WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Nationals' fifth-starter role is vacant, but that isn’t the only spot that’s up for grabs this spring. The team is looking to use more than five starters in order to keep arms fresh throughout the season.
“Whoever is the quote-unquote fifth starter, I can almost assure you that we’re going to use at least eight starters this year -- and that’s probably even barring injury,” pitching coach Jim Hickey said on Tuesday. “If, in a perfect world, we had five starters and we turned them loose, I just can’t envision these guys making 32 and 33 starts and then hopefully also pitching into the playoffs.”
Veterans Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Jon Lester are set for four of the starting spots, and the Nationals have plenty of options from there. Between the shortened 2020 season, the fact some players like Strasburg saw limited innings and this year’s condensed Spring Training, the team is being mindful of the pitchers’ workloads and conditioning when mapping out its rotation.
“We’ve got five days off right now on the schedule in April,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Obviously, we’re going to use those days wisely. Then we’re going to figure out how we can space these guys out, whether it’s a six-man rotation or just use those days off as just another day for our starters. We’ll see how this plays out.”
Joe Ross was the top candidate for the job last year before electing not to play, and he’s vying to be named the fifth starter this season. So are Erick Fedde, who started eight games in place of an injured Strasburg in 2020, and Austin Voth, who held the fifth role all of last season. Rogelio Armenteros, who last pitched in the Majors in '19 for the Astros, also is in the mix. Armenteros and Fedde have Minor League options remaining.
“If we had an extra guy that could spot start, it would be great. It really would,” Martinez said. “With the days off, you never know in April, crazy things happen with the weather and stuff. But I want to leave here with at least six or seven guys ready to be able to start. Whether we have one guy or two guys starting in Triple-A and one guy with us, we don’t know yet. But I want to make sure that we have enough available arms that could start games for us.”
Last season, nine pitchers made starts for the Nationals: Scherzer (12), Corbin (11), Aníbal Sánchez (11), Voth (11), Fedde (8), Wil Crowe (3), Strasburg (2), Ben Braymer (1) and Paolo Espino (1).
Projected Spring Training debuts
• Martinez said Juan Soto will play his first Grapefruit League game on Wednesday against the Marlins at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The right fielder was set to make his debut on Monday, the Nats’ first home game, but he fouled a pitch off his right foot during live batting practice on Sunday. He worked out on Tuesday and “he’s fine, he’s good,” according to Martinez.
• Scherzer and Strasburg are getting closer to making their first Spring starts. Scherzer, who is recovering from a left ankle sprain, could take the mound as early as Friday against the Cardinals. Strasburg is slated to throw a two-inning simulated game on Wednesday, and he could debut on Monday vs. the Mets.
• Reliever (and potential closer) Brad Hand threw 25 pitches in live BP on Tuesday. “He threw the ball really, really well. So he’s getting close to getting in a game here soon,” Martinez said.