By Jeff Todd | at
The Nationals are holding their collective breath after seeing Wilson Ramos land awkwardly on a play at the plate. The big catcher was helped off of the field with an apparent right leg injury.
It’s far too soon to know whether the injury is a serious one, but it comes at an awful time for player and team. Washington is preparing for a postseason run in early October, while Ramos is not only playing to help the team but also to set up his free agent market after the year.
By Steve Adams | at
The Pirates announced that they have acquired infielder Chris Bostick from the Nationals in exchange for minor league catcher Taylor Gushue and cash. Bostick, who was designated for assignment by the Nats earlier this month, has been added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster but won’t join the team for the final few games of the season. He’ll take Josh Harrison’s spot on the 40-man, with Harrison being transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
Bostick, 23, split his season between Double-A and Triple-A with the Nats, hitting a combined .250/.313/.386 with eight homers and 11 steals while playing second base, third base and left field. He was ranked as the organization’s No. 25 prospect by Baseball America last offseason, with BA noting that he’s an above-average runner who stands out for a line-drive approach to all fields but may lack a true defensive home. He’s consistently displayed the pop necessary to reach double-digit home run totals and also averaged 27 steals per season from 2013-15.
The 22-year-old Gushue was Pittsburgh’s fourth-rounder back in 2014 and spent the 2016 campaign with their Class-A Advanced affiliate in Bradenton, where he batted .226/.282/.357. At the time Gushue was drafted, BA wrote that he was a good receiver with an average or even above-average arm behind the dish despite difficulties he’d had throwing out runners in college. Their report called him a below-average overall hitter but did note that he has average raw power. Gushue did hit a career-high eight homers in 90 games this season, though his 25 percent caught-stealing rate still leaves something to be desired.
By Mark Polishuk | at
By Charlie Wilmoth | at
Major League Baseball and many teams are currently celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, but Hispanic identity is a complex topic for the many US-born players of Latin descent, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes in an interesting look at the highly variable backgrounds of MLB players. “If I talk to a Latin ballplayer, I’m Cuban. And if I talk to an American guy, I’m American. No matter what,” says Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez, who is of Cuban heritage but who was born in the Miami area. “You’re never going to win in that argument. It’s never a win-win situation.” Nats reliever Rafael Martin, meanwhile, was born in the Los Angeles area but spent much of his childhood in Mexico. He had never met Latinos who weren’t Mexican before becoming a pro baseball player. “At first, it’s interesting,” says Martin. “Weird sometimes. Especially like [how] other countries use different words in Spanish. I find it very interesting, the way people come up in different countries, different styles.” Here’s more from the NL.
By Jeff Todd | at
As the Giants have struggled to lock up the ninth inning down the stretch, GM Bobby Evans discusses his decision not to push harder for a top-tier closer at this year’s deadline, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Evans told Jon Heyman of Fan Rag that the struggles have made him feel like a “knucklehead,” though he notes to Schulman that he was saying that in jest. The San Francisco general manager went on to explain a bit more about the team’s efforts to acquire Mark Melancon, who ended up with the Nationals, from the Pirates. “It was very comparable to what they ultimately got,” he said of the Giants’ offer. “You think about it. ’Was there something else I could have done? Was there another name I could have pushed across the table?’ They ended up getting one guy who throws 100 and another who throws 98.” But as Evans went on to discuss, it’s ultimately a matter of hindsight. “Those are just reflections,” he said. “… All I can do is think about how I handled it and how far I went.”
By Jeff Todd | at
By Jeff Todd | at
8:46am: The team’s offer was for “a bit more” than the three-year, $30MM figure that Heyman suggests, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
7:57am: The Nationals initiated extension talks with catcher Wilson Ramos, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Initial chatter, however, has not led to more extensive discussions.
While Ramos has stated that he would invite a chance to re-up with the team, but evidently the preliminary offer was not enough to get things going. Washington opened the bidding at around three years and $30MM, per Heyman.
That does indeed sound like rather a low amount, though it would be right in line with what the Pirates promised Francisco Cervelli earlier this year to keep him from reaching the open market. Of course, that pact took place before much of the season had occurred, meaning that Cervelli was avoiding the risk of an injury or a performance downturn harming his stock — which, it turns out, is just what happened.
Ramos, by comparison, has already absorbed most of the risk, boosting his own earning power substantially with a huge season. As I recently examined, the 29-year-old has a strong case for a five-year deal at a rather lofty average annual value. Many teams are hunting for a backstop, and Ramos now stands out rather clearly as the top available free agent at that position. Though his offensive production has dipped somewhat of late, the overall output (.303/.352/.491, 21 home runs) remains immense for his position.
It’s not clear whether talks will be revisited at some point before Ramos qualifies for free agency, but Heyman calls that a “long shot.” That’s not terribly surprising, as both sides are surely focused on the task at hand with the postseason beckoning. We have seen late-breaking, pre-free-agency extensions — the Giants’ pact with Hunter Pence stands out — so that possibility can’t be ruled out entirely. On the other hand, the Nats have previously moved on from core players like Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond when new contract discussions were not fruitful.
By Steve Adams | at
THURSDAY: In the latest twist on this story, Janes reports that Rizzo held a sit-down with Harper, manager Dusty Baker, and trainer Paul Lessard in order to determine whether there was something he was not aware of. Per the report, Harper denied that he was dealing with any injury and Lessard said he had not treated Harper in the shoulder/neck area since he sat out a handful of games earlier this year. Further, says Janes, Harper stated that he had not told Verducci anything to the contrary.
Janes wisely sought out agent Scott Boras for comment on the matter, given his high-profile involvement in the health-related situations of several other major clients. But Boras declined to comment in this case, citing HIPAA laws. That federal health information protection statute obviously does not forbid disclosure or discussion of medical information where consent is obtained from the individual in question.
The report suggests that the Nationals genuinely do not know where the reports are coming from and still have no reason to believe that Harper is dealing with a shoulder injury. As Janes notes, Rizzo’s statements on the matter seem to indicate that he is relying upon what the club’s star is telling him. “Rizzo has effectively tied his own credibility to Harper’s,” she writes, “a strong statement of trust in the 23-year-old’s honesty.”
TUESDAY: Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated reported for a second time today that reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper is playing through a shoulder injury that is severely hampering his ability to perform at the plate, and, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes, the Nationals have once again vehemently denied that Harper is playing through a notable injury. Verducci reported similar news last month, prompting GM Mike Rizzo to call the report inaccurate. Harper, Janes notes, wouldn’t confirm or deny the report when approached today and simply refused to comment on it entirely.
Verducci cites “a source close to Harper” in writing that at the peak of the issue, Harper was scarcely able to throw the ball 40 feet and points out that Harper was playing abnormally shallow in right field this past weekend. According to Verducci, Harper has been playing through the issue since early July, and the SI scribe quotes manager Dusty Baker stating “the shoulder thing” has been bothering Harper. Baker, however, adamantly insisted to Janes that he was misrepresented in the column and was referencing the previous neck injury that cost Harper five games in August when he spoke to Verducci this past weekend.
“That’s totally inaccurate,” said the Nationals’ skipper. “I don’t know where they got that from. … Bryce said it didn’t come from him. Nobody really knows where it comes from because it’s not on the injury report. The trainer said no. We treated that shoulder already in the past. If I did make a mistake it was because it’s in his neck, which is connected to his shoulder.” Baker conceded that at the time Harper was held out of the lineup for those five games, his throwing was hindered. But Baker also insisted that Harper is healthy and able to throw right now, pointing to the fact that Braves third base coach Bo Porter held several runners at third this weekend rather than testing Harper’s typically strong arm.
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, meanwhile, once again stated to Janes that Harper is healthy and added that he checked with Harper himself in light of the report and was told that there’s no issue. Said Rizzo: “I just talked to the player again because of the new stuff that came out, and he says it’s the 4-5 days he had with the neck. That’s it.”
Whether there’s an injury at play or Harper’s productivity is simply lacking due to mechanics or another reason, the drop-off in 2016 has been notable. Harper slugged his way to MVP honors last season when he hit .330/.460/.649 with 42 homers, and he carried an OPS north of 1.000 as deep into the 2016 season as May 22. That’s an admittedly arbitrary endpoint, but Harper is hitting a pedestrian .235/.343/.398 in 96 games since that time. While his patience at the plate is eminently visible — he’s walked in at least 13 percent of his plate appearances each month the 2016 season — he’s showing a fraction of his previous power. Since the All-Star break, just 8.5 percent of Harper’s fly balls have left the yard. That’s a significant drop-off from the 18.6 percent mark he posted in the first half, and it’s a precipitous drop from the staggering 27.3 percent HR/FB rate he posted in 2015.
Verducci’s column breaks down the various ways in which a shoulder and/or neck injury could be impacting Harper’s swing at the plate, whereas Janes’ column has further quotes on the matter and further analysis of comments from Baker and Rizzo. Those looking for a greater level of detail on the reported injury and the team’s denial of said ailment are encouraged to check out both pieces in their entirety.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Nationals have agreed to a deal with Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, as Jorge Ebro of el Nuevo Herald reports. He’ll receive a $200K bonus, with Ben Badler of Baseball America adding that it comes on a minor league deal.
Hernandez, 29, has been free to sign since April, but failed to hook on with an organization until the minor league season already ended. As a result, he’ll have to wait for his first chance at competitive, regular season action until next year, though presumably he’ll be able to participate in various fall and winter activities and leagues. Hernandez last played in a full-fledged game early last year.
It’s a bit surprising that Hernandez had to wait so long and was only able to secure such a meager bonus, but perhaps his showcases haven’t been convincing. Hernandez’s age is obviously a limiting factor on his value, but teams have promised tens of millions of dollars to even older players out of Cuba. But Badler suggests that he is good enough to warrant placement at Triple-A or even to battle for a major league roster spot out of camp.
Indeed, the numbers in Cuba have shown plenty of promise. In his last Serie Nacional campaign, Hernandez put up a robust .369/.509/.535 batting line with 7 home runs over 369 trips to the plate. There obviously isn’t much power in his game — he has never hit more than ten in a single season — but he also managed 77 walks against just 47 strikeouts in that span, which seemingly suggests that he will bring an advanced approach with him to D.C.
Hernandez is viewed as being capable of playing an average right or left field, but it doesn’t seem as if there’s much hope of him lining up in center — which is where the Nats could most benefit from a left-handed bat in 2017. Still, he’ll add to the organization’s depth options next season and beyond, and the meager bonus makes this an extremely low-risk signing.
By Charlie Wilmoth | at
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