March 22, 2013; Viera, FL, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth (28) signs autographs before the spring training game against the Detroit Tigers at Space Coast Stadium. Detroit defeated Washington 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

In 2012, news surfaced that the team was in negotiations to move to Fort Myers. The team has been trying to move from Viera since at least 2010, and with good reason. They are not within 50 miles of any other team, making travel difficult and inconvenient. The team’s ideal scenario would be to be closer to their competition, which would likely mean being on the west coast of Florida as opposed to the east coast where they currently are. The team also hopes to build its own stadium, as opposed to taking over an old one like City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, which the Red Sox recently vacated.

Mar 8, 2013; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) before a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Rendon: Rendon struggled with injuries the past two seasons, but evaluators and Nationals coaches have maintained all along that he could make a big impact if and when he stays on the field. In 34 plate appearances before being sent to minor league camp, he hit .375/.412/.875 and led the team with four home runs, in addition to playing good defense at third base and shortstop. Despite playing only 43 games at AA last season, it now seems likely that Rendon will be called up to the majors when rosters expand in September, and given a shot to show himself in a pennant race, albeit off the bench. As the Nationals top prospect, expectations are high for Rendon, but he may have raised them even higher with his performance this spring.

Fernando Abad: In 2012 with the Astros, the left-handed Abad struggled mightily, with a 5.09 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 46 IP, mainly out of the bullpen. Despite the fact that he is only 26 and has yet to pitch 100 major league innings, the Astros decided to give up on him, and made him a free agent this past offseason. He signed a minor league deal with the Nationals, who are notably in need of lefties, and has impressed in camp. In seven innings, he has a 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9. Coming into camp, he was considered a longshot to make the team, but with fellow lefty Bray’s struggles and Christian Garcia‘s injury, Abad could well make the team, even if only for the beginning of the season.

April 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Bill Bray (45) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Bray: Bray was a first-round draft pick of the Expos in 2004, but was traded to the Reds in the middle of his first MLB season in 2006. He had some success in Cincinnati as a middle reliever, but struggled with injuries. He missed the entire 2009 season and most of 2012 before being allowed to leave by the Reds and joining the Nats on a minor-league deal. As an experienced MLB reliever and a lefty, it seemed likely that Bray would make the team as the second lefty in the pen after Zach Duke. However, he fell short in Spring Training, pitching only two innings with a 9.00 ERA and 3.00 WHIP and falling victim to the headsman’s axe in the first round of spring training cuts. The Nationals sent him to minor league camp to work on his mechanics, and it looks like he won’t make the major league team unless he can dominate the minors and gets a little lucky with how the major league pen shakes out.

Erik Davis: Davis entered the league as a 13th round draft pick in the 2008 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and was acquired by the Nationals in a 2011 trade in exchange for infielder Alberto Gonzalez. He struggled in his first year as a Nat, with a 5.30 ERA between High A and AA, but put it together in 2012 and had a 2.71 ERA between AA and AAA as a middle reliever. During Spring Training, he has taken the next step, with a 1.13 ERA and 0.750 WHIP in eight innings. Davis was sent to minor league camp in the most recent round of cuts, but will spend the season relieving in AAA and could make it to the majors in September, if not sooner with an injury.

March 18, 2013; Viera, FL, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche (25) hits a home run against the Detroit Tigers during the spring training game at Space Coast Stadium. Detroit beat Washington 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

There are so many unknowns in Spring Training that it is hard to take anything from it. So when you see Rafael Soriano getting singled to death and giving up several runs against the Detroit Tigers yesterday, you wonder. Was he working on things? Has he lost something? So far this Spring he has a 11.57 ERA and a .409 OBA. Using Baseball Reference’s OppQual which takes into consideration the average batter he is facing, Soriano is facing somewhere in between an average of AAA and Major League competition as of before his appearance in yesterday’s game. So the fact he’s getting hit isn’t as concerning as if he was facing guys who weren’t even close to the majors.

On a positive note, Jordan Zimmermann had his sinker working and pitched outstanding. He pitched six innings allowing only one hit to lead off the game. After that, he retired 18 straight batters and got 14 ground ball outs. With a Tigers lineup including Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, that’s mighty impressive.

Continuing with the positive, Wilson Ramos went 3/3 and raised his average this Spring to .444. If Ramos is healthy and continues to make strides as he did last year before the injury, he will not only be the starter over Kurt Suzuki but he will provide the Nationals with something they didn’t really have last year – offense from the catching position.

Adam LaRoche, who has only been hitting .143 this Spring provided the only scoring for Washington with a solo homerun off of Max Scherzer. Drew Storen worked around a hit and a walk by striking out the side in his inning of work.