Game Thread: Cardinals vs. Nats in West Palm Beach
Cade Cavalli makes his spring debut, with James Wood making a rare start in right field. Plus, news of prospect Gavin Fien's offseason hand surgery.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s another chilly (by Florida standards) evening here as the Nationals prepare to host the Cardinals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Perhaps Cade Cavalli can warm things up with some heat off the mound.
Cavalli makes his highly anticipated spring game debut tonight, the right-hander having been among the early standouts through the first portion of camp. Coaches say his velocity is up from where it was last spring, which means we should be on the lookout for a triple digit or two tonight.
Cavalli faces a St. Louis lineup that includes some regulars, a decent opening test for him as he attempts to earn the Nats’ Opening Day start. For what it’s worth, he’s currently on a five-day schedule that lines up perfectly with the March 26 opener at Wrigley Field. That doesn’t mean anything definitive, of course, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Several Nationals regulars are in the lineup as well to face Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. That includes both James Wood and Daylen Lile, though flip-flopped from their usual corner outfield positions. More on that below.
There’s no TV coverage of tonight’s game, and Charlie and Dave have returned home until Sunday, so the best you can get is the Cardinals’ radio feed off the MLB App. Fortunately, I’m here to provide observations throughout the game, so be sure to check the comments section as we go along ...
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Cardinals feed)
Weather: Clear, 60 degrees, wind 6 mph in from center
CARDINALS
CF Victor Scott II
SS Thomas Saggese
RF Jordan Walker
DH Nelson Velázquez
1B Yohel Pozo
C Pedro Pagés
2B César Prieto
LF Bryan Torres
3B Ramon Mendoza
RHP Andre Pallante
NATIONALS
2B Nasim Nuñez
RF James Wood
LF Daylen Lile
3B Brady House
DH Keibert Ruiz
1B Andrés Chaparro
CF Robert Hassell III
C Harry Ford
SS Seaver King
RHP Cade Cavalli
PREGAME NOTES
WOOD IN RIGHT, LILE IN LEFT
The Nationals’ corner outfielders have flip-flopped positions tonight, with James Wood getting the start in right field and Daylen Lile in left. What’s the thinking there?
“Just to give (Wood) a little different perspective,” manager Blake Butera said. “I just don’t want to pigeonhole him in one spot. I talked to him about it for a while; he was actually excited about it. He mentioned he played there a lot in the minor leagues”
Indeed, Wood played 52 games in right field as a minor leaguer. (He actually played way more games in center field – 176 – than any other spot before his promotion to D.C.) At the time, the Nationals had a hole in left, with Lane Thomas in right and Jacob Young in center. As such, all of Wood’s 202 major-league games in the field have come in left.
Lile, meanwhile, played 54 games in right and 22 games in left last season, so the switch isn’t too big a deal for him.
“We’re going to rotate those guys around,” Butera said. “Daylen will play some left, some right. Part of it’s where they feel most comfortable. Part of it’s a different perspective. Part of it is just reps. It just provides us more optionality as it comes to lineups, as it comes to facing certain pitchers, things like that.”
FIEN HAD OFFSEASON HAND SURGERY
Gavin Fien, the top prospect acquired in last month’s trade of MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers, revealed today he had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right hand in late-November.
The 18-year-old infielder, drafted No. 12 in the country by Texas last summer, called it an “easy surgery” and said he’s back throwing and hitting again in minor-league camp. He admitted he dealt with it last season as a senior in Temecula, Calif., though it didn’t hurt his draft stock. He still hit .358 with six doubles, a triple, five homers, 16 RBI and eight steals in 30 games for Great Oak High School.
“Thankfully, it didn’t (hurt his stock),” Fien said. “But honestly, just glad to be healthy and able to showcase what I have as a player.”
The highest-rated of five prospects acquired in the Gore trade, Fien has been in West Palm Beach for about a month, getting to know his new organization. The Nationals have been playing him at both shortstop and third base, with No. 1 draft pick Eli Willits alongside him.
UPCOMING PITCHING SCHEDULE
With the team now heading on an overnight trip to Tampa and Clearwater, several pitchers will stay back in West Palm Beach and throw on their own. That includes Josiah Gray and Foster Griffin, each scheduled to face live hitters here Wednesday while Andrew Alvarez pitches against the Yankees.
Jake Eder is on the trip and will make his second start of the spring, facing the Phillies on Thursday. Both Miles Mikolas and Mitchell Parker are listed on the pitching schedule for Friday night’s home game against the Astros. (All of this, of course, is subject to change.)
Just got back from the clubhouse, where Cavalli said he did indeed throw several sweepers tonight, including on the pitch that struck out Pedro Pages in the top of the second. He was overall quite pleased with how tonight's start went.
The Nats and Cards, meanwhile, are tied 1-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Two impressive innings from Riley Cornelio, who struck out three with a fastball that averaged 97 mph. He did, however, commit the latest in a string of errors by the Nats pitching staff. All the PFP's in the world apparently can't simulate real game situations. It's 1-1 at the seventh-inning stretch, the two teams combining for three hits so far.