Good morning DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! The Nationals took a big step closer to the start off the 2015 season, beating the Mets in their Grapefruit League opener last night. The team will be back in action today as they take on the Braves later this afternoon, so be sure to check back here for all the highlights from the game later today.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses Ryan Zimmerman‘s performance at first base in the team’s first Spring Training game yesterday afternoon. As Ladson notes, Zimmerman had a great game at first base – a position he’ll be playing everyday this season for the first time in his career.
Despite his minimal experience at first base, Zimmerman looked comfortable at the position yesterday and made several slick plays that would make you think he’s been a fist baseman his entire career. Whether or not Zimmerman continues to progress and become more familiar with his new position remains to be seen, but yesterday’s performance was certainly a step in the right direction.
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Also in today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Jamal Collier gives us an update on Jayson Werth as the outfielder continues to recover from surgery he had on his right shoulder earlier this offseason.
As Collier writes, Werth took a major step forward in his recovery on Wednesday as he swung the bat for the first time since the operation. More importantly, Werth completed the drill without hurting himself. According to Collier, the outfielder felt some general soreness yesterday, but there’s nothing to worry about there.
We’ll continue to monitor Werth’s recovery and all other Nationals news coming out of Spring Training, so be sure to stay tuned to DoD. For now, start off your day with these great Nationals articles from around the web:
Zimmerman looks comfortable at 1B in spring opener
VIERA, Fla. — In a 5-4 victory over the Mets on Thursday night, Nationals slugger Ryan Zimmerman played first base as if he had manned the position for years.
A third baseman by trade, Zimmerman prevented throwing errors from shortstop Ian Desmond and third baseman Anthony Rendon by scooping up balls in the dirt in the first and second innings, respectively. Manager Matt Williams came away impressed by what he saw from Zimmerman. Read full article here.
Normal soreness good sign day after Werth swings bat
VIERA, Fla. — The Nationals are encouraged with the progress made by Jayson Werth, who experienced some natural soreness Thursday morning, one day after swinging a bat for the first time since right shoulder surgery in January.
“That normal soreness is there, which it should be,” manager Matt Williams said.
Werth took 20 swings on Wednesday morning, mostly dry cuts that included five swings off a tee. He is expected to continue the process of building up his shoulder strength Friday, but he acknowledged he is starting from “the bottom” and will have to remain patient. Read full article here.