Nats plan to open with Castro at third, Harrison at second (updated)

The Nationals intend to open the season with Starlin Castro as their everyday third baseman and Josh Harrison as their primary second baseman, manager Davey Martinez revealed today while discussing the horde of moves announced by the club Saturday that all but set the opening night roster.

In deciding to option both Carter Kieboom and Luis García to their alternate training site in Fredericksburg, the Nats are left with nothing but veteran infielders on their projected 26-man roster. That includes Hernán Pérez and Jordy Mercer, who both made the club as non-roster invitees and will fill out the bench, and Castro and Harrison, who are now set to hold roles neither was targeted for when camp opened six weeks ago.

Castro was supposed to be the everyday second baseman, but last week's decision to have him begin taking grounders at third presaged the big moves that were announced this weekend. The 31-year-old will indeed become the Nationals' starting third baseman, provided his minor hamstring strain is healed in time for Thursday night's opener. (He's scheduled to get at-bats in a simulated game Monday, and Martinez said he is expected to be ready.)

"When Starlin comes back, he's going to play third base," Martinez said via Zoom. "Josh will get the bulk of second base. And then we'll go from there. The good thing is, both of those guys can play second and third. But the good news is, Starlin's doing a lot better."

Harrison, projected all along to be a super-utility man, now becomes the regular second baseman after batting .419 with a 1.148 OPS in 14 games this spring. The 33-year-old could still start some games at other positions, most notably left field if Martinez prefers his right-handed bat over Kyle Schwarber against a tough lefty.

Pérez and Mercer will fill in the gaps at a number of positions. Mercer, the Pirates' starting shortstop from 2013-18, can play all four infield positions. Pérez, a longtime utility man for the Tigers, Brewers and Cubs, has literally played every position but catcher in the majors and will be the club's designated emergency option there behind Yan Gomes and Alex Avila.

"These are two professional guys that give you professional at-bats," Martinez said. "I could put them anywhere on defense, and they're going to play really good defense. I love having both those guys. It gives us a lot of options. It gives us depth, so these guys understand the game. I think they're going to help us in many ways."

All of this, of course, leaves Kieboom on the outside looking in. For the second straight year, the 2016 first round pick was projected as the club's starting third baseman entering camp but will not be in the lineup on opening night. This time, the 23-year-old will be in Fredericksburg, trying to rediscover his lost swing (and perhaps confidence) after an abysmal spring in which he hit .133 (6-for-45) with 17 strikeouts.

"I understand. I get it," Kieboom said during a 16-minute Zoom session with reporters today after he took 300 swings in the cage. "We have to win, and I want our team to win. You know what? I was not in the position to ... at this moment in time give ourselves that best opportunity to win the games. ... Yeah, it's frustrating to be sent down and stuff like that, of course. But at the same time, I look at it as an opportunity go to down there, relax and get right and take what's offered to me. I know I'll be back up there with the team and helping them out."

Kieboom used the word "relax," and that echoed his manager's message to him earlier.

"It was a tough spring for him," Martinez said. "I don't want to put any limitations on Carter. If we kept him, if we decided we'll just play him against left-handed pitching, I don't think that would've been the right thing to do. We want him to play every day. We want him to go down there and get tons of at-bats, start getting consistent swings every day, take his walks, stay on the ball, hit the ball to right-center field like he's done in the past. And just ... you don't have to worry about the results. Just go down there and work on his swing, revamp his swing, and when we deem he's ready, he'll be back in the big leagues with us."

The Nationals want García to do the same after a rough spring in which he hit .211 (8-for-38) though he did show good plate discipline with six walks and only three strikeouts. The club did consider keeping the 20-year-old as their opening day second baseman, but ultimately felt a player who has yet to spend a day at Triple-A is better served honing his skills in a low-pressure environment.

"We thought about it; we thought about it heavily," Martinez said of discussions to put García on the roster. "But here's a guy who's still very young, and we want to continue to develop him. We want him to get better. ... He still has a lot to learn as far as the little things of the game, but we love him and it's not going to take him long, I don't think, either, to get back up here."

Though they haven't formally announced it yet, the Nationals' 13-man pitching staff also appears to be set for opening night. After optioning Rogelio Armenteros and Seth Romero to the alternate training site today, there are only 14 pitchers remaining in camp, and that includes Will Harris (who is only now rejoining the team after a procedure to determine if he had a blood clot in his arm).

Assuming Harris opens the season on the injured list, the Nats will use an eight-man bullpen that includes primary closer Brad Hand, right-handers Daniel Hudson, Tanner Rainey, Wander Suero and Kyle Finnegan, long relievers Austin Voth and Erick Fedde, and veteran lefty Luis Avilán, who officially was informed this morning he has made the club as a non-roster invitee.

In order to clear space on the 40-man roster for Avilán, the Nationals designated right-hander Dakota Bacus for assignment.