WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals signed Amed Rosario this winter to be their utility infielder. The veteran figures to get starts at second base if Davey Martinez wants to give Luis Garcia Jr. the day off, third base if Martinez wants to give Paul DeJong the day off and perhaps even shortstop if Martinez wants to give CJ Abrams the day off.
Martinez also likes that Rosario can play the outfield, something he did 26 times last season for the Rays and Reds. Which is why he had him starting in left field Tuesday night for the Nats’ exhibition game against the Astros.
“Some of these guys, I want to see them play multiple positions, in case in-game something does happen, we know he can do it,” Martinez said. “I don’t want to spring it on him. When we signed him, we talked to him about playing multiple positions. This is just part of getting him out there in spring before we leave, and getting him accustomed to playing some left field.”
With James Wood, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews unlikely to get many days off, and with Alex Call already more than capable of filling in for any of them, there probably won’t be much need for Rosario to appear in the outfield this season.
But the Nationals always want to make sure they’re covered just in case. And they wouldn’t want to throw Rosario to the wolves with no practice, so they figured it was worth it to give him at least one start in left this spring.
How did it go? Rosario looked comfortable making multiple plays out there, but he did experience one nerve-wracking moment.
In the bottom of the third, Houston’s Isaac Paredes lofted a high fly ball down the left field line. Rosario took a circuitous route before charging in on the ball. At the same time, Abrams sprinted out there from his shortstop position. The two nearly collided, then neither caught the ball, with Paredes handed a gift single.
“I got a little worried, but Rosario did the right thing,” Martinez said. “He heard CJ call it and backed off. But in spring training, you never want to see two guys run into each other.”
* Brad Lord got a chance to pitch back-to-back days out of the bullpen for the first time in his professional career and experienced some mixed results in the process.
Lord, considered one of the organization’s top starting pitcher prospects, is being given a serious look as a reliever this spring, with a real shot to make the Opening Day bullpen. Martinez was especially interested to see how he handled pitching on back-to-back days, something he expects all of his relievers to be able to do in-season.
Lord, who retired the side on 12 pitches Monday, was summoned with nobody out and a runner on first in the bottom of the sixth Tuesday. He proceeded to give up a single, then a sacrifice fly that allowed the inherited runner to score. He followed that up by hitting Mauricio Dubon with a breaking ball, but rebounded quickly to induce a 4-6-3 double play out of Chas McCormick.
All told, Lord threw only six pitches to the four batters he faced.
“A little frustrated I gave up a run,” the rookie said. “Coming in out of the pen with a runner on base, I feel it’s my job to leave him stranded. So I’m a little frustrated at that. Overall, I felt good. I’m just frustrated I let a run score.”
Regardless of the outcome, the Nationals were more impressed that Lord managed to maintain his mid-90s velocity the day after he pitched. They will continue to look at him as a potential option in the Opening Day bullpen.
“You know what I liked? He didn’t lose anything on his fastball after going back-to-back,” Martinez said. “He was 95, 96, 97, which is great.”
* Also in the running for the final spot in the bullpen is Clay Helvey, who hasn’t received as much attention as others this spring but has performed as well as anyone.
A 28-year-old, non-roster invitee who signed a minor league deal with the Nationals after spending six seasons in the Giants organization, Helvey tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth Tuesday to lock up the 4-3 win. He has yet to surrender an earned run in 9 2/3 innings this spring, though he has walked eight batters.
“He’s been really good,” Martinez said. “When I saw him the first time, I thought he had a little bit of (2024 bullpen member Jacob Barnes) in him, with a little better slider. And his stuff is good. He’s had a great camp.”