Mar 2, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) is congratulated by Nationals third base coach Trent Jewett (44) after hitting a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. The Nationals defeated the Cardinals 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The shortstops in today’s game? Yuniesky Betancourt and Anthony Rendon. One of them is the worst defensive shortstop in recent memory. The other one has hardly played the position. I think this is an on-going search to see what Rendon can do around the infield. Shortstop is a weird place for him given that the team already has Ian Desmond, but if Rendon can play every infield position, that raises his value in a bench role if he gets called up and position flexibility is never a bad thing.

The game is televised so it will be interesting to see how Rendon handles the spot. He handled the position in backup duty a few days ago but obviously the start there today means that this is something the Nationals are thinking of short-to-long term.

Chris Marrero and Carlos Rivero also get another shot at trying to get a bench role on the team, or at least be on that emergency call-up list.

Game time is 1:05 and is not available on Washington TV but the game is available on MLB.tv

Washington Nationals (5-3)
Denard Span CF
Steve Lombardozzi 2B
Anthony Rendon SS
Tyler Moore DH
Corey Brown RF
Chris Marrero 1B
Carlos Rivero LF
Matt Skole 3B
Jhonatan Solano C
P: Stephen Strasburg

Philadelphia Phillies (5-5)
Ben Revere CF
Michael Young 3B
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Domonic Brown LF
Laynce Nix DH
John Mayberry RF
Tommy Joseph C
Yuniesky Betancourt SS
P: Roy Halladay

Minnesota Twins center fielder Denard Span (left) and right fielder Ben Revere (11) wait in the dugout during a rain delay. The two former teammates are now rivals in the National League East. [Photo: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports]

The Nationals had two big moves over the meetings with the first being acquiring Denard Span from the Minnesota Twins for pitching prospect Alex Meyer and agreeing to a deal with Dan Haren on a one-year contract. As of today, the physical has yet to be completed so the deal still has some issues to be resolved but if Haren doesn’t pass his physical, it’s probably not the impact move it would appear to be on the surface.

Turns out the physical was passed and the move was made official.

The Nationals still have some things to do, mainly add pitching depth, but were able to at least keep pace if not extend their “on paper” lead in the NL East.

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves signed B.J. Upton just prior to the winter meetings and traded starting pitcher Tommy Hanson to the Los Angeles Angels in return for reliever Jordan Walden. It adds depth to a bullpen that needs solid arms in order to take some of the load off of Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty. Walden does that and allows the Braves to maybe even explore the possibility of selling high on one of their star relievers.

Upton is probably an improvement on Bourn especially since they had been looking for an impact bat from the right side. But for the money and years they are giving him, I think that they are a push with the Nationals and Span if not slightly behind.

Philadelphia Phillies

There aren’t many people that think that Ben Revere was worth what the Phillies gave up, but Revere has the potential to be a solid starter for the Phillies and is definitely better financially than signing a Bourn or Angel Pagan who they were in talks with.

Revere right now seems like a Juan Pierre clone which is fine, but to expect a lot from him isn’t probably the way to go and to to think that they gave up two pitchers as opposed to the one Washington gave up for Span, I don’t think they did themselves any favors with that move.

New York Mets

The Mets made David Wright‘s signing official as well as unveiling a new look. But the big story was what they didn’t do. They didn’t trade R.A Dickey and they didn’t sign him to an extension. With the price being paid for pitchers, they may sign him below actual market value or they can trade him at the height of his value.

The Mets are not set to contend in 2013 but are positioning them nicely to make a Nationals-like run with prospects in a few years.

Miami Marlins

I had initially typed “Florida” instead of Miami. I was in Miami right as the trade with the Blue Jays happened and all the news outlets had outraged fans and I don’t blame them. The new ballpark is really a sight to see as you pass it on the highway and is bigger than a normal baseball stadium from the outside.

The Marlins picked up a couple of players in the Rule 5 draft but I don’t need to tell you that they are planning for the future and got a few solid pieces for their future. They also traded Yunel Escobar, who they received from the Blue Jays to Tampa Bay.

Perhaps the most memorable image of Brad Lidge’s career is Lidge dropping to his knees to embrace battery mate Carlos Ruiz after recording the final out of the 2008 World SEries.Mandatory Credit: Bill Kostroun/Reuters

Lidge spent the 2012 campaign as a member of the Nationals, where he posted an unimpressive 0-1 record with a 9.64 ERA and 2 saves in 9.1 innings pitched. Lidge had originally joined the Nats on a 1-year, $1-million pact during the offseason, and was ultimately released on June 25 due to poor performance.

Lidge was far more impressive in his career as a member of the Astros and Phillies. Originally drafted by Houston in the 17th round of the 1998 draft, Lidge posted All-Star campaigns as a member of both the Astros as well as the Phillies and also finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2003. Lidge cracked the top 10 list in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2004 (8th) and 2008 (4th) and also won a World Series in 2008 as a member of the Phillies, recording the final out to bring the City of Brotherly Love their first World Championship in 28 years.

For his career, Lidge posted a 26-32 record with a 3.54 ERA in 603.1 innings over 603 games. Along with his respectable numbers, Lidge will also be remembered for always carrying himself with class and being an outstanding individual.