The Nationals announced earlier this week that lefty Ross Detwiler would begin this season in the bullpen, though many had pegged him to be the favorite for the final rotation spot. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Detwiler was initially angry with the move, but has now become accepting of his role. Rosenthal spoke with a scout who thinks that Detwiler can become a dominant left-handed reliever in the mold of Jeremy Affeldt. (Twitter links.) Here's more from the NL East …
- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports hears that the Phillies have made John Mayberry Jr. available in trades (Twitter link). Reports in January indicated that Mayberry could be shopping Spring Training, and more recent reports have suggested that the Astros are interested in Mayberry as a potential first base option.
- Two other important developments occurred today with respect to the Phillies' bench. The club announced that utility man Freddy Galvis has been diagnosed with a MRSA infection while first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf has a grade 1-2 oblique strain. As MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports (here and here), Galvis has been hospitalized and has no timeframe given the nature of the affliction, while Ruf is expected to be out for four to six weeks. With the club's projected Opening Day DL growing, there are clear roster implications, Zolecki writes. Needless to say, a Mayberry trade may be tough to cover.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson profiles Nationals right-hander Chris Young and his comeback from injury after thinking his career was finished in 2013. Ladson writes that right shoulder pain had plagued Young so much over the past four years that he was unable to sleep on the right side of his bed. However, Nationals medical director Wiemi Douoguih and the Syracuse medical staff believed that the problem was not in Young's shoulder, recommending that he see a specialist in St. Louis. Young learned that he actually had thoracic outlet syndrome, and after undergoing surgery to alleviate the ailment, he is throwing free and easy. Nats pitching coach said Young's fastball is back up to 87 mph — close to the 88.7 mph he averaged in 2007 when he posted a 3.12 ERA.
- Meanwhile, young righty Blake Treinen has made a late push for a rotation slot with the Nationals, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. One of the young arms received in the Michael Morse deal (along with A.J. Cole and the since-dealt Ian Krol), Treinen would require the team to clear a 40-man spot to break camp.
- One possible route to opening a slot on the roster would be to deal the versatile Jeff Kobernus, writes Kilgore. The speedy 25-year-old would draw trade interest, a scout says. Kobernus played in center today, which Kilgore says could have been intended to showcase him for other clubs.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Treinan. Just another “throw-in” no-name to a Mike Rizzo trade. Throws 95-98 and hit 101 in Harrisburg last year and pushing for a roster spot. So that Michael Morse trade netted Rizzo: the aforementioned Treinan, Ian Krol who was flipped as part of a package for Doug Fister, and AJ Cole, the #2 prospect in the Nats system. Not bad.
Yes, amazing trade. Morse was a fan favorite, but injury-prone and with only a year left on the contract and he flipped him for some serious talent.
I know exactly what you mean. Everytime Boston trades a young flamethrower as a “throwin” make a point of keeping up with them at least a couple of years…
Everyone knows Detroit got Iglesias and the Chisox got Garcia in that 3 player deal for Jake Peavy as an example of what you mentioned, but a “throwin” was a guy Boston made.. Frank Montas who throws 96-100 as a starter, is 21 and only been in the US for 2 years. Yes, he’s wild, yet at that age? One never knows.
He may have made off like a bandit in the Blevins trade too. Dunno why Rizzo isn’t in the “best GM in baseball,” conversation more. I guess people have to see a little bit more of how he drafts when he doesn’t have a top 10 pick? Does the Werth signing or Strasburg thing have something to do with it?
Don’t forget Matt Capps for Ramos. Or the Gio deal. Fister. I could go on…but Rizzo will always be hated for the Shutdown. I suspect he’ll eventually be vindicated for that as well.
Nats fans don’t hate him for that, actually — most agreed with him. It was mostly outsiders who thought he was an idiot for trying to avoid destroying a great young arm and not wasting innings by saving them for a speculative post-season.
If you can’t tell, I agree with your last sentence on that topic. It was clear, if nothing else, that he was doing what he thought best — otherwise, they’d surely have had him pitch. I found the response (at least, the worst elements of it) to be pretty well revolting.
Out of curiosity Jeff, where would you rank Rizzo among baseball’s GMs? Obviously it isn’t an exact science and can be pretty subjective, but I’m interested in your thoughts on the matter.
Yeah, that’s tough, and I really would not presume to be wise or knowledgeable enough to do it. There are a lot of factors — especially, the involvement of the owner and business/payroll restrictions — that are largely impossible to judge from the outside. Likewise, differing team situations certainly offer different challenges and probably require varying skillsets to some degree.
What I will say is that, having followed the Nats closely, I appreciate his approach and tend to agree with his moves. He’s not perfect, of course, and some of the biggest impact has come from no-brainers (Strasburg, Harper). But he signed those guys in tough negotiating spots, and I think he’s overseen a pretty darned good overall talent acquisition and development process in D.C.
On the whole, I think he’s certainly put himself in the conversation as one of the most effective GMs in the business. He’s one of the guys (Friedman, Beane, and Mozeliak certainly also come to mind) who always seem to come up with creative approaches. I’m fascinated to see how he handles the advancement towards free agency of the team’s core pieces.
Now, if Rizzo had only landed Strasburg and Trout in the same draft — which he could have — he’d clearly be number one!
Oh I know Nats fans don’t hate him for it. I mean nationally. I remember Rizzo was bashed for not using Strasburg out of the bullpen to preserve innings, like the Braves did with Medlen. Medlen was even called the “anti-Strasburg.” Well, Medlen made 50 appearances that year and has since blown out his arm again. We can never be certain whether what Rizzo did worked, but we can be certain what the Braves did didn’t work. And for that, people should lay off Rizzo.
I think that what Medlen illustrates is that we can’t rush to judgment on these things, and that there are a lot of unknowns. His second TJ may have happened regardless of his handling, after all. That same protocol might have been okay for Strasburg — who knows? Everyone agrees that improving the medical process is in the best interest of all, and that should remain the focus.
If nothing else, it is clear that Rizzo was acting in a manner that he believed (and was designed) to protect the player’s long-term health. There were people (not just anonymous people on the internet) who say Rizzo acted out of hubris, assuming that the club would simply run away with multiple WS titles or something. I just don’t understand that. The club used the exact same protocol with Zimmermann in the prior year, said they would do the same with Stras before the season (when, it should be added, the Nats were viewed as a fringe contender), and then followed through with the plan (rather than varying from what they determined was the appropriate course when the team turned into a division winner). In my view, the vitriol was unfounded and unfair.
The LaRoche/Morse decision caused a lot of consternation among many Nats fans, but it is certainly hard to argue with the return for Morse. Rizzo sees prospects as assets, focusing on their long-term value for internal valuation while trading on their perceived value. He’s sold a lot of guys on their perceived upswing (Gio return, Meyer, Ray, Krol, Burns) and bought others on their perceived downswing (Cole, Treinen, Krol, Rivero, Vettleson). Not to say everything has or will work out, but that seems to be a pattern.
Do not Google MRSA infection.
Galvis must be allergic to penicillin – I am and that usually is the first version of meds they’d try, alternatively if you’re hospitalized for MRSA, youre likely on strong IV drip meds. They’ll carve out the infection if need be, and he’ll be on the mend for about a month or so if it’s really bad. I had a chunk of my ankle cut out and it took about 6 weeks to heal fully. Not fun at all. It seems like MRSA is a problem down in that area – See TB Bucs.
actually he probably isn’t allergic to penicillin…it’s just that it won’t cover for MRSA
actually quite common. most health care workers test positive for vre/mrsa. just doesn’t affect people with healthy immune systems.
Detwiler historically has good numbers as a reliever and far better numbers the first time through a batting order than the second or third. It’s a good move for both the Nationals and his career.
Detwiler will have a long career as a relief pitcher and this just might even be the answer to his health issues.