Washington Nationals: News and Links 2/19
By Pablo Roa
Sep 13, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman
Ryan Zimmerman(11) throws out Philadelphia Phillies catcher
Carlos Ruiz(not shown) during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Spring training is in full swing for the Washington Nationals, as the remaining position players reported to camp Tuesday. While most position players had already arrived at the team’s complex in Viera, several players, including outfielders Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth, arrived yesterday.
Day four of spring training was another busy day of bullpen sessions and drills for the Nationals. Rafael Soriano threw his first bullpen session, and as Matt Williams told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, “he looked good.”
The team also participated in an informal workout, where Ryan Zimmerman fielded some plays at third base. On a stranger note, Williams also had the pitching staff field some ground balls at shortstop. We also found out on Tuesday that Stephen Strasburg is working on a slider.
"“It’s just a work in progress,” Strasburg told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. “It’s something that I’ve been messing with. I’m just trying to get a feel for it. I’m not going to dump any of my other pitches. But I’ll just have something in the back pocket.”"
Other than that, Tuesday was pretty much business as usual for the Nationals. The first official workout for position players will be this Thursday, with exhibition games scheduled to begin Feb. 28.
Until then, checkout some links from our fellow Washington Nationals writers/bloggers:
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes about Ryan Zimmerman‘s hopes for 2014, as well as the prospect of Zimmerman playing first base. Read his article here.
- Patrick Reddington from Federal Baseball writes about manager Matt Williams‘s confidence in Adam LaRoche, as he enters what could be his final season in a Nationals’ uniform. Read his article here.
- MASN’s Byron Kerr writes of the positive impact the Nationals are making on the D.C. community through The Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. Read his article here.