Washington Nationals: News and Links 2/20

Sep 17, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder

(34) scores the first run of the game against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:

Brad Mills

-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time since pitchers and catchers arrived to spring training, the Nationals had a relatively quiet day. Being the last day before full squad workouts officially begin, the Nationals’ agenda consisted mostly of players taking their physicals (which they all passed, by the way).

With players inside for most of the day, and no bullpen sessions to look over, it’s hard to imagine how the ever-intense manager Matt Williams managed to survive the day.

While Wednesday wasn’t a huge news day for the Nationals, the day still had its fair share of interesting developments. For one, outfielder Bryce Harper gave a very positive update on his health, as we wrote yesterday. We also found out from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that newly acquired backstop Jose Lobaton already knew a lot about Stephen Strasburg from a video game. Yeah, you read that right.

Other than that, perhaps the most exciting part of Wednesday was Bryce Harper taking batting practice for the first time:

Today, the Nationals will take the next step on their journey to opening day with their first official full-squad workout. Stay tuned to District On Deck, as we’ll have a summary of the first workout later today, and we’ll make sure to keep you up to date on everything you need to know about the Nationals’ spring training!

So while you’re waiting for Twitter to explode with posts and pictures from Viera, check out some links from our fellow Washington Nationals writers/bloggers:

•  MASN’s Dan Kolko treated us with another fantastic photo gallery from Day five of camp. Check it out here.

• Patrick Reddington from Federal Baseball writes about Matt Williams‘s plans for Nate McClouth and the other outfielders. Read his post here.

• Justin Howard from Red Porch Report gives his take on the five worst contracts the Nationals have right now. Read his post here.

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