Nationals' Kurt Suzuki: Set to begin year as No. 2 catcher

Manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Suzuki would serve as the primary catcher for Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez during the regular season, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Meanwhile, Martinez estimated that Yan Gomes would catch around 4-to-5 times per week as the main battery mate for the other three pitchers in the Nationals rotation. That division of workload seemingly implies that Suzuki will occupy the smaller side of the timeshare to begin the season, though Martinez's plans could change if Gomes declines further as a hitter. Suzuki's 105 wRC+ in 2019 was well above Gomes' mark (79), but the latter graded out better in terms of average pop time and framing, per Baseball Savant.