Nationals add 2 familiar faces to 2026 spring training non-roster invitees list

"The Washington Nationals, similar to every other team across Major League Baseball at this point, are beginning to make some final arrangements as their offseason begins to come down to the final stretch. With pitchers and catchers reporting in less than a week now, the time has come to begin taking a look at who has a chance to make the Opening Day roster. With any luck, and that may not even be enough at this point, the Nationals will somehow ink an actual big league player, but so far that has seemed like a tall task for the new front office led by Paul Toboni."

"At catcher, the ones expected to receive the larger amount of the playing time will be new acquisition Harry Ford and incumbent option Keibert Ruiz, with Drew Millas expected to compete and even push for serious time as well. However, after being designated for assignment last month, the Nationals announced they would be extending a non-roster invite to Riley Adams, who had also been outrighted to AAA Rochester since being DFA'd."

"The other player that had recently been designated for assignment who also received a non-roster invite was righty Andry Lara. He has experience both as a starter and reliever so far in his professional career, although all 9 of his big league appearances have been out of the bullpen. Lara got his first call-up to the majors last year, and did not exactly do a lot to impress in his short time."

The Washington Nationals are finalizing Opening Day roster competition as pitchers and catchers report soon. The Paul Toboni-led front office has not secured notable free-agent additions, and the team is not an especially appealing free-agent destination. The Nationals are creating internal competition across multiple positions, most notably at catcher and in the bullpen. Catcher playing time is expected to be divided among new acquisition Harry Ford, incumbent Keibert Ruiz, and Drew Millas, with Riley Adams receiving a non-roster invite after being designated for assignment and outrighted to AAA Rochester. Right-hander Andry Lara also received a non-roster invite after limited major-league relief appearances.

Read at District on Deck