“Joey Meneses is the classic guy who puts runners on his back in scoring position,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters late last season. “And direct the important moments.”
Washington’s general manager and director of baseball operations have been discussing where the 31-year-old longtime minor leaguer and second-year major leaguer fits into the club’s plans for a reboot.
As Coach Rizzo emphasized, Meneses finished the 2023 season hitting .363/.396/.494 with runners in scoring position, and an overall line of .275/.321/.401 in 154 games. He hit 36 doubles and 13 home runs in 657 at-bats. After making his MLB debut in late 2022, he exploded, hitting 14 doubles, 13 home runs, and 240 PAs in 56 total games.
After hitting just two home runs in the first three months of the season, Meneses hit 11 home runs in the final three months of the 2023 season as he adapted to his new role as the Nationals’ DH.
“He’s behind the baseball world,” Nats captain Davey Martinez said late in the season.
“It’s really, really great. I know he’s frustrated, too, not being able to hit home runs, but this guy is a guy who can drive in RBIs. He’s been great for us all year. He gave me a big run. I said, “You hit a home run last year.” It’s not here yet this year, but it’s there. we know it’s there. But instead of jumping forward, he needs to step back and use his legs, and he’s been doing that for the past few days. ”
Martinez often talked about Meneses trying to adapt to DH duties, with the manager sometimes trying to get him on the field at first, even though he only played 19 games there (and one in right field), spent the majority of his time in the lineup as a designated hitter (131G).
Both Rizzo and Martinez admitted they were in the market for a corner infielder this offseason, and the Nationals signed Nick Senzel earlier this month with the expectation that he would be used as a near-daily third baseman.
Martinez said he could use Meneses as a first baseman if needed, but ideally he would play first base occasionally and serve as the DH.
“I’d like to see him do a little bit of both, I really do,” Martinez explained. “I’d like to see him play more first base. We’re masking him well. He’s had some knee issues, so we wanted to stay healthy. Most importantly. It was about keeping him on the field and keeping him hitting.”
Knee problem?
According to a report by MASN’s Bobby Blanco.Meneses’ knee issue is “…believed to be patellar tendonitis, which he suffered during winter ball last year,” but he is healthy this winter and expects Meneses to make a difference in 2024.
If the sample size is small (19G and 86PA) Playing first base last season, Meneses posted a .333/.372/.630 line as a DH and a .265/.313/.361 line.
“I hope he’s ready this year,” Martinez said of looking forward to spring training in 2024.
“I know he’s been doing a lot in terms of agility and he’s looking good so far. So I told him that, and he told me to play outfield as well. He also talked about: He loves playing left field.
“So we’ll see how he goes into spring training and go from there.”
Martinez added that Meneses needs to continue to get more comfortable as a DH as he will likely be in that role again next season.
“Look, he did really well,” Martinez said. “I know he wanted to play the position more. I had to explain to him that DH is a position and it’s an important position that he has to hit. .
“But I’m going to look at my options and let him play a little bit more first base this year to keep him a little more involved.
“But I thought he did a great job. I know he didn’t like it at first, but towards the end he actually accepted it a lot better.
“I didn’t hear any complaints until the end about not being able to play first base or the outfield. But yeah, he can hit. We need him to hit.”
