LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Bryce Harper made his return to the Washington Nationals’ lineup Wednesday night, but it was in a new place: center field. The outfielder, who missed the past six games with a tight left calf, played just 20 of his 109 minor league games last year in center.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson said he’d planned all along to play Harper in center at some point this spring. With Rick Ankiel still dealing with a left hamstring strain, Johnson felt the time was right. When third base coach Bo Porter ran the idea of playing center by Harper, the player’s reaction was enthusiastic.

“As far as I’m concerned, anybody who can throw and run like he can should have experience in all the outfield positions,” Johnson said.

The Nationals have had a well-documented search for a long-term solution in center field, but Harper has never really been considered that answer. Talk of him joining the Nationals‘ major league team this season focused on Jayson Werth shifting to center and Harper slotting into right.

Johnson feels that’s partly because of a lack of experience elsewhere. Harper played 51 games in right field last season and 37 in left.

“Just because he’s got a big, strong arm, that doesn’t mean I have to just play him in right field,” Johnson said. “Who knows what the configuration is going to be tomorrow, much less Opening Day or next season? I’m giving him an opportunity to go express some talent and see how far along he is.”

Harper’s quest to make the roster out of spring training may have been derailed a bit by the time missed with the injury, but Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he doesn’t believe it will affect the team’s decision-making process.

“It’s kind of set him back a little bit as far as getting his at-bats,” Rizzo said. “But we feel he has enough time to get back in the swing of things.”

The Nationals have been pleased with Harper’s progress this spring. He’s 5-for-11 with a walk and two strikeouts in four games. He’s shown great speed on the base paths, along with some inexperience. He’s also shown improvements in the outfield.

As for whether a decision has been made on Harper for the Nationals‘ Opening Day roster, Rizzo points to the remaining 19 games on the Nationals‘ spring schedule. There’s still time.

Nats not shopping Lannan

Rizzo has gotten several calls on left-hander John Lannan, but he said Wednesday he hasn’t been peddling the 27-year-old. The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are among teams rumored to be monitoring Lannan this spring.

“I am not actively shopping him,” Rizzo said. “I haven’t actively shopped him all winter.”

If things remain as is with the Nationals‘ pitching staff, Lannan may be the odd man out in a roster crunch as the season nears. Chien-Ming Wang, who has performed well this spring, appears to be the leader for the fifth starter spot.

Lannan, who finished 2011 with a 3.70 ERA in 184 2/3 innings, is under team control through 2014 and has a minor league option remaining on his contract, though he will make $5 million this season.

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VIERA, Fla. – Shelby Miller isn’t likely to break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals this spring. The 21-year-old pitching prospect gave a good indication, though, that he’s not that far away from being able to make an impact in the big leagues.

Overcoming the early jitters of his first spring training start, Miller allowed one run on two hits in two innings against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday in a game stopped after nine innings with the score tied at 3.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was particularly impressed with the way Miller was able to mix up his pitches, instead of simply relying on an overpowering fastball.

“He’s just got good stuff,” Matheny said. “He’s starting to use his off-speed pitches a little better. He’s getting a feel of when to use them when he’s behind in the count. He’s maturing every time he gets out there.”

Jordan Zimmermann threw three scoreless innings in his spring training debut for the Nationals. He struck out three and gave up three hits.

Zimmermann has said he hopes to throw at least 200 innings this season after the club limited him to 161 1-3 in 2011 when he was a year removed from Tommy John surgery.

“I just wanted to locate the fastball,” Zimmermann said. “I had kind of a rough time today. I was all over the zone with it. But when I needed to make a pitch, I was able to make a pitch. That’s the main thing, locate the fastball and mix in a few off-speed (pitches) for the first time.”

Cardinals reliever Lance Lynn gave up a tying, two-run homer to Carlos Maldonado in the ninth.

Daniel Descalso homered for St. Louis.

Ian Desmond led off the game for Washington with a double and later scored on a single by Jason Michaels.

That first inning also produced a scare for St. Louis when Miller collided with Descalso, who was chasing a wind-blown popup from third base.

Miller said he felt pain in his calf, but insisted he would be all right. He retired the Nationals in order in the next inning.

Miller has been picked the Cardinals’ minor league pitcher of the year the past two seasons. While he is likely to start this season in Triple-A, he isn’t hiding the fact he’d like to make the jump to the big leagues at some point soon.

“I definitely feel closer than I have the past two years, just because I’ve thrown in the high minor leagues and succeeded,” he said. “I had a really good year last year and hopefully will get an opportunity to pitch in St. Louis this year.”

Being able to rely on more than just his fastball is not only something he learned facing Double-A hitters last season, it also could be the key to ramping up that big league timetable.

“It’s something that needs to be done for me to get to St. Louis, because it’s something that’s going to help me in the long run,” Miller said. “I’ve always loved throwing fastballs more in the past, but now I’m getting to love to throw my changeup and curveball more because it’s fun to watch the pitch move, and it’s fun to make the hitters look a little silly sometimes, if you can.”

NOTES: Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche had hoped to make his spring training debut Wednesday, but now it looks like Saturday at the earliest as he continues to work his way back from a slightly sprained left ankle. LaRoche played in a minor league game Wednesday, which gave him a chance to see some live pitching. … Jayson Werth’s strained forearm is not a concern and he is in the Nationals’ lineup for Thursday. … Matheny said reliever Fernando Salas would pitch Thursday against Boston. … Cardinals OF Adron Chambers’ pants were noticeably tighter Wednesday after former St. Louis star Willie McGee told the speedster the baggy pants he had on made him look less aerodynamic. “Willie told him that early in the day, and by the end of the day, he’s already got leotards on,” Matheny said. “That’s respect.”

VIERA, Fla. (AP)—Shelby Miller isn’t likely to break camp with the St.
Louis Cardinals this spring. The 21-year-old pitching prospect gave a good
indication, though, that he’s not that far away from being able to make an
impact in the big leagues.

Overcoming the early jitters of his first spring training start, Miller
allowed one run on two hits in two innings against the Washington Nationals on
Wednesday in a game stopped after nine innings with the score tied at 3.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was particularly impressed with the way
Miller was able to mix up his pitches, instead of simply relying on an
overpowering fastball.

“He’s just got good stuff,” Matheny said. “He’s starting to use his
off-speed pitches a little better. He’s getting a feel of when to use them when
he’s behind in the count. He’s maturing every time he gets out there.”

Jordan Zimmermann threw three scoreless innings in his spring training debut
for the Nationals. He struck out three and gave up three hits.

Zimmermann has said he hopes to throw at least 200 innings this season after
the club limited him to 161 1-3 in 2011 when he was a year removed from Tommy
John surgery.

“I just wanted to locate the fastball,” Zimmermann said. “I had kind of a
rough time today. I was all over the zone with it. But when I needed to make a
pitch, I was able to make a pitch. That’s the main thing, locate the fastball
and mix in a few off-speed (pitches) for the first time.”

Cardinals reliever Lance Lynn gave up a tying, two-run homer to Carlos
Maldonado in the ninth.

Daniel Descalso homered for St. Louis.

Ian Desmond led off the game for Washington with a double and later scored
on a single by Jason Michaels.

That first inning also produced a scare for St. Louis when Miller collided
with Descalso, who was chasing a wind-blown popup from third base.

Miller said he felt pain in his calf, but insisted he would be all right. He
retired the Nationals in order in the next inning.

Miller has been picked the Cardinals’ minor league pitcher of the year the
past two seasons. While he is likely to start this season in Triple-A, he isn’t
hiding the fact he’d like to make the jump to the big leagues at some point
soon.

“I definitely feel closer than I have the past two years, just because I’ve
thrown in the high minor leagues and succeeded,” he said. “I had a really good
year last year and hopefully will get an opportunity to pitch in St. Louis this
year.”

Being able to rely on more than just his fastball is not only something he
learned facing Double-A hitters last season, it also could be the key to ramping
up that big league timetable.

“It’s something that needs to be done for me to get to St. Louis, because
it’s something that’s going to help me in the long run,” Miller said. “I’ve
always loved throwing fastballs more in the past, but now I’m getting to love to
throw my changeup and curveball more because it’s fun to watch the pitch move,
and it’s fun to make the hitters look a little silly sometimes, if you can.”

NOTES: Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche had hoped to make his spring training debut
Wednesday, but now it looks like Saturday at the earliest as he continues to
work his way back from a slightly sprained left ankle. LaRoche played in a minor
league game Wednesday, which gave him a chance to see some live pitching. …
Jayson Werth’s strained forearm is not a concern and he is in the Nationals’
lineup for Thursday. … Matheny said reliever Fernando Salas would pitch
Thursday against Boston. … Cardinals OF Adron Chambers’ pants were noticeably
tighter Wednesday after former St. Louis star Willie McGee told the speedster
the baggy pants he had on made him look less aerodynamic. “Willie told him that
early in the day, and by the end of the day, he’s already got leotards on,”
Matheny said. “That’s respect.”

In his first Nationals start, Jackson walked two batters and allowed one hit, addled by overexcitement and his effort to alter mechanics. Hernandez twirled a looping, first-pitch curveball to Nationals phenom Bryce Harper, who was 5 years old when Hernandez won the 1997 World Series MVP.

A few pitches later, Harper laced a grounder to right for his first hit.

Both Jackson and Hernandez threw two scoreless innings in their first spring tune-ups, both oblivious to what their meeting represented.

At the end of last year, Hernandez met with Nationals Manager Davey Johnson. Hernandez listened as Johnson told him the Nationals would like to bring him back, perhaps as part-time reliever and a full-time mentor. Inside, though, Hernandez knew his tenure in Washington, which included the first pitch after baseball returned, had ended.

The Nationals once relied on Hernandez’s rubbery right arm for consistent innings. They have higher aims now, having traded competence for what they hope will be contention. They traded for Gio Gonzalez, welcomed back Stephen Strasburg, signed Jackson for $11 million and let Hernandez know his best opportunity would come elsewhere.

“I prepared for that,” Hernandez, 37, said. “I go home and told my girlfriend: ‘I don’t think I have a chance to come back to Washington next year.’ But I know that. Everybody, a couple people said: ‘I want you back.’ But inside, I say, ‘Yeah, right. It’s not gonna happen.’ ”

Having navigated the business of major league baseball for almost two decades, Hernandez harbored no ill feelings toward the Nationals. “We’re good,” Hernandez said. “I’m good with Johnson, and Mike Rizzo is a great guy.”

Hernandez said he would still like to work for the Nationals after his career. When that will come, he’s not sure.

“Let’s see if I can go for three more [years], maybe more, I don’t know,” Hernandez said. “I want to be the Jamie Moyer of right-handers.”

Saturday, as chance would have it, he faced his old team in the spring’s first game. “No matter what happens on the field,” Hernandez said, “we’re still friends.”

Michael Morse had sent Hernandez a text message Friday night that read, “I’m coming! You better be ready!”

The Nationals did not send Morse on the road trip, but Jackson, one of the pitchers who made Hernandez expendable, drew the start. Jackson had chosen the Nationals’ one-year, $11 million offer in February, in part, because he believed they could help him correct a mechanical flaw and hide the ball from hitters better in his delivery.

Jackson, who ended his 2011 season by walking seven batters in a World Series game, began his Nationals’ tenure by walking Houston leadoff hitter J.B. Shuck on five pitches. Jackson needed to work on the timing of certain parts of his new delivery — when to take the ball out of his glove, when to swing his arm up. He also faced the jitters that come with any first start. “It’s just getting timing down,” Jackson said.

Jackson walked a batter in the second inning, and overall he threw 12 strikes in 28 pitches. From the wind-up, the motion he wants to change, Jackson faced three batters and walked two.

Pitching coach Steve McCatty has tried to limit Jackson’s focus on his mechanics. He fears Jackson could become bogged down by the change as he prepares for the season, losing his natural ability.

“When I talk to him, we don’t talk mechanics,” McCatty said.

McCatty and Jackson will keep working together, and Hernandez will find his way with the Astros, the team with the worst record in the majors last year. His old team will move on and up without him. For one day, the Nationals and Hernandez crossed paths again.

“It was really weird,” Johnson said. “I love the guy for a lot of reasons, just because he’s an athlete and a heck of a pitcher. He’s been a great influence on this ball club. Toward the end of the season, he sacrificed his starts for some of these young guys. He’s just a special person.”

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The Washington Nationals locked up All-Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman through 2019 on Sunday by signing him to a $100 million six-year extension. The deal makes him the second highest paid player at baseball’s hot corner, just behind the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez.

“[Zimmerman] has been the face of the Washington Nationals since baseball was returned to Washington,” said team owner Theodore Lerner in a statement. “We are absolutely thrilled that Ryan will continue to help us build our team in a winning direction.”

But will he, Theodore? Zimmerman’s signing, coupled with $112 million due to outfielder Jayson Werth through 2017, finally proves the Nationals are willing to spend in the tough National League East, a division which includes perennial contenders Atlanta and Philadelphia. It also shows how the team is seeking to stop the revolving door of free agents that has plagued them (Dmitri Young, anyone?) since moving to the nation’s capital. Good. Great even. But what it doesn’t show is how the team is preparing to compete in the future.

The Nationals boast two No. 1 overall prospects in pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper, both significant stadium draws who will see limited playing time again this season. Washington only has $3.5 million tied up between the two in 2012, but when arbitration and eventual free agency comes down the line it’s not certain whether Washington will now be able to afford both if and when the pair makes the leap. Washington also has the 2011 sixth overall pick, third baseman Anthony Rendon, who they’ll eventually have to play out of position or move while eating a significant portion of his $7.2 million deal.

There’s no doubt Zimmerman, 27, is a talent. A Gold Glover as one of the league’s best third baseman, Zimm hits .288 for his career with 214 doubles and 498 RBI. But with $26 million still due before his extension kicks in starting in 2014, he’s also on the top-10^{list of players who are owed the most money by their franchises (Angels first baseman Albert Pujols leads with $240 million owed). An option in 2020 could see Zimmerman’s figure jump to $150 million before all is said and done.}

That’s quite a bit of cash considering his list of injuries, including abdominal surgery last season, and the fact that he’s only eclipsed .300 once in his seven-year career. Zimmerman also controls his own fate as he now holds a no-trade clause, part of his new deal. Significant ties to the Washington area will likely keep him in town regardless of how badly the team wishes to move him should something happen.

The District is a transient city where fans come to Nationals Park to root for their distant home teams rather than Washington. This doesn’t help attendance; the team ranked twentieth last season, filled less than 60 percent of the stadium on average, and drew fewer than two million fans. Zimmerman and Werth bring consistency to the lineup and leadership of the struggling Nats, and they’ll likely add a few wins this season. But don’t expect the playoffs, much less miracles. Washington is yet to record a winning season since leaving Montreal and lost the division by 21.5 games last season. Paying top dollar for more of the same isn’t going to change that.

VIERA, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper arrived at spring training with the same goal he had last season: to make the Washington Nationals’ opening-day roster.

This year the 19-year-old outfielder knows manager Davey Johnson is going to give him a chance.

“It’s huge to have a manager on your side,” Harper said Monday. “I’m really excited to come in here and play. I’m going to come in here, work as hard as I can, keep my mouth shut and play.”

Johnson said he told Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo to “definitely keep an open mind on this young man.” Although the Nationals have since signed some veterans to compete for a job, Johnson said Harper is “still in the mix to have an opportunity.”

That’s all Harper wants — an opportunity. He’ll need to improve on his play in the outfield, his baserunning and his patience at the plate.

“If I can help them out, I can make the decision harder,” he said. “If I can’t, then it’s going to be easy for them.”

The decision on Harper could have a big impact on a number of Nationals this season, especially Jayson Werth, who could be moved from right field to center to make way for the first pick of the 2010 amateur draft.

Harper played in 109 minor league games for the Nationals, before a hamstring injury ended his season with Double-A Harrisburg. He finished with a .297 batting average, 17 homers and 58 RBIs.

Given that he had just 387 at-bats at the minor league level, he will have to convince the Nationals he is ready for major league pitching. Getting sent back to the minors would be disappointing.

“Even last year, it was a disappointment,” he said. “Hopefully, things work out that we don’t have to talk about me going down to the minors.”

Harper seems more comfortable with his surroundings this season. He has gotten to know players such as third baseman Ryan Zimmermann and worked out with second baseman Danny Espinosa all winter.

In his one year as a professional, Harper has learned to try to understand the grind of playing every day. He plans to spend more time in the weight room during the season to keep up his strength.

If there is an area of his game he really wants to improve on, it’s his defense.

“I think I can really get better out there — throwing guys out, and things like that,” he said. “I think I really got a little bit better in Harrisburg at throwing the ball and not trying to amp up and throwing it 10 rows back in the stands. I want to be a Gold Glove out there. I don’t want to just be known as a hitter.”

Notes: Johnson said there are realistically only three positions open on the Nationals roster: fifth starter, utility player and outfield. … Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said he had a phone conversation with Mike Cameron last week in which the veteran outfielder told him he was enjoying watching his son play high school baseball and that he wasn’t mentally or physically ready to play. The 39-year-old is retiring after 17 seasons. “He just didn’t want to come in here and not give 100 percent and embarrass himself and embarrass the team.” … First-round pick Anthony Rendon said he has been told he will play third, shortstop and second for the Nationals during his first professional spring training. He also understands “there’s a really high chance I’m not going to make the team” and is prepared to start the year in the minor leagues.