Nationals infielder Trea Turner had an impressive season debut today, but the plan is for him to return to Triple-A once Ryan Zimmerman is back from paternity leave, manager Dusty Baker told reporters including MLB.com’s Jamal Collier (Twitter link). That’s not to say that he won’t play a more significant role later in the year, of course. Danny Espinosa and Stephen Drew have been solid defensively but have combined for an anemic 65 wRC+ on the year.
Here’s more from the National League:
- With the news that Hunter Pence will miss two months or more, the Giants are facing some uncertainty in the corner outfield. While the organization sees some “attractive options externally,” GM Bobby Evans tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter), it has no intentions of plunking down a high price for a temporary fill-in (let alone a long-term piece).
- The Mets’ plans at third base appear to be somewhat up in the air with David Wright out of action. Per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, via Twitter, the club will “explore” the market for trade candidates, but is also glad to give Wilmer Flores the majority of the time at present. New York could find some options via trade, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained earlier today, but it’s fair to wonder whether any of the presently-available players would represent an upgrade over Flores.
- Cadinals GM John Mozeliak says that Jhonny Peralta will take over primary duties at third base when he returns in the coming days, Luke Schnake of 101ESPN reports. The club will keep breakout rookie Aledmys Diaz at short while shifting veteran Matt Carpenter to second. That raises yet more questions about the struggling Kolten Wong. While Mozeliak wouldn’t say whether he could be optioned to Triple-A, he did note that “overall this game is about performance” while adding that “everything has to be on the table when considering how to improve.”
- Braves right-handed pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins will move to the bullpen at Triple-A Gwinnett, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Manager Brian Snitker says the decision was made to “get him a different look,” not out of any displeasure with his work in the rotation. Jenkins, who came to Atlanta along with Shelby Miller in exchange for Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden, has worked to a 2.97 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 57 2/3 innings on the year.
It amazes me that Stephen Drew continues to have a job at the Major League level.
I don’t know either. Turner should take Drew or Espinosas’ roster spot. He has stayed in the minors past his super 2 deadline, so I have no idea what the Nats are waiting for.
Is he past his super two deadline? I thought he was just past the deadline for having another year of control since he got service time last year in September? Or does that not count?
As I understand, his time last year won’t make him have more than 1 year of service time by the end of this year, meaning the team could control him for 5 more years if Turner is never sent down. Otherwise he would have 1 year and some extra days (I don’t care to add them) and he would be a super 2 player which mean the Nats would lose a year of control.
Super Two players don’t get an extra year of control or lose a year. Super Two players are players that are eligible for 4 years of arbitration instead of the traditional 3 years. To avoid Super Two status, a player usually must be up after early June. The date itself varies from year to year but typically it falls around June 1. By waiting about two weeks into the season a team can secure an extra year of control a la Kris Bryant’s, who will be a Super Two player. All Super Two means is they become a little more expensive a little quicker.
It amazes me how the padres gave him AND joe ross up for wil myers along with a gaggle of prospects to the rays as well. No matter what myers does short of becoming next trout, its a loss for the padres
That wasn’t quite the trade – Trading Ross and Turner for Myers was inexcusable, of course. It’s a terrible trade already and will get worse as the years go on. But the Pads didn’t trade any “gaggle of prospects to the Rays” – they sent Jake Bauers, a non-prospect, a 30+ year old backup catcher in Rene Rivera, who is an awful hitter, and Burch Smith,a minor-league reliever with little to no upside.
More NL Notes –
At Marlins Park on Friday night, the Marlins announced to the crowd that Muhammad Ali passed away.
Not really news, and of course it would be the marlins that made this mistake
Not a mistake. He did die
Except it was announced he officially died 2 hours After they said it. Apparently they knew ahead of time though. Marlins president said it wasn’t a mistake and that someone in the family told them.
Search online yourself. It will show up that they announced it early, though it wasn’t a mistake
Now Ali has passed away. Not baseball related but still a sad moment in the world of sports. RIP The Greatest.
Dusty Baker has always hung his credibility on sticking with the old guard, and in each case he has been skewered by the GM’s for creating losing teams as they age. He is petrified about brining in youth, and had he been with the Nats when Harper was coming up, he would have fought that move the same way he’s fighting Turner’s logical ascendance to the position Espinosa can no longer play while holding a meaningful bat. Baker should be run out of town – yet again – if he allows such assets to waste away in the minors. The b.s. about seasoning youth is pathetic…..as we all know the longer they stay down, the worse they become…..how about we just go with performance as the metric of choice? If Turner can outperform Espinosa, he should be playing SS everyday. If he can’t hold up his end, send him down, but don’t pretend to be Nostradamus. Metrics are metrics…..and seasoning is thin logic.
The Nats sat Turner today in order to prevent him from doing what he did yesterday. If he keeps hitting, they cannot justify sending him back.
Probably Bakers idea as he absolutely sucks where rookies are concerned.