At career crossroads, Moore needs to come through in a pinch

VIERA, Fla. - There are certain givens each spring training. A major accident will clog up Interstate 95 when you're trying to pick up the north/south thoroughfare for a road game. A new chain restaurant will open at The Avenue at Viera. The Internet at Space Coast Stadium will fade in and out, usually at the most inopportune time.

And Tyler Moore will face uphill odds to make the Nationals' 25-man roster out of camp.

This time around, however, Moore has an even more daunting task. He's out of options, meaning he can't be sent to Triple-A without first being exposed to waivers, and he seems to have fallen behind Clint Robinson at first base and a host of outfielders on the depth chart.

"It's never easy, but I like it that way," Moore said yesterday after hitting his first home run of the Grapefruit League campaign. "It makes you stay hungry, it makes you not take anything for granted. It makes you come in and play hard. It's not just a cakewalk that you go about your day, it's something you're competing with. And I like it."

Moore's sixth-inning solo blast to left field off Tigers reliever Jose Valdez's 1-2 fastball came as a pinch-hitter, and if there's one role the 29-year-old has to learn to master, it's coming off the bench and swinging a productive bat. Moore has been known to run into a fastball or two when called in a pinch - three of his 13 career pinch-hits have been home runs - but he's struggled off the bench with a lifetime .121/.183/.252 slash line as a pinch-hitter.

Before Wednesday, when he also made a loud out by flying to center, Moore had been in a 1-for-14 hole this spring. That's not exactly the kind of impression he wanted to make on new manager Dusty Baker, who wants guys coming off the bench who are capable of delivering big hits.

"I haven't seen the best from Tyler Moore because I know that he's a better hitter than I've seen. ... I'm giving him a lot of at-bats and reps," Baker said before yesterday's game. "Everybody doesn't start the same. I don't know if he's a fast starter, a slow starter or what, so I'm just giving him an opportunity."

The Nationals drafted and developed Moore, but he hasn't been a reliable offensive factor since 2012, when he homered 10 times in 171 plate appearances and stroked a game-winning two-run pinch single in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals. Last season, as Robinson got more playing time in place of injured first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and even took regular turns in the outfield, Moore's average plummeted to a career-low .203.

Baker said it's in the Nationals' best interests to do whatever they can to get Moore's bat heated up. He could be a useful reserve in D.C. Even if he doesn't have a place on the team out of spring training, it's conceivable that the Nats hold on to Moore until they have to release him, hoping another team's injury problem or ineffective player creates a trade match.

But Moore could help his own value by demonstrating that he can be an effective weapon off the bench. Baker is cognizant that not every player is well suited for reserve duty, but hopes Moore can make the transition and learn to be a better pinch-hitter.

"There's a mindset you go into," Baker said. "You got to watch the pitcher, you got to know his every move. It's a mindset. It was very difficult for me to do that early in my career, ... but that's going to be part of his role here, so he's got to figure out how to do it. It's about survival, right?"

Accepting that filling that role carries differs from playing regularly, Moore believes he sometimes pays a price for overthinking.

"The more I think about it, the worse it is," he says.

Moore hopes the first sign of spring power is a step in the right direction.

"It felt real good," he said. "The last 10 at-bats or so, I felt kind of late at the plate. Today was just a deal where I was going to tell myself to be more early at the plate and just see the ball a little better."

Added Baker: "I'm hoping this is the start of something nice, for his sake and ours."

Programming note: Tonight's 5 p.m. exhibition game between the Astros and Nationals from Space Coast Stadium will be broadcast live on MASN. Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo will call the action with Dan Kolko reporting from the sidelines.

Note: The Nationals yesterday agreed to terms with all 22 of their pre-arbitration players (those with zero to three years of service time). They are right-handers Aaron Barrett, A.J. Cole, Abel de los Santos, Trevor Gott, Taylor Jordan, Rafael Martin, Tanner Roark, Joe Ross and Blake Treinen; left-handers Matt Grace, Nick Lee, Felipe Rivero and Sammy Solis; catchers Spencer Kieboom and Pedro Severino; infielders Chris Bostick, Wilmer Difo and Trea Turner; outfielders Matt den Dekker, Brian Goodwin and Michael A. Taylor; and infielder/outfielder Clint Robinson.