Nats' taxi squad set to practice at new Fredericksburg stadium

The Fredericksburg Nationals announced today that the parent Nationals' alternate site for summer training player workouts will be at the new ballpark in Fredericksburg, Va.

The club announced the first practice for the Nats' taxi squad is scheduled for tomorrow in Fredericksburg.

The Nationals began summer training Friday at Nats Park. Opening day is scheduled for July 23. The new ballpark in Fredericksburg is the home stadium for the high Single-A FredNats, who were expected to begin play this season before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minor league season.

Nationals assistant general manager for player development Mark Scialabba said the organization is excited about the new stadium and its availability for their taxi squad during the 2020 season.

"The FredNats have built a wonderful new ballpark which will host our affiliate in the future," he said. "It will serve as an outstanding facility to help our players continue their development and prepare them to potentially join our major league club."

The chairman of the FredNats, Art Silber, said in the release: "While we are disappointed that no minor league games will be played in our ballpark this season, we are very excited to host the Nationals' additional players to break in our facility. There is tremendous pride and excitement in Fredericksburg about the opening of our new ballpark, our relationship with the world champion Nationals and now serving as a venue for the Nationals to train in Fredericksburg."

At present time, all practices and baseball related activities by the Nationals in Fredericksburg are closed to the public and media consistent with Major League Baseball guidelines in place to ensure the health and safety of the players.