Washington Nationals news & notes: GM Mike Rizzo & Davey Martinez on HR power, third & first base…

As GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez discussed this week at MLB’s winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, there are clear needs at both corner and left field infield that the club will address this offseason. Trying to.

Dom Smith became a DFA after one season in DC, along with Carter Kieboom. The third baseman received renewed attention after the club traded Jaymar Candelario at the trade deadline last summer.the Nationals, who are still trying to establish themselves as everyday major leaguers, will need to work on both first and third base, and putting a power bat in left field after the club struggled for power in 2023. also makes sense.

“I think that’s a concern,” Rizzo told reporters Monday at Tennessee about the addition of Pops. “…But it’s a way to win games. Power means it’s easier to hit a three-run home run than string four or five hits together. These elite pitchers and these elite bullpens. Now, it’s hard to get three or four hits in an inning. Power is a way to score runs and win games, and that’s what we’re going to do – we’re developing that in the minor leagues. I think so. We have some players that we think fit that description, and in the meantime, we’ve seen players jump in their power games over the last year, the year before, and last year. CJ [Abrams] It showed an improvement in power.lane [Thomas] He showed that he has legitimate home run power. And I think you can see them scattered around. [Keibert] Lewis takes another step forward, Lewis [García] Once you take another step forward, you’ll either develop it or find it and pay for it. ”

Last winter, the Nationals signed Smith (1 year/$2 million), Jaymar Candelario (1 year/$5 million) and Corey Dickerson (1 year/$2.25 million).

As mentioned above, Smith became a DFA after the season, Candelario was traded again to Chicago (National League), and Dickerson was released after the season.

As a result, the club returned to the team this winter in search of offensive help.

“We have some young players coming in that I think will give us strength,” Martinez said during his press conference on Monday.

“I think we’ll look elsewhere this winter to see if we can fill in the gaps that need to be filled. We’re in a tough situation, because we’ve got young players here. Because we want to bring them up to the top and we don’t want to take away too many spots from them when they’re ready, but we still have to compete in this competition at the big league level.

“So we will look at all avenues and all aspects and see what we can do.”

The possibility of a reunion with Candelario has been raised during heated stove-top talk, with the Nationals gushing about Candelario’s time with the team, but Rizzo commented on the story when asked about rumors of interest this winter. refused to do so.

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“I shouldn’t name specific free agents,” Rizzo said. “[Candelario is] He’s a wonderful man. We liked him, he was great for us last year and we know if you want to go after that type of player you have to go for years and we’re ready to do that too. I think that’s the correct situation. ”

Rizzo also spoke to DFA Smith about this decision and discussed his plans at first base in 2024.

“We were looking at Dom as a rebounder,” the GM said. “We knew he would help our young infielders defensively. That was a big key. He was a left-handed hitter. We thought he would bounce back this year with his power. And our reports of him being a great citizen and a wonderful man were all true.

“I think we’re going to be aggressive again this year and look for hitters who can protect the corners of the infield, whether it’s third base, first base, DH, left field, a combination of those three. And we’re going to rely on pitching more. ”

Martinez was also asked about the club’s current position regarding first base.

“Joey is here now.” [Meneses] “He’s a guy who can play first base,” he said. “It’s still too early, so we’re going to look at different avenues and look at it. We’ve got a lead on third base as well. Kieboom has been doing well in winter ball so far, so we’ll keep an eye on that. I’ll go.

“But as we all know, there’s always room for improvement. So I can tell you, and you guys know it too, [Rizzo] I don’t like losing. I don’t like losing. Therefore, we will do our best to fill a competitive team. ”

Kieboom, 26, was the club’s 2016 first-round pick but has struggled to establish himself in the majors and has been plagued by injuries.Including Tommy John surgery in 2022) But he returned to the field last season, returned to the majors in late August, and is playing in the Mexican Winter League this winter, Nats leaders noted.

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“The fact that he went and played winter ball taught me a lot,” Rizzo said.

“Because a lot of players don’t want to do that given his service time. But we thought it was important to do it to get him back the at-bats he’s missed the last few years. So I was impressed, but the report from there is that it’s a learn how to hit a breaking ball or go home league. So, last time I saw him, he was batting around .280. I think he was hitting a lot, had a few home runs, played third base and second base. I think those are all positive factors for him going into spring training.”

So is the club likely to find the answer at No. 3, internally or externally?

“Yeah, of course we’ll look into it externally,” Rizzo said. “The players we bring into camp, including Kieboom, have to earn their positions. The keyword we’ll be using in spring training this year is ‘competition.’ There’s going to be competition at some, if not every position, and we’re going to try to bring the best 26 up north and win as many games as possible. We are also conscious of developing our young players and taking them to the next step. ”

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