The Washington Nationals are set to open spring training on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros for a 1:05 PM opening pitch.
The Washington Nationals will officially take the field today to take on both the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros in a split roster opener to spring training.
The team has yet to officially announce rosters, but manager Blake Butera did announce starting pitchers for both games with Shinnosuke Ogasawara set to pitch against the Cardinals along with Jake Eder against the Astros.
For Ogasawara, who spent the first years of his professional career playing in Japan, this marks the official start of year two of his two-year contract where he spent the bulk of 2025 with Triple-A Rochester. He was also called up in July to make his Nationals debut as he posted 30 strikeouts across two starts and 23 appearances but struggled with a 6.98 ERA in his first year in the states.
"When you come over that first time and it's a totally different lifestyle. You don't know anybody. Everything's brand new," Butera said of Ogasawara. "Now that he's a little bit more comfortable and has his feet settled a bit, I think we're hoping to see him go out there and be himself and go compete."
In his lone season in the minors, Ogasawara finished 2-1 across eight starts and 34 innings with a 3.71 ERA and tossing 31 strikeouts to just two home runs allowed.
As for Eder, a former fourth round pick back in the 2020 Draft, this marks his chance to make his dent among the Nationals' arms after arriving midway through the 2025 season in a four player trade. Similar to Ogasawara, Eder also struggled with a 6.40 ERA and a 2-9 record across the minors, including seven runs allowed in five innings with Triple-A Rochester.
"Another one that - I keep using this word, too - he's hungry as well. He knows he has the talent to be a really good pitcher in this league and our pitching group [has] been outstanding with him, just kind of tapping into some, whether it's different pitches or different usage. But in terms of the person, he's a competitor. He knows he has a chance to be really good and now it's just having that confidence to do it."
Saturday marks a chance for Eder to show "confidence on the mound" with a clean slate in front of a new coaching staff.
"Trusting his stuff. That's the big thing. When he attacks hitters and he's ahead in the count, that's the message we're getting across."
Opening pitch for both games is set for 1:05 PM.