Washington Nationals Veteran Infielder Emerging as Clubhouse Leader
The Washington Nationals are wrapping up spring training and making some final decisions on roster spots.
An easy way to earn a roster spot is to be someone that the younger players on the team can lean on.
That is exactly what offseason signee Amed Rosario is for the Nationals.
Washington has plenty of young talent on their team. Dylan Crews, James Wood and Jacob Young will man the outfield, and they are all young stars. On the infield, the Nationals will have C.J. Abrams, Jose Tena and Luis Garcia Jr receiving regular playing time.
With the young talent comes immaturity on the diamond, though. But that is where Rosario steps in.
In spring training, the veteran infielder has been helping everywhere he can. He is a utilityman, so he can help out at pretty much every position.
As reported by Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post, Rosario has not stopped talking and helping these younger players. He has pulled Tena and Garcia Jr aside for a chat, he has helped Juan Yepez at first base and he does it in a way that is private and helpful.
The 29-year-old is especially helpful with the spanish speaking players on the team.
"What I didn’t know about him is how good he is in the clubhouse and around the guys. He’s a guy that the Latins seemed to congregate with, because he’s been around, he’s done it, he’s played on some really good teams. He understands the game. So it’s nice to have that veteran voice that could help with the Latin players a little bit," Manager Dave Martinez said, per Nusbaum.
The Dominican right-handed hitter has been the main guy Martinez can lean on to help players out. Rosario is still under 30, but he acts much older because he already has eight years of big league experience.
He has played with six different teams in his career, but this team reminds him of the 2022 Cleveland Guardians. A team in which he played a massive part in helping make the playoffs.
“I would say this team reminds me a lot of 2022 back in Cleveland, when we made the playoffs. We were the youngest team back then. And I want to say this year this team is one of the youngest ones, too. And so the hunger, the motivation, the good vibe that these guys got kind of reminds me a lot of back in ’22 with Cleveland. I think we’re going to do great things together," Rosario said, per Nusbaum.
He clearly has high hopes for this team, but the reality is the Nationals are not expected to contend for a division title, let alone a playoff spot.
Still, the leadership the veteran has shown has not gone unnoticed.
As for his role, Rosario is going to be a platoon bat that will play a good amount against left-handed pitching.
Against lefties last season, Rosario slashed .294/.325/.412. His OPS was almost .100 points higher agaisnt opposite handed pitchers. That is not to say he can not hit righties, but expect him to do a lot of his damage against lefties.
With that said, Martinez is going to continue to lean on Rosario to be a leader.
With the Nationals being so young, it is going to be a big help if Rosario can keep the team on track when things start to go bad.
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Cameron Zunkel is a sports writer from the western suburbs of Chicago. He played Division-II baseball at the University of Illinois at Springfield where he earned a masters degree in Communication. Cameron also played independent league baseball for the Joliet Slammers and Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League. He has been in journalism for the better part of two years now, and has a passion for baseball specifically. His other work includes writing sports betting articles for ClutchPoints. In his free time, you can catch Cam at the gym, on the golf course, or coaching the youth in the beautiful sport of baseball.