Jeter Downs settles in with Nationals at spring training

Martinez had hinted that the move might happen. Downs, a middle infielder by trade, hadn’t played outfield since high school travel ball. He had worked with Eric Young Jr. on drills there, though Martinez said he’d probably play him in left field first.

The results weren’t perfect. Downs broke back on a flyball instead of coming in; the ball dropped for a single. But Martinez, who liked what he saw from Downs in the outfield, doesn’t want him to press. For Downs, this year’s camp is about taking time to learn.

“He’s still got a lot left in his future, we want him to kind of slow the game down a little bit,” Martinez said. “I told him, ‘You put up some numbers in the minor leagues. You got rushed to the big leagues and you got traded. Everything happened so quick for you.’ It’s almost a breath of fresh air for him here and I think he feels that way.”

Downs, 24, is hoping to stick with his third organization. He was a top prospect acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade in 2020. That was the second trade of his career. After being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds with the 32nd pick in 2017, he was traded to the Dodgers with Josiah Gray in 2018.

“When he got traded to Boston, we talked a little bit. When I got traded over here, we talked a little bit as well,” said Gray, who was sent to Washington in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner trade in 2021. “I know he’s rooting for me and I’m rooting for him.”

Downs wasn’t expecting either move. He remembers being at the airport when he got the call that he was being traded to the Red Sox; he had just shipped all of his belongings to the Dodgers’ camp. Suddenly, he was in a brand-new organization and didn’t know anyone.

“It’s definitely not what you expect in pro ball,” Downs said. “Nobody dreams about getting drafted and getting traded a few times. I’m rolling with it, taking it all in. At the end of the day, I believe God has a reason for everything and everything happens for a reason. So some of these experiences are learning experiences to take from and to help in whatever He has planned for me.”

Downs’s first two seasons in the minors were strong, and showed a combination of contact and power that helped him ascend to Class AA with the Dodgers in 2019. But soon, Downs was hit with a reality that a handful of other young Nationals in Washington’s clubhouse can relate to: He was a prospect acquired in a high-profile trade, and faced the pressure to make the trade worth it.

He hit .191 in 99 games with the Class AAA Worcester Red Sox in 2021. Last year, he hit .197 in 81…