Q&A with Matt Chico

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Young left-hander Matt Chico is one-half the answer of a Washington Nationals trivia question: Who did the Nats receive from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Livan Hernandez trade?

The D-backs traded Chico and right-hander Garrett Mock to the Nationals for Hernandez, adding to the stockpile of pitching prospects the Nats are building. On Wednesday, Ken Wright sat down with Chico and talked about his first big-league camp:

Q: What was your initial reaction when you found out that you had been traded to the Nationals?

A: My initial reaction was shock because I was told at the time that I wasn’t going to be traded at all. Things happened and business had to take over, and I ended up here. I walked in and they told me I had to be out in about 32 hours. I had a flight, and I was gone.

Q: You reported directly to Class AA Harrisburg. How did you like playing there?

A: Harrisburg was a different atmosphere because I’ve never played or been on the East Coast. So, just being on that side of things was a lot different. On the baseball side, the league [AA Eastern] was different. It was a little better hitters, I’d say, and everybody was great, the town and players.

Q: I hear Harrisburg’s Commerce Bank Park sits on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. Was that a pretty cool place to play?

A: It’s right close to downtown on a little island. It wasn’t bad. It was a little rundown, but it was kept in great shape.

Q: Do you think being a left-hander benefits you with the club because the organization doesn’t have that many left-handers?

A: Yeah, I think it is, only because it’s like any organization: Being a left-hander is a benefit because you can do only so many things as a pitcher. Whether it’s a starting position or wherever I’m put, I’ll be happy wherever I go.

Q: What do you want to get out of this spring training camp?

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