WASHINGTON – Justin Lord, 40, spent most of this summer during the baseball shutdown at his home in Georgia with his wife and daughter.
He did some woodworking projects and some renovation projects around his house – but he also spent a lot of time communicating with young pitchers in the Washington Nationals’ farm system.
Lord was on tap to be the Single-A Fredericksburg pitching coach before the minor league season was called off this year due to the pandemic.
The Alabama native spent a lot of time on Zoom calls with young pitchers in the minor league system of the Nationals, including Jackson Rutledge, the top pick in 2019; Matt Cronin, a fourth-round pick in 2019; Cole Henry, selected in the second round this year out of LSU; Jake Irvin, a fourth-round pick this summer out of Oklahoma; and lefty Seth Romero, who had not pitched above low Single-A Hagerstown before appearing in three games with the Nationals this year then hurting his non-throwing hand.