Both catchers support timeshare plan, including pinch-hitting

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Martinez intends to split playing time among his two new catchers, and those two new catchers are perfectly fine with that plan.

Though Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki each have been regulars for much of their respective careers, and though each is coming off a strong 2018 season, each understands the 2019 Nationals may be better off with roughly equal playing time between them.

"If we make that a deal, this team is not going to go forward," Gomes said. "I just think we need to both be ready whenever our names get called. That's two guys that have done it with some good pitching staffs, and it's only going to benefit. But if we put the playing time thing ahead of ourselves, it's not going to be beneficial for the team."

Gomes was an All-Star for the Indians last season who started 105 games behind the plate, compiling a .762 OPS and 2.6 WAR. Suzuki, a member of the Nationals' 2012 division-winning club and a 2014 All-Star with the Twins, posted a .776 OPS and 2.1 WAR while starting 83 games for the Braves last season.

"The guy has done it for a long time, man," Gomes said of his new teammate. "You have to respect that, especially from a catching standpoint. ... He's an awesome guy, and I'm just looking forward to a great season together."

Suzuki has enjoyed a late-career offensive renaissance, launching 31 homers the last two years after totaling 27 the previous five years. Even at 35, he seemed in line to get a high-paying job for a team in need of a starting catcher, but he doesn't mind knowing he'll have to share the workload with Gomes in Washington.

"I don't even care," he said. "At this point in my career, picking a team that has a chance to win a World Series is very important to me. And like I told (general manager Mike Rizzo) and Davey from Day One: Whatever you need me to do, I'll be ready. Whether it's 50 games, 60, whatever. However many games you want me to catch. If I can help the team win every time, I'm out there, that's great.

"I just want to win at this point in my career. I know the clock's ticking a little bit. I'm not getting younger. That World Series is getting to be pretty important right now."

Besides, if things go the way Martinez plans, Gomes and Suzuki should still get ample opportunities to contribute even when they're not in the starting lineup.

Bucking longstanding conventional baseball wisdom, Martinez intends to use his backup catcher as a late-inning pinch-hitter if the situation calls for it. Yes, he'd run the risk of not having a viable replacement if the starter got hurt. But he sees the potential benefits of another quality pinch-hitter far outweighing the extreme unlikelihood of an in-game catching emergency.

"A lot of people talk about not putting your second catcher in the game, because your first catcher might get hurt," Martinez said. "We got two pretty good hitting catchers. So the days they don't play, they might pinch-hit in the seventh, eighth inning if we have a chance to score some runs.

"If you look at all the numbers, I don't really see catchers getting really hurt in the game like that. I really don't. I explained that to them. There are days you don't catch, but don't just sit there. I'm not going to be one of those guys. If we have a chance to score some runs and you're the best available pinch-hitter we've got, or I feel the need to pinch-hit you guys, you're going to pinch-hit."