DENVER - The Nationals are trying something that still feels a little ahead of the curve, even as it spreads around the league: letting the dugout help call pitches.
Against the Rockies on Monday night, Washington catcher Harry Ford kept glancing left before pitches, waiting for assistant pitching coach Sean Doolittle to check his sheet, flash a signal and feed the recommendation back through PitchCom. Ford would then relay the pitch to his pitcher.
Washington began using dugout pitch-calling earlier this month, joining a small but growing group of MLB clubs that are leaning on a more analytical approach in search of an edge. The move had not previously been reported, but it fits the Nationals’ profile: a team that values data, leans young and is coached by a staff full of millennials who care about how fast their pitchers throw ball four.
“It’s helpful,” Ford told The Athletic, hours after he caught the first scoreless effort by the Nationals bullpen since late June. “I also think it’s not that crazy.”
The timing makes sense. Washington needs answers on the mound, and Tuesday night’s 8-7 loss to Colorado only underscored that.
That urgency has pushed the Nationals toward a tactic already used by the Miami Marlins, who began doing it in the majors late last season, and the Rockies, who hired the Marlins’ assistant pitching coach this winter. The New York Mets have also called pitches from the dugout, according to multiple league sources granted anonymity to speak candidly.
First-year manager Blake Butera said the idea has been part of his thinking for a while.
“It’s just something I’ve always believed in,” Butera told The Athletic. “I compare it a little bit to an NFL quarterback.
They’re not calling the plays from the start. They are given suggestions, and they can make adjustments at the line.
Same thing we’re doing here.”
At its core, the system is simple: use an objective read on what a pitcher does best and what a hitter struggles with, then match those two things to pick the right pitch in the moment. The catch is that the catcher no longer has to carry all of that information in his head across different counts and matchups.
Washington also sees another benefit. By taking some of that burden off the catcher, the team believes it can free him up to focus more on other parts of the job, including hitting and receiving.
Backup catcher Drew Millas was the first Nationals catcher in the majors to get pitch suggestions from the dugout. The club viewed him as a good fit because of his outspoken style and because the added help could give him more room to concentrate on offense.
The approach is not universal yet. Foster Griffin and Cade Cavalli still call their own pitches from the mound.
But since the team rolled it out in early July, it may be catching on.
Keibert Ruiz started out calling his own games, with the Nationals taking an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach while he was in the middle of a career year. On Tuesday, though, while trying to guide Carson Palmquist through the early innings, Ruiz was seen looking toward the dugout often before pitches.
Butera said Ruiz was checking with catching coach Bobby Wilson for defensive signals. Still, Washington’s interest in the tactic is worth watching.
Andrew Alvarez, whose pitches were called from the dugout Monday, said the extra input can help.
“It’s helpful having another set of eyes, another thought,” Alvarez said. “And they allow us to shake it off … then we go back and take a look at the decisions. So, it helps me grow in the decisions I make.
“At the end of the day, they fully want us to throw what we’re convicted in.”
Alvarez said the last time he had pitches suggested from the dugout was in college, where the practice is far more common.
The Nationals had already been using the concept more broadly in the minors earlier this season, which helped prepare Ford for it after he was called up last week. Ford said the dugout suggestions usually line up with what he was already leaning toward anyway. If anything, he said, the process sharpens his understanding of the game.
“Getting to learn and see how other guys think, I think it builds confidence when you’re calling along with them that you know how to do it,” Ford said.
Washington entered Tuesday with a 4.80 ERA, good for 27th in MLB. Before the All-Star break, Butera said a significant chunk of his time was spent looking for a fix for a bullpen that is on pace to break the MLB record for blown saves. With those numbers, it’s easy to see why the Nationals are willing to try something different.
Butera said the organization will need more time before it can judge the move fully. The team plans to measure it by comparing results when it uses the strategy and when it doesn’t, along with feedback from coaches, catchers and pitchers.
“There’s always going to be slight tweaks and adjustments to what we’re doing,” Butera said. “But I think, overall, being able to take a little bit more off their plate when they’re out there trying to compete is the main goal.”
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