a couple of the articles that we have published recently that you might have missed:

• Podcast: In the Clubhouse (Spring Training Notes)
• Spring Training Storylines to Watch
• Potential ballpark funding changes
• Can We Get Some Relief?
• Sleepers! Get Your Sleeper Prospects Here!

We are working on a lot of great Nationals-themed content all off-season so make sure that you are following us on all the major social media channels for the latest.

Featured Stories of the Day

Giants sign Snell via MLB Trade Rumors

Unrest in the MLBPA via The Athletic

Frustrated players ask for removal of MLBPA's Bruce Meyer via ESPN

CJ micd up via Twitter/X

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