Nats begin workouts as spending contenders
Cy Young winner Scherzer sounds off on free agency
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — After gathering for a morning meeting, and after a long winter filled, at least in part, by the dissatisfaction from last season, the Washington Nationals broke from a circle and started toward their spring training fields, their metal spikes grinding against the pavement, their white uniforms untouched by grass or dirt.
“It’s 10:03!” yelled third base coach Bob Henley, who educated the players about everything from sunscreen to water to effort in a 20-minute speech. “It’s 10:03 right now!”
And so it was time for baseball, yet again, as the Nationals’ pitchers and catchers began their first official workout beneath a light-blue sky in West Palm Beach. A handful of fans arrived early and lined the fences by the bullpen. Position players will arrive Monday, though Adam Eaton and Trea Turner are already at the facility working out. The Nationals, as a whole, arrive here as spending contenders and that’s more than a lot of teams can say.
With camps starting up across Florida and Arizona, a big group of free agents remain unsigned. That includes Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, the two 26-year-old stars of the market, and other established major leaguers in starter Dallas Keuchel, reliever Craig Kimbrel and third baseman Mike Moustakas, among many others. This has sparked frustration among players, signed to a team or not, as whispers of collusion and low-spending franchises have dominated the offseason discussion. There seems to be a consensus that not enough teams are building a winning product, which has stalled the market for higher-priced veterans and tilted the scales toward younger, cheaper options.
It was supposed to be a momentous winter for baseball, with two of its brightest talents hitting free agency and many others generating excitement. It has dissolved into anything but.
“When there are too many teams that are not trying to win that poisons the game, poisons the fan experience and it creates bandwagon fans,” said Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who spoke decisively and at length about the issues facing the sport. “If you’re constantly just trying to go in this win-loss cycle that MLB is pushing you are creating bandwagon fans and that’s not the type of fans you want to create. You want to create the fans that are following the team, year-in, year-out.”
But this has not been the case with the Nationals, this offseason or otherwise, as they went out and signed a marquee starting pitcher in Patrick Corbin and filled holes at catcher, second base, in the bullpen and on the bench.
“Very appreciate to have an ownership group that has been aggressive in free agency and continues to make moves and push financial resources onto the table to be in a win-now mode and do whatever it takes to win,” Scherzer said. “We’re not seeing that across the league, so for me to be in a clubhouse and be a part of a team and organization that does that, right now I’m very thankful. It’s an exciting time to come into spring training with our team.”
The Nationals’ spree included a sixyear, $140 million contract for Corbin — still the longest and most-lucrative contract of the offseason — signing two proven catchers in Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes, adding Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough to the bullpen, bringing on veteran starters Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hellickson, re-signing Matt Adams and inking power-hitting second baseman Brian Dozier to a one-year deal. These players will join Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Sean Doolittle, Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman, Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Juan Soto, among others, in ushering in the post-Bryce Harper era.