In loss to Mets, Nationals' Lane Thomas keeps making his case for starts in center field - The Washington Post

NEW YORK — The main takeaways Saturday night, once the Washington Nationals fell, 5-3, to the New York Mets at Citi Field, were tied to the rising action.

Mason Thompson, a 23-year-old reliever, was put in a big spot in the seventh inning that ended with Michael Conforto driving a game-winning three-run homer to left. Before that, the Nationals were ahead, holding a one-run lead, after journeyman starter Sean Nolin struck out six and yielded a pair of solo shots to Kevin Pillar in 5⅓ innings. Veteran Alcides Escobar had three singles, stretching his hitting streak to 10 games, and made two excellent plays at shortstop.

But there were also light implications for the immediate — and perhaps distant — future in center field. They showed when Lane Thomas ripped a double in the first and an RBI double in the second and scored on Escobar’s second knock. Here were more reasons for Manager Dave Martinez to ride Thomas in center and atop the order, which could come at Victor Robles’s expense.

Robles has been one of the team’s least productive players in 2021. Thomas now has 12 hits in 33 at-bats for the Nationals, though he did strike out looking in his final two Saturday.

“He’s getting on base for us, and he’s swinging well,” Martinez said of Thomas after the loss. “He’s playing good baseball, and he’s not trying to do too much. He’s just trying to square the ball up, and he’s hitting the ball hard.”

“He’s really focused out there, paying attention to every little detail,” Escobar added. “And he’s taking quality at-bats.”

Hints of a competition began last weekend, when Robles was under the weather and Thomas started three straight games. Thomas filled a series against the Milwaukee Brewers with seven hits and three walks in 14 plate appearances. So once Robles felt good again, when the Nationals were in Miami, Martinez split the reps between Robles, 24, and Thomas, who is 26 with far less major league experience.

When Martinez was asked Tuesday whether he planned to have Thomas be his everyday center field moving forward, his answer — “Not exactly” — was a tepid endorsement for Robles, who has been a shell of the player who helped the Nationals win a World Series in 2019. If nothing else, it showed that Thomas will get opportunities to prove himself, auditioning for a team that acquired him for Jon Lester at the July 30 trade deadline. That could complicate Robles’s next steps in Washington.

“If anybody has shown that guy confidence, it’s this guy right here,” Martinez said earlier this week, referring to himself. “I run him out there every day and tell him every day how good he is and how good he can be. We’ve just got to keep working.

“I love the kid. I really do. And he’s going to be really good. I believe that.”

Two years ago, though, Martinez didn’t have to predict Robles’s success. It was happening in real time. In his first full season after coming up as a top prospect, Robles was a Gold Glove-caliber fielder and had a .255 batting average, .326 on-base percentage and .419 slugging percentage. The offense wasn’t stunning. But it paired well with stellar defense and felt like a stride in the right direction. He just couldn’t build on it in 2020.

During quarantine, he gained 15 pounds of muscle that hindered his production and speed. He finished the season with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .608 in 189 plate appearances. But even after slimming down — which did restore his ability in center — Robles keeps struggling at the plate. His OPS in 367 plate appearances this year? It’s .608 again, identical to the output that seemed like a big red flag in the pandemic-shortened season. So maybe it was.

“This guy, for me, could be a game-changer,” Martinez said, doubling down. “As we all know, he’s got the potential to win a Gold Glove in the future. When he gets on base, he can make things happen. He’s one of those electric players. We’ve got to get him going. We’re going to get him going.”

The counter is that Robles is young, no matter that he debuted at 20 and has been at this for a bit. But Thomas is young, too, and he provides a lot of intrigue. Part of that is because he is new, a factor Robles can’t control. Another factor, though, and a more important one, is that Thomas won’t stop hitting. Martinez, then, has to toe a delicate line: If he wants to test drive a fresh option in center and the leadoff spot, he takes needed reps away from Robles, who could benefit from a low-stakes September.

Or Martinez could compromise, as he did Friday, and start Robles in center with Thomas in left, batting lower in the order. What’s settling, at least for Martinez, is that he is a long way from a decision that could be made for him. Both Robles and Thomas will be around next spring training, then next season, then conceivably in the years after that. But now that the conversation has hatched, it won’t easily go away.

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In loss to Mets, Nationals' Lane Thomas keeps making his case for starts in center field - The Washington Post
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