Washington Nationals: Five Burning Questions For Spring Training
As Spring Training starts, the Washington Nationals start 2017 with questions needing answers. What are they? Can they be answered?
The sounds of baseballs popping into gloves fill the air as the Washington Nationals settle into their new Spring Training home in West Palm Beach, Florida. Over the next six weeks, the Nats will get into game shape, run too many wind sprints and prepare to defend their 2016 National League East championship.
With expectation from fans and the baseball world high for Washington, what happens between now and when the season begins for real on April 3 against the Miami Marlins sets the table for the six months to follow. If there is to be a champagne party next November, the fundamentals start here.
In reality, staying healthy and learning how to get timing back at the plate are the key goals. It is important to practice how fielders cover bases and for pitchers to loosen up against live hitters. Those extra sessions remembering where to place sacrifice bunts may seem foolish now, but when they win a key game in August, that is another story.
As with any team this time of year, there are questions the Nationals want answers to before playing for real. If they answer them before meeting the Boston Red Sox at home at the end of March, then the Nats will have accomplished a great deal.
Chances are, all the concerns you the fans have starting 2017 will not be settled but, remember, the Washington Nationals are still the favorite to win the division.
With that dose of optimism, here are the five burning questions facing the team starting Spring Training.
5) WHO HITS WHERE?
Overlooked with some of the issues we and others addressed all winter is how does manager Dusty Baker assemble what is a potent lineup.
The addition of Adam Eaton—and the departure of Danny Espinosa—gives the Nationals a stronger offense to terrorize NL pitchers with. A full season of Trea Turner and a healthy Bryce Harper will cause opposing managers and pitching coach’s nightmares. How to put it a lineup together is another story.
The departure of Espinosa and Wilson Ramos cut some of the power from the lineup. Both 20 home run hitters in 2016, replacing that production was an issue. New catcher Derek Norris has double-digit home run power. Turner can hit extra-base hits like a seasoned vet and Harper should return to his 2015 prowess.
Where they bat is something Baker will work on all month. With limited action the first half of the Grapefruit League—more important just to get swings in than strategy—watch how he constructs the batting order over the last two weeks.
As pitchers stretch out into pitching five and six innings, starting hitters will get two and three plate appearances a game. Will Eaton or Turner hit leadoff? How do you protect Daniel Murphy and Harper? Where do you hit Jayson Werth?
Sometimes, there are good questions to have. This fits the description.
Even if things change the first month of the season, the basics will settle before the trip north and we should be excited.
4) WHAT ABOUT BRYCE HARPER?
After showing on Instagram he bulked up 15 pound this offseason to 230, Bryce Harper comes into 2017 with a huge chip on his shoulder.
From questions last year over his health and commitment, Harper enjoyed his time away. Aside from a healthy raise, he is a newlywed. As he returns to the Nationals, no one player is ready to show what he can do than he is.
Although we will never know if his shoulder hindered Harper last year, even his biggest fans must concede he was off.
Now, statistics during the spring mean nothing. If he hits .100 without homering—which would set off a panic on talk radio and the internet—it is more important to watch his swing and how Harper handles throwing from the outfield. Those two parts of his game were off last year.
If he can regain his throwing arm and timing on a swing, his offseason conditioning program then worked. It is important to see confidence and swagger. As the Nats progress through 2017, Harper’s ability to play at a high level is crucial if they are to advance in the playoffs.
Still, he need not hit .500 and 10 dingers next month to do that. Watch for the subtle things such as his swing and his arm instead. If they break camp with him showing a touch of arrogance, good things are about to happen.
3) WHAT ABOUT THE NEW FACES?
By now, we know more about Adam Eaton than we could imagine. How Derek Norris and Adam Lind fit in with the Nationals is an unknown.
Norris is expected to be the everyday catcher for Washington. After two years at the barren desert of hitting at Petco Park with the San Diego Padres, Norris is ready for the friendlier hitting confines of the NL East. Oh, and he must learn a new pitching staff and frame pitches too.
A catcher’s job is never easy.
As most fans wait and see whether Washington would sign the slugging Matt Wieters for this year, he remains a free agent. This is Norris’ job to lose. Really. He could get a push from the catcher of the future Pedro Severino, but Severino would need to tear the cover off the ball as Norris slumps to dislodge the veteran.
While Severino likely gets regular playing time with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, Norris and Jose Lobaton get the playing time this year.
Meanwhile, Lind gives the Nats a lefty power bat than can play first and give Ryan Zimmerman a blow. Although his role is a bench one, his ability to hit for power strengthen the Nats late game options.
With a year in Milwaukee under his belt recently, the transition from the American League to the NL should not be difficult. Because Zimmerman is usually eased into a full playing load, Lind will get plenty of work early in the exhibition season.
Given a major-league contract for this year, he is all but guaranteed a spot on the 25-man roster come April. If he hits .250 with 10 home runs, that is the smartest million spent by the Nationals all year.
2) OK, INJURIES?
Yes, depth is an issue.
The starting lineup and rotation are among the best in baseball. Behind them? Well…
We know Max Scherzer may not pitch at all this spring as he continues to heal from his hairline fracture on his right ring-finger knuckle. Joe Ross and his tired shoulder flared up last year. Managing his load early sets up how much Baker can lean on him when the season starts.
Oh, Stephen Strasburg is coming off an injury that shut down his season in September. His flexor mass is the most famous arm muscle in DC since Mark Rypien led the Redskins to the Super Bowl a generation ago.
GM Mike Rizzo addressed part of that depth shortage signing several pitchers to non-roster invites and minor-league contracts. Vance Worley is one of those arms with a fantastic chance of making the final roster. We will see him, A.J. Cole and Austin Voth get ample work against big-league hitters in Florida.
Yet, there is a fragile element that cannot be dismissed. As the St. Louis Cardinals discovered with Alex Reyes and his year-ending elbow injury, you never know what will happen when action starts.
Although the bench depth is bolstered by the Lind signing and the return of Stephen Drew, the rotation is not as strong. Washington cannot stress them too much in games that do not count.
A strong spring from Cole will ease minds when the inevitable injuries happen, but if there is anything outside the closer situation we hold our breath on, it is keeping those five starting pitchers in the rotation all year.
Once games start, even these fake ones, bad things can happen.
1) WHO CLOSES? OR SETS UP?
It is rare for championship-caliber teams to have such a glaring question heading into Spring Training.
Although Washington tried to secure one of the big-name closers this winter, all the targets are elsewhere. For the Nats, Mark Melancon and Kenley Jansen landed on other NL playoff clubs.
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So, the options now are in-house. Not only is there an audition for a closer, but the setup man. As if this was a high school play, there are five guys trying out for the two leads.
By the time we play for real, we will know the roles of Shawn Kelley, Blake Treinen, Joe Nathan, Sammy Solis and Koda Glover.
Nathan is a non-roster invitee, an insurance policy ad grizzled veteran at 42. Glover is the closer of the future, needing more time to polish his game. Solis is a hard-throwing lefty who impressed during last year’s NLDS loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Treinen has an impressive sinker who battles control. Kelley has the goods to close, but has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his career.
Those are the contestants. Who emerges as the winner?
We know from Baker’s comments already this is not a closer-by-committee situation. Someone will earn the job until they lose his confidence. Whew.
But, how does this get sorted out? Early on, watch who Baker uses in the fourth inning. In the Grapefruit League that is the closer’s spot. We might see all five get a shot, but Kelley and Treinen will get the bulk of the role.
Keep an eye on how Glover and Solis are used. Solis will be on the final roster, but Glover can grab an important role with a strong effort. If not, he has options and the lovely city of Syracuse will keep him fresh until duty calls.
There is a place for Nathan if he shows decent velocity and can get hitters out. He has an opt-out date in late March if Syracuse is not his cup of tea, but as an experienced closer, he truly can give Baker peace of mind by staying in the organization.
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