Gray escapes trouble again but knows he can't rely on that forever

gray v CIN

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Josiah Gray has danced this dance before. He did it on a regular basis last season, putting himself into jams and then getting himself out of them.

That success has given the Nationals right-hander the confidence to deal with such precarious situations. It has also made him realize he’d be better served not getting into those situations quite so often.

“I think every outing when I’m toeing that line … it’s kind of like: Here we go again,” he said. “I shouldn’t be putting myself in these positions.”

Gray kept doing it tonight during the Nationals’ 10-1 exhibition victory over the Astros. He allowed 10 of the 24 batters he faced to reach, seven via walk. And somehow he departed after five innings with only one run on the board.

“Not a pretty outing at all,” he said. “Kind of just laboring through things. Some of the walks, I felt like I was spraying the ball around. Some of the other walks, I felt like I was just missing them. I was lucky to only give up one today, but things could get a little different with that many runners on.”

Continue reading

Finnegan back on mound after brief layoff

Kyle Finnegan spring training

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Finnegan was back on a mound today, albeit a bullpen mound outside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches as opposed to one inside the stadium.

Finnegan, who hasn’t pitched in a game in six days due to a back tightness, took his first step toward a return this afternoon when he threw a bullpen session. Barring any setbacks, the Nationals closer will appear in Wednesday night’s Grapefruit League game.

“It was something I wanted to keep going through, keep pitching,” said Finnegan, whose back tightened up on him after a weight room workout. “I don’t like to get off-schedule. But we thought it would be a better idea to let it heal completely, feel 100 percent. … I feel 100 percent right now. Just took a few days to let it calm down.”

A creature of routine, Finnegan normally would’ve made several game appearances over the last week. As he learned, though, a little break at this point of spring training isn’t the worst thing.

“I’ve been doing a lot of hot tub, which I’ve enjoyed,” he said. “It’s been pretty nice. They told me don’t do much of anything for a few days.”

Continue reading

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Josiah Gray blue road

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s a sweltering March afternoon here in South Florida, summer-type weather with popup thunderstorms all over the place. Hopefully that doesn’t impact tonight’s game, but the Nationals and Astros surely will be keeping an eye on the radar before and after they take the field.

Assuming no delays or poor conditions, Josiah Gray makes the start, his second-to-last tune-up before he takes the mound for real on Opening Day in Cincinnati. Gray enters with a 7.36 ERA this spring, but that’s more than a bit misleading. He was excellent in his first two starts, allowing one run and six baserunners in five innings. Then he was roughed up last time out, allowing five runs and nine baserunners in only 2 1/3 innings. That was 10 days ago, though, because Gray pitched on a back field in a minor league game last week. Either way, it’s important for him to build up some innings tonight and hopefully have some success against some good Houston hitters.

Most of the regulars are in the Nationals lineup, aside from Luis García Jr. and Nick Senzel. So it’ll be Ildemaro Vargas at second base and Trey Lipscomb at third base, all of them facing Cristian Javier.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where:
CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m.
TV: MLB.tv (Astros feed)
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 85 degrees, wind 14 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Eddie Rosario
1B Joey Meneses
DH Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Victor Robles
2B Ildemaro Vargas
3B Trey Lipscomb

Continue reading

Who's still in camp, and what decisions still need to be made?

Trey Lipscomb blue jersey

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – They waited a bit longer than most teams to do it, but the Nationals did finally start making some cuts over the last week.

None of the names to date came as much of a surprise. These were mostly younger prospects who need to start getting more playing time in minor league camp or non-roster invitees who stood little chance of making the Opening Day roster in the first place.

The next round of cuts, which will likely come in a few more days, may include some more prominent names. We’re getting down to crunch time for Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez and Co, who admittedly have some tough decisions to make as they pare the list down to 26 for the season opener.

Who’s still here? Officially, there are 45 remaining players in big league camp, but that’s a bit misleading. Six players are all but guaranteed to open the season on the injured list with ailments both major (Mason Thompson, Cade Cavalli, Stone Garrett, Stephen Strasburg) and minor (Jose A. Ferrer, Robert Hassell III).

So that leaves 39 healthy players competing for those final 26 jobs. Here’s a look at who’s left by position and what decisions still must be made. (Players with an asterisk after their names are on minor league contracts and would need to be added to the 40-man roster) …

Continue reading

Gore has "weird" start; Rutledge in latest round of cuts

gore pitches blue

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training pitching lines can be deceptive. What really matters in March: How many runs somebody allowed or how many batters he struck out?

MacKenzie Gore and the Nationals were left asking themselves that question today after a Grapefruit League start the left-hander referred to as “a little weird.”

What made it weird?

“Well,” Gore said, “we struck out 10 and gave up eight runs.”

Yeah, that qualifies. Over the course of  4 2/3 innings against the Mets in what wound up a 9-8 victory, Gore experienced the full gamut of results. He opened his afternoon in dominant fashion, striking out seven of the first 11 batters he faced, effectively locating all of his pitches. Then he closed his afternoon by allowing 10 of the last 15 batters he faced to reach base, eight via hit.

Continue reading

Gray earns first Opening Day start of career

Josiah Gray blue road

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Josiah Gray first pitched in a big league camp in the spring of 2020, a 22-year-old prospect with the Dodgers who made it through only three appearances before he was sent down to the minors.

Gray was thinking about that the other day when Davey Martinez called him into his office and informed the now-26-year-old he will be starting Opening Day for the Nationals next week.

“Progress is probably the first word that comes to mind, because of how I’ve progressed through the league in the short amount of time I’ve been a major leaguer,” Gray said. “I just remember my first big league camp being with the Dodgers and getting cut, and thinking how that feeling was. And to say you’re going to be our first arm out of spring training going into the season is really cool and really surreal.”

Martinez had been leaning in this direction all winter, but the manager decided to wait to see how Gray fared this spring before making the official announcement today. In the end, the progress Gray displayed last season while earning his first All-Star selection and his continued development this spring was compelling.

“He’s matured so much since the first day I saw him,” Martinez said. “Even through the struggles of last year, he’s a lot different. Coming into camp, he’s been so much different as far as growth-wise. Understanding who he is, working on things he needs to work on, not trying to reinvent the wheel. He knows he needs to go out there and attack and throw strikes.

Continue reading

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

GettyImages-1568574895

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – We’ve reached the final week of spring training. Seven days from now, the Nationals will board their charter flight and head north to Washington for a final exhibition game against their own prospects before flying to Cincinnati for Opening Day. So we’re getting down to the nitty gritty now, as established players fine-tune everything and the competition among players fighting for roster spots gets serious.

There are two turns left in the rotation, and two of the starters will be pitching today. MacKenzie Gore gets the nod in the big league game against the Mets, looking to duplicate what he did five days ago against the same opponent (one run, two hits in 5 2/3 innings), and maybe throw a few more pitches to approach the 90 mark. Patrick Corbin, meanwhile, is pitching in a minor league game this morning, getting his work on a back field.

The lineup includes most of the regulars. Of note: Eddie Rosario is making another start in center field, something Davey Martinez said would be happening as the Nats try to decide if the veteran can handle the position well enough to make the occasional start out there. Drew Millas also gets a chance to catch Gore and play alongside the regulars.

And you can watch it all this afternoon on MASN, with Bob Carpenter and Kevin Frandsen on the call. Enjoy!

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where:
CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach

Gametime: 1:05 p.m.
TV: MASN, MLB.tv (outside D.C. market)
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 10 mph out to center field

Continue reading

Nats enjoy first taste of ABS challenge system

millas @ MIL

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It all happened so fast. Most everyone at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie probably didn’t even notice when Drew Millas tapped the top of his catcher’s mask after plate umpire Mark Stewart called a first-pitch curveball from Cole Henry to Jesus Baez low for ball one in the bottom of the second inning of Friday’s “Spring Breakout” prospects game between the Nationals and Mets.

Stewart, though, immediately let the crowd know what was happening, announcing over his microphone that Millas had challenged the call, which would now be reviewed by the Automated Balls and Strikes system.

And lo and behold, there on the scoreboard for everyone in the stadium to see, was a graphic showing the actual location of the pitch, which was indeed in the zone at the knees. Stewart announced the call was reversed, the count switched from 1-0 to 0-1 and play resumed.

The whole process took a handful of seconds from start to finish.

“I just saw the pitch was there,” Millas said, “and tapped my head.”

Continue reading

Relievers get extra work, Yepez gets three more hits, Wood gets a day off

James Wood dugout spring

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Davey Martinez wanted to see how several relievers in the mix for jobs handled major league hitters, the kind of proven players they don’t normally get to face late in spring training games when backups and minor leaguers take over. So today’s game against the Cardinals became a bullpen game, with a string of relievers trotting in throughout the afternoon to face the likes of Dylan Carlson, Matt Carpenter, Willson Contreras and Brandon Crawford.

The takeaway from all that? Some were up to the challenge, others were not. And almost everybody needed to throw a lot of pitches before returning to the dugout.

The Nationals’ 8-5 exhibition loss saw six pitchers in the mix for Opening Day bullpen jobs take the mound. Only two of them (Derek Law, Robert Gsellman) emerged with a zero on the scoreboard, and each of them returned to toss a second scoreless inning. Four others (Luis Perdomo, Dylan Floro, Tanner Rainey, Robert Garcia) labored, each surrendering at least one run, each needing at least 22 pitches to complete his inning of work.

“Some of these guys, when they get to face big league hitters, the at-bats get extended,” Martinez said. “There’s more pitches; they’re not the five-, six-, seven-pitch innings. That’s kind of what I wanted to see. I wanted to see them get deeper in counts and see how they do. And I saw that today. Some guys were good and battled, and it was nice to see them go through that.”

From today’s group, Rainey and Floro are most assured of making the club, each on guaranteed contracts for $1.5 million and $2.25 million, respectively. Rainey, making his sixth appearance of the spring, issued three walks and uncorked a wild pitch during a rough top of the fifth. Floro, making his delayed spring debut after dealing with a tight shoulder earlier in camp, allowed two singles while inducing two ground ball outs.

Continue reading

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in West Palm Beach

derek law reds

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On the heels of Friday’s doubleheader in Port St. Lucie, the Nationals return home for an early 12:05 p.m. exhibition today against the Cardinals. No rest for the weary.

The good news: The Nats are playing winning baseball right now, for whatever that’s worth. Friday’s 7-3 win over the Mets was their sixth straight, leaving their official Grapefruit League record a strong 12-8.

In a bit of a shakeup from the usual, Davey Martinez is using a bullpen game this afternoon. There were two reasons for this: 1) He’s trying to start lining up his regular starters for the regular season (hopefully we’re going to learn more about that in the next few days) and 2) He wants to give the relievers who are competing for spots in the Opening Day bullpen a chance to face major league hitters, which means they need to pitch the early innings.

One of those relievers in the mix is Derek Law, the veteran right-hander who signed a minor league deal shortly after camp opened. He’ll get the first inning today against St. Louis, so here’s his opportunity to make a statement. Also scheduled to pitch: Dylan Floro, Robert Garcia, Robert Gsellman and Luis Perdomo.

UPDATE: James Wood was scratched from the lineup, replaced in right field by Alex Call. Martinez is expected to provide an explanation postgame.

Continue reading

Nats prospects savor first "Spring Breakout" game experience (updated)

Cole Henry spring training

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – T.J. White thought this might as well have been a real major league game. Cole Henry was thrilled when Drew Millas successfully got a ball turned into a strike with a formal challenge. Travis Sykora was so amped up, he couldn’t hold a cup of water without spilling it.

The first “Spring Breakout” game in Nationals history this afternoon was unlike anything these prospects had been a part of before. And though they took a 4-2 loss to the Mets’ top prospects in the seven-inning exhibition, that result didn’t diminish the experience.

Every team in the sport is participating in one of these games this week, in this case as an opening act to tonight’s Grapefruit League contest between the Nationals and Mets. Many of the Nats prospects who played today have been in big league camp all spring, so the experience might not have been unique to them. But for a host of younger kids who have been in minor league camp, this was a big deal.

“To me, it kind of felt like playing a real MLB game,” said White, who drove in both of the Nats’ runs with a pair of two-out RBI hits. “It kind of felt like getting my first big league hit, almost. It was just a surreal experience.”

Davey Martinez, who managed this game and will let bench coach Miguel Cairo handle the nightcap, noticed how amped up some of the players were. He put his hand on Sykora’s chest and said it was “going 1,000 mph.”

Continue reading

Ferrer to open on IL with upper back strain; Lile "grateful" to be fine

Jose A. Ferrer chery blossom

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Jose A. Ferrer is going to open the season on the injured list with an upper back strain, removing one of the left-handers competing for a spot in the Nationals bullpen with two weeks to go in spring training.

Ferrer has a strain of the teres major, a muscle that connects the upper back to the shoulder, and will be shut down three weeks before he’s re-evaluated, according to manager Davey Martinez.

The 24-year-old made only three Grapefruit League appearances this spring, two of them during the first week of games, then one more March 8, when he tossed two scoreless innings but apparently was already dealing with some discomfort. The club had him undergo an MRI this week, which revealed the strain.

Ferrer was competing with Robert Garcia, Richard Bleier and Joe La Sorsa for one or two spots in the Opening Day bullpen the Nationals would like to give to a left-hander. Bleier, in camp as a non-roster invitee, has made a team-high eight appearances, striking out seven without issuing any walks. La Sorsa, who was dropped from the 40-man roster over the winter, has allowed only one run in 6 2/3 innings and has converted each of four save opportunities. Garcia, who has received the most praise from Martinez this spring, has a 3.86 ERA across seven innings.

Ferrer actually has pitched better than any of them, with only two batters reaching base in four innings of work. But his inexperience – and the fact that he still has minor league options – probably put him in a disadvantageous position entering camp.

Continue reading

Spring Breakout lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

Trey Lipscomb spring training

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Hello from Mets camp, where tonight the Nationals and Mets meet in Grapefruit League play. But first, we’ve got a special treat: The “Spring Breakout” game featuring top prospects from both clubs.

Now, to be fair, we’ve already seen the majority of these guys in big league camp this spring. But it’ll still be fun to see them all together at the same time, facing fellow top prospects from a division rival.

The lineup includes Dylan Crews, James Wood, Brady House and Trey Lipscomb. But it also includes Yoyo Morales, Andrew Pinckney and T.J. White, who will get a more prominent look today than they’ve received to date.

It’s only a seven-inning game, and there are a bunch of pitchers who need to appear. So Jackson Rutledge, even though he’s starting, is only going one inning, maybe two tops. We’ll see a lot of other intriguing young arms throughout the afternoon.

SPRING BREAKOUT: WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where:
Clover Park, Port St. Lucie

Gametime: 3:10 p.m.
TV: MLB.tv (Mets feed)
Radio: nationals.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 11 mph out to left field

Continue reading

Gallo to stay at first base as Rosario gets look in center field

Joey Gallo 2024 picture day

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The notion that the Nationals signed Joey Gallo to be their primary left fielder, taking advantage not only of his power potential but also his Gold Glove arm? That doesn’t appear to be part of the plan anymore.

The combination of Gallo’s sore quad this spring and the recent signings of Eddie Rosario and Jesse Winker have convinced manager Davey Martinez to use Gallo primarily at first base for now.

“I think right now the idea is to keep Gallo at first base, and DH him at times, too,” Martinez said. “Especially now that he had this little tweak of his quad. We’ll try to keep him out of the outfield for now. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future, but I want him to be healthy before we even put him in the outfield.”

Gallo played his eighth game of the spring Thursday night, his fifth at first base. He served as designated hitter the other three times. He opened camp splitting workout time between the outfielders and infielders, but in recent weeks has worked exclusively at first base, this after missing several days with the quad injury.

Signed in January for $5 million to bring some much-needed power to a Nationals lineup that ranked last in the National League in homers last season, Gallo also was touted for his defensive ability in the outfield. He won the Gold Glove Award in both 2020 and 2021 and has spoken many times about the pride he takes in being a good defensive player.

Continue reading

Davies tries to make his case for spot in Nats' rotation

Zach Davies Dbacks red away

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Zach Davies hasn’t been in this position in a while, pitching in spring training not to get ready for his team but to make his team.

Such is life on a minor league contract, and such is the dilemma facing Davies this month as he tries to convince the Nationals to include him on their Opening Day roster.

“In years past, having a secured job, the things that run through your mind are you’re still probably trying to work on something,” the 31-year-old right-hander said. “There’s times within a game that’s your focus. And then there’s a couple innings in there where you’re going to try to go after guys and be game-like. For me, I feel like you have to mix all that into every at-bat at this point. Just because I’m not on the roster and I’m still trying to make the team. Try and be competitive every time I’m out there.”

Davies said all this minutes after he departed tonight’s game at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, having just allowed two runs over five innings during the Nats’ 5-3 exhibition victory over the Astros. It wasn’t exactly a masterpiece – Houston collected seven hits and a walk, and Davies needed 89 pitches to complete his five frames – but it was hard to argue with the final results.

And results are what matter most to Davies right now.

Continue reading

Ferrer has lat injury, Rutledge will start "Spring Breakout" game

Jose A. Ferrer chery blossom

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – One of the four left-handers competing for spots in the Nationals’ Opening Day bullpen is dealing with a physical setback that could hurt his chances.

Jose A. Ferrer hasn’t pitched in six days due to an issue with his lat muscle, manager Davey Martinez revealed today. It’s unclear when he’ll be ready to return to the mound.

“He’s got a little bit of a lat thing going on,” Martinez said. “I’ll know more about what’s going on with him in the next day or two.”

Ferrer has made only three game appearances this spring, two of them coming during the first week of Grapefruit League play on Feb. 26 and Feb. 29. He then sat eight days before his next appearance March 8, when he tossed two scoreless innings but apparently was already dealing with some discomfort. He hasn’t pitched since.

“It’s been bothering him,” Martinez said. “We’ll see.”

Continue reading

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

abrams k @BAL

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – We’ve got another night game here, and the Nationals will field a lineup worthy of playing under the lights. It’s all regulars for Davey Martinez (if you count Jesse Winker as a regular), with some interesting nuggets in there.

Keibert Ruiz is catching back-to-back days for the first time this spring, having already been behind the plate Wednesday against the Marlins. And Eddie Rosario, who made his debut in left field Wednesday, is starting in center field tonight. The 32-year-old has played only 58 of his 1,030 career major league games in center, and most of those came in 2016-17 with the Twins, but Martinez has suggested he could be an option there for the Nats, which would be an interesting way to get everyone in the lineup (at the expense of Victor Robles).

Zach Davies is tonight’s starting pitcher, and you would think the veteran right-hander needs to start showing something if he wants to force his way into the Opening Day rotation. Davies tossed two scoreless innings (albeit with two walks and a hit batter) in his debut, but then gave up three runs in 3 1/3 innings his last time out. We’ll see how he handles the Astros’ lineup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where:
CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: nationals.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 11 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Jesse Winker
DH Joey Meneses
1B Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Eddie Rosario
3B Nick Senzel
2B Luis García Jr.

Continue reading

Strong spring showings create some tough pitching decisions

Robert Garcia city connect jersey

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training stats must be taken with more than a grain of salt. Perhaps a full bucket of salt.

Now, having said that, has anyone out there noticed how well the Nationals have pitched this spring?

Wednesday’s 2-1 exhibition victory over the Marlins was merely the latest example. That came on the heels of a 4-1 victory over the Mets. Combine the pitching totals from those two games and the Nats have surrendered a grand total of two runs on six hits, walking only three while striking out 14.

And this has been going on for 2 1/2 weeks now. Eighteen games into their Grapefruit League schedule, the Nationals rank second in the majors in ERA (3.51), WHIP (1.164) and opponents’ batting average (.224), third in walks per nine innings (3.0), fourth in home runs surrendered per nine innings (0.68) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.1).

There’s a lot to like about the way the entire staff has pitched to date, especially a number of guys who are competing for spots on the Opening Day roster.

Continue reading

Irvin gets message and flips switch; Kieboom outrighted to Triple-A

irvin city v SFG

JUPITER, Fla. – After getting roughed up by the Astros to the tune of seven runs in 1 2/3 innings two weeks ago, Jake Irvin was approached by Nationals manager Davey Martinez, who asked what happened. Irvin informed his manager he was “working on stuff,” the insinuation there that he wasn’t approaching hitters the way he normally would in a regular season game.

The message Martinez shot back at the 27-year-old: Don’t do that.

“Work on the stuff you need to work on, but do it in the bullpen,” Martinez said. “When you’re in the game, you’re here to compete. I need you to forget about everything and start getting some outs. And he took it to heart.”

That’s putting it mildly. In two starts since that regrettable March 1 outing, Irvin has flipped the switch and pitched like these games were taking place in mid-September, not mid-March.

With five scoreless innings today on a scant 52 pitches, Irvin led the Nationals to a 2-1 exhibition win over the Marlins. Combined with his previous appearance against the Mets, the right-hander has now tossed nine scoreless innings, allowing three hits and zero walks while striking out 10 since getting that all-important message from his manager.

Continue reading

Hassell has groin strain but not expected to miss much time

Robert Hassell III spring training

JUPITER, Fla. – Robert Hassell III is likely to open the season on the injured list after an MRI revealed a strain of his groin, but it doesn’t appear the Nationals outfield prospect will miss significant time.

Hassell injured himself March 8, able to play only one inning in the field, pulled before he could take an at-bat. He has been sidelined since, getting the MRI on Tuesday.

Manager Davey Martinez didn’t want to suggest a timetable for Hassell to return but acknowledged the 22-year-old will need to miss “a little time.”

“But he feels good,” Martinez added. “He’s going to just do some strengthening stuff, and hopefully we get him ready as soon as possible.”

The strain does not appear to be serious, because Hassell hasn’t been shut down altogether. He played catch Tuesday in West Palm Beach and was scheduled to hit off a tee today.

Continue reading