Minor meeting turned into major moment for Martinez

New Nationals manager Dave Martinez played in the major leagues for 16 seasons.

But the man that he worked with for 12 seasons saw him in the minor leagues for the first time some 34 years ago when Martinez was just 18.

Current Cubs manager Joe Maddon had spotted Martinez when the outfielder began his minor league career playing for the short-season Single-A Geneva Cubs. Maddon managed in the Angels farm system from 1981 to 1986.

"The first time I ever met Joe was in 1983 in instructional league and I just walked across the field," Martinez said. "I was 18 years old and he comes over to me and taps me on the back and said, 'Hey, I really like the way you play the game,' I didn't know Joe from Adam.

"I just looked at him like, 'Oh, thanks.' That developed kind of a friendship every time we saw each other and in 2006 he calls me up out of the blue when he got the managing job in Tampa and asked me to come teach the game the way that I played it and I thought that was pretty cool. I did it for two spring trainings and in 2007, (first base coach) George Hendrick got hurt, tripped over at first base. I coached for him and apparently the players really liked me being around."

That is where Martinez displayed his coaching ability and the players liked the way he taught the game. They got something out of his ideas. That blossomed into a role on the bench.

"After that year, I sat with (Maddon) and (general manager) Andrew (Friedman) over coffee for about an hour and a half and I told him I had to leave. And Andrew said, 'Congratulations, you're the new bench coach.' And I was like 'What?' I said, 'I got to think about (this).' He said, 'No,' so I said, 'OK, I'm in.' That's how this all came about."

Fast forward to Maddon's move to Chicago. Martinez followed him and the Cubs made three consecutive playoff appearances and won the World Series in 2016. His Cubs defeated the Nats in 2017, and with Dusty Baker's departure, Martinez now gets his first managerial spot with a club returning from back-to-back National League East titles.

Martinez said Maddon taught him many things, but the key element was being consistent with his players.

"There might be little changes based on our players, but for the most part, we're going to be prepared, stick to the process," Martinez said. "That's the biggest thing that I learned from Joe. It's a long season, and it's all about preparation and sticking to the process."

Suero added to 40-man: The Nationals added right-hander Wando Suero to the 40-man roster Friday afternoon. Suero, 26, was the organization's minor league Pitcher of the Year for 2017, going 3-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 20 saves in 54 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse.