Washington Nationals news & notes: Grapefruit League opener today; Davey Martinez preparing for season + more…

Nationals prepare for Grapefruit League opener:

With just one day left until Grapefruit League play begins, Davey Martinez and his club worked Friday to prepare for the first game of the spring today in West Palm Beach, Fla.6:05 PM ET.Radio: nats.com; rebroadcast on MLB Network at 10 p.m.).

“We really wanted to work on it, the simple things that I always talk about,” Martinez told reporters Friday afternoon of a new approach using situational hitting, base running and tagging. He talked about simple things like consideration.and MLB asks referees to enforce obstruction rules around the base).

“You can’t lock down the base,” he explained.

“So we teach them one to get to the base as quickly as possible and two to step over the base a little bit, because that’s called jamming.

“So we worked on that today. They all seemed to do a good job of it.”

“Overall it was a good day. Good day. We’ll probably get to see a little bit of their play tomorrow.”

Once they start playing, we’ll all be reading too much into how Martinez is building his lineups earlier this year.

“Obviously, we’re going to play around with it a little bit this spring,” he said Friday.

“But it could go in so many different directions. We’ll see what happens. We might be able to do something against lefties, we might be able to do something against righties. But… Like I said, it’s good to have options. It’s great to have some guys in the middle of the lineup that can drive the ball and hit three-run home runs. So I’m looking forward to watching them. I’m doing it.

“Like I said, it’s still early spring. Get your timing right and watch them start hitting the ball…”

Martinez, who has been watching games in the early spring, said he would see his timing start to decline once hitters faced live pitches again.

“For me, it’s all about timing. Obviously [early in spring] The pitcher is going to be a little bit ahead of the batter…so get ready to hit, get ready to hit, get ready to hit the fastball. We were really good at that last year. I think we’re going to be good this year as well, and with that being said, once we get our guys on base and this thing starts to go, I think it’s important that our offense really focus on driving the run and really work on it. I want to see you there. This spring. “

I’m very excited to see the young prospects in camp (James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Dylan Cruz, etc.) step up to bat in the Grapefruit League, but there will be a lot of work to do, but I’m not sure what to expect. Martínez will need to find the right balance, as those on the Opening Day roster will also need to get the necessary at-bats.

“We have to get ready for the season opener,” he said. “I’m going to play a lot with these kids.

“So, as you can see, in our lineup tomorrow, I don’t think all of our young kids are going to come in and play. [Guys] He’ll probably get one or two at-bats, and then the younger kids will play.

“So they’re going to get a ton of playing time, especially early on, but we’ve got to get ready for Opening Day… so our guys are going to get the at-bats that they need and we’re going to get there. I’m planning to leave.”

“They’ll be here,” he continued about the prospects in camp. “And while they’re here, I want to watch them play. I want to see what they can do and we’ve been working with our players, our veteran players. We’ve worked with them as much as we did, but they’re part of the Nationals organization and we want to get them. Ready to go. I really like the fact that they take on the work. And it’s fun. It’s fun for all of us. They bring a lot of energy as well.”

Robles in 2024:

Victor Robles, who turns 27 in May, hit 32-for-107 (.299/.385/.365) at the plate in 2023, but a back injury ended his stint on the IL in May. He was forced to play in only 36 games. Robles returned to the Nationals’ lineup in mid-June, but ended up going back to the IL on June 20th, and he never returned to the majors. Manager Davey Martinez said he was really disappointed considering the center’s form. The fielder played at the beginning of the year.

It stinks for him and for us because we demanded that he change his swing. ” Martínez said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman..

“He did it and he did it really, really well. I really wish we could have seen that in 550 at-bats because I think he would have surprised a lot of people. But now as time goes on, you understand.”

Martinez said this winter that he thought a healthy Robles was still of real value to the club.

“It all depends on his health,” the captain said. “I’m happy to have him back. We could definitely use him.”

General manager Mike Rizzo acknowledged late last season that there were outfielders in the Nationals’ system with a shot at making the big league roster in the near future, so there’s never been a better time for a player like Seven. -year veteran (but still relatively young) Roble to step up.

“We have players [champing] “They’re on the verge of reaching the big leagues, and they’ll be following in the footsteps of a lot of the big league players who are currently on the roster,” Rizzo said.

“So, this is what this is all about: competing at the highest level.”

Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images

“There’s no need to tell the players that other players are coming,” Martinez told reporters Thursday afternoon in West Palm Beach, Fla., matter-of-factly. He was asked about Robles’ future and the outfield pairings in spring training.

“All I want him to do is just go out and do what he does best and just play the game. He will do that,” Martinez added.

According to the coach, Robles took all the advice he received from his team to heart and came into camp fully prepared.

“He’s definitely got to be in spring training. Over the winter, I talked to him about being healthy, and he’s shown that he’s put it into practice and worked really hard to prepare.” worked.

“He’s looking really good right now. He’s swinging the bat really well in camp right now, and he’s running really well.”

“As everyone knows, Victor is very, he’s just one of those guys.” [Ildemaro] “Vargas, he loves his teammates, he’s going to give his all,” Martinez said, “…but he knows this is the time to perform, so I We expect him to go out there and do his job.”

Bullpen mix:

“I love options. Like I said before, you can never have enough weapons in camp,” Davey Martinez said when discussing bullpen weapons in West Palm Beach this spring.

Martinez said he wants to get 21 outs from his starting pitchers as often as possible, but if he can’t pitch six or seven innings, the bullpen has options.

Coach Martinez plans to stop both Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey in the final round.

“They’re both going to be pitching at the back of the bullpen in high-leverage situations,” he said Friday.

“On any given day, one of these two is going to close it out and pitch the eighth. What I really like about our bullpen is… how many veteran players we have that can help us out if we’re both bad that day. I mean, we really want to see their workload, especially early in the season. They’ve thrown a lot at Finnegan, especially the last few years. So we’ll be watching that closely. I want to come.”

Tanner Rainey, who saved 12 games for the Nationals in 2022 but missed 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, is healthy in camp this spring and gives the team another late-inning arm.Along with free agent signee Dylan Floro.).

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“Lainey is doing well too. There’s nothing holding him back now,” Martinez said.

“So he’ll be able to adapt quickly and hopefully he’ll be a seventh-inning batter.

“For me, it’s a good problem to have all of our players healthy and ready, so let’s see how he does this spring.”

Regarding the overall bullpen composition, Martinez said he hopes the returning relievers approach things the same way they did last season.

“I really don’t want them to change,” the coach said. “Really not. Those guys are hungry. They wanted the ball. Honestly, there were days when I thought, ‘I should have taken the day off,’ but everyone wanted to pitch.” That’s why I love those people. They take the ball away, they never complain, they’re just hungry to go out there and throw and help us win games.

“They’re gamers, they’re go-getters, and I love them all.”