Castillo has sore shoulder, plus other notes (game canceled)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals' first injury of the spring may not involve a member of the 40-man roster, but it does involve a veteran trying to squeeze his way onto the opening day roster.

Welington Castillo, a catcher with 10 years of big league experience, was due to DH in tonight's Grapefruit League opener but was scratched with a sore right shoulder.

Davey Martinez said Castillo approached him earlier today and informed him of the ailment. The manager didn't hesitate to give him the night off.

"He came in my office, and I said: 'Hey, it's Feb. 22. Let's take care of it,'" Martinez said. "'I'll give you a few days, and we'll see where you're at.'"

Castillo was scheduled to catch one of Sunday's split-squad games as well, but he'll now sit that one out as well.

The 32-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Nationals shortly before the start of spring training and was given an invitation to big league camp. He faces long odds of cracking the opening day roster, with Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki entrenched as the club's two regular catchers.

But Martinez, who knew Castillo from their days together with the Cubs, has considered the idea of carrying a third catcher early this season, taking advantage of the extra 26th man that has now been added to the daily roster. Such a move would help free up Suzuki and Gomes to pinch-hit on nights they aren't in the lineup while ensuring there's another catcher available to play in case of emergency.

There's still plenty of time for Castillo (owner of a career .254 batting average, 98 homers and 339 RBIs) to make it back and make his case this spring. But for a non-roster invitee hoping to open some eyes, an early spring injury is a particularly tough obstacle to overcome.

* Victor Robles gets his first chance to lead off tonight, and it probably won't be his last chance. Martinez is strongly considering a new-look lineup that would move Trea Turner to the No. 3 spot, but that would require Robles proving he's ready to hit atop the order.

Robles, who mostly batted eighth or ninth last season, is going to have to prove he can lay off pitches out of the strike zone and boost his .326 on-base percentage from his rookie season. (He reached base at a .394 clip during his minor league career.)

But at this point, this early in spring, Martinez doesn't want the young outfielder thinking about that when he steps to the plate.

"I just want him to work on whatever he's working on," the manager said. "Just like I've told Trea. We don't ever want to take away their aggressiveness. I just want to see him play and get comfortable up there."

* Max Scherzer is expected to throw one or two innings tonight, depending on his pitch count. Martinez said he doesn't want his ace to top 30 pitches in his spring training opener.

The Nationals have split-squad games on the schedule Sunday. Austin Voth will start the home game against the Astros, with Erick Fedde facing the Marlins in Jupiter. Prospect Wil Crowe has been named Monday's starter against the Mets.

Update: The good news: The 2020 exhibition season is underway. The bad news: Only two innings down and we're in our first rain delay of 2020. It was lightly raining in the top of the second, but then it really started coming down in the bottom of the inning, after which they pulled the tarp out as everyone scurried for cover.

Scherzer did get his two innings in, and he looked pretty sharp for Feb. 22. The right-hander threw 22 pitches, 13 of those strikes. He allowed one hit (a line drive single to Taylor Jones) and one walk (Ronnie Dawson, who was aided by C.B. Bucknor's questionable strike zone). Scherzer struck out a pair, both on offspeed pitches. His fastball registered 92-95 mph, right where it should be.

The Nationals lineup went six up, six down against Astros starter Cristian Javier, who struck out Michael A. Taylor, Gomes and Andrew Stevenson.

And for anyone who was wondering about the crowd reaction tonight: Anything involving the Nationals has been met with cheers. Anything involving the Astros has been met with boos. Well, almost anything involving the Astros. Dusty Baker did get a nice ovation when he was introduced, and he doffed his cap. Baker and Martinez embraced near home plate shortly before the national anthem, and a few Nats players made a point to go hug him before the game.

Update II: They are going to attempt to resume this game at 8 p.m. You won't be seeing any of the Nats regulars returning to action.

Update III: Never mind. The rain picked up again, they re-covered the infield and this game has been canceled. See you again tomorrow at 1 p.m.