Photo by Andrew Lang/TalkNats
Turning the calendar over to March gets us to under four weeks to Opening Day on March 26 in Chicago. While it is too soon to pencil in the starting lineup, we will still try to come up with nine names for a discussion ahead of Washington Nationals manager, Blake Butera, giving us more clues.
At this point, we only have nine Spring Training games in the books, and no batter has gone past 15 plate appearances on the Washington Nationals. The sample sizes are miniscule, and this leads us to using last year’s stats as the primary basis for a roster construction.
Let’s do it position-by-position for this discussion.
Designated Hitter — James Wood
This might be a spot we see the team rotate with James Wood, Daylen Lile, and a right-handed bat. Most of Spring Training has seen the team use a backup catcher for the DH spot.
Catcher — Harry Ford
Of all of the positions, this might be the toughest call for the primary starter. You have five catchers in the mix of which it really seems to be a three horse race of Harry Ford, Keibert Ruiz, and Drew Millas. The other two catchers are Riley Adams and Tres Barrera of which neither are on the 40-man roster.
The Nats still owe Ruiz just under $39 million of guaranteed money, and he has no remaining options. That might put him ahead of Ford and Millas. And truth be told, Ford and Ruiz aren’t exactly hitting well. Millas has shown the best bat of the group. Is that enough?
First Base — Luis Garcia Jr.
This is a tough call too for the first basemen in competition. The group is weak. Best guess today is Luis Garcia Jr. gets the primary spot there with a complementary right-hander on the bench. With Andres Chaparro on the 40-man roster, he might get the spot by default as Garcia’s backup.
In the mix is Abimelec Ortiz as a lefty who is also on the 40-man roster. Off the roster are lefty Matt Mervis, righty Warming Bernabel, and righty Yohandy Morales. It is certainly possible to see Garcia plus two more make the bench.
As the offseason started, President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, said that positions of need were first base, catcher, and of course, pitching. First base still remains a black hole on this team.
Second Base — Nasim Nunez
If Garcia is the first baseman, Nasim Nunez is most likely the starter at second base. Jose Tena and Seaver King could both certainly be in the mix — but you would think the Nats brass wants King playing every day in the minor leagues. Tena as a bench bat infielder who can play third base and second base, and has the inside track for the bench bat.
Orelvis Martinez and Trey Lipscomb are two other viable names off the roster to make the team as a utility infielders.
Third Base — Brady House
The right-handed Brady House really has no competition on or off the roster to play third base. Those same bench bats mentioned above for second base would be the names to give House a day-off.
Shortstop — CJ Abrams
Unless the team trades CJ Abrams, he will be the Opening Day starting shortstop with Nunez moving over for the occasional day-off for Abrams.
The rumors to trade Abrams resurfaced this week in an oddly timed Tweet from 106.7 The Fan’s official account. Strange timing to restart a rumor that Toboni shutdown over a month ago himself.
Left Field — Daylen Lile
Again, expect Daylen Lile and James Wood to alternate between left field and the DH spots. Both are left-handed, and Wood you would want in the lineup daily. Lile might get some days-off versus some lefty pitchers.
For the fourth and fifth outfielders, the mix has right-handed Joey Wiemer and Christian Franklin on the roster along with right-handed Andrew Pinckney off the roster. Can any of them step up to challenge Robert Hassell III for the final outfield spot?
Center Field — Jacob Young
So far nobody has shown well in the outfield to challenge Jacob Young. What he did in his three innings of Spring Training is rob a home run in Friday’s game. Defense and adequate offense is needed up the middle on this team. This is also where Hassell would fit as a platoon bat with Young. And Wiemer is the other name to compete with Young especially since he is a righty bat.
Of course this is also where this is chatter that Dylan Crews should play center field. But he has the best outfield arm, and the team’s best defensive right fielder.
Right Field — Dylan Crews
This is where Crews adds value as a defender since his bat has been lagging. If he can get that bat going, this changes a lot for the future. A TalkNats saying, “That’s a big if.”
Lineup
- CJ Abrams SS LH
- Dylan Crews RF RH
- James Wood DH LH
- Brady House 3B RH
- Daylen Lile LF LH
- Luis Garcia Jr. 1B LH
- Harry Ford C RH
- Nasim Nunez 2B SH
- Jacob Young CF RH
Bench
- Keibert Ruiz C SH
- Jose Tena IF LH
- Andres Chaparro 1B/DH RH
- Outfielder/First Baseman/DH
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