Washington Nationals’ Mark DeRosa faces uncertainty about his future - MLB Update
Veteran Mark DeRosa battles with uncertainty of his future as Washington Nationals’ season comes to an end, following the heartbreaking loss on Friday against St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals acquired DeRosa in December for one-year.
He is known for his sagacity with regard to understanding affairs of the players and guiding them on different issues. Since the Nationals host scores of young players on the roster, he has been of great help to them in the season.
Although his participation in the matches was limited, he remained an important component of the team off the field. More than acting as a baseball player, he played the role of a motivational speaker for the club.
Whenever the Nationals experienced decline, he stood up and changed the atmosphere of the club with his inspirational speeches.
When the Nationals were 1-2 in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals, he quoted statements of the former US president, Theodore Roosevelt in order to instill confidence in the players.
He explained to them that they should not fear the defeat and that the best way to compete is to keep working harder and never give in.
Apparently, his words worked as the performance of the team improved in the next match, with Jayson Werth striking a walk-off home-run and keeping the series alive as a result.
Unfortunately, the Nationals were beaten in the last game but one thing was doubtless that they fought hard and put up fierce resistance against the opposition.
DeRosa will like to keep playing for the Nationals if they show interest in his retention.
“I want to keep playing,” he said. “I’m in great shape. I feel great. I feel like I can contribute. But the numbers say otherwise since I thrashed my wrist up pretty good. So I’ll see. I didn’t think the phone was going to ring this offseason, and it did.
I got a chance to be a part of a great team and a great group of guys.”
The fact DeRosa is injury-prone may discourage the Nationals to seek him anymore.
He will be hoping that he keeps playing baseball until his body allows and some organisations show interest in acquiring him.
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