WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Nationals made their latest round of roster cuts after Saturday's 4-1 victory against the Astros, trimming the roster by five additional players.
Catcher Pedro Severino, right-hander Rafael Martin, left-hander Matt Grace and outfielder Brian Goodwin have been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse while infielder Emmanuel Burriss has been reassigned to Minor League camp. Severino is ranked No. 10 among the Nationals' Top 30 Prospects by MLBPipeline.com and Goodwin is ranked No. 26.
The Nats now have 37 players left in camp with eight days to go to Opening Day, but now that they are past Friday's split-squad doubleheader, manager Dusty Baker expects to start making roster decisions during the next few days.
"Now it's getting kind of late," Baker said. "Probably do some today, some tomorrow and more next week."
Worth noting
• Joseph Nathan, 42, was still at Nationals camp Saturday, a day after he could have exercised the opt-out clause in his Minor League contract. That does not mean there is any clarity on Nathan's situation just yet, however, as Friday was just a sort of preliminary date. Nathan has a 72-hour window to opt-out of his contract, and Baker expects a decision sometime before Tuesday.
• Right-hander Trevor Gott has been dealing with some soreness in his right forearm and has not appeared in a Grapefruit League game since March 10. He threw a bullpen session Friday afternoon alongside A.J. Cole, who is dealing with tightness in his triceps, and Baker said both pitchers are doing much better.
Jamal Collier