The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AFTER nearly a month highlighted by several historic milestones with the Washington Nationals, Lucius Fox was optioned to the franchise’s Triple- A affiliate, but manager Davey Martinez said he expects the versatile infielder to be back in the big leagues soon.

Fox rejoined the Rochester Red Wings, but his debut was delayed after yesterday’s matchup against the Scranton WB Railriders was postponed due to rain.

Martinez addressed Fox’s situation in his media availability Tuesday as the Nationals opened their series against the Colorado Rockies.

“I told him [Fox], I said, ‘Hey, look, it’s just a matter of time before you get an opportunity to come up here and play every day, It’s part of your development, we want you to go down there and get as many at-bats as possible, and work on your footwork,’” Martinez said.

Martinez said Fox spent much of his time in the majors refining his skills with third base coach Gary DiSarcina and first base coach Tim Bogar. He also compared his progression to current Red Wings infield prospect Luis Garcia.

“He’s learned a lot up here with DiSar and Bogie, and ... continue to work, but I loved having him, and you see — if we can cut down his swing a little bit, and he puts the ball in play, you see what he does when he’s on the bases. He’s a very good baserunner. And he’s going to learn a lot, and he’s learned a lot, so we just want him to go down there and get consistent at-bats and play.”

Fox is currently ranked No.23 in the Nationals’ prospect list, according to MLB Pipeline. He appeared at both shortstop and third base in his time with the Nationals.

“When we deem he’s ready, he’s the same as Luis García, when we deem that they’re ready with all aspects of the game, they’re going to come up here, and they’re going to get a chance to play every day,” Martinez said.

“I still want Foxy to play some short, as well, but he’ll play some second [base], so will Luis [García], but every now and then, maybe once a week, let him play some third base — because if something does happen up here, that we need him to be able to do that as well.”

In the offseason, Fox was claimed off waivers by the Nationals in December and joined the fifth franchise of his MLB career.

During the final week of Spring Training, he was recalled from the Red Wings to the big league club and had an immediate opportunity at the opening week roster after several injuries to veterans in the Washington middle infield.

He made his MLB debut on April 10 with a squeeze bunt and run scored in a win over the Mets.

On May 1, Fox ended his drought at the plate and recorded both his first hit and first stolen base of his MLB career. He got the start at shortstop and finished 2-5 with one run scored, one RBI and one stolen base in an 11-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California. Last season, he rose as high as No.26 in the Kansas City Royals’ prospect pipeline.

Fox spent the bulk of his season at the AAA level with the Omaha Storm Chasers in the International League.

In 57 games with the Storm Chasers, Fox hit .245 with a .353 OBP, .729 OPS, 56 hits, five home-runs and 24 RBI. He also had 44 runs scored and 19 stolen bases.