The Washington Nationals had another day-off yesterday that manager Dave Martinez said that was a true day-off, and we heard that the gates were locked to the team’s complex at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. By the looks of it on social media, there was a lot of boating, golf, and video games being enjoyed by the players.
Of course there was huge breaking news on the MASN contract ending at the conclusion of this season, and that most likely the Nationals will have a new stadium name sponsor and jersey patch that they will unveil this summer per Chief Revenue Officer, Mike Carney, of the Nationals. Chief. Revenue. Officer. We love revenue enhancement when that turns into money to spend on players.
This will be a 1:05 pm start and the game will be available on MASN and the MLB App as the Cardinals travel to West Palm Beach for this game. Jake Irvin will get the start in this one.
Some good news, Luis Garcia Jr. was scratched for flu-like symptoms not an injury before Saturday’s game. He is being held out of this game as well as James Wood will just be doing work on the backfields.
One of the standouts in camp is Dylan Crews. He is batting .462 with an 1.148 OPS, and has been racking up the hits with runners in scoring position.
“[Crews] is not trying to do a whole lot. He’s staying more in the middle of the field. Two really, really good at-bats with runners in scoring position, which we love, and like I said, he’s just trying to work the ball in the middle of the field. The pull side will come. I really love where he’s at right now in his at-bats.”
— Martinez said
“He’s really trying to stay on top of the ball, and again, really trying to hit the ball out in front of the plate instead of behind. He’s had a good spring.”
Much of Spring Training is about getting the reps in for the veteran players while working on new pitches and mechanics for the pitchers, and batters are working on increasing contact and power. For the players who are trying to make the roster, they are the players who have to impress.
As we know, the key is also staying healthy. Players will be ramped up in their workload. The team is going to be cautious for instance with James Wood and his sore quadricep. He is in today’s starting lineup as the DH, and Martinez does have a plan for him.
“[DeJong] has been good. He’s been really good,. Another veteran guy that knows himself really well. When he connects, he can hit the ball a long way. We saw that today. What I really love, though, is that, honestly, he plays defense really well, too, which is going to help us. It really is. We know when he’s up there, he’s got a chance to put us in the lead. And I love that about him. So he’s been great.”
— Dave Martinez said
Here is the 40-man roster as well as a list of the NRI players you will be seeing. At some point, you might also see players from Minor League camp get some action.
There are 23-days until the Opening Day, and we get to see this lineup today:
