Washington Nationals news & notes: Nasim Nuñez makes it through…

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ 2023 Rule 5 pick…

“It’s going to be a challenge,” GM and President of Baseball Ops Mike Rizzo told reporters, after the Nationals selected infielder Nasim Nuñez with the 5th pick of the Rule 5 Draft, of the challenges of keeping a young player like the shortstop on the roster all season as the club had to in order to hold on to him as per the rules for Rule 5 picks.

“Obviously he’s not going to get a lot of at-bats at the big-league level,” Rizzo explained, “… but I think with the coaching staff we have now, and with the reps he will get other than game-time reps, I think there will be time to — we can really iron out some mechanical issues, he can really hit the weight room and improve his strength and flexibility, And I think he gives [manager Davey Martinez] an option off the bench: a defensive replacement, elite defensive skills, and a baserunner, base-stealer, and a guy that can help us win games at the big-league level.”

Nuñez ended up playing in 51 games total, (“the third-most by a Rule 5 pick in WSH history (2005-pres),” according to the Nationals, “trailing only Jesús Flores (79 in 2007) and Tony Blanco (56 in 2005),” getting 78 plate appearances (.246/.370/.262), and living up to the scouting report Rizzo provided on his defense when he picked the Miami Marlins’ prospect last December.

“Terrific defensively,” the GM said after the Rule 5 selection. “[Nuñez] plays elite-level shortstop, arm, range, hands, can play anywhere in the middle of the field, and big-time base-stealer. We think that there’s some upside with the bat, the bat is far behind the defense, but a guy that we think has more bat in there, takes his walks, he’s pretty selective at the plate and it was something that we’re really trying to get as many toolsy players up the middle of the field as possible and we thought this was the way to get some kind of an elite type of toolsy player onto the roster.”

“[Nuñez] had 3 outs above average, according to Baseball Savant and averaged 91.6 mph on his throws, 3rd hardest among MLB SS (min. 100 throws),” the Nationals noted in their Season in Review at the end of the 2024 campaign.

“He’s got a cannon,” Martinez said of Nuñez’s arm in late September.

“He lets it go. We always tell our first basemen, ‘You better be ready, cause it’s coming.’ But he plays the infield really well.”

Over the course of the season, the Nats’ skipper learned to trust Nuñez’s defense.

“When the ball’s hit to him I’ve got a great feeling that it’s going to be an out. He plays out there really well. He moves well, he fields everything clean, and he makes the plays,” Martinez said.

Though he would have, obviously, taken more plate appearances in the minors, the rules of the Rule 5 Draft demand he remain in the majors (or be returned to his former team), and in the end, Martinez said, Nuñez gained valuable experience with the major league club, and with the club’s trainers and coaches, learning all season and getting in there when Martinez found spots for him. The biggest benefit in his manager’s mind?

“For me, it’s the experience,” Martinez said in early September. “The fact that he’s getting to learn a lot up here about what he needs to do to play up here. Whether he plays every day, whether he’s just a super-[utility] guy, he’s understanding a lot by just watching the game. He’s up there, and he watches the game, sits up on the top of the steps, and really focuses on the game. And every time we call upon him he’s done well.”

“We all [knew] he was really good infielder,” the manager continued. “He can catch the ball, he’s got a great arm. We talked a lot about his approach hitting, and just not trying to get too big and do too much. He’s done a way better job with that. He’s taking his walks. He’s putting the ball in play. He’s starting to understand bunting is a big part of this game. And he’s getting on base for us.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“I’m really excited when I get a chance to play him, because I know, one, he’s going to catch the ball at shortstop, and he’s going to try to do the little things to help us win.”

Over the course of the season, Martinez said, he saw tremendous growth from the infielder.

“At the beginning of the year he was just really — everything was — he was in the cloud[s], right,” the skipper explained.

“First time in the major leagues, now he’s getting to understand how important it is to really pay attention to detail, and what to go through every day. He’s got an unbelievable routine.

“He comes in every day, works out, he takes his ground balls every single day. He’s starting to understand who he is as a hitter. So now I told him, I said, ‘Once you get an opportunity to play, with all the work you’ve put in, you’re going to see a big difference.”

And also, that arm is something.

“When he throws the ball across the diamond, it’s something else,” Martinez said.