by Sports Xchange

--C Jesus Flores is on schedule to return from right shoulder surgery by spring training, general manager Mike Rizzo said recently. Rizzo said Flores had arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip in his right elbow, but "that shouldn't set back his progress," he said.

--CF Nyjer Morgan, who energized the Nationals' offense when he arrived from Pittsburgh in a late June trade until he broke his right wrist in August, should be 100 percent for spring training. General manager Mike Rizzo recently said Morgan has begun swinging a bat and added that Morgan's wrist is completely healed.

--LHP Scott Olsen, who had surgery to repair a torn left labrum in July, is throwing off a mound but isn't completely ready to pitch with 100 percent effort. General manager Mike Rizzo said the Nationals will have a tough decision to make by the Dec. 12 non-tender deadline; Olsen, who is in his second year of arbitration, is due to make at least $2.24 million. "Coming of the labrum tear, it's certainly something we have to put into our (thought) process and think about what we're going to do," Rizzo said.

--LHPs Aaron Thompson and Atahualpa Severino and RHP Juan Jaime were added to the Nationals' 40-man roster. Severino and Thompson spent time with Class AA Harrisburg this season, while Jaime played at the short-season and low Class A levels.

BY THE NUMBERS: 17 -- Front-office hires, by his own estimation, that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has made this offseason. While several of the hires are part-time scouts, Rizzo has added veteran baseball people like former Braves scouting director Roy Clark and veteran manager Davey Johnson.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "The first time I saw him, I was still working for the Giants. And I said, 'Well, he's an all right pick. They got a little lucky.' Now that I'm on this side and I've gotten to see him, this kid is special. They don't come along too often. Probably in the 42 years I've been doing this, I've only seen a couple of arms like this kid has. He still has a ways to go. He's got to learn how to pitch, learn how to do some things. And a lot of our staff in the minor leagues will make sure he finds these things. But as far as the talent, this kid is head and shoulders above the rest of the pitchers in the league." -- New Nationals special adviser Ron Schueler, on 2009 No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg, who has excelled in the Arizona Fall League this year.