Halfway through spring, here's the latest from Nats camp

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Nationals are already three weeks into Spring Training -- and 10 games into Grapefruit League action. At the halfway point of camp, let’s look at the latest updates and important next steps that remain ahead.

Starting pitchers
Right-hander Jake Irvin is the first Nationals starter to stretch out to four innings this spring. In his third Grapefruit League outing, Irvin tossed four scoreless frames in the Nats' 6-4 loss to the Cardinals. He improved his camp total to 7 1/3 innings without allowing a run.

“He’s a guy that really learned how he needs to throw strikes, and he’s not afraid to throw strikes,” said Nats manager Dave Martinez. “He’s always around the plate, over the plate. When he does that, he gets swings that he needs to get … I love where he’s at right now.”

Last season, Irvin led the Nationals with 187 2/3 innings. His efficiency in Spring Training is allowing him to stay on the mound.

“[I am] conditioning the arm for the season, getting ready to feel like I’m comfortable to throw in a game,” Irvin said. “Right now, things are going really great.”

‘Pen updates
Closer Kyle Finnegan is building up to game action since re-signing with the Nats last Thursday. Finnegan threw a bullpen session on Tuesday. The next step will be throwing to live hitters, then getting into games.

“Honestly, I don’t feel like he left,” Martinez said of Finnegan, who was non-tendered in November. “But it’s great to have him back.”

In the meantime, southpaw Jose A. Ferrer continues his work for a late-inning role in the back end of the bullpen. Ferrer, who turned 25 on Monday, has pitched three scoreless innings without issuing a walk in three Spring Training appearances.

“He just wants to get outs, and I love that about him,” Martinez said. “He’s not afraid. He’s going to go after you. The big thing is that I know after watching him pitch last year, he’s got some confidence back there. So we’re going to let him go out there, and he will pitch some high-leverage situations.”

First round of roster moves
The Nationals assigned seven players (the majority pitchers) to Minor League camp on Tuesday: right-handers Daison Acosta, Marquis Grissom Jr. (Nationals' No. 24 prospect), Jack Sinclair, Tyler Stuart (No. 15) and Jarlin Susana (No. 3, MLB No. 78), and catchers Caleb Lomavita (No. 9) and Maxwell Romero Jr.

“We had some young guys that threw the ball really, really well,” Martinez said. “Now that we’re trying to get our starters stretched out and see some of these other guys go multiple innings, it’s time for them to get ready for their season as well. But I saw a lot of really good things.

“As I said earlier, for me, this is the first camp where I really feel like we have some depth and our young guys are doing well – and they’re coming. So it was a lot of fun to watch these guys pitch early.”

Outfielder Stone Garrett, who was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Finnegan, cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Rochester.

Lefty on lefty work
The Nationals want their southpaws to get in work against left-handed batters. Since that hasn’t happened as often in games, they ran drills with lefty pitchers facing lefty hitters on Tuesday.

“To get them some left-handed at-bats,” Martinez explained. “They don’t see a whole lot of them during games. Now it’s just repetition, they’re going to see a bunch of lefties against them.”

CJ Abrams, Nathaniel Lowe and José Tena did not participate because they played in the matinee game.