Relatively unimpressive as an outfielder after being drafted last season, Chris Marrero is set to man first base while he participates in the Nationals' accelerated program.
Marrero was a third baseman in high school, but there was never any chance of him staying there. The hope is that he'll have the bat to play anywhere, so the Nationals might as well move him now.
Cristian Guzman will resume throwing Friday after being shut down the past three days because of mild tendinitis in his right shoulder.
"I feel a lot better," Guzman said. "It's a little bit tight right now. I'm doing exercises today, and tomorrow we're going to throw from 60 feet, about 25 or 30 throws, and we'll see what happens. I'm going to do everything normal tomorrow."
Before winning his arbitration case on Thursday, Chad Cordero said he turned down a two-year offer from the Nationals on the recommendation of the MLBPA.
Not very often a player comes forward and admits there was some pressure from the union. "I don't know why I didn't sign [the two-year deal]," Cordero said. "I wanted to. The Players Association thought I had a good case and they wanted see how it turned out. Even if I lost my arbitration case, I wasn't going to lose. It's still a lot of money. It's still more money than I ever would have thought [I'd make]." Cordero isn't going to be a free agent until after 2009.
John Patterson threw 35 pitches without pain Thursday in his first batting practice session.
"The session went well and it was good to see a hitter again," he said. Patterson isn't expected to have any lingering issues from last year's forearm surgery. However, additional arm problems are a possibility. He's more of a sleeper than a sure thing.
Luis Ayala has reported no problems with his elbow as he comes back from Tommy John surgery.
Ayala has begun throwing his slider in bullpen sessions, but won't pitch on back-to-back days for a while. "It's hard," Ayala said. "I want to go out and do everything, but they tell me I can't."
Jesus Colome reportedly missed Thursday's workout because of an abscess on his right buttocks.
Colome, who is on a minor league deal, is hoping to return to action over the weekend.
Nationals manager Manny Acta said that Alex Escobar will only be used as a designated hitter until March 15.
Escobar has been throwing to test the shoulder he separated last August. Still, his status for Opening Day is in some doubt.
After throwing a baseball Friday for the first time this spring, Cristian Guzman said his right shoulder felt a little tight.
Probably to be expected. Guzman took ground balls and threw softly about 50 times today. He hopes to be ready for the beginning of the exhibition schedule.