Nats don't plan to shift more, but plan to shift smarter

JUPITER, Fla. - The Nationals are emphasizing defensive improvement this spring, and they believe that can be achieved in multiple forms.

There's the obvious: upgrades in personnel. Brian Dozier will be better at second base than Daniel Murphy. Victor Robles and/or Michael A. Taylor will be better in center field than Bryce Harper. Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki should be better behind the plate than Matt Wieters.

There's also the approach: Manager Davey Martinez and his coaches are drilling into players' heads the importance of making every single play this spring, requiring do-overs when someone does something wrong.

Then there's the more subtle: infield shifts. The Nationals didn't use them as much as other teams last season, and it doesn't appear they will change that philosophy much. But they are going to be more analytical in deciding when to move their infielders around and when to keep them in their standard positions on the diamond.

The Nationals ranked 22nd in the majors in shift usage last year, deploying the tactic only 12.7 percent of the time. (For comparison's sake, the top shifting teams used it anywhere from 27 percent to 37 percent of the time.)

There's a reason they don't use it more, Martinez said, and it doesn't have to do with their personnel in the field.

"We analyze every team, every player, and with the pitchers we have, we don't feel like shifting is adequate," Martinez said. "We don't want to shift just to shift. We want to make sure all the numbers and information match up."

Why isn't the Nationals pitching staff a good fit for shifts?

"For me, it's talking to them and their comfortability on shifting," Martinez said. "And, two, a lot of times hard contact. That's a big thing for us, especially on the infield. What's the contact like against a certain guy?

"I think last year we got beat a couple times, especially the other way with two strikes, where we probably shouldn't have shifted as much and should've maybe played straight-up. So we're going to take a look at all that stuff this year really hard and get all the information."

Teams have become known for adjusting their shifts from pitch to pitch within an at-bat, especially with two strikes. It sounds like the Nationals will be more cognizant of that approach this season.

"We're going to be more conscious of shifting with two strikes, because the consensus is people are trying to learn how to hit the ball the other way, and more so with two strikes," Martinez said. "Just putting the ball in play. We saw a kid yesterday with two strikes try to stay inside the ball, and he just hit the ball foul down the third base line. So all these things we're going to assess and put more value on."