Adams credits Nats coaching staff for keeping him on track

It is a big deal the Nationals were able to quickly get Matt Adams back in the fold for 2019 and with a mutual option for 2020.

Adams, 30, appeared in 94 games for the Nats last season before being traded to the Cardinals. He was important to the Nats when first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was on the disabled list. Adams started 57 games, hit18 homers and contributed 48 RBIs.

Known for his power, Adams also takes pride in his defense. In 2016, his range factor of 10.29 was the best in the majors for first baseman, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

Adams says the Nationals coaching staff, especially first base coach Tim Bogar, have focused on getting him to maintain his consistency and get better defensively at first base.

"I think with who we got working with the infielders with (Bogar), I think we are very, very lucky to have him working with us," Adams said yesterday on a conference call. "He helped me out a lot last year. Getting better, paying attention to the little things that I wasn't doing on a consistent basis and bringing them to my attention.

"I think I just talked to him yesterday about the plan moving forward and I'm excited. That's something I take pride in. I don't want to just go through the motions and then make the plays while I'm out on the field. If I'm not in the starting lineup I'm still going to go out there, take my ground balls, and do the little things right during BP and get my work in so that whenever I am out there, I'm ready for anything that comes my way."

As for hitting, Adams also appreciates what hitting coach Kevin Long and his fellow coaches have brought to the table and emphasized with his day-to-day approach.

"I am super excited," Adams said. "I think K-Long and (assistant hitting coach) Joe Dillon have brought to the table from the hitting perspective. I think also Davey (Martinez) has a pretty good grasp of their hitting philosophy, but he does a good job of letting K-Long and Joe do their thing. I developed a great relationship with the two of them last year in spring training and was able to carry that out through the year.

"I spoke with both of those two guys and I'm just very, very excited to be able to be in a good spot to where those two guys know how my swing works and what I need to work on whenever I get kind of in a little funk. It kind of puts me at ease that they got two guys that I respect and look up to in that regard where I can go into the cage if I feel like something is off and they know what drill or what to say to get me back on track."

Adams spoke about how comfortable the Nats coaching staff, front office and everyone associated with the organization made him feel and that was a major reason he returned to D.C. Plus, if Zimmerman does have a setback, Adams will be able to fill in, offensively and defensively, and not miss a beat.