WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- It wasn¡¯t until late January that Joey Gallo finalized which city he would be calling home this season.

In a matter of weeks after signing a one-year deal with the Nationals, he had to procure a place to stay for Spring Training in Florida, find a spot in Washington D.C. for the regular season and coordinate all the logistics in between from Dallas -- including unexpectedly having to get a loaner vehicle after his car was totaled at the dealership while being serviced, a day before leaving for camp.

¡°It¡¯s been crazy,¡± Gallo said. ¡°It¡¯s always crazy when you sign.¡±

Gallo arrived at Nationals camp on Thursday morning. He quickly settled in at his locker, greeted his new teammates -- many of whom had already reached out to him -- and soon he was getting in swings on a back field at CACTI Ballpark of the Palm Beaches by 11 a.m.

¡°Meeting everybody is most important, starting to build a relationship with everybody,¡± Gallo, 30, said. ¡°The biggest thing in Spring Training is to get ready, but also form a team, form a bond.¡±

As Gallo hit in a group with Joey Meneses, Nick Senzel and Lane Thomas, the crack of the bat emanated from the cage. Gallo made ¡°little adjustments here and there¡± this winter to boost his offensive performance after batting .177 last season with the Twins.

¡°[I am] trying to narrow up a little more, not be as wide,¡± Gallo said. ¡°Also, trying to work on my direction a little more -- less pulling the ball and poking the ball [the opposite way], and more hitting the ball to center field and the other way.¡±

Manager Dave Martinez watched Gallo in action and was pleased with what he saw. Gallo is expected to play left field, first base and potentially designated hitter in his 10th Major League season.

¡°I¡¯ve seen him for years from the other side,¡± Martinez said. ¡°He¡¯s one of the guys where I looked over because I kept hearing this loud noise, and I look up and there he is hitting. That¡¯s awesome. I talked to him on the phone, he¡¯s excited, he¡¯s all in and we¡¯re really excited to have him.¡±

After tying up all the loose ends before heading to West Palm Beach, Gallo found a to-do when he got to camp: Decide with Meneses -- whose first name is Joey -- how to differentiate between the two.

¡°We were just talking about that,¡± Gallo said. ¡°¡­ We¡¯ve got to figure it out. There¡¯s a lot of Joes in the game nowadays, it¡¯s definitely changing. Not a lot of people go by Joey, either. [My real name] is Joseph, so I¡¯m letting him keep the Joey title. I¡¯ll just come up with a nickname to call me or something. But the two Joeys are always tough for me, for sure.¡±