There are competitions for playing time in every Spring Training. For the first time in several years, the Nats do not have to address third base with Brady House returning to the hot corner. Let’s take a look at three roles that stand out for the Nationals to determine in camp.
1. Opening Day starter
The Nationals traded 2025 Opening Day starter MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers on Jan. 22, leaving a question as to who will take the mound on March 26 in Chicago.
Right-hander Josiah Gray, the Nats’ 2024 Opening Day starter, ended last season on a rehab assignment from Tommy John surgery. He has only pitched 5 2/3 innings at the Minor League level since undergoing the procedure in July 2024.
One option to receive Opening Day honors is Cade Cavalli. The righty made his Major League debut in August 2022, but did not return to the mound for three years because of a long recovery from Tommy John surgery. A highlight of his comeback was hurling seven shutout innings against the Phillies in his third start of the season. He went 3-1 with a 4.25 ERA in 10 starts (48 2/3 innings) in 2025.
The returning healthy starter with the most service time in the Majors is right-hander Jake Irvin, who was 9-13 with a 5.70 ERA in 33 starts last season. Irvin was the Nats’ team leader in innings pitched (180), but he also allowed the most runs (120, 114 earned) and homers (38) among all pitchers.
2. First base
This position is perhaps the biggest opportunity for a player to earn the starting role.
The Nationals could explore shifting second baseman Luis García Jr. to first base, where he played two games last season. Andrés Chaparro is returning on the 40-man roster after appearing in 34 games with a .182 batting average last season.
The Nats signed Washington, D.C., native Matt Mervis, who has logged 426 2/3 innings at first base the last three seasons, to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League camp.
From the Nationals’ farm system, Trey Lipscomb and No. 26 prospect Yohandy Morales also will contend for time at first base in big league Spring Training.
3. Catcher
Keibert Ruiz, who is returning from a season limited by concussions, will compete for the starting catcher spot with Harry Ford, who was acquired from the Mariners in December.
Ruiz, 27, is entering the fourth season of an eight-year, $50 million contract signed in Spring Training 2023. He has been the Nationals’ starting catcher since he was acquired from the Dodgers in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner deal in 2021.
Last season, however, Ruiz only appeared in 68 games. He sustained a concussion in late June when a foul ball ricocheted off the wall of the visitors’ dugout at Petco Park and hit him in the head. Ruiz tried to return throughout the rest of the season, but the injury persisted. He has not appeared in a Major League game since July 5 of last year. While the Nationals hope Ruiz will be a full-go for this season, he will have to be assessed during Spring Training.
Ford, 22, is entering his first season in the Nationals’ organization. He made his Major League debut last September with a Seattle team that had little playing time available behind star catcher Cal Raleigh. Ford appeared in eight games before being traded to Washington in exchange for reliever Jose A. Ferrer.
Ranked as the Nats’ No. 2 prospect and MLB’s No. 71 overall, Ford will compete for legitimate playing time – if not the starting role – in camp. He will have to learn the Nationals’ staff while also playing on Team Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic. This season is just the beginning of a potential long tenure with the Nats; Ford does not become a free agent until 2032.