Adams passes surprise first test at first base

The idea was first broached late last summer, after the Nationals acquired Riley Adams from the Blue Jays and wondered if it might make sense to have him start learning how to play first base.

It continued in earnest this spring, with infield coaches Gary DiSarcina and Tim Bogar working with Adams at first base (when he wasn’t busy with his myriad catching responsibilities) and picked up as the regular season commenced, with Adams joining Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz taking grounders almost daily at the position.

And yet, as of 11:30 a.m. Sunday, the Nats did not have any immediate plans to actually play Adams at first base in a game. It would only happen, Davey Martinez insisted, in case of emergency.

“I talked to DiSarcina and Bogie, they still want some more time to work with him,” the manager said prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Giants. “So he’s going to work over there just in case something does happen.”

Well, at precisely 1:37 p.m., something did happen. Two pitches into the game, third baseman Lucius Fox tried to make his way back to the dugout but made it only near the pitcher’s mound before he had to bend over and vomit on the infield grass. Fox eventually was helped off the field as Maikel Franco shifted to third base. And because Josh Bell already was sidelined with a tight hamstring and Victor Robles was nursing a sore groin muscle, Adams wound up taking the field wearing a first baseman’s mitt for the first time in a major league game.

“That was an emergency,” Martinez admitted afterward. “We couldn’t use Josh. That was it. Robles, we didn’t want to play him today because he’s got a little groin issue. That’s what we had.”

Adams wasn’t completely caught off-guard. Moments after the national anthem had been sung, Bogar mentioned to him that Fox was feeling ill and that there was a chance he’d have to play first base at some point during the game.

It just happened a bit sooner than Adams imagined it would.

“I’ve been trying my best to work over there, get as many reps in, talk to JB, talk to Bogey, talk to DiSar as much as I can to figure out what to do over there,” he said. “I felt like I was as prepared as I could be for that.”

A lot of things went wrong for the Nationals during their 12-3 blowout loss to San Francisco, but Adams’ play at first base wasn’t on the list. He enjoyed a rather mundane game in the field, successfully receiving eight throws from teammates around the infield and watching only one batted ball come his way.

That one batted ball came in the top of the eighth, via Giants center fielder Luis González. Adams had to move a couple steps to his right to make a backhanded snag, then did a nice job underhand tossing the ball to pitcher Andres Machado covering first base for the out.

“At first we thought: ‘Oh, boy,’” Martinez said. “We thought he was going to throw it overhand. And he did exactly what he’s supposed to do: Pull up, close the gap, run and toss it to the pitcher ahead of him. He did great.”

Adams mentioned he didn’t think he got any “hot shots” hit at him during the game, but he apparently didn’t realize that grounder left Gonzalez’s bat at 101.9 mph. It was actually the hardest-hit ground ball in the entire game.

The 25-year-old did acknowledge all the pregame prep work in the world couldn’t fully simulate what he would experience in a real major league game.

“It’s way different,” he said. “I think in the games they hit it a little harder sometimes. I didn’t get any hot shots today, but I’m confident in that situation it could be and I’d be ready to help the team as much as I can.”

Now that they’ve broken the seal and tried Adams at first base, the Nationals will have to decide if they want to do it again in a non-emergency situation. With Keibert Ruiz pretty firmly entrenched as the team’s No. 1 catcher in the both the short- and long-term, Adams’ playing opportunities figure to remain limited to one start behind the plate per series. And with Nelson Cruz serving as designated hitter every day, there simply aren’t other opportunities to get Adams at-bats.

Club officials continue to maintain they view Adams as a catcher, both now and in the future. But it’s not hard to imagine a scenario in which he becomes at least a part-time first baseman whenever Bell needs a day off.

“His primary position is catching, and he’s doing well catching,” Martinez said prior to the game. “But it’s nice to have him be able to play first base in case of emergency.”