Washington Nationals news & notes: Spring Training updates; Injury news; CF in D.C. in 2024…

Notes and quotes from the first two days of Spring Training 2024…

GETTING TO KNOW YOU AND YOU AND YOU:

Davey Martinez talked on Day 1 of Spring Training 2024 about watching all of the players the club assembled this year as they are reuniting, getting comfortable, or getting to know one another in West Palm Beach, FL.

Returning players from 2023’s roster, those who signed on this winter, and the prospects in their system who got invited to big league Spring Training, are all starting to build towards Opening Day.

“I’ve seen some guys already kind of mix and mingle with some of the veteran guys, and so it’s been interesting to watch the whole combination of how they’re conversing,” Martinez said.

“So I’m excited, I’m really excited about this year. I talk a lot about what our young players did last year. Another year under their belt. And I’m looking at these guys to do some big things for us this year.”

Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Among those who’ve already arrived, Martinez said there is tremendous talent gathered in one place.

“I forget about how many unbelievable young guys we’ve got,” he said in his first press conference of the spring.

“I’m excited about this bunch. I really am,” he added. “I’m excited about the future and the direction we’re going.”

“There’s an excitement in there, I know that,” GM Mike Rizzo said on Wednesday, as quoted by the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden, about the players they have signed, drafted, and acquired via trades over the last few years coming together build something in the nation’s capital.

“It’s just going to build. As these guys grow together in their careers, camaraderie begins, and that’s how chemistry evolves. This is a good starting point for that goal.”

Martinez said on Day 2 he saw all of his players, “… starting to have conversations, seeing guys communicate, and starting to build that bond again,” adding, “… it never gets old.”

INJURY NEWS:

Mason Thompson struggled through an up and down 2023 campaign.

Thompson, 25, posted a 1.89 ERA, a 2.47 FIP, a walk, 17 strikeouts, and a stingy .194/.217./313 line against in 11 games and 19 innings pitched in April. By the end of May, his ERA was up to 4.76, with a 4.00 FIP and a .252/.316/.383 line against in 21 games and 28 1⁄3 IP on the year, following a 10-game stretch in which he put up a 10.61 ERA, a 7.11 FIP, and a .350/.458/.500 line against in 9 1⁄3IP.

The hard-throwing right-handed reliever bounced back with a strong month of June (in which he posted a 0.82 ERA, a 3.26 FIP, and a .189/.333/.216 line against in 12 games and 11 IP), but July was another tough month for Thompson, who put up a 9.00 ERA, 4.13 FIP, and a .394/.462/.455 line against in nine games and eight innings pitched. He went on the IL with a knee issue in August.

When Thompson returned, he made nine appearances, throwing 6 2⁄3 IP between August 20th and September 10th, with a 12.15 ERA, 5.36 FIP, and a .441/.474/.706 line against before he was optioned down to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Jackson Rutledge to come up and start.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

Unfortunately, Spring Training 2024 is not off to a great start for Thompson.

“Mason, right now, he’s got a little arm issue,” manager Davey Martinez told reporters on Day 1 of Spring Training.

“We’re going to see what’s going on with him. We’ll take it slow with him.”

Thompson felt discomfort in his elbow as he threw a bullpen session, so for now he’s been shut down for two weeks. And, yes, there is some concern about the issue.

“We’re a little bit concerned,” Martinez acknowledged.

“Like I said, we’ll take it slow with him. We’re still really early in Spring Training, so we’ll see. We’ll rehab him and see where we’re at in two weeks.”

Here’s how Thompson described what went wrong in his bullpen session, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman:

“It felt great. Ball was coming out good,” Thompson said. “Made it towards the end and just felt something, just felt some discomfort, something that just didn’t feel great. Gave it a couple of days, kind of was hoping that it was just some fatigue from the first time facing hitters throwing full speed. Unfortunately, it just kind of continued to persist, and now we’re here.”

CF IN D.C.:

Victor Robles, who’ll turn 27 this May, went 32 for 107 (.299/.385/.365) at the plate in 2023, playing in just 36 games overall, with a back injury leading to an IL stint in early May.

He returned to the lineup mid-June, but then ended up back on the IL on June 20th, and never returned to the majors, which, Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez said was really a shame, especially considering how Robles had played early on in the year.

“It stinks for him, and for us, because we challenged him to make some changes with his swing,” Martinez said towards the end of the year, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

“He did it, and he was doing really, really well. I really wish we could’ve seen that for 550 plate appearances, because I think he would’ve surprised a lot of people.

“But only time will tell now.”

GM Mike Rizzo told reporters this winter he was hoping to see the Robles who was highly-regarded as a prospect on the way up and who played a significant role on the 2019 Nats’ championship roster as a 22-year-old in his first full MLB season.

“Be healthy, and be Victor,” Rizzo said when asked this winter what he wanted to see from the center fielder in 2024.

“Be Victor of 2019, when he was a rookie playing with his hair on fire, and he was a pretty damn good player.

“We know it’s in there, and we’re waiting for it to resurface. And a healthy Victor playing like he played in 2019 is an asset to the team.”

“It’s all going to depend on his health,” Martinez said at the Winter Meetings. “I’m glad that he’ll be back. We definitely could use him.”

With Robles missing long stretches last season, Alex Call played 81 games in center field for the Nationals, with Jacob Young’s 32 games in center third-most on the team.

Martinez said on Day 1 of Spring Training this year he saw the center field job in D.C. as up for grabs, with Young (24 years old) and Robles the top two battling for the spot.

“We’re going to have a battle for center field with Young and Robles,” he said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

Asked on Day 2 to elaborate on how things stand as the club gets going this spring, he said on Thursday Robles is probably starting off with the upper hand, but there will be a battle.

“If I had to say right now, I think Vic has a little bit of the upper hand. But I liked everything I saw about Jacob,” Martinez explained. “He’s young, but you’ve got to remember, Vic is still really young, so, and he got hurt. I want to give him the opportunity to come back this year and have a good Spring Training and see what he can do.

“But I love what Jacob did, and I know he can play up here and help us win games.

“I think he showed that, and I think he’s going to get better. But Vic was our center fielder, and right now I say they’re going to compete, if they both were equal, I would say that Vic had the upper hand.”

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