Outfield shuffle goes on for Washington
With ranks thinned by injuries, De Aza is latest to lend a hand
For a few minutes Sunday morning, Alejandro De Aza sat in front of a monitor in the visitors’ clubhouse at Petco Park to watch clips of San Diego Padres righthander Dinelson Lamet. Due to heavy churn among Nationals outfielders, De Aza would be the first batter to face Lamet a few hours later as Washington’s leadoff man and right fielder in his second start since joining the club last Wednesday.
Twenty-five miles south, across the U.S.-Mexican border, the Tijuana Toros were slated to host the Aguascalientes Rieleros at Estadio Gasmart in Game 6 of a best-of-seven series for the Mexican Baseball League North Division championship. De Aza could just as easily have been preparing for that game. In June, De Aza was in Tijuana with a deal in place to play for the Toros, just waiting for the team to return from a road trip when the Nationals called his agent with a minor league contract offer.
“I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s go,’ ” De Aza said.
De Aza reported to Class AAA Syracuse to play every day. Two months later, the 33-year-old De Aza, who spent spring training with the Oakland Athletics, suited up for his seventh major league team, one that never envisioned needing him. The Nationals pride themselves on their outfield depth, which stretches from top prospects Juan Soto and Victor Robles to MVP candidate Bryce Harper to clubhouse kingpin Jayson Werth. But that strength has eroded sharply over the last four months, producing a dizzying carousel of stand-ins.
13 and counting
De Aza, who was summoned to replace the injured Brian Goodwin, became the Nationals’ 13th player to log an inning in the outfield this season. That number is tied for second in baseball with the Cleveland Indians behind the San Francisco Giants, who have used 17 outfielders.
Of Washington’s 13, eight have spent time on a disabled list, and five of the 11 Nationals currently on the disabled list are outfielders: Goodwin (groin), Harper (knee), Werth (foot), Adam Eaton (knee) and Ryan Raburn (trapezius). That doesn’t include Rafael Bautista, who appeared in nine games earlier this season and was just activated from Class AAA Syracuse’s DL on Monday after dealing with a hamstring injury. Chris Heisey was also on the disabled list when he was released in late July, and Michael A. Taylor spent five weeks there with a strained oblique.
The only players who have appeared in the Nationals’ outfield this season and have not landed on the DL are Adam Lind, Andrew Stevenson, Wilmer Difo, Howie Kendrick and De Aza.
“I thought they were maybe going to call me back,” joked 68-year-old Nationals manager Dusty Baker, a former outfielder.
The Nationals, however, expect everyone besides Eaton back before the end of the season. Goodwin, who stepped up in Taylor’s absence, did some light jogging on the field every day in San Diego. Harper joined the club on the trip and appeared less hampered by the bone bruise he suffered on Aug. 12. Werth, meanwhile, was on the other coast rehabbing and is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Syracuse on Monday.
Next stop: Houston
Until then, the Nationals, who have maintained a massive lead in the National League East despite the flurry of setbacks, will roll with what’s remaining in their outfield reserves. As it currently stands, the group includes a first baseman who has been platooning in left field because he rakes against righties (Lind), a rookie who began the season with Class AA Harrisburg (Stevenson), a hot-hitting utility man acquired last month to come off the bench in October (Kendrick), a defensive dynamo who’s trying to rediscover his pre-injury form at the plate (Taylor), and De Aza, who batted .205 with a .618 OPS in 267 plate appearances for the Mets last season.
After De Aza went 0-for-3 in his first start with Washington on Saturday, his appearance Sunday was a roller coaster. The Dominican walked, bunted for a single, scored, struck out and lost a routine fly ball in the sun in right field in the Nationals’ 4-1 win. He’ll probably find himself in the lineup again this week against the Astros in a clash between first-place clubs at Minute Maid Park, a world away from Tijuana.
“When doors open, you always should try to take advantage,” De Aza said. “And I’m going to try to take advantage of this opportunity to the maximum.”