Before the Washington Nationals acquired catcher Derek Norris from the San Diego Padres, with the intention of having the five-year veteran take over as the everyday backstop in the nation’s capital, it looked like they might go with Pedro Severino and Jose Lobaton behind the plate in spite of Severino’s lack of big-league experience.
Severino, 23, played 82 games at Triple-A Syracuse in 2016, in his first exposure at that level, putting up a .271/.316/.337 line, 13 doubles and two home runs in 82 games and 312 plate appearances and he put up a .321/.441/.607 line with two doubles and two home runs over 16 games and 34 PAs in the majors after making his debut in a brief two-games in the majors in 2015.