Daylen Lile Gets Blunt About This New Era of Nationals Baseball
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This offseason, one of the things that has stood out regarding this new era of Washington Nationals baseball is the embracing of new technology and analytics.
The former regime -- led by longtime executive Dave Martinez who surrounded himself with "old school baseball people" -- was slow to adapt. In many aspects, there were people around the MLB -- players and other front offices included -- who were shocked at how archaic things were.
That is no longer the case, though. The baseball operations department -- led by new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni -- is attempting to infuse technology and analytics into the entire organization. And rising star outfielder Daylen Lile is excited about that.
Daylen Lile Says Nationals Aren't 'In the Dark Ages Anymore'
"It's been awesome. ... We're not in the dark ages anymore. It's a bunch of new stuff. So I'm excited to see what comes with it. And I know we're gonna do some great things," he said on Sirius MLB Network Radio. "Just the analytical part. Just having all the technology and doing things that's gonna develop us and benefit us on the field."
How quickly Toboni and his front office have gotten things up and running has been impressive when looking at the state of where this Washington organization was previously. While there was some criticism about their stagnant winter on the player front, nobody can say this staff wasn't busy.
But what kind of technological things were actually introduced and how will that affect the Nationals going forward? At least two things have stood out in a major way when they came to spring training this year.
Pulse Arm Bands and Trajekt Arc Pitching Machines
When scouring through some pictures of early camp action this spring, fans might have noticed a mysterious black arm band being worn. Well, that is a Pulse arm band that is supposed to help reduce arm injuries of pitchers by measuring arm speed and workload metrics. Any abrupt reduction in speed gets flagged and lets everyone know a break should be taken.
For a franchise that has been decimated by their young pitchers picking up long-term elbow injuries, this hopefully will give Washington a better chance to avoid those issues by using this type of technology.
DJ Herz (recovering from Tommy John) has the black elbow band on, and is getting some work in this morning. pic.twitter.com/1llbUYS5G1
— Ryan Shenker (@RyanShenker) February 18, 2026
But pitchers weren't the only ones who got a new toy to play with. The Nationals also brought in the vaunted Trajekt Arc pitching machines, which is a pitching robot that can play video of any pitcher in baseball and then throw balls at his appropriate arm angles.
For an offense that has been stagnant during this rebuild, this might be the most exciting thing Washington has introduced thus far, as it will help their young hitters prepare for and face big league pitchers throughout the enitre season.
Now, it's easy to see while Lile is so excited about what was implemented by this new regime. And he probably isn't the only player who feels that way, either.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai