PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It can be both easy and dangerous to overreact to spring training statistics. Every year, someone’s hot-hitting spring proves to be a flash in the pan, or someone’s struggles on the mound dissipate when the season begins.
Players and managers say spring training is just as much about the process as the results. And that’s one of the reasons why the Nationals are not particularly concerned about right-hander Tanner Roark, who has allowed 15 runs, including 12 earned runs, in 11 1/3 innings this spring.
“Just his command hasn’t been as sharp as it’s normally been,” manager Matt Williams said Saturday afternoon. “But it’s a little bit of getting used to the bullpen. It’s a little bit of trying to find his rhythm down there getting loose. All of those things are important. So the more experience he gets, the better he’ll be. I’m not concerned about it.”
Roark pitched 1 1/3 innings in a 10-2 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday, allowing five hits and five runs, two of which were earned. Though the team said he would continue to prepare as a starter following the addition of marquee free agent Max Scherzer, Roark always seemed destined for a move back to the bullpen. He has made one start in seven appearances this spring.
The 28-year-old made his major-league debut as a reliever in 2013 but earned five September starts that year. He then won a spot in the 2014 rotation, going 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA, before being relegated to the bullpen for the playoffs.
Though he has experience in both roles, Roark was a starter for most of his minor-league career and acknowledges that the jobs present different challenges.
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“It’s just kind of a different mindset,” he said Saturday. “Just come out there, be ready to go when you get out there, you know? If the starter left a runner on base, you’ve got to execute pitches and get out of that inning and not give up unearned runs.”
Roark has pitched in a variety of relief situations this spring, working anywhere from one to two innings at a time. He said his arm feels good and he is getting more comfortable in his everyday preparation. “It’s just, the process should be fine-tuned by now,” he said.
Roark said his biggest issue this spring has just been a lack of execution. Though he remains confident, he said it has been challenging at times to separate the process from the results.
“Just because I’m competitive,” Roark said. “I don’t like giving up runs or giving up anybody else’s runs. It can be frustrating, but you’ve just got to fight through it. You know your stuff’s there. You know your command’s there. You know all your pitches are there. You’ve just got to stay confident, keep going.”
The Nationals have a few pitchers who could all fill a similar role out of the bullpen this season. Craig Stammen has been one of the best long relievers in the sport over the past three years, and Blake Treinen also has experience as both a starter and reliever. The team could keep all three pitchers, or stash Roark or Treinen in the minors to begin the year.
If either Roark or Treinen begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse, it will be interesting to see how he is used there. Would he continue to work as a reliever, indicating a full-time switch? Or would he switch back to starting, establishing a rhythm in that role if, or when, Washington needs a sixth starter to fill in because of an injury?
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Pitching coach Steve McCatty said roles will not determine who makes the Opening Day roster.
“Like we’ve always said, we’re going to go with the best pitchers,” McCatty said. “I’m not going to say, ’He’s the best pitcher but it’s not his role.’ Not everybody is a square peg in a round hole. We’ve got guys that can do a couple different things, and, again, we’ve got guys who haven’t done it before. So when you look at what they’re going to do, we’re still making the decision on that.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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