Washington Nationals News and Notes: Davey Martinez on Alex Avila’s retirement, Luis García’s improvement; Stephen Strasbourg in rehab …

Thanks, Alex. They should never have made you play 2B:

Alex Avila, 34, and nearing the end of his 13th major league season, announced on Sunday afternoon that he would retire at the end of the 2021 campaign.

Avila, who signed with the Washington Nationals this winter on a one-year / $ 1.5 million contract, was limited by injuries, missing an extended period when he suffered bilateral calf strain after playing for the first time in second base in the majors on July 1, as well as two separate trips. to COVID-IL, first in April and then again in August. But while limited by health concerns, the veteran backstop did what he could to help behind the scenes, especially after the fire sale on the trade deadline that saw the Nationals acquire two new ones. receivers, Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams, who are thinking of handling the catching duties at DC for the next few years.

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“He’s been great,” Davey Martinez said of Avila’s contributions. “And he’s constantly talking to Keibert and Riley, he’s talking to our pitchers all the time. He manages the pitching staff really well. The conversations between innings, batters for the upcoming inning are great with him. Even with the young receivers, he sits down with them and tries to give them a game plan before they leave. So like I said he’s definitely a, he doesn’t stand out because he thinks he knows everything. He’s still a student of the game, he wants to keep learning, but yet he has so much knowledge, and he knows so much about the game until he catches, that he has helped all of our receivers.

“Even when Yan [Gomes] was there, the conversations these two guys had, I think Yan learned a lot from him as well.

Avila told reporters he still wants to stay in the game, now that his playing days are almost over, and Martinez said he believes many teams will be interested.

“I hope that when he decides what he wants to do, maybe later on, we will have a place for him here in this organization, because he knows the game very well.”

García against RHP; García vs LHP + Plus:

Luis García was not in Saturday’s game, with the departure of Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, although he got a hit late in the loss, but he started the series final on Sunday with Colorado in the nation’s capital, with right-hander Jon Gray on the mound, which was odd, as at least one reporter thought, given García’s gaps over the season (.333 / .358 / .529 vs. left-handed throwers in 53 AP 2021, .188 / .233 / 0.348 vs. right-handed throwers in 146 AP).

However, as the Nationals skipper explained, it was more about getting García, who has played a lot since returning to major tournaments in late July, on a day off regardless of one of this week’s clashes. -end.

“I told him again to give it a day, you know, and he’s going to play today, but he’s going to play – as you know he played a lot against lefties, a lot against righties, he swung well. the bat versus left handed pitcher, I just wanted to give it a day.

As impressive as García was at the start of his big league career, there is plenty of room for improvement going forward, which his manager has also discussed.

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“Again, it’s all about his field selection when he swings,” said Martinez.

“He has to put the ball in the zone. When he puts the ball in the box, he hits the ball very hard. He must stay on the ball. I talk to him a lot about using the midfield. He’s really good when he does that, and it’s something he has to work on.

“When he starts to come back and get ready for his surges – I haven’t talked to him about going to the winter ball yet, he might choose to go play the winter ball, for about a month.

“If he does that, I really want him to learn how to stay on the ball, kick the ball in midfield, take throws and swing on strikes. That’s the most important thing, it is the swing to strikes. We need him to be based a little more on the goals, via the steps, we do not want him to lose his aggressiveness, but we want him to do his marches, and that ‘He’s really a high ball hitter, great, so you want to get him up to where he can drive the ball, that’s something he can work on as well.

Considering where he is in his career and what he has accomplished so far, García is off to an impressive start.

“If you think about it, you look at Luis, he’s 21, he played [342*] games, I think, in the minor leagues, and it’s not a lot, so he’s still learning, he has huge potential and we know that. But yet, he is doing quite well. So he still has to work, and I think having more at winter ball batting won’t hurt him. So I’m going to talk to him about it and see where he’s at. I know he wants to go faster with his feet, and he wants to train, but it’s all about development, and the more he plays the better he will be.

[ed. note – “* = Martinez’s original estimate, which was oddly specific considering it was off by a bit, was that García had played 166 games in the minors to this point.”]

Strasdate; Upbourg; Strasbourg update:

We haven’t heard much from Stephen Strasburg since he had surgery after being diagnosed with Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, but Martinez provided an update when asked about the man. 33 years old, 2019 World events MVP’s progress over the past few months.

“He continues his rehabilitation, builds his strength,” said Martinez. “He won’t pitch, I don’t think, until some time in November, where he can pick up a baseball and start pitching.

Photo by Patrick McDermott / Getty Images

“So hopefully he starts doing it, and like I said we’ll see him in spring training, hopefully fully, that’s what we intend – that he is ready to participate in spring training. “

The good news, Martinez explained, is that Strasbourg is on schedule for its rehabilitation program and is still aiming for a return to spring training 2022.

“Nothing has changed,” said the director.

“He actually says – I spoke to him again yesterday – and he said he was feeling really good, he feels like he’s doing a lot better every day, so that’s a good sign.”