Nats working with Kieboom on smoother play at third base

One year ago, the last time he had a chance to play regularly in the big leagues, Carter Kieboom looked better in the field than he did at the plate. This time around, he's looked better at the plate than in the field.

Kieboom's entire game remains a work in progress, of course, and the Nationals aren't ready to draw any conclusions about the 23-year-old third baseman yet. But they are both pleased with the progress he's shown with his bat and hoping a recent tweak with his glove will help address that issue.

Kieboom had been charged with four errors in 17 games (entering Friday night's rain-delayed game against the Braves) this season, and all four came on throws. More specifically, though, his trouble has often come while making the transfer of the ball from his glove to his right hand, leading to poor throws.

The Nationals believe they've identified the issue: Kieboom tends to field the ball with arms fully extended, then bring his hands back toward his body before making the transfer. They would like him to start fielding the ball closer to his body, reducing movement and making the transfer quicker and simpler.

"When I look at all infielders, the good ones all do it the same: They gather the ball into their body," manager Davey Martinez said during Friday's pregame Zoom session with reporters. "He has the tendency to keep the ball away from his body and try to grab it out here (holding his arms fully extended). And by the time he gets it here (pulling his hands back in), that's when you see him double-pump. We're trying to take that away from him. If he keeps the ball and gathers himself inside here, he gets the ball into his hands right away and is able to throw it in one motion, which is great."

Bench coach Tim Bogar, who works with the Nationals' infielders, was out at third base with Kieboom early Friday afternoon going over the technique and gave Martinez a positive report afterward.

"It's something we've noticed, and Bogey's working with him," the manager said. "It's more what he does with his throwing hand, as opposed to his glove hand. We're trying to get him to gather closer to his body, instead of out away from the body, a little better. Yesterday, we watched him in between innings working on it, and he did a lot better throwing to first base. The release was a lot quicker. He's going to continue to work on it and hopefully it will translate to the game."