These non-baseball stars would be Nats' ideal teammates

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato's Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Spring Training is a time for building camaraderie. Players get to know each other over the course of six weeks, establishing a chemistry for the season ahead.

What if they could add a teammate from another sport? The Nationals shared which professional athletes they would like to play alongside them for a game.

Zach Brzykcy: ¡°I¡¯m a Bills fan, so Josh Allen is probably up there. He just seems so fun to be around, a great leader. ¡­ He throws one of the hardest footballs, I¡¯d say he¡¯d be a pitcher.¡±

Josh Bell: ¡°You could throw Rafael Nadal at short and he probably could do it. Tennis is the most similar to baseball, I think. Rotational strength, he could probably throw and hit. It might take some time, but he could probably put the ball in play.¡±

Andr¨¦s Chaparro: ¡°I¡¯ve always been a big fan of Lionel Messi. I would like to play a game with him. I think he could play second base because he¡¯s very agile.¡±

Dylan Crews: ¡°Patrick Mahomes because he was a pitcher when he was younger. [His best pitch] would probably be a cutter. He¡¯s always throwing a football and sliding off the side of the football, so I feel like he¡¯s going to have a little natural cut to his fastball.¡±

James Wood: ¡°LeBron James -- because he¡¯s LeBron. He would be a coach. It has nothing to do with baseball, it¡¯s just that he¡¯s LeBron.¡±

Nathaniel Lowe: ¡°I¡¯d love to be teammates with Phil Mickelson for a day because I¡¯m also a left-handed golfer and could probably pick up cues from him.¡±

Colin Poche: ¡°Dirk Nowitzki seemed like a great teammate -- stayed with the Mavs his whole career, kind of took the discount to help make the team better. A guy like him seemed to put what¡¯s good for the group ahead of what is maybe best for himself. So I think that¡¯s probably the definition of a good teammate.¡±

Nasim Nu?ez: ¡°Allen Iverson in center field. He¡¯s athletic. I¡¯ll teach him everything else [laughs].¡±

Alex Call: ¡°I¡¯d like to see if Victor Wembanyama could throw a ball. Could you imagine that -- like, what would his extension be?¡±

Yohandy Morales: ¡°I feel like the obvious answer would be LeBron. His leadership and what he¡¯s accomplished in the game of basketball. He would be a coach, for sure.¡±