Nationals bring new core, energy into first workout

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Manager Dave Martinez was eager for this day to arrive. He had been at the Nationals' training complex for weeks ahead of their first full-squad workout, and Tuesday couldn’t come soon enough.

“It was nice to see everybody take to heart what we asked them to do, which was to come to Spring Training in shape,” he said. “They all look great, they really do. The energy was positive, it was amazing. It was a good first day for us.”

The 2023 Nationals roster that took the field on Tuesday is a continuation of the core that began to take shape following a roster overhaul at the Trade Deadline last season. This camp is Martinez’s first opportunity to work with many of his players for a full season. Of their projected starting position players, only Victor Robles, Keibert Ruiz and Lane Thomas were in the Nats' starting lineup on Opening Day last year. Patrick Corbin and Josiah Gray are the only members of the starting rotation from last season’s Opening Day roster who are back.

“The exciting thing about this year is that I get to have CJ [Abrams] for a full year, MacKenzie [Gore] for a full year,” Martinez said. “I'm excited about Luis [García] -- he’s been up and down [to the Minor Leagues] for three years. Barring nothing goes wrong, he gets an opportunity to play second base every day for us. …

“Our young pitchers look very promising. I think Corbin is going to have a really bounce back year. We added Trevor [Williams], who I love because he's so competitive and he's such a good clubhouse guy. … Adding Dom [Dominic Smith], Candy [Jeimer Candelario], these guys are all going to be good for our club right now. So I'm really, really excited about this year.”

There is a short window of time to get work in before games begin this weekend. The Nationals’ first exhibition game of Spring Training is scheduled for Saturday afternoon against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. All position players except Carter Kieboom, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, have been cleared for game action.

“I told them, ‘The first day of Spring Training, that’s Opening Day for us and we’ve got a lot of work to do,’” Martinez said. “They came to camp, and they look good. A big testament to that is watching them going through their ground balls, going through their throwing programs, running the bases. These guys were motivated. They were actually going through everything at pretty much a fast speed, which was really nice to see for Day 1. Tomorrow, we’ll see how many of these guys are sore, but hopefully none of them are and we’re ready to go tomorrow.”

Martinez views this season as a clean slate from last season, when the Nationals finished last in baseball with a 55-107 record. His goals for 2023: Stay in the moment and win your day.

“When I looked back at last year over the winter, these guys really came out and they played their butts off everyday” Martinez said. “For the most part, I told them, ‘Learn from what happened last year. Let’s move forward. You guys all are going to have an opportunity to do something special, and most of you are going to be here together for a long time. So let’s build from this, and let’s get ready for next year, and let’s go knock the door down.’”