Add two more young players to the mix for 2008 roster spots: third baseman/first baseman Matt Whitney and outfielder Garrett Guzman. The Nationals selected both players in this morning's Rule 5 draft.

Whitney, 23, has big-time power potential. In a combined 128 games with Cleveland's two Class A affiliates last season, he hit .299 with 32 homers and 113 RBI. That's some serious pop. So why was he available? Because he was still stuck at Class A after missing all of 2003 after breaking his leg while playing basketball and spent the next three years trying to regain his swing. He obviously discovered it again last season, but the Indians figured they'd take a chance leaving him unprotected since he's clearly not major-league ready.

The Nats, though, figure he's worth a shot. If he makes the team, he'll be a right-handed bat off the bench. He's not much in the field, so don't look for him to be starting many games in place of Ryan Zimmerman or Nick Johnson or Dmitri Young. But as Jim Bowden put it, Whitney could easily take a role similar to the one Tony Batista held last year. Not a bad spot to put someone who was once referred to by Indians GM as the organization's best hitting prospect since Manny Ramirez.

Guzman, 24, is a little different case. He also suffered a serious injury when he was in a car accident and broke his neck in 2005. But he came back and hit .312 with 14 homers and 88 RBI for Minnesota's Class AA affiliate last season. He's more major-league ready, and Bowden said he envisions him battling for the fourth or fifth outfielder's spot. As a left-handed hitter, Guzman could fill an important need, because (as has been pointed out this week) the Nats' lineup is very right-handed heavy.

That's all for now, but stay tuned. Sounds like there could be some more news from the Nats this afternoon...