Five Washington Nationals Storylines To Watch In 2016 Spring Training
With pitchers and catchers beginning today in Viera, we give you our storylines to watch in spring training
Today is the day Washington Nationals fans have all been waiting for. After all of the disappointment and failed expectations in 2015, a new season begins as pitchers and catchers are all going to be in Viera, Florida for spring training. The Nats’ first spring training game will be March 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, Florida.
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Even though the Nationals are not the unanimous favorites to go to the World Series like they were a season ago, that doesn’t mean they do not bring in a talented ballclub. They revamped their bullpen, even though Jonathan Papelbon is still the closer, and added names like Daniel Murphy and Ben Revere to their lineup. However, that came with losing some essential Nats in Denard Span, Jordan Zimmermann, and Ian Desmond.
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There is a new man running the clubhouse in DC as Dusty Baker takes over for Matt Williams as manager. For Baker, it’s an opportunity for him to get that elusive World Series title that he wasn’t able to get with the Giants, Reds, and Cubs.
While there are many storylines about the players that we will get to, another storyline is the fact that this will be the Nationals’ last spring training at Space Coast Stadium. Next year, they will join the Houston Astros at a new spring training complex in West Palm Beach.
So, without further ado, here are my five Nationals storylines to watch this season in spring training, in no particular order:
Next: Health
Health
With all of the parity in Major League Baseball, you usually see the team that has the least amount of serious injuries. Fortunately, for the Nationals, everyone is healthy this year going into camp unlike last year when Jayson Werth underwent shoulder surgery in February.
One of the reasons why the Nationals underachieved last season was due to their vast amount of injuries, but that started in spring training. Denard Span had to have core muscle surgery in the beginning of March (out till early April), Anthony Rendon sprained his MCL diving for a ball in a game against the Braves that ended up preventing the start of his season until June, and Stephen Strasburg had an ankle injury during spring training. While Strasburg didn’t miss any time to start the year, it did have an effect on the way that he pitched at the beginning of the year.
This offseason, the Nationals brought in a new advanced medical staff, whose job is to help detect injuries and allow for faster recovery times. This year, the Nats have an older roster, so that staff will be very intricate to the team’s success.
Of course, injuries are going to happen throughout the season and you would rather have them early in the year, but if the Washington Nationals can stay healthy going into the season, it will help them get off to a better start in 2014 and allow them to find the chemistry and rhythm that seemed to be lacking a season ago.
Next: Battle In The Starting Rotation
Battle For The Number Five Spot
Although there doesn’t appear to be a competition for any spots in the Nationals starting rotation, the number five spot is something I will be watching this spring. I don’t thin the Nats would take Tanner Roark out of the rotation because they want Roark to get back into the routine that helped him have a successful 2014 (15-10, 2.85 ERA)
To me, that number five spot comes down to Joe Ross and Bronson Arroyo. The Nats signed Arroyo to a minor league deal last month, but he hasn’t pitched since June 2014 because of Tommy John surgery. However, Arroyo did pitch for Dusty Baker when Baker managed the Reds.
Ross was one of the good surprises from last season. He made his debut in May after the Nats acquired him in a deal from the Padres last offseason along with Trea Turner. He went 5-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 76.2 innings (152.2 if you count the minors).
If Arroyo is able to make a good impression this spring, I do think he has a good chance to make the team, even if it’s only for the reason to keep Ross’ innings down to start the season. Remember as the season went on last year, Ross lost his strong command of his pitches and started to wear down. Plus, a strong start from Arroyo would mean the Nats would have more pitching reinforcements down the stretch with young talent such as Ross and non-roster invitees Lucas Giolito and Austin Voth.
Next: Pitching Youth Movement
The Pitching Youth Movement
Speaking of Giolito and Voth, those were the two players that stood out the most when the Nationals released their full list of non-roster invitees Monday afternoon. Giolito is regarded, as the best right-handed pitching prospect in the game by many prospect rankings and Both was one of the more consistent pitchers in the Nats’ minor league system last season (6-7, 2.92 ERA in 28 games at double-A Harrisburg).
While I don’t see either of those pitchers breaking camp with the Major League club, they will still get some valuable experience this spring facing Major League competition. For most, this will be the first time fans have seen Giolito and there is hope that he could make his Major League debut as soon as this season.
Giolito and Voth are the two main young pitchers to watch, but other names to keep an eye on are A.J. Cole, who made his Major League debut last year and Taylor Jordan, who made some spot starts for Strasburg last season.
With Strasburg likely to leave via free agency next year, this spring is another opportunity for some of these young pitchers to make an impression on the Nats’ front office for next season when thinking about who to keep or who to trade. Plus, let’s not forget some of the young arms in the bullpen, such as Felipe Rivero, who figures to play a prominent role in the Nats’ new-look bullpen.
The Nationals’ farm system is deep in pitching with guys like Erick Fedde and Reynaldo Lopez in the top ten of the team’s rankings by Baseball America, but it is good to see these young pitchers getting closer and closer to pitching at the big league level.
Next: New Double Play Combo
The New Double Play Combination
Heading into this season, the Nats will have a new duo fielding double plays. Ian Desmond is a free agent, but Washington is not going to bring him back and Anthony Rendon is going back to third base since Yunel Escobar was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for reliever Trevor Gott.
This offseason, the Nats went out and signed former Met Daniel Murphy to a three-year, $37.5 million deal to play second base. At shortstop, Danny Espinosa likely takes over for Desmond, but Trea Turner is waiting in the wings to eventually be the starter in the long-term.
Plus, the Nats went out and signed Stephen Drew to a one-year deal and gave minor league deals to Brendan Ryan and Scott Sizemore. Another player to watch is Wilmer Difo. Difo made his debut with the Nats last season and hit .182 (2-for-11) in 15 games at the major league level.
Right now, Turner is expected to begin the season at triple-A Syracuse, but if he has a great spring training and impresses Baker, maybe he would start as the Opening Day shortstop over Espinosa.
This spring, working on double plays is going to be interesting to watch because of the new infielders. Remember, Danny Espinosa has never had a season in which he has played more than 36 games at shortstop. As for second base, Murphy had -6 defensive runs saved last season, which was an improvement from the low total he had in 2014 (-10).
Next: Managing Papelbon Vs. Harper
Papelbon-Harper Situation
During the first dew days of spring training, this is going to be one of the main topics of conversation. One of the resounding images from last year was the scuffle in the dugout between Jonathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper. With Papelbon remaining the closer now that Drew Storen is in Toronto, Papelbon will have to answer more questions in Viera.
After Matt Williams did not handle the situation well and even said he didn’t know the seriousness of the situation because he was at the other end of the dugout, the Nats hired the right man to diffuse the situation in Baker. Even if the two of them aren’t best friends, he should be able to have them put their differences aside for the good of the team.
Plus, if Harper wanted Papelbon gone to begin with, I would think he would be off the team in an instant. The fact of the matter is the Nationals need Papelbon to be what he was in Philadelphia during the first half of the season (1.59 ERA, 17 saves).
As for Harper, last spring we saw him take more pitches at the plate and become more selective, which led to him breaking the franchise record for the most walks in a single season (124). The Nats didn’t add the big bat they wanted (Jason Heyward, Yoenis Cespedes), but they gave the reigning NL MVP more protection in the lineup by adding Murphy and now having a healthy Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon.
The questions are going to be asked, but the Nationals need both Papelbon and Harper to have strong seasons. Hopefully, its only a one day thing an the team can move on and get focused on getting back to the postseason this year. We want to hear from you. What are the storylines you are looking to watch this spring?