Nick Senzel, 28, has bounced between the infield and outfield. cincinnati reds Although he primarily played center field for the first five seasons of his major league career, the opportunity to return to his natural position at third base led to his decision to sign a one-year/$2 million free agent contract with the Washington Nationals. This was a major factor. this week.
Drafted by the Reds as a third baseman with the No. 2 overall pick out of the University of Tennessee in 2016, Senzel played the majority of his games as a third baseman for the first time in the majors last year.
Senzel was non-tendered this winter after a 0.4 fWAR season with the Reds, hitting .236/.297/.399 with a career-high 13 home runs in 104 games and 330 at-bats.
“Right after I went non-tendered by Cincinnati, Washington was kind of getting some attention,” he told reporters on a Zoom call after the deal was officially announced.
“Because, obviously,” Senzel explained. [Washington was kind of on my radar], I happened to have a wonderful opportunity.I was able to talk to [manager] davie [Martinez] And some coaches. They expect me to play third base every day. He can move to second base and the outfield during games, but I think he plans to play third base every day. And that’s really exciting for me. ”
He was also excited to have the opportunity to play with his longtime buddy Lane Thomas again, a friend he’s known since they played travel ball together as kids.
So was it a chance to return to third base, or was it the chance to play with Thomas that ultimately drove him to sign with the Nationals?
“I’d say both,” Senzel joked. “Obviously, me and Lane grew up playing together. And this opportunity that’s been presented to me, to be able to play every day and get a fresh start with a franchise that has a lot of history, it’s a great opportunity for me. I mean, it was completely unthinkable. And just because Lane, one of my best friends that I grew up with, is playing right field, it’s just crazy, to be honest. We’re training together here at the University of Tennessee, and I still can’t believe we’ll be teammates next year.”
Having friends in the team who vouched for the club and city made the difference when choosing a new home.
“It’s really important,” he said. “Going straight to the source, there’s a guy who was traded by two different organizations and has now found a home in Washington. The only one I’ve ever known is Cincinnati, so I was able to talk to him. ” [about] As for what to expect, he’s obviously honest and really tells me what to expect about everything and he has nothing but great things to say and I’m very excited about me being a part of it. I was excited. ”
It meant a lot to Senzel that he played all over the field and showed he could thrive wherever the Reds placed him, but the chance to play every day at third base again was appealing.
After all, he said:
“Last year I played there for a little over a month and I think I was able to get back into really good shape.
“It’s just, third base is home for me. I’ve tried playing. And I think just staying in the same spot makes my body feel a little bit better.”
That was an important consideration given the variety of injuries he’s dealt with over the years, including torn finger ligaments, ankle sprains, torn labrums and knee inflammation. Every game he played at third base last year was a reminder of why he loves the position.
“I really like the reactionary part of this piece,” he said. “Everything happens so fast, the ball is in your hands, and you have to make quick decisions and react to them quite a bit. You can probably ask any baseball player, but you don’t have time to think. I feel like the shorter it is, the more you just have to react. And third base is one of the positions that gets hotshot pretty often. But that’s why I love it so much. Maybe. It’s just the pace and the quickness and the reaction to it. I really like the angle of the throw…I’m really good at playing the ball on the run, so I get the third base angle very well. . I think these two are probably the reasons why I love this work.”
Senzel knows he needs to improve his at-bats against right-handed pitchers if he’s going to play every day.
Last year, he appeared in 126 at-bats against left-handed pitchers and hit .348/.389/.619, with nine of his 13 home runs coming from left-handed batters and a .164 batting average against right-handed batters. It ended with /. .240/.257 line against right-handed pitchers, .287/.334/.460 against left-handed pitchers in his 409 career PAs, and .219/.288/.330 against right-handed pitchers (957 PAs). It became a line.
That’s the focus of his offseason work.
“I think the biggest priority is probably getting better against right-handed pitchers,” he said.
“I went to Stillwater, Oklahoma to meet with Matt Holliday and his sons for about a week.
“I’m going back there in January to do a little bit of work.
“If I had to pick one specific thing, I think it would just be working on my right-handed pitching and swing in general.”
As a result of his efforts last year, Senzel said, he reached a career high in home runs, matched last season’s high in RBIs, and had a higher walk rate than any other season in the majors.
“I think I just worked on improving my swing and improving my approach,” he said.
“I think last year you saw a little bit more exit velocity on the pull side, and I felt like I could do a little more damage on the pull side when I pitched, and that was definitely something I thought about. I knew I could get to the opposite field very well, so I was just trying to focus on that and obviously had some good results there, but I was just trying to stay in all parts of the field. , Yeah, that was definitely a focus last year.”
Senzel said joining the rebooted ball club in Washington, D.C., isn’t all that different from what he left behind in his final year in Cincy, when the Reds were also in the midst of a youth movement.
“I played in Cincinnati last year,” Senzel said. “…Obviously when I was there, we had a lot of older players, some young players coming in, and then obviously there was an overhaul of young talent through trades and stuff. And then there was just the youth. I was able to get excited and energized and watch the play from the other side where the Nationals brought it, I could see them play with energy and excitement, And I could see the similarities. So it’s going to be exciting. It should be an easy transition to go to a group of a lot of young men. Just mentoring them and the energy level. We just try to match them up because those young guys have so much energy and that’s great for them, it’s great for the team, it’s great for the clubhouse.”
