PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – CJ Abrams’ quads appear to be just fine, thank you very much. And the young trio atop the Nationals lineup appears to be primed for some big things this season if Thursday’s performance was a sign of things to come.
With Abrams back playing one day after departing in the first inning with bilateral quadriceps cramps, manager Davey Martinez was able to field his preferred 1-2-3 atop his batting order against the Rays, with Abrams leading off, Dylan Crews batting second and James Wood third.
That trio got the game off to a picture-perfect start: Abrams led off with a single to center, Crews followed with a single to right-center that advanced his teammate to third base and then Wood drove everyone and himself in with a three-run homer to left off Tampa Bay starter Shane Baz.
“With James, we talk about guys on base. I want him to be the guy that drives in runs,” Martinez said. “He jumped on a pitch there right away and hit it a long way.”
Wood is a noted patient hitter, with a keen eye at the plate for such a young player. But the reason Martinez has him batting third in this lineup is precisely for scenarios like Thursday’s opening frame, when he was able to use his tremendous opposite-field power to put a big number on the board with one swing of the bat.
Abrams also has plenty of power potential, and he showed it in his second at-bat of the day, when he also homered off Baz, this ball pulled to right-center. He was able to trot around the bases with ease, not needing to test his legs after Wednesday’s brief scare, which came after a leadoff triple against the Astros.
“It’s hard for me to say: ‘Back off,’” Martinez said. “But I said: ‘A double’s a double. Don’t try to stretch it to a triple.’ He hit the ball well.”
All three young building blocks are hitting well this spring. Abrams, Crews and Wood all sport batting averages over .300, with Crews and Wood both sporting on-base percentages over .400 (Abrams is still a respectable .353). Wood leads the team with a 1.146 OPS, with Abrams at .989 and Crews at .863.
“I’m excited about those three up there,” Martinez said. “It’s going to be something to watch these guys compete.”
* A frustrating spring for Evan Reifert hit a new low Thursday, against his former organization.
Reifert, who the Nationals selected away from the Rays in last winter’s Rule 5 Draft, faced nine batters in the bottom of the fifth and retired only two of them. He issued five walks, a single, an RBI-groundout and a grand slam to No. 9 batter Coco Montes. Three of the nine plate appearances that took place during his appearance came with the bases loaded.
This was unfortunately a continuation of Reifert’s spring as a whole. He has now walked 12 batters in only 6 1/3 innings, also giving up 12 runs (11 earned) on only seven hits. His ERA entering the day was 11.12. By day’s end, it rose to 15.63.
The Nats took a chance on Reifert, seeing his eye-popping strikeout rate in the minors (14.9 per nine innings) and hoping that could translate at the big league level even though he has never pitched above Double-A. But the 25-year-old hasn’t made a strong case to be included on the Opening Day roster, let alone to remain in the majors the entire season to satisfy Rule 5 regulations.
The Nationals, who carried Rule 5 picks Thaddeus Ward in 2023 and Nasim Nunez in 2024, are approaching decision-time on Reifert, who would need to be placed on waivers and then (if unclaimed by another club) be offered back to the Rays before they could demote him to the minors.
“His stuff is good. His slider’s good. But I think he goes out there and tries to overthrow it, instead of just focusing on throwing strikes,” Martinez said. “If he throws strikes, he’s good. There’s a reason why he strikes out 14 per nine, but he’s got to throw strikes. …
“Walks are not good, especially coming out of the bullpen. I can’t put you in with a guy on base, because it's tough. He’s got to be able to throw strikes.”