Nats set pitching plans with Gore on the back fields; Spring Breakout roster announced

JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals will be trying some new things this weekend as they continue to get their pitchers ready for the regular season.

For the most part, the starters are staying in the same rotation. There are just some tweaks as to how and where they’ll be getting their work done over the next couple of days.

The rotation following Michael Soroka’s start today against the Cardinals includes Trevor Williams starting tomorrow night against the Mets, with MacKenzie Gore and Kyle Finnegan pitching on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. DJ Herz starts Saturday’s game against the Cardinals and Jake Irvin starts Sunday’s game against the Mets, with both matchups on MASN. And Shinnosuke Ogasawara will start one of Monday’s split-squad games against the Marlins.

Mitchell Parker is still day-to-day with a stiff neck after not pitching on his regularly scheduled day yesterday behind Ogasawara.

“Parker is still day-to-day,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame session with the media. “I want to make sure that we get this neck thing right before we send him back out.”

Gore pitched three scoreless innings in his spring debut Saturday night against the Marlins. But the Nationals want him to work on some things in the controlled environment of the back fields before he takes the mound again in a Grapefruit League game.

“We're going to get him back there and work on some first-pitch stuff with him,” Martinez said. “We're gonna try to get him to throw some first-pitch curveballs for strikes. We would rather do it in a controlled environment.”

The Nats used this approach with Gore last spring training, believing the process helps the 26-year-old lefty focus on the adjustments being made instead of the in-game results.

“I think it helps him,” Martinez said. “The thought process is a little different when he knows he's going to work on something. So we'll get him back there and he'll get five ups. But we'll do it to where we'll get him around 20 pitches an inning just to make sure he gets four or five ups.”

Gore induced first-pitch swings 33.8 percent of the time last year, which was almost a three-point increase from 2023. But his first-pitch strike percentage decreased almost a full point from 2023 to 2024 at 58.1 percent, which was among the lowest for qualified pitchers.

“I think if he's able to land a breaking ball early in counts, it puts a lot of thought into hitters,” Martinez said. “As I always say, his stuff is electric. I think to be able to steal strikes would definitely help him. Not many hitters are going to set up there looking for a breaking ball with him first pitch.”

The Nationals are also preparing to put relievers into games soon, specifically Finnegan, Derek Law and Jorge López, who pitched a scoreless inning on Tuesday against the Cardinals.

“Law is going to throw,” Martinez said. “He's got another bullpen and he's going to throw a side. And if that goes well, then we might see him in the game soon. He's itching to pitch. But like I said, by the time we get him going, he'll have five appearances, which is plenty. Finnegan, if this goes well, we'll see how he feels, whether he does another one back there before he gets in the game or if he's ready to go in a game. López was out there the other day, so he'll be out there. I think he's every three days. He threw the ball really well, too. He didn't realize how good he threw the ball and he was shocked that his velo was at 95 (mph).”

* The Nationals announced their roster for next weekend’s Spring Breakout games. The event, which started last spring training, promotes the top prospects in the sport.

The Nats roster is highlighted by pitchers Andrew Alvarez, Alex Clemmey, Brad Lord, Tyler Stuart and Jarlin Susana; catchers Kevin Bazzell, Sir Jamison Jones and Caleb Lomavita; infielders Luke Dickerson, Brady House, Seaver King, Yohandy Morales and Cayden Wallace; and outfielders Elijah Green, Daylen Lile, Andrew Pinckney and T.J. White.

The full roster can be viewed here.

The Nationals will play two Spring Breakout games next weekend. The first is against the Astros on Friday, March 14 at 2:05 p.m. in West Palm Beach (available out-of-market on MLB Network). The second is Sunday, March 16 at home against the Mets at 5:05 p.m. on MASN.