With pitcher Chien-Ming Wang likely to begin the season on the disabled list, Nationals manager Davey Johnson confirmed speculation by naming John Lannan the fifth starter for the Nationals to start the season. This was corroborated by Mark Zuckerman of Comcast Sports Washington.
"John's my guy," Johnson said. "I like John. And John can pitch. He led our club last year in wins."
Lannan went 10-13 with a 3.70 ERA last season. Despite being the pitcher on staff that has been with the Nationals for the longest time, he appeared to be the odd man out when training camp started. There were even rumors for a possible trade including Lannan. But when Wang strained his hamstring trying to make a play at first base on March 15, Lannan stepped in and earned the final spot in the rotation.
Pitchers Ross Detwiler and Tom Gorzelanny will most likely start the season as relievers. Pitcher Craig Stammen will likely start the season pitching in AAA Syracuse.
We'll have much more on Spring Training here at SB Nation DC in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out SB Nation's Nationals blog, Federal Baseball, for more news and notes. And don't forget to visit Baseball Nation, the MLB hub of SB Nation for information from around the league.