Davey Martinez in 2024 MLB trade deadline Only two weeks left (July 30th).
Martinez has discussed further potential changes with the team after trading Hunter Harvey to Kansas City last weekend.
To the players remaining in the clubhouse, the manager said, “It’s pretty simple for me: ‘Hey, stand on your own two feet. You’re the Nationals now.'”
While some of the roster members may not remain with the team after the 30th of this month, the core roster the Nationals have assembled will remain, and it will be important for them to continue to develop with the two-plus months remaining in the season.
“For me, it’s about building up the core of young players that we have and getting them to play together,” Martinez told reporters. “I think we’ve done a good job this year of slowly getting guys into the big leagues and getting them to understand. This year is pretty much an education for our guys, they can work on things they need to work on over the winter and get ready for the spring. We’re building a team that’s going to continue to win, not just next year, but for years to come. That’s the goal. We want to get back to the playoffs.” World SeriesAnd the core people we trust now will help us make that happen.”
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Martinez said some pitchers have “gradually developed” over the past year and are good examples of what front-office executives and scouts are looking for in minor leaguers, and the message is getting through.
“I think they see their peers having success,” he explained. “You can talk about Mitchell Parker. D.J. [Herz]They understand that they have to throw strikes. For us, if you want to pitch in the major leagues, you have to throw strikes, and they’ve done a really good job with that. We preach that. Especially in Double-A, Triple-A, you’ve got to throw strikes before the hitter and get the hitter out. There are no set-up pitches, you just have to compete on every pitch.”
Martinez said pitchers already in the major leagues need to be prepared for the late stages so they can compete again in the near future when the team is back in contention for a championship. He was asked about pitchers in the starting rotation who struggled before the All-Star break and whether they were depleted late in the season.
“It’s part of the learning process, right?” he said. “So, they’ve got to continue to work hard. They’ve got to continue to increase their innings, because if they’re only pitching 130, 140 innings, they’re not going to be there when we need them in September. We’re going to push them a little bit more.”
GM and Director of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo told 106.7 FAN on DC’s Sports Junkies. There have been some good and bad moments over the last week, but at this point in the club’s reboot it’s a key moment for the organisation.
“There’s going to be some bumps along the way,” Rizzo told Junkies. “Slumps, baserunning slumps, defensive slumps, you’ve got to overcome those and get to 162 wins. [games] In 185 days. To me, that’s a key development factor when you get to the major leagues.
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Photo: Scott Tetch/Getty Images
“When you get to the major leagues, you still have to get better, play better and make adjustments, but that adjustment of playing 162 games in 185 days is what makes the difference between an average player being good, a good player being great and a great player being a Hall of Famer.”
Nationals manager Martinez and his staff, along with player development personnel within the organization, are preparing every player on the team in case things go as planned.
“You see them learning every day, taking steps back, side-stepping, making little mistakes and getting better every day,” Rizzo said.
“But you can’t say we’re not going to see the development of our young guys. And with that and the style of pitching that our young pitchers have, with the guys that are coming up and the flexibility of the salary. [unenthusiastic] About the direction and future of this franchise.”
