State of the Nats roster: Catchers (plus ticket refund info)

We continue today a periodic look at the state of the Nationals roster at the point spring training was suspended and project how things may look whenever baseball is played again. Up next is the catching corps ...

As a whole, Nationals catchers were among the most productive in the majors last season. They totaled 28 homers (seventh-most in baseball), 100 RBIs (third-most) and a .743 OPS that represented a 119-point upgrade from the 2018 season.

The club has every reason to believe this group can continue to be among the most productive catching corps in the majors again in 2020, but perhaps with the two primary participants swapping roles.

Kurt Suzuki led the way last season, out-hitting and out-slugging Yan Gomes by a healthy margin despite splitting playing time roughly down the middle. It was a big year for Suzuki, and it was needed because Gomes suffered through a down year by his career standards.

The Nationals believe Gomes has a bounceback season in him, though, and his performance down the stretch and in the playoffs helps bolster that argument. After looking lost at the plate much of the season, he produced a .900 OPS in his final 26 games.

It's perhaps not coincidence that Gomes' numbers went up as he played more regularly in September while Suzuki dealt with an elbow injury. The Nats noticed it, and so they entered spring training planning to give him more regular at-bats from the outset.

Manager Davey Martinez outlined a rough plan he was envisioning, with Gomes catching four or even five times a week. Suzuki would still be paired up with Aníbal Sánchez because the two have worked so well as a battery the last two seasons. But Gomes would work more regularly with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg than he did in 2019.

In doing this, Martinez also hoped Suzuki would stay fresher and hopefully not wear down as much as he did last season.

On paper, it sounds like a good plan. We'll see if it translates into reality, and certainly the prospect of a shortened season with fewer off-days and perhaps even scheduled doubleheaders could throw a wrench into the plan. Then again, the Nationals might be better off than most teams in such a scenario, with two very capable catchers able to share the job and not be negatively impacted by the altered schedule.

If Major League Baseball allows for expanded rosters, the Nats also could elect to keep a third catcher around, a luxury typically not utilized when the roster is capped at 25 or 26. Again, they may be better positioned than most teams in this regard, because they've already got a third catcher with significant big league experience.

Welington Castillo, owner of a .738 OPS in 10 big league seasons, remains on the spring training roster and could be added to the opening day roster when the time comes. The 33-year-old wouldn't push Gomes or Suzuki for regular playing time, but he'd be a valuable fill-in when the other guys need a breather, and his mere presence on the active roster would give Martinez the luxury of using Gomes or Suzuzki as a pinch-hitter on the days they don't start.

The Nationals don't have a clear-cut catcher of the future in the upper levels of their farm system, but they do have some depth they could call upon in case of emergency. Raudy Read had an .863 OPS for Triple-A last year, but it was notable that he was optioned to Fresno back on March 8, four days before the coronavirus shutdown.

The Nats kept Tres Barrera in big league camp through the start of the shutdown but optioned him to Triple-A on March 26 before MLB put a halt to all transactions.

Two other less-experienced prospects (Jakson Reetz, Taylor Gushue) were in big league camp, but were reassigned to minor league camp in March.

Nats announce ticket policy: The Nationals finally announced a ticket policy for games that have been lost due to the pandemic, the last MLB team to do so. The policy is rather complicated, but ticket holders have two primary options at this point:

* Receive a full credit for any tickets and parking passes that have already been purchased, plus a 50 percent additional credit that can be used on future tickets, upgrades, concessions and merchandise. (Though most teams have offered bonus credits, the Nationals' 50 percent bonus offer appears to rank atop the sport.)

* Request a refund for tickets and parking passes to unplayed games from dates that have already passed. Season ticket holders seeking refunds are asked to contact their account representatives to discuss options. Single-game ticket holders seeking refunds are asked to fill out an online form.

All ticket information can be found here.