This offseason, the Washington Nationals turned a nice roster into a World Series favorite with a handful of key acquisitions, but that’s not such good news for some borderline big leaguers, who will now have to fight tooth and nail in spring training just to avoid cuts or demotions.
From one through 24, Washington’s Opening Day 25-man roster looks set in stone, save for a setback in Jayson Werth’s recovery from shoulder surgery that would open up another spot.
Because of this lack of parity, the best chance anyone on this list has of earning an Opening Day spot is about 50/50. Those percentages go to Tyler Moore and Mike Carp as they duke it out for that last seat on the bench.
But the severity of the consequences of not earning a coveted big-league roster spot also vary among these four Nationals.
If Moore doesn’t make the major league squad, he could end up on a different team. If Dan Uggla fails to crack the roster, he could end up looking for a different profession.
The beginning of spring training is somewhat of a social event for most players—relaxed, informal—but for these four players, camp will be a grind from start to finish while they look to stay relevant in the eyes of their coaches.