Severino on opportunity as backup: "I still have to do my job"

Nationals fans have been hearing for years how Pedro Severino is the catcher-in-waiting on the organizational depth chart. Sometimes, it's hard to remember Severino is only 24 and has only 35 games and 61 at-bats on his major league resume. That's hardly enough time for a rookie to make much of an impression.

But with Jose Lobaton signing a minor league contract with the Mets last week, Severino is firmly entrenched as the backup to starting catcher Matt Wieters entering the 2018 season. There are still murmurings that the Nats could be interested in a veteran backup backstop - former Tigers and Cubs catcher Alex Avila's name is the one most often mentioned of the current free agent crop - but this could be the opportunity that Severino has long anticipated.

"We think Wieters is going to be a bounceback candidate this year," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "He caught a lot of games for us last year. We'd like to curtail that a little bit. We love the upside of Severino. And fortunately, in our organization, we have a lot depth catcher-wise. Raudy Read is right around the corner and Sevy is showing us that he can handle a pitching staff defensively and has shown some flashes offensively of a guy that can be a great catcher for us."

Two years ago, following a season-ending knee injury sustained by starter Wilson Ramos and a 9-for-28 September surge after he was summoned from Triple-A Syracuse, Severino found himself playing in four of the five games of the Nats' National League Division Series loss to the Dodgers.

Then-manager Dusty Baker raved about how Severino played beyond his years and how comfortable his veteran-laden pitching staff was throwing to the rookie. And while some of that may have been managerial hyperbole, it's clear Severino made an impression on Baker.

But with Lobaton set as the backup, and after Wieters was signed as spring training began, Severino again found himself at Triple-A. This time, Severino regressed to a .242/.291/.332 slash line with only nine extra-base hits in 211 at-bats and was limited to just 59 games as an unspecified injury landed him on the disabled list for a brief period.

Asked at Winterfest about his offensive struggles in Syracuse last year, Severino blamed the downtown on the fact that he was thrown a lot of sliders and because he never really felt comfortable at the plate.

"I just see a lot of pitches in the ground, like the slider the pitchers throw to me," Severino said. "When I got hurt, when I came back, I just tried to see my pitches and get a good swing."

Severino is hitting much better for Aguilas of the Dominican winter league this offseason, slashing .286/.358/.408 in 17 games. One of this teammates is Nationals infielder Wilmer Difo.

"Been working on my offense and I want to be better. ... I'm just thinking to bring everything to America - bring everything I do over there over here and see what happens," Severino said.

Severino knows he has an opportunity to crack the 25-man roster out of spring training, but he sounds like a guy who's going to camp bent on making an impression. Lobaton's departure may have created an opportunity, but Severino still feels like he needs to seize it.

"I have to do my job," he said. "If I don't do my job, they will bring in somebody else. If (Lobaton) was here or no, I still have to do my job."

One of the best ways for a young player to learn and grow is to accept the experience that veteran players will offer. In that regard, Severino has been like a sponge, soaking up whatever knowledge he can, especially from the pitchers he has to work closely with.

"Everybody on this team helps the rookies real good," he said. "(Max) Scherzer helped me (learn) a lot about the game. When the game's going on and I'm not playing, he's sitting real close to me and we call a real game from the bench. Then the situation to me, when I'm playing, is more easy to me."