Adams putting in the work this spring to stay consistent for Nats

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Riley Adams rounded the bases for his second home run of Spring Training in the Nationals' 10-5 loss to the Marlins on Monday night, already doubling his 2024 Grapefruit League total in his first six exhibition contests.

After playing half of his games in Triple-A last year, Adams wants to establish consistency for this season with the Nationals. He revamped his swing this winter in Dallas in hopes it will translate to the plate in Washington, D.C.

¡°Obviously, you can all look at the stats and how the season went for me last year ¨C and it was certainly not the way I wanted to go,¡± Adams said. ¡°So we¡¯ve got to make some changes, got to make some adjustments. I think there are plenty of things to work on there, and it¡¯s something that I need to address.¡±

Adams, the backup catcher to Keibert Ruiz, played 41 games with the Nats and 40 games with the Red Wings in 2024. He batted .224 with two home runs in the Majors and .285 with nine dingers in the Minors.

The Nationals avoided arbitration with Adams in November and agreed to a one-year deal worth $850,000. Adams, 28, is out of Minor League options.

¡°He understands the situation of where he¡¯s at,¡± said manager Dave Martinez. ¡°For me, I want him to do well because he could be an asset to us. He knows our pitching staff ¨C that¡¯s huge. But he¡¯s got to go out there and perform.¡±

Adams linked up with hitting coach Logan Brumley this winter. He wanted to dig into his approach and make comprehensive adjustments ahead of his fifth Major League season.

¡°We worked on a lot of hand path things; it kind of felt like we deconstructed the whole swing,¡± Adams said. ¡°[We] really tried to try to build it back up and change the hand position things. But I think instead of just making ¡®Band Aid fixes¡¯ ¨C as I like to call them ¨C the swings that work in the short term, we were kind of addressing some things that I felt like were causing me to miss pitches that I shouldn't have.¡±

Playing time is usually limited for Adams in a backup role. But when Ruiz, who signed an eight-year contract in 2023, was sidelined by the flu last April, Adams stepped up. He hit safely in six of his first seven games of ¡®24 with three doubles and four RBIs.

Adams batted .239 in the first half of the season (30 games) compared to .167 after the break (11 games), though. He hit .107 with runners in scoring position on the year.

¡°The No. 1 focus for him is catching,¡± said Martinez. ¡°Being a backup catcher, you¡¯ve really got to understand your role, and that¡¯s [to] really take care of the pitching staff. You¡¯ll play once or twice a week. He¡¯s been fortunate here because I¡¯ve played him quite a bit just because of Ruiz and his status sometimes. But he¡¯s got to understand that his catching comes first, and he takes pride in his catching and trying to throw guys out, calling games. Then the rest is a bonus.

¡°I always tell him, ¡®You can hit four or five home runs, but what are you going to do the rest of your at-bats? So we need you to be more of a situational guy, understand what the situation is and try to hit the ball hard, put it in play sometimes.¡¯ As you know, he¡¯s had some streaks where he¡¯s been really good and some that he hasn¡¯t been. So it¡¯s about consistency with him when it comes to hitting.¡±

Adams¡¯ offseason dedication is carrying over to his presence at Spring Training.

¡°Every year he wants to get better, and he works really hard,¡± Martinez said. ¡°He¡¯s the first one here every morning. He¡¯s working with [catching coach] Henry [Blanco] in the cage blocking balls. He comes in and works with [hitting coach] Darnell [Coles] every day religiously on trying to focus on getting ready early and hitting the ball out front a little bit more.¡±