The Morning Briefing: Strasburg to Make his Spring Training Debut Tonight

by Richard Wachtel

Updated March 09, 2021

Good Tuesday Morning, Washington Nationals Fans!

Today's Game Time Forecast West Palm Beach via the National Weather Service: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. Breezy, with an east wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Games this Week:

3/9/2021 vs. Houston 6:05 pm EST
3/10/2021 vs. St. Louis 1:05 pm EST
3/11/2021 at Marlins 1:05 pm EST
3/13/2021 v. Mets 6:05 pm EST

Make sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for updates on the latest Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball during the day!

Countdown Clock:
Opening Day: 23 Days

Today's Top Story: Stephen Strasburg to Make his 2021 Spring Training Debut

Tonight, the Washington Nationals will face off against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, with the first pitch being at 6:05 pm, and it will be thrown by the 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg has been eased along during Spring Training following his August surgery that addressed his carpel tunnel neuritis. So far, during Spring Training, he has not experienced any issues during his ramp-up process. Strasburg completed a simulated game last week without any problems. It is expected that Strasburg will only pitch two innings tonight. Still, according to reports, he should be ready to handle a normal starter's workload by the time of his first turn during the regular season in early April. You can hear the game tonight on the MLB App via the Radio.

Nationals Reach .500 in Spring Training with a 9-5 Win over the Mets

Yesterday, the Washington Nationals hit .500 with a win over the New York Mets. The win improved the Washington Nationals Spring Training record to 3-3-1.

The Nationals struck early in the game and then added some insurance runs towards the game's end. Pitcher Joe Ross made his 2021 Spring Training debut, going 1 2/3 innings, giving up one run, one hit, and one walk while striking out three. Two notable highlights from yesterday afternoon's game:

Luis García pinch-hit for CF Victor Robles and went 0-for-1 with a walk but scored two runs. He committed an error at 2B
Yasel Antuna pinch-hit DH Josh Bell and doubled off journeyman Stephen Tarpley to raise his spring Batting Average to .333

Juan Soto at 22 might be the next Ted Williams?

Well, this headline seems very similar to an earlier headline that we reported on towards the end of 2020. Now, more and more, National baseball reporters are picking this theme up. Jayson Stark from The Athletic is the next reporter to join the growing chorus. Yesterday, in The Athletic, Stark was the latest to claim that the Nationals Right fielder Juan Soto at age 22, might be the next Ted Williams. From the article: "I have lots of data to make this case. It's coming up any paragraph now. But first, I want you to know that I understand exactly what I just got myself into, so I've recruited witnesses.

I tracked them all down over the last week. I made my case. Then I asked them to tell me honestly whether they thought my theory was a sure sign that my brain cells had short-circuited." Click here to read the full article via The Athletic (Subscription Required)

What does this mean for the Washington Nationals, if anything? Well, as observers of seeing Juan Soto up close and on a game to game basis over the past few years, we already know that Soto is great and needs to be the next face of the Nationals franchise, the question that needs to be asked: Do the Lerners Know the same?

It was reported yesterday by multiple Nationals beat reporters that Rizzo and the Nationals Ownership have had talks about a contract extension for Juan Soto. "We’ve discussed internally with ownership about it,” Rizzo said. “We’re in the midst of making decisions on what a timeframe would look like. … We certainly have made and will make a long-term extension offer to both players sometime in the near future.”

Exit Questions:

Will Scott Boras, who normally likes to take his clients to Free Agency, be willing to let Soto make a long-term deal before he hits free agency?
Will the Nationals Ownership be ready to make a deal with Soto that he can not refuse even before he hits free agency?
Will the Lerners's good relationship with Boras play a role in coming up with a deal?
Does Soto even want to make a deal before he hits free agency? Even though Boras is Soto's agent, as Scott Boras said publically when the Nationals were dealing and looking to sign Anthony Rendon: "I work for Anthony Rendon. He makes all the decisions."

Buckle up Nats Fans. There will be many characters spent on this topic in the near future. At the Nats Report, we came up with a "dream senerio" of how the Nationals can lock up Soto for a long-term deal. Click here.

Podcast Alert: In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report

Recently, I sat down with our pal Chris Russell from Team 980 here in Washington D.C. During the conversation, we talked all about the recent Spring Training games, lineup ideas and so much more. As always, it is worth taking the time to listen.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ceM1MZhkmONVgRNsbcVuG

Megaphone: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/AMPM5157305677.mp3?updated=1615140842

Sticher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-nats-report/episode/in-the-clubhouse-with-the-nats-report-first-weeks-impressions-of-spring-training-with-chris-russell-82193919

Or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.