VIERA, Fla. -- With Nick Johnson out for the start of the season because of a broken right leg, Travis Lee will battle Larry Broadway and Dmitri Young for the starting job at first base.
Lee is considered by many to be one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball, so he most likely will have to show that he can hit enough to start. The 31-year-old played for the Devil Rays in 2006, and he hit .224 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs. After a slow start, Lee hit .264 after the All-Star break, but he was given his unconditional release on Sept. 11. He had lost his job to Kevin Witt in early September.

"Last year was tough," Lee said. "I started out slow, and [Ty] Wigginton started playing and I sat for a while. I was trying to get at-bats here and there -- from the All-Star break to September [that] I played every day I felt good. The swing was coming around. I was hitting home runs. I just needed to be consistent, get at-bats and see what I can do."

Lee doesn't consider himself just a first baseman. He can play the outfield. In fact, he has played 56 games in right field, 10 in left and two in center. However, he hasn't played in any of the outfield positions since 2000, when he was with the Phillies.

"I feel comfortable out there -- it's baseball," Lee said. "You see the ball; you try to catch it and make [putouts]."

Possible bench player: Outfielder Michael Restovich is one person who is looking to make the team as a power hitter off the bench.

He is entering his 10th season in professional baseball, and he has spent only one full season in the big leagues, which was in 2005 when he split time with the Pirates and Rockies. He hit .235 with three home runs and eight RBIs that year. The most home runs he has hit in one season was in 2002, when he hit a combined 30 home runs for Triple-A Edmonton and the Twins.

Now, Restovich is hoping that he can show some consistency with the Nationals.

"Not to take anything away from the other guys, but there is a lot of speed and a lot of guys who are a little different," Restovich said. "I think if that's a plus, the power is something that will help me. I have to show that I can do it consistently, and show that I can help them in other ways."

Did you know? During the offseason, reliever Ray King works in a women's and children's clothing store called, "Oh So Couture," which is owned by King and his wife, Cherie.