Notes and quotes from West Palm Beach, FL.
STARTER TALK:
Patrick Corbin gave up three hits in three scoreless innings in which he struck out four batters in a 41-pitch, 32-strike start in his second outing of the spring back on February 29th.
Corbin struck out four, one on his cutter, which he threw eight times (20%) in the Grapefruit League appearance, as the 34-year-old southpaw tried to work the pitch into the mix for the 2024 campaign, the final year of his 6-year/$140M deal in D.C.
“I’m pleased with it so far,” Corbin said afterwards, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, when he was asked about the cutter:
“I think the movement and location’s pretty good. I think as we continue to go, hopefully, the velo goes up a little bit (it averaged 85.5 mph today).
“But I think overall pretty sharp, and I’ve been locating that pitch up to this point, so I’m happy with it.”
Corbin threw 34% sinkers in the outing (after he threw it 41.6% of the time last season), and mixed in his slider (22%), four-seamer (17%), and changeup (7%).
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
Start No. 3 for the 34-year-old veteran on Wednesday began with seven straight outs for the southpaw, who gave up a double and a two-run home run in the bottom of the third, before retiring the final five batters he faced in a 47-pitch, 37-strike outing in which he threw 40% sliders, 19% cutters, 17% fastballs, 15% sinkers, and 9% changeups.
Corbin told reporters, as quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco, he thought pounding the zone led to some quick outs:
“I think when you throw strikes, that forces them to swing and I’m able to mix things up. I mixed up the slider and the cutter and the fastball well. And threw some changeups early. So just a good combination of everything.”
Though the home run came on a cutter he left up to a hitter he didn’t know well, Corbin did say he’s happy with the progress on the pitch.
“I’ve had some success with the cutter so far this camp, so just looking forward to using that.”
Through 8 2⁄3 IP now this spring, Corbin hasn’t allowed a walk.
“It’s awesome,” Martinez said of Corbin’s lack of walks. “He’s starting to get that cutter and changeup combination with the fastball. It looks good.”
TIGHT QUAD:
Joey Gallo missed a few games last week as he nursed a left quad tweak, but told reporters it wasn’t a big concern for him.
“Just a little soreness, a little tightness,” the 30-year-old slugger said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman last week.
“If it’s the season, we’re not even talking about it,” Gallo explained. “But obviously in Spring Training, you’re always just cautionary. I’m not worried at all.”
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
“I’ve been playing with it fine,” he added.
“It’s just more getting a couple days off it. It’s still so early in spring, you don’t want to do anything stupid. It’s very precautionary.
Obviously, I’m out practicing, I’m doing everything. It’s about getting off it for a couple games and then getting back out there. It’s not a worry at all.”
“He’s been about 75 percent,” manager Davey Martinez said, as quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco this past weekend.
“So I told him, I said, ‘Hey, look, there’s no reason to push you right now.’”
Martinez told the press gathered in West Palm Beach he hoped Gallo would return Sunday, but the game was rained out.
He didn’t play Monday, and an off-day on Tuesday gave the veteran an extra couple days of rest.
Gallo was not in the lineup for the Nats on Wednesday afternoon, for the road game against Miami.
ALSO THIS:
The Washington #Nationals are in agreement with OF Eddie Rosario. It is a split contract in which he could earn up to $4M with incentives. The deal is pending a physical, sources tell @ElExtrabase.
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) March 6, 2024