March 16, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder

Thursday morning the Washington Nationals continued trimming their roster in an effort to bring it down to the 25-man group they’ll take to Chicago to open the season next week. Outfielder Jason Michaels and infielder Andres Blanco were both re-assigned to minor league camp while left-hander Atahualpa Severino was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse along with right-hander Ryan Perry.

Michaels had signed a minor league contract with the Nationals and was hoping to make the club in a bench role, but he’s simply been outplayed for much of the Spring (he only batted .220 with one home run in 20 games) and a move had been expected for the past few days. Reports this morning stated that he had been released by the team as he has an out clause in his contract, meaning he is free to try free agency rather than report to Syracuse if he so chooses, but at the time they proved to be a little premature. Michaels did end up exercising his out clause after the team’s 6-3 victory over the Braves, at which point the team did release him.

Blanco is in a similar position to Michaels, having signed a minor league deal over the winter with a similar out clause. He was directly in competition with Steve Lombardozzi for the backup infielder role and needed a big Spring in order to win a spot from the seemingly growing fan favorite. Lombardozzi hasn’t formally been given that job, at least according to Davey Johnson, but it seems pretty certain that he’ll be with the team once the season begins.

Meanwhile, Severino was never really expected to be in competition for a spot in Washington’s bullpen but was likely kept around this long for depth purposes. Considering the team’s bullpen will likely feature three southpaws (Sean Burnett, Tom Gorzelanny, and Ross Detwiler) this seems like the wise move in sending Severino down to the minor leagues. He made his MLB Debut this past season, pitching 4.2 innings over 6 appearances with 7 strikeouts and just one walk.

Perry, acquired in a December trade with Detroit for Collin Balester (who may win the final spot in the Tigers bullpen solely due to the fact that he’s out of options), had a good first Spring with the Nationals, striking out 9 and walking only 2 over 6 appearances. He likely lost a spot in the bullpen due mostly to a numbers crunch, as the team really has more viable options than available spots at the moment. Perry – along with Ryan Mattheus and Craig Stammen, I’m guessing – will solidify the Syracuse bullpen until they are needed in Washington.

5. Filling out the bullpen and the bench. Perhaps adding some Triple-A depth as well.

Collin Balester was traded to Detroit for Ryan Perry. Brad Lidge was signed to replace Todd Coffey and provide a level of veteran leadership this bullpen has not seen in years past. Beyond those two moves and a handful of minor league signings the Nationals elected not to make many significant moves with regards to the bullpen this winter. But they didn’t truly need to make any significant additions.

February 23, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Brad Lidge (54) works out during camp at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE

Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, and Sean Burnett all return to round out the back end of the bullpen and cover the late innings. Lidge adds a veteran presence to the mix with significant late-game experience. The outcome of the starting rotation battle also will likely have an effect on the remaining openings – depending on who’s in the rotation, who’s kept in the bullpen in a long relief role, and how creative the team feels it needs to be in order to avoid losing a player of value.

Beyond that, the remaining spots in the rotation likely will come down to Perry, Tom Gorzelanny, and the out of options Henry Rodriguez. Such competition will likely force Ryan Mattheus to Triple-A Syracuse, along with the aforementioned minor league signings.

There still may be a lack of pitching depth at Triple-A. Brad Meyers could be returned to the organization later this Spring, after being taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Yankees, which does restore one option. The team will have a number of options in the lower levels of the minor leagues, but even with strong seasons it would be unreasonable to expect any of them to even come close to the Major Leagues before September.

As for the bench, the previously mentioned DeRosa does provide some added versatility and veteran presence, presuming he can remain healthy. As does Ankiel, if he’s in a role that has him coming off the bench. It also seems safe that two of the bench spots will be filled with backup catcher Jesus Flores and infielder Steve Lombardozzi, who both are likely to see their fair share of playing time.

The team also brought in Carroll, Paul, Michaels, Jarret Hoffpauir, Chad Tracy, and Andres Blanco on minor league contracts and claimed Carlos Rivero off waivers from the Phillies. Not all of them are guaranteed to remain with the organization if they don’t make the team out of Spring Training, but if they do accept an assignment to Triple-A they’ll give the organization additional depth with some Major League experience.

6. Extending Ryan Zimmerman.

The team and Zimmerman’s representatives have been discussing parameters to a contract extension for the third baseman for nearly a year. Talks have dramatically heated up over the past week, as Zimmerman expressed a desire to have the basics of a deal in place by Saturday as he didn’t want to risk becoming a distraction as the team prepares for the regular season.

As of yesterday morning, a deal reportedly had been reached on a six year, $100 Million extension that will keep Zimmerman in Washington until 2019.

I took a look at what I thought an extension might look like back in January and it would seem my estimate (six years, $92 Million) was pretty close.

February 23, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Atahualpa Severino (59) and catcher Jesus Flores (26) shake hands after a bullpen session at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE

7. What to do with Jesus Flores?

At the time that I included this question on the team’s offseason To Do List, I figured a question remained whether the team would head into the 2012 season with Flores or Derek Norris as the principal backup catcher behind Wilson Ramos. I thought the possibility existed that one could be traded this winter, but admittedly thought it’d be Flores and not Norris.

Flores spent much of the winter playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, further proving his health after a shoulder injury opened the door for Ramos to win the starting job for the Nationals. According to Amanda Comak of The Washington Times, Flores didn’t really see himself in a backup role but he’s embracing the responsibility for the betterment of the team. He seems to know that if he performs on the field, he’ll force his way into earning the playing time – be it in Washington or elsewhere. Of course, before the team would even consider trading him (and there are teams that have expressed an interest, again according to Comak) they’d have to be certain that a suitable backup exists within the organization to take his place. With the inclusion of Norris in the Gonzalez trade, that is no longer an easily answered question.

Blanco has spent part of six seasons in the Majors with the Royals, Cubs, and Rangers. This past season, in Texas, he batted .224/.263/.342 in 82 plate appearances. It is unclear if he received a formal invitation to Spring Training, but it would seem logical for the team to bring him in to see if he can compete for a bench spot.