Force of the mid-five slap between Ian Desmond and first base coach Tony Tarasco was in line with the moment. It was not authoritative nor well-connected, much like the light-hearted hit that Desmond sent to right field on Sunday. What mattered was that Desmond was standing on first base, a place he longed to be much more often.
Pending free agency can be tricky. The specter of wading onto the open market can crush and embolden. Desmond is among a handful of Washington Nationals players in the final year of their contracts.