Monday, March 10

Welcome to the Spring Training edition of the Nationals Beat newsletter! This is your stop for the latest on and off the field, from news to exclusive player interviews and insights, brought to you by MLB.com club reporter Jessica Camerato.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring Training is a time for building camaraderie. Players get to know each other over the course of six weeks, establishing a chemistry for the season ahead. 

What if they could add a teammate from another sport? The Nationals shared which professional athletes they would like to play alongside them for a game. 

Zach Brzykcy: “I’m a Bills fan, so Josh Allen is probably up there. He just seems so fun to be around, a great leader. … He throws one of the hardest footballs, I’d say he’d be a pitcher.” 

Josh Bell: “You could throw Rafael Nadal at short and he probably could do it. Tennis is the most similar to baseball, I think. Rotational strength, he could probably throw and hit. It might take some time, but he could probably put the ball in play.” 

Andrés Chaparro: “I’ve always been a big fan of Lionel Messi. I would like to play a game with him. I think he could play second base because he’s very agile.” 

Dylan Crews: “Patrick Mahomes because he was a pitcher when he was younger. [His best pitch] would probably be a cutter. He’s always throwing a football and sliding off the side of the football, so I feel like he’s going to have a little natural cut to his fastball.”

James Wood: “LeBron James – because he’s LeBron. He would be a coach. It has nothing to do with baseball, it’s just that he’s LeBron.” 

Nathaniel Lowe: “I’d love to be teammates with Phil Mickelson for a day because I’m also a left-handed golfer and could probably pick up cues from him.” 

Colin Poche: “Dirk Nowitzki seemed like a great teammate – stayed with the Mavs his whole career, kind of took the discount to help make the team better. A guy like him seemed to put what’s good for the group ahead of what is maybe best for himself. So I think that’s probably the definition of a good teammate.” 

Nasim Nuñez: “Allen Iverson in center field. He’s athletic. I’ll teach him everything else [laughs].”

Alex Call: “I’d like to see if Victor Wembanyama could throw a ball. Could you imagine that – like, what would his extension be?” 

Yohandy Morales: “I feel like the obvious answer would be LeBron. His leadership and what he’s accomplished in the game of basketball. He would be a coach, for sure.” 

Right-handers Cole Henry and Andry Lara were optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Friday. 

The Nationals project Henry to have success shifting from starting to relief. Henry, 25, was a 2020 second-round Draft pick before he underwent thoracic outlet surgery in 2022. He pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks across three appearances in camp. 

“His stuff is good,” said manager Dave Martinez. “Health – that's going to be the big thing. If he can stay healthy, his stuff – everybody that catches him, everybody that saw him, they said, ‘Man, he's got probably some of the best stuff we've seen.’ His slider, his two-seamer is really good, his changeup is really good. So I think the move for him to the bullpen is definitely going to help him.” 

Lara, ranked as the Nationals’ No. 17 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has been in the organization since 2019. He was added to the 40-man roster in protection from the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason. Lara, 22, made three appearances (0-1, 6.00 ERA, three innings). He issued only one walk to four strikeouts, and he was scoreless in his first two outings. 

“It's his first camp, so I hope he learned a lot about himself, about what we want to do,” said Martinez. “He did talk about, he’s really got to throw strikes. We talked a lot about continuing to develop a straight changeup because he's got a really good slider, good fastball. But I told him, ‘You're part of our future. So go down there and knock the door down. And we'll be watching.’”

“I faced him last year. He’s huge. You leave a flat sinker up to him, he’s going to hit it. He’s probably one of the bigger guys in the box that you see.” – Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn on Wood’s monster homer to left field on Friday, his second home run in as many days

Friday: Spring Breakout at Astros

Sunday: Spring Breakout vs. Mets

March 24: Exhibition Game vs. Orioles

March 27: Opening Day vs. Phillies

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