Previous Articles Sections Next

Joey Gallo, introspective at spring training, knows he has a job to do

This offseason, Washington signed Gallo to a one-year, $5 million deal, hoping he can regain the form that made him an all-star in 2019 and 2021.

By Spencer Nusbaum | 2024-03-20

Washington signed Joey Gallo to a one-year deal this offseason. (Jim Rassol/USA Today Sports)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Joey Gallo was about to swing at the first pitch in the 31st at-bat of his eighth spring training as an everyday starter. He's still trying to find his swing after suffering a left quad injury in camp. Earlier, he sat at his locker in the corner of the Washington Nationals' clubhouse and said that if things don't work out this season, he may not get another shot in the big leagues. He also know this is just spring training.

He's also 30 years old. So he knows his power well.

All of these facts seemed to coalesce in this at-bat Monday, to the degree that Gallo only took a half-second to look up at a ball he had demolished before his eyes wandered down to the damp dirt on the first base line. A little more wind or a slightly lower launch angle would have taken it over the fence. He seemed to know how it would end before anyone else: The ball landed in Houston Astros center fielder Jacob Melton's glove on the warning track. It dropped his batting average to .097. Entering Wednesday, he's 3 for 31 with 14 strikeouts and zero homers.

"For me, [spring training] is just trying to get ready for the season. Results, I don't care at all about right now. I know it's fun to look at numbers and stuff. I really don't care," Gallo said with a small chuckle before the game. "It's about just swinging at strikes, and every game I've made small adjustments here and there. ... [I] have to just stay with the process and understand 'it happens.' It's going to come around."

Gallo admits it hasn't been a fun few years to be, well, Joey Gallo. It has been stressful, he said, after a trade to the New York Yankees in 2021, another trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 and a full year on the Minnesota Twins in 2023. This offseason, Washington signed him to a one-year, $5 million deal, hoping he can regain the form that made him an all-star in 2019 and 2021.

People don't realize the toll of a 162-game season, he said. That's why it's important to have a clubhouse he feels comfortable in. He enjoys his spot near Nick Senzel, Lane Thomas and Ildemaro Vargas. He likes the youthful exuberance elsewhere around camp.

"For me, [spring training] is just trying to get ready for the season. Results, I don't care at all about right now. I know it's fun to look at numbers and stuff. I really don't care," Joey Gallo said. (Jeff Roberson/AP Photo)

But, Gallo said, baseball is a game with unavoidable pressure, and not just because he has had a few down years. He feels as though his teammates in Washington can help alleviate some of the stress. But there's an undeniable strain that makes it tough in any season.

"The reality is, it's not a game anymore," Gallo said. "It's a job, and you have to be good at it now. You have to perform. So it's not the same as just going out in your backyard and playing baseball and having fun with your buddies. . . . I played with five different teams now; there's not one guy who just doesn't care and just goes out there like f---ing they're playing Wiffle ball.

"It's a serious business, and it's a cutthroat business. And we get that. So, like I said, I think when you have a good group of guys like it seems that this clubhouse is ... that really helps."

On the technical side, he still sees value in preseason baseball. He has always used the spring to prepare for the season, to recognize spin, stay in the zone and see pitches, though the results have never quite looked this bad: His .305 OPS is less than half that of his next-worst spring training since 2018. It didn't help that his quad injury came before minor league camp began, giving him limited opportunities to see live pitching outside of a spring training game atmosphere.

But he has made small adjustments from game to game as he attempts to get out of his funk. It has been frustrating, he said, to reset after those adjustments didn't work. He has felt his timing is off and he isn't seeing the ball well. The game has felt fast, he said, but is starting to slow down.

Two hard-hit balls and four strikeout-free at-bats Monday signaled a step in the right direction, but was a low bar to clear. He and Manager Dave Martinez acknowledged he's a streaky player. But they want him to find his form and plan for him to play first base every day -- Joey Meneses will get the bulk of at-bats at DH -- hoping to keep Gallo's confidence high. (That's a slight shift from the offseason plan to stick the two-time Gold Glove outfielder in the outfield but everyday play nevertheless.)

Joey Gallo has made small adjustments from game to game as he attempts to get out of his funk. (Jeff Roberson/AP Photo)

"All of a sudden with guys like him, something clicks, and then next thing you know he's hitting five or six home runs in 10 days," Martinez said.

Gallo trained with former major leaguer Matt Holliday in Oklahoma this offseason. Though he doesn't dive into the tweaks because he "doesn't want people breaking down every little thing he does," he indicated he isn't trying to overhaul his game. He said he's trying to stay a little more directional to the middle of the field and slightly curb his pull-hitting tendencies. Since he became a full-time starter in 2017, no player in the big leagues has had a higher percentage of their at-bats end in one of the three true outcomes (walk, strikeout or home run), per TruMedia. He hopes he can find his swing without sacrificing power in Washington.

"I've been through a lot of different stints and a lot of different teams so far. I think we're trying to approach it as 'Hey, if this is my last year, it's my last year.' I'm just going to play hard. I'm just going to try to enjoy it because, like I said, I don't know when the last year is going to be," Gallo said.

"I might not get any more calls after this. So that's just the reality of the situation, and I just want to enjoy it more and try to have fun. We'll see how that goes this season."


This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/03/20/joey-gallo-spring-training-nationals/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_homepage


Previous Articles Sections Next