WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — During batting practice ahead of a spring training game this month, James Wood put on a show for his teammates and a handful of Washington Nationals coaches, a group that included Manager Dave Martinez. No one relished in it more than center fielder Victor Robles.

Wood lined a pitch into the seats in right field. Robles yelled: “Hey! Hey!” Then he whacked a pitch over the fence and onto a grassy knoll in left. “Hey! Hey!” Even the ones that didn’t leave the ballpark — “Hey! Hey!” — yeah, those got a cheer, too.

There was once a time when Robles was the show, when every swing in batting practice allowed the viewer’s mind to imagine what he could be. Now, the primary question about Robles is not what bright future with Washington awaits but when and how his Nationals tenure will end. The 26-year-old is in the final year of team control before free agency. He knows that. And as the longest-tenured National, he is savoring the time he has left.

“Everything goes by so quickly,” Robles said through an interpreter. “Before you know it, it’s past you. All I try to do is, if any of my teammates need any of my help or any of my experience, I can pass it on to them. But it’s more appreciating the moment and making sure we enjoy it.”

Robles is coming off a 2023 season derailed by a back injury he suffered in May. He made a brief comeback in June but played just five games before going back on the injured list. He is a career .238 hitter who lacks power. He is elite defensively, but that comes with mental lapses.

In years past, the Nationals didn’t have the young outfield prospects that they do now, which meant Robles had a longer leash. In the front of the clubhouse now are Wood, last year’s No. 2 draft pick Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III. Jacob Young, who played center in Robles’s place last year, is also in the mix. In that way, it is similar to the situation second baseman Luis García Jr., who has been in a position battle with Trey Lipscomb, finds himself confronting this spring training.

It would be natural for a veteran such as Robles to feel animosity toward the young players who are gunning for his job. He doesn’t view it that way.

“I don’t have a problem with that at all,” Robles said. “At the end of the day, I’m excited if they bring value to the team and [if] they think they can help us get more wins, by all means, I’ll embrace it. … All we want to do is win games.”

Robles doesn’t remember much from his first big league camp in 2018, but he does remember being surrounded by superstars who made him feel as though he belonged. Robles — who, for the record, doesn’t view himself as a veteran — wants to make sure that every young player experiences what he did.

“He’s kind of been through it all here,” Wood said. “He signed with the Nationals, came up with the Nationals, won the World Series. … It’s always good to have guys like that in the locker room who’ve done it all and been through all you want to accomplish in the MLB. So it’s pretty cool.”

“With Vic, there’s no animosity,” Martinez said. “He knows the situation. He knows what’s coming. He’s got to do his job. He understands that, and so he’s got to get better and he has been. … There’s another thing, too: You play for the Washington Nationals, but there’s also 29 other teams out there that, every day, you go to showcase for.”

Martinez’s comments underscored Robles’s real value to the Nationals: He could be flipped at the trade deadline, perhaps providing a boost to a contender as a late-game defensive replacement. For the Nationals, trading Robles could clear a spot for one of their prospects.

But for now, Robles is still here. And beyond his on-field performance, his energy provides a boost to his teammates.

On that afternoon during batting practice, it was Robles’s turn to hit after Wood. After a few line drives, Robles sent a ball out of the park. He walked out of the batting cage wearing a grin and with some pep in his step: “Hey, Woody, you see that home run?” Wood, Martinez and the coaching staff laughed. There’s a reason Robles was once a top prospect, too.

“I see them enjoying themselves and having fun,” he said of the young players. “And I’m very happy to see that because I do see myself in them. … I was there once, and now I look back and I’m like, ‘Man, we got to appreciate it.’ ”