With more muscle and new outlook, Lipscomb looking to earn his spot back in the majors

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Trey Lipscomb was the surprise standout of Nationals spring training this time last year. A former third-round pick and top-30 prospect who was invited to major league camp for the first time and was expected just to learn from the experience.

But the Frederick, Md., native did much more than learn. He took that opportunity and ran with it, nearly making the Opening Day roster out of camp. In 21 Grapefruit League games, Lipscomb slashed .400/.455/.540 with a .995 OPS, two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBIs, a stolen base and five walks to seven strikeouts, all while playing excellent defense all over the infield.

After a less-than-spectacular spring by Luis García Jr., who needed to prove he deserved his spot on the major league roster, Lipscomb played his way into the conversation for Opening Day.

Ultimately, the Nats decided to stick with García and have Lipscomb start his season at Triple-A Rochester. But then Nick Senzel fractured his thumb on Opening Day in Cincinnati and Lipscomb was on his way to the big leagues for the second game of the season.

What followed was an up-and-down year for the young infielder. Literally.

Lipscomb was optioned down to the minors four times over six months and recalled back to the majors five times. Way more than just a cup of coffee. He had some nice moments with the Nats, mainly in the field, but finished with a .200 batting average and .500 OPS in 61 big league games.

“First, I was just grateful to be given the opportunity,” Lipscomb said. “Obviously, you didn't want to go up and down, but to be able to be the guy that they have, like the next guy up ready to get up there, is big. And I appreciate the coach staff for having that look on me. But at the end of the day, I want to stay up there. That's the goal.

“It was good to make my debut. Everything happened so fast last year. It's good that I got a little taste of it. I definitely wanted to have a bigger taste. But sometimes just things don't play out the way you want them to. And you just got to go into the offseason hungry and get back to work. And I feel like that's kind of where I'm at right now.”

Lipscomb entered camp this year without the ability to sneak up on anyone. And after García’s breakout year in 2024 and some offseason additions to the infield, opportunities for him in the majors seemingly have shrunk. Even though he’s 5-for-11 (.455) with an RBI, two stolen bases and two walks to one strikeout through his first six spring games, he’s not garnering attention like he did last year.

He needs to stand out on his own. Adding muscle in the offseason, he thinks, will help him do that.

“The biggest thing was, honestly, just trying to get some more weight on me,” Lipscomb said. “I feel like I got into spring training last year and I felt pretty good. And then the sun wears you out every day, you lose a few pounds, tend to skip a few meals. That's one thing I really focused on during the offseason was kind of putting on some weight. Therefore, later into the season getting into August, you kind of want to be ready to go still, because you want to play your best baseball in October.”

Lipscomb was listed as 202 pounds at the start of last season. But by the end of the year, he said he had dropped down to 193-195 pounds.

This year, he said he entered spring training between 212-214 pounds, almost a 20-pound increase from just five months ago.

“I feel pretty good. Still feel pretty light on my feet,” he said. “I feel like you can put on all the weight you want to, you can look good in the mirror and all that stuff, but if you're not moving the same out there, then it doesn't really benefit you.”

How did Lipscomb maintain his speed and agility while adding muscle mass? By heading to the sauna and pool at the local YMCA in Frederick.

“I would go there and just sit in the sauna,” he explained. “And a couple of days, some people would come in and they would have these swim caps. And I would be like, 'What are you guys doing?' And they'd be like, 'Oh, it's good for cardiovascular health, swimming laps and all of that, it's good for you.' So I got out there a couple times and swam some laps. First time, I was like, man, I don't know how they do this. But I feel like it really, not only does it help you endurance-wise and stuff like that, but it can give you a nice little tranquility part. It can calm you down a little bit and then you go get in the sauna. Everybody knows all the benefits of the sauna.”

Calming down is another thing he worked on this offseason. Despite some good moments last year, Lipscomb will be the first to admit he was trying to do too much at times. His time reflecting while in the sauna or pool helped him realize he needed to slow the game down.

“I think last year, I just tried to be somebody who I wasn't,” he said. “I was going out there trying to basically be Superman out there. And that's not who I am. I need to go out there and play the game I've played since I was a young kid.”

This was something a former Nationals infielder confirmed to him last week in camp. Ian Desmond, who spent three days with the Nats last week as a guest instructor, helped Lipscomb rediscover who he is as a ballplayer and relax.

“He saw me taking some swings in the cage, and he was like, 'You keep swinging the bat four or five times without taking a breath. Act like you're in the game. Step into the box. Have a routine,'” Lipscomb said. “Because, as much as you say it doesn't matter going up and down, it'll affect anybody. But you get in there and if you have the same routine, you don't have to try to be Superman, like I said earlier. You can kind of just stick to your routine, you know that's gonna work for you. And so he told me, before you get in the box, take a deep breath, focus in on one spot. If you're looking at the bat, take a look at that, and then just keep it simple. I feel the last couple of days that helped me relax.”

The Nationals will have nine former players act as guest instructors before camp breaks, which Lipscomb says is invaluable to the current group of young players. But for him specifically, a kid from Frederick who watched Nats games growing up, interacting with them has been surreal.

Especially Desmond, a two-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and fellow infielder drafted in the third round by this franchise.

“You see him play out there on the field and he's got that flair to him,” Lipscomb said. “He's kind of just like, you love to have on your team but you hate to play against him. That's kind of the vibe I got from him. Obviously, now that he's out of the game, it's good that he's coming around here and helping us out. Because sometimes it's not mechanical stuff. Sometimes you can conquer something with your brain. It's a very powerful thing that us humans have. And I feel like that's something that he made me tap into. He would show me a video and be like, 'Hey, this is the video I saw and it helped out my career.' And then I think, for the sake of me, I think if I just focus on one thing, keep it simple, I think it's going to help me.”

Lipscomb knows he has to earn his spot back to the majors. But he also feels his offseason work and new mental approach to the game has better prepared him for the ebbs and flows of the grind that is a baseball season.

“When good things happen, they happen,” he said. “Just know that the work you put in before the game, or even in the offseason, it's gonna work out for you. But if you get in there and try to change things like that and get wrapped up in your head, then – the majority of the game, I would say, is probably the mental game – and if you get wrapped up in your head a lot, then you can be defeated real quick.”