JUPITER, Fla. -- Infield prospect Trey Lipscomb was surprised to hear Nationals bench coach Miguel Cairo¡¯s announcement Thursday morning before they began early morning drills.

There was going to be a special guest at Nats camp: Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen.

¡°I was like, ¡®I know that guy. No way he¡¯s coming here,¡¯¡± Lipscomb, 23, recounted prior to the Nationals¡¯ 3-1 win over the Cardinals. ¡°But it just goes to show you, everyone has connections.¡±

Cairo was teammates with Rolen on the Reds from 2010-12. Manager Dave Martinez knows Rolen from his playing career, too. In a year where Nationals Major League camp is stacked with young players and prospects, Martinez wants to bring in experienced voices to share their wisdom.

¡°I said to the boys, ¡®He exemplifies the way we want to play the game. This guy showed his heart. He was one of the best,¡¯¡± Martinez said. ¡°I think they were in awe because he's a big fella.¡±

• Mr. National a mentor & mentee at Nats camp

Rolen spoke at the team¡¯s pre-practice Circle of Trust. He also spent time with a group that included Lipscomb (Nationals No. 14 prospect), Brady House (MLB No. 48, Nats¡¯ No. 3) and Carter Kieboom, and he watched workouts with his son before the team departed for Jupiter. (Rolen attended the game to see the Cardinals, too, at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.)

¡°It¡¯s just crazy because it¡¯s not often that you come across a lot of Hall of Famers,¡± said House, 20. ¡°He was very nice ¡­ It was awesome, especially getting to do early work before practice started, kind of one-on-one with a couple other guys. It was great getting to hear what he had to say and his opinion on things.¡±

Rolen, 48, was elected to the Baseball of Fame in 2023. His illustrious 17-year career with the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds featured eight Gold Glove Awards, seven All-Star honors, one Silver Slugger Award, one World Series championship and one Rookie of the Year Award.

Rolen played over 2,000 regular season games at third base, where his career 70.1 WAR ranked 10th all time at the position. He slashed .281/.364/.490 with an .855 OPS and joined the elite group of players with at least 2,000 hits, 300 home runs and 500 doubles.

¡°You want to talk about somebody who ran hard and slid -- he was going to try to knock you to left field when he slid into second base,¡± Martinez said. ¡°He played like that all the time. Ran hard down the line. Ran hard first to third. He was a really good base runner. But then also when he was up to the plate, he was going to drive in that run from third base with less than two outs. He was good. He held everybody accountable, so it was awesome.¡±

Martinez hopes Rolen¡¯s message about quality of work, putting in the effort and simplifying the game resonates with the Nationals. His presence at camp also set an example.

¡°For him to be here and take time out of his day, all the accolades that he¡¯s won and all the stuff like that, it¡¯s kind of like it didn¡¯t happen -- he was coming out here and telling us just the basics of fielding a ground ball,¡± Lipscomb said. ¡°I think that¡¯s really cool. Definitely something I try to be as far as looking out after others.¡±