WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals will enter the offseason with three-fifths of their 2019 starting rotation likely in place.Right-hander Joe Ross is looking to fill one of the two remaining spots.Friday night against the Cubs Kyle Hendricks Jersey , Ross will make his first start in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery 14 months ago. Ross made his major league debut against the Cubs in 2015.Article continues below ...“It feels great. It’s been a long time this year. Watching from down in Florida’s kind of tough, but I’m glad to be back and glad to get an opportunity this Friday to get a start again,” Ross said earlier this week. “It’s kind of debut No. 2 against the Cubs. I’m excited.”Ross, 25, was acquired from the Padres in December of 2014 with a player to be named later — Trea Turner — as part of a three-team trade that saw Washington send Steven Souza and Travis Ott to Tampa Bay. Ross was 17-13 with a 3.95 ERA in 48 games from 2015 to July of 2017 before having surgery.Now, after six minor league rehab starts, he returns to face left-hander Jon Lester (15-5, 3.53 ERA).“Just kind of compete. You know, go throw strikes and do what I’ve always done, challenge batters,” Ross said of his expectations for Friday. “The last thing I want to do is get that high pitch count early in the game. So, just be aggressive and try and get outs and trust the defense.”With Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark set to return, Ross will be among the young Nationals pitchers looking to break into the 2018 rotation, but Ross said he is not focusing on proving his worth necessarily over the next few weeks.“Obviously, No. 1 is being healthy http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-mike-montgomery-jersey , so as long as I can finish the rest of this year and feel good and strong then that’s fine with me,” he said. “But inside I want to compete and when I go out and pitch I’m going to try and win the game so it’s not really try and prove my worth to the team in the last 30 days, I just want to go out there and win games.”Lester will start in Washington for the first time since the 2017 NL Division Series. He is 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA in seven career regular-season starts against the Nationals. Lester was 0-0 with a 1.86 ERA in two appearances, including one start, in the 2017 NL Division Series against Washington.Lester hasn’t lost since Aug. 11 when the Nationals pounded him for nine runs (eight earned) in 3 2/3 innings at Wrigley Field. In his last start, Lester gave up eight hits but threw six shutout innings in a win against the Phillies on Sunday. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning and retired six of the final seven batters.“When it gets a little tight, and you’ve got a lead, he makes really good pitches,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told the Chicago Tribune. “He made good pitches when he had to.”In Thursday’s series opener, Chicago’s David Bote did it to the Nationals again, driving in the go-ahead run with a double in the 10th inning off reliever Jimmy Cordero as the Cubs (83-57) won 6-4. On Aug. 12 at Wrigley Field, he delivered a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Cubs a 4-3 win. The Cubs boast the best record in the National League and lead the Central Division by 4 1/2 games.Washington (69-72) has lost three straight to fall three games below .500 for the first time since April 30. Pool/Getty ImagesSplashy free-agent signings make headlines, and this offseason will be no different with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado likely to dominate the rumor mill until they ink a new deal.However, an under-the-radar signing can sometimes be as fruitful as a headline-grabbing addition.No one batted an eye when the Los Angeles Dodgers signed a non-tendered utility infielder by the name of Justin Turner to a minor league contract prior to the 2014 season. Now, he's one of the best hitters in baseball and a key cog for the NL champs.Ahead is a quick look at some of the latest notable rumors surrounding some of the underrated options on this year's free-agent market.Nick Hundley to re-sign with the San Francisco Giants?Lachlan Cunningham/Getty ImagesVeteran catcher Nick Hundley has made quite an impression on the San Francisco Giants in his two seasons with the team."Hundley is one of the most popular players in the clubhouse and some in the organization think he鈥檒l one day be a strong candidate to manage the Giants," wrote Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.That's high praise for a backup catcher Ian Happ Jersey , though Hundley has seen more action than most second-string backstops during his time with the Giants:2017:101 G, 303 PA, .244/.272/.418, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 0.5 WAR2018:96 G, 305 PA, .241/.298/.408, 10 HR, 31 RBI, 0.0 WARBuster Posey underwent hip surgeryat the end of August, and while rookie Aramis Garcia showed some potential in September, it's a stretch to think he's ready for the starting gig with just 19 big league games under his belt.With that in mind, Pavlovic provided this sweeping overview of the team's catching situation:"The Giants hope their franchise catcher is 100 percent by Opening Day, but there are no guarantees, and the safe plan would be to have Hundley ready as the backup Jose Quintana Jersey , with Garcia set to play every day in Triple-A, or serve as Hundley's backup early in the season. Long term, the Giants have Garcia ready and Joey Bart looking like he might be up as soon as next September, but for 2019, it seems a pretty good bet that Hundley is back on another one-year deal."It only cost a one-year, $2.5 million deal to bring him back last winter, and a similar contract should get the job done again this winter.Tampa Bay Rays now the favorite to sign Sandy Gaston?With the Miami Marlins officially signing Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. to a combined $6.25 million worth of bonus money, it appears they're now out on fellow Cuban standout Sandy Gaston.Gaston, 16, was the No. 16 international prospect in this year's class, according to MLB.com, who wrote the following:"Gaston is an especially hard thrower. His fastball has been clocked as 97 mph and it's not uncommon for him to sit at 94-95. That type of velocity is rare in any market and not surprisingly, some scouts wonder if he will be able to command the high velocity on a consistent basis. But his skill is extraordinary, and Gaston is the type of pitcher any club would like to put it in its system"Who then has emerged as the favorite to sign the hard-throwing teenager?At least one MLB insider likes the Tampa Bay Rays.Joe Frisaro JoeFrisaroMy sense is Sandy Gaston will wind up with the #RaysThe Rays are said to have roughly $3.6 million in remaining bonus money, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. That was third to the Orioles ($6.7 million) and Marlins at the time, and the Rays have much stronger ties to the international pipelines than an Orioles team that is just starting to wade into those waters.Tampa Bay already has a stacked farm system鈥攔anked No. 5 in B/R's final update of the season鈥攁nd Gaston would be another excellent addition.Wade Miley a candidate to be re-signed by the Milwaukee Brewers?Pool/Getty ImagesWade Miley began last offseason by having his $12 million club option declined by the Baltimore Orioles http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-yu-darvish-jersey , as he was instead bought out for $500,000 and sent into free agency.After struggling to a 5.61 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 157.1 innings in 2017, he was forced to settle for a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, and that proved to be one of the best bargains of the year.While the 31-year-old was slowed by injury in the first half鈥攈e made just two starts over the first three months of the season鈥攈e returned full bore on July 12 and went 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 14 starts to close out the season.His success stemmed in part from the Brewers' unique pitching philosophy, as he was rarely asked to face opposing lineups for a third time and averaged just 5.1 innings per start during that span.Now, he looks like a candidate to be re-signed."[The]Brewers may seek to re-sign him, or he鈥檒l end up with a National League team," wrote Nick Cafardo of theBoston Globe.More than anything, he fits the Brewers roster well, so a bidding war on the open market seems unlikely. It may not cost much more than the $2.5 million he wound up making this season to bring him back, and he may welcome a chance to return to a comfortable situation where he's enjoyed success and has a chance to win.All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.