Guthrie makes one last pitch to make Nationals staff

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Jeremy Guthrie came to Nationals camp last month with a simple objective: make one genuine last attempt to make a major league pitching staff.

He still had a bitter taste in his mouth after pressing too hard one year ago and then struggling with two different Triple-A clubs. He wanted to give it another try.

And if it didn't work out?

"I feel like there was something left, something pushing me," the 37-year-old right-hander said. "When I'd go to bed at night, I'd think: 'I'm supposed to go pitch again.' So if I come here this spring and I'm not supposed to pitch again, I think I'm at peace. Whereas last year, I just felt I wasn't at peace. The way it ended, the way I pitched at Triple-A, it left me wanting a lot more."

When Guthrie walked off the mound this afternoon at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches with one out in the top of the fifth and zero hits on the board for the Cardinals, he received a nice ovation from the crowd of 5,078. He had done just about everything the Nationals could have asked of him this spring, making eight appearances in a variety of roles, capped by this 69-pitch start against a major league lineup.

Guthrie walked off the mound with a 2.45 ERA, having allowed four runs on seven hits in 14 2/3 innings, striking out 12 and walking five.

He's done everything he can to make his case after signing as a minor league free agent over the winter. Now it's up to the Nationals to decide his fate. And yes, Dusty Baker said, an outing like this on March 24 can still sway people's minds.

"It certainly doesn't hurt," the manager said. "It would hurt a whole lot more if it was a bad day. But being a good day ... I mean, our minds aren't made up. So this certainly helps him big-time, helps his chances."

If Guthrie is to break camp with the Nationals and improbably head north with the big league roster, he would do so as a designated long man in the bullpen, someone who could enter in any situation, early or late, even make an emergency start if a regular member of the rotation went down.

Trouble is, the Nationals don't even know if they're going to keep a long man on their initial 25-man roster. Keeping one - whether Guthrie, Vance Worley, Jacob Turner or Matt Albers - might well prevent them from keeping Koda Glover, the flamethrowing short reliever who is being groomed to become closer someday (perhaps as soon as opening day).

So it's a complicated situation, one Guthrie understands but tries not to think about.

"They've got good arms here," he said. "Whether it's Turner, Albers, Worley - who I feel like are kind of the guys who can fit into the longer relief role. ... But I look at the numbers, and all those guys have thrown the ball really well. So you look at it. But at the same time, if I don't pitch well, it doesn't really matter who's out there competing."

A veteran of 305 career big league appearances, 272 of them as a starter with the Indians, Orioles, Rockies and Royals, Guthrie started Game 7 of the 2014 World Series for Kansas City, then struggled in 2015, then didn't even reach the majors in 2016.

So he knows time is running out on him. It's entirely possible he walked off a mound today for the last time.

Whatever happens next, though, he'll know it happened on his terms. Which is all that he wanted in the first place.

"I feel really full right now, and really fortunate to be here with this organization, because they've been impressive," he said. "From Mike Rizzo all the way down to everybody, I've been very, very impressed. A month and a half here has made me a better baseball player and a better person."