Notes and quotes from the weekend that was in West Palm Beach, FL.
DAVIES IN NATS’ MIX:
Zach Davies, who turned 31 in early February, made 18 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023, posting a 7.00 ERA, a 4.58 FIP, 39 walks (4.26 BB/9), 72 strikeouts (7.87 K/9), and an ugly .295/.370/.461 line against in 82 1⁄3 innings pitched.
Davies signed on in D.C. on February 17th, with Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez telling reporters Washington adding the veteran to the mix gave the club depth.
“You really can’t have enough arms here,” the skipper said, “… but here’s a guy that’s been very competitive in his career, understands how to get people out. He knows himself really well. He’s not a guy that’s going to throw 100 MPH, but he’s very effective, and we liked him, so we want to give him the opportunity to come here, stretch him out a little bit, and see where he’s at.”
Davies has a 4.36 ERA, 4.48 FIP, and a .262/.326/.426 line against in his 200 career starts, over nine major league seasons, and the Nationals are hoping they can get him back on track and pitching like he did between 2015-2020 (3.79 ERA, 4.18 FIP in 123 starts and 683 2⁄3 IP), as opposed to the pitcher he has been over the past three years (5.43 ERA, 5.02 FIP in 77 GS and 364 2⁄3 IP).
“We looked back, and a lot of his misses were just misses,” Martinez said of their scouting before Davies signed.
The right-hander dealt with oblique and back issues last season, and he told reporters after signing he wanted to put the injuries behind him and get back to doing what had made him successful in the past.
“I went through a couple injuries last year, so just try to get healthy,” he explained.
“Finished the season healthy, but try to go through the offseason with a routine to keep my body healthy, and try to put those injuries in the past, but also kind of mentally focused in on what I want to do for this year.”
Part of the process was looking back at what he felt went wrong for him last season.
“I think I tried to dive too much into extra things as a pitcher and try to make yourself better in certain ways instead of being yourself,” Davies said, “…and being the command guy that I am and the certain repertoire that I have, I think I got away from it too much.”
“We’re going to hopefully get him more in tune with what he used to do,” Martinez said.
“And that’s not afraid to throw the ball over the plate, throw strikes, and get him to work ahead a little bit. And we’ll see how that works out for him.”
“I just came into this year with a goal of going back to being myself, having fun with the game, enjoying every minute that I’m out there, regardless of how you’re performing,” Davies said. “I’m — along with a lot of these guys, I’m sure, I’m my own worst critic. When I’m not performing, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. But I think in those moments, I kind of lost a little bit of the reason why I’m out there: Having fun playing this game, winning ballgames and just playing baseball, going back to the roots. So I think this offseason, that was a big thought of mine, was, ‘Go out there, have fun, enjoy your time no matter where it’s at, no matter what you’re doing. And go back to playing baseball.’”
Martinez liked what he saw from Davies in the bullpen early this spring.
“He threw the ball well, and threw a ton of strikes. Threw the ball well. Changeup was good, curveball was good. I guess he’ll throw another one. Then he’ll throw some live [BP] and then we’ll see where he’s at.”
Davies made his first Grapefruit League start of the spring late last month, throwing two scoreless innings in which he walked two and struck out three.
“Overall, command felt pretty good,” Davies told reporters after the outing, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.
“In the second inning, I think I got a little bit tired and tried to rush to the plate, started missing arm-side with a lot of stuff. But in the first inning, I felt really good, fluid, under control. I think those are just kind of the nerves and the jitters of getting back into games and trying to do too much. But I’m ready to go to work for these next five days and go back out there next time.”
Start No. 2 for Davies … was postponed by rain on Sunday afternoon.
SCARY MOMENT, BEST CASE SCENARIO:
Daylen Lile, 21, and a 2021 2nd Round pick out of high school in Louisville, KY, missed the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but returned to action this past year, putting up a combined .269/.355/.452 line in 106 games and 465 plate appearances with Class-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington.
Davies was one of the prospects who made the trip with the Nationals to take on the Red Sox on the road in Ft. Myers, FL on Saturday, and he came on as a defensive replacement, then went over the outfield wall in the Sox’ spring home tracking a home run, flipping and falling flat on his back to the horror of Boston’s relievers in the right/center field bullpen.
Lile was stretchered off the field out of caution around ten minutes later, and taken to a local hospital.
several long and scary moments after this play, Daylen Lile is still on the ground. he seems to be on the medical stretcher with a large brace around his neck.
the reaction from the bullpen is terrifying
pic.twitter.com/pIWJ8AgeIj— Depressed Red Sox Fan (@TheDepressedSox) March 2, 2024
“When we left him, he was moving his feet, his legs,” Nats’ skipper Davey Martinez said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.
“Hopefully everything comes back negative. We’re going to pray for him, and hopefully everything’s good.”
The incident was frightening for the manager and everyone involved:
“You see somebody go over the wall like that, you can’t see him get up, and then everybody in the bullpen starts calling for you, you’re thinking: ‘Oh, no,’” Martinez said. “You just hope that he didn’t hit his head, his neck. All these things are going through your mind when you’re running out there.”
Thankfully, the early reports from the doctors relayed by the Nationals’ managers were positive:
Tests were negative on Daylen Lile’s back. Lower back contusion. Painful, but he will be able to play once the pain subsides. Best case scenario. A huge relief.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) March 3, 2024
Daylen Lile is out of the hospital and back in West Palm Beach. He’s sore, but all tests were negative and he’s been diagnosed with a lower back contusion.
Davey Martinez said Lile is very lucky and this was the best-case scenario.
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) March 3, 2024
“Everything came back negative,” Martinez said on Sunday, as quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco.
“He’s got a lower back contusion. I mean, he’s hurting. But he’s gonna be OK, which is great news. We lucked out.”
“I watched it last night about 10 times and he really did luck out,” Martinez added.
“I mean, the fact that he was able to flip all the way there, I know it’s still painful, but it could have been a lot worse. So we’re grateful.”