When does Nationals spring training 2016 start?
By Jason Evans
When does spring training start for the Washington Nationals in 2016?
The year 2015 was supposed to be the perform storm for the Washington Nationals. They added Max Scherzer to a rotation that had guys like Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez. Bryce Harper was healthy and ready to go. After making the playoffs in 2014, but losing in the division series, 2015 was supposed to be the year they took off.
It didn’t exactly work out that way.
The Nationals finished in second place behind the eventual NL Champion New York Mets with just 83 wins. Bryce Harper won NL MVP, but the lasting image of 2015 is him being choked in the dugout by closer Johnathan Papelbon.
Pitchers and catchers report for the Nationals on February 19. Position players arrive February 24 and the first full squad workout will be on February 25.
Matt Williams was relieved of his duties as manager and in comes Dusty Baker. Gone are Ian Desmond (who’s still a free agent as of this post) and Zimmermann who is now a Detroit Tiger.
Drew Storen is gone as well, sent to Toronto for outfielder Ben Revere. The Nationals tried to land some big fish in free agency, going after Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes. They didn’t land any of them, but did take Daniel Murphy away from the Mets to now play second base for them.
The Nationals made upgrades in the bullpen as well, adding Shawn Kelley and Oliver Perez to help set up Papelbon. The hope is that healthy seasons out of Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth along with the other additions can help lead the Nationals back to the playoffs in 2016.