STARTERS (5) 1. Livan Hernandez 2. Jordan Zimmermann 3. John Lannan 4. Jason Marquis 5. Tom Gorzelanny BULLPEN (7) 1. Drew Storen 2. Sean Burnett 3. Tyler Clippard 4. Todd Coffey 5. Henry Rodriguez 6. Doug Slaten 7. Collin Balester OUTFIELD (5) 1. Jayson Werth 2. Nyjer Morgan 3. Roger Bernadina 4. Michael Morse 5. Rick Ankiel INFIELD (6) 1. Ryan Zimmerman 2. Ian Desmond 3. Danny Espinosa 4. Adam LaRoche 5. Jerry Hairston 6. Alex Cora CATCHERS (2) 1. Ivan Rodriguez 2. Wilson Ramos By Adam Kilgore By now, Nationals players have begun preparing for spring training. Pitchers are starting to throw bullpen sessions on their own. A few hitters, including Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond, have spent time with Rick Eckstein taking batting practice in Florida. In about two weeks, players will begin trickling into Viera, Fla. The Nationals may not be done adding to their roster, and spring training will sort out questions and surely offer surprises. But with the start in sight, it seems like a good time to exercise some educated speculation and take a guess at what the Nationals' opening day roster will look like. STARTERS (5) The trade for Tom Gorzelanny seemed to establish the back end of the Nationals' rotation. Yunesky Maya, Ross Detwiler, Chien-Ming Wang and others will certainly receive starts during the season, the rotation for now is relatively easy to guess. BULLPEN (7) The addition of Todd Coffey pretty much ensures the first six slots in the bullpen. The seventh spot is tricky. Collin Balester showed late last season he's deserving of a closer look in the bullpen when he allowed two earned runs in his last 16 1/3 innings, striking out 24 batters over that span. Balester, though, could be squeezed out for a couple reasons. One, he's got an option left. Two, with their rotation lacking marquee names, it figures the Nationals, like last year, will need a lot of innings from their bullpen. There is no obvious candidate as a long reliever -- they could use Chad Gaudin in that role or give it to one of the pitchers competing for a starting role, like Luis Atilano, Craig Stammen or Maya. For now, I'm going to bet the Nationals start the year with the Balester and, in the event that they need more innings from the bullpen, they'll use his option and switch to a reliever who is more stretched out. OUTFIELD (5) Left field will be one of the more intriguing positions to watch this spring. Roger Bernadina, Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel will all compete for time, with Ankiel and Bernadina perhaps giving Nyjer Morgan some competition in center. But, while, the Nationals gave us a surprise when they released Elijah Dukes last year, they at least appear settled in their outfield. INFIELD (6) The Nationals are mostly set here, but they've got to figure out what to do with their final utility infield position. The obvious answer is Alberto Gonzalez, a stellar defender at three positions. Gonzalez, though, has shown signs he's not satisfied with a backup role, and the Nationals want bench player who accept their role. With Alex Cora signed to a minor league contract, the Nationals could look to trade Gonzalez. CATCHERS (2) In spring training, Jesus Flores and Wilson Ramos will compete to catch alongside Ivan Rodriguez. By midseason, the Nationals could be best served to part ways with Rodriguez and let Ramos and Flores develop at the major league level. That would also allow Rodriguez to try to find a situation where he could receive enough playing time to pursue his goal of becoming the first catcher to record 3,000 hits. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2011/01/ a_nationals_opening_day_roster.html http://is.gd/Ojzq7w --

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