Changing of the Guard for Washington Nationals…

WASHINGTON – Overlook for a second, if attainable, that unbelievable plate self-discipline and the superb on-base share for Juan Soto.

On the age of 23, Soto was changing into a clubhouse presence this yr.

“He was changing into that chief. He tried to guide by instance,” Washington supervisor Dave Martinez mentioned right here Friday at Nationals Park.

Soto and first baseman Josh Bell, in fact, had been traded to the Padres in late July and returned to city this weekend with their new San Diego membership.

“That man is a pacesetter,” Martinez mentioned of Bell. “He is without doubt one of the finest. He was a constant chief within the clubhouse – he by no means had a foul day. That, to me, is a pacesetter.”

So who fills that void within the clubhouse now that Soto and Bell are gone?

Martinez factors out that Nelson Cruz remains to be round and he has been a powerful voice within the clubhouse all season on the age of 42.

Previous to Friday’s collection opener towards San Diego, Cruz was batting .235 with eight homers and 52 RBI.

A brand new veteran voice and chief within the first-base clubhouse off South Capital Road is first baseman Luke Voit, who hit second in entrance of Cruz within the lineup Friday.

He was hitting .230 with 15 homers and 51 RBIs general going into the collection opener.

In his first seven video games since being traded to the Nationals, Voit hit two homers and drove in three.

He was drafted by the Cardinals within the 22^nd spherical out of Missouri State in 2013 and turned 31 earlier this yr.

“He has been actually good” within the clubhouse, Martinez mentioned.

Voit has six years of Main League expertise whereas different gamers who got here from San Diego may very well be just a few years away from the majors.

That features gamers at decrease stage that Martinez has been following.

“Now we have some younger, younger gamers we’re enthusiastic about,” Martinez mentioned.

That features outfielder James Wooden, who grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland and performed at St. John’s in D.C. earlier than heading to IMG in Florida.

Drafted by the Padres in 2020, Wooden had 4 hits in his first sport with Single-A Fredericksburg, together with a homer.

He was 3-for-6 in a doubleheader at residence in Virginia on Thursday and was hitting .385 this month along with his new crew earlier than play Friday.

Wooden was teammates at IMG with Elijah Inexperienced, the first-round draft choose of Washington final month.

Inexperienced additionally homered in his first sport within the Nationals’ system, within the Florida Complicated League.

Each of their fathers performed school sports activities in Virginia – the daddy of Wooden performed basketball at Richmond and the daddy of Inexperienced was a soccer standout at Liberty in Lynchburg.