Washington Nationals Announce Minor League Signings; Spring Training Invites; Pitcher/Catcher Report Dates

Still no official word from the Washington Nationals on the reported 2-year/$28M dollar deal with closer Rafael Soriano, but the Nats did make a few other announcements in a press release this afternoon. Though some of the signings have been previously reported, the Nationals officially announced that they have agreed to terms with left-handers Fernando Abad, Bill Bray and Brandon Mann, right-hander Ross Ohlendorf and infielder Will Rhymes, all of whom received minor league deals with invitations to Major League Spring Training.

Brandon Mann, the lesser-known name among them, is a Tampa Bay Rays' '02 27th Round pick who last pitched in the LA Dodgers' system in 2010 before leaving for Japan, where he spent two seasons with the Yokohama Bay Stars for whom he, "... went 3-9 with one hold and a 4.27 ERA in 28 games/17 starts the last two seasons (2011-12)," according to the Nationals' press release.

In addition to the news on the players who got minor league deals with invites, the Nationals also announced that they had extended invitations to Spring Training to left-hander Pat McCoy, right-hander Tanner Roark, catcher Carlos Maldonado, "first baseman/third baseman" (as he's described by the Nats) Matt Skole and infielder Zach Walters. The third bit of information in today's press release was the dates at which the previously mentioned players and all of the other Nationals' pitchers and catchers will report to Spring Training:

"Pitchers and catchers are slated report to the Nationals' Spring Training facility in Viera, Fla., by Tuesday, Feb. 12. Washington's position players will report by Feb. 15, and the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 17."

' In Other News: In an MLBPA press release this afternoon, the MLB Players Association announced that the following Nationals had officially filed for arbitration today: RHPs Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Craig Stammen and Jordan Zimmermann; IF Ian Desmond and OF Roger Bernadina. The seven arbitration-eligible Nats are seven of 133 players that officially filed for arbitration today.