Washington Nationals Skipper Reveals What He Wants To See From Rookie This Week

After getting called up for the final week of the season, there is a clear directive from Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez about what he wants to see from one of his rookies.

Jun 16, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals third base Trey Lipscomb (38) grounds out during the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

There was some headlining news revealed over the weekend when the Washington Nationals demoted their All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams following him staying out late at a casino ahead of their matchup against the Chicago Cubs.

General manager Mike Rizzo wanted to send a message to every player in the organization that there needs to be a certain level of professionalism by every member in the clubhouse when it comes to preparing for a Major League Baseball game, no matter what the circumstances of the season are.

How this impacts the Nationals will be seen, but whenever a move like this is made, someone is on the other side as the beneficiary.

For Trey Lipscomb, that was him this time around.

The 24-year-old rookie is no stranger to spending time with Washington, having been called up five times just this season, but with one week left in the campaign, this is an opportunity for the 2022 third-round pick to prove why he should be in the mix going forward.

In 59 games, he's put together a slash line of .202/.271/.234 with one homer and 10 RBI across his 188 at-bats, signaling there is plenty of work to do offensively at this level when slashing .283/.346/.392 at Triple-A in comparison.

Manager Dave Martinez knows what he wants to see from Lipscomb during this stint.

"For him, I just want to see him be aggressive up at the plate ... I know what we're going to get on defense. He's really good out there. But we're going to teach him to get on the fastballs," he said per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.

If the youngster can hit like he has done during his career in the minors, then he could potentially have a role as a utilityman with the Nationals considering his excellent defense across multiple infield positions at second and third base.

Lipscomb admitted this season hasn't quite gone as expected when he got his first shot in The Show back during their first series of the year, but he knows if he can find something on offense during this final week, that could change his career outlook.

He'll certainly be one to watch when he gets his named called as he should be fighting for an Opening Day roster spot in 2025.