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Nationals Sign Josh Harrison

By TC Zencka | July 27, 2020 at 12:57pm CDT

12:57pm: The Nationals have announced the signing. Harrison will be in uniform for tonight’s game. Catcher Raudy Read was optioned to alternate camp to make space on the 30-man roster.

July 27, 10:15am: Harrison has passed his physical and Covid-19 tests, Heyman tweets. A formal announcement should be made by the team today.

July 25, 8:54pm: The Nats and Harrison have agreed to a contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.  The deal will become official once Harrison passes a physical.

10:52am: The Washington Nationals are closing in on a deal with Josh Harrison, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The Nats had looked into Harrison before signing Brian Dozier ahead of the 2019 season (Twitter links). Moments before Dougherty’s post, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported that Harrison had multiple major-league offers in hand.

Harrison was only recently released from the Phillies after not making their Opening Day roster. The veteran infielder has primarily played second and third base in his career, but he’s a flexible defender who could see time in the outfield in a pinch as well.

Harrison has struggled to find his footing since his best years with the Pirates. After signing a $2MM deal with the Tigers last offseason, a partially torn hamstring ended his season in late May, leading to his release in August. Harrison appeared in only 36 games with the Tigers, slashing a tough-to-stomach .175/.218/.263. The 33-year-old still owns a career triple-slash of .273/.313/.401 over nine seasons.

The Nationals have their infield minutes fairly well accounted for between Starlin Castro, Asdrubal Cabrera, Trea Turner, Howie Kendrick, Eric Thames, and Carter Kieboom. The organization was shook by Juan Soto’s positive coronavirus test on Opening Day, per Dougherty, and this move could be as simple as the Nats wanting to protect themselves againast an uncertain playing environment. They’ve been bit by a lack of depth in the past, and while Harrison isn’t the type of ballplayer likely to invigorate a fanbase, he’s a veteran who might be more capable than a rookie of handling the dynamic playing conditions of 2020.

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40 Comments

  1. pappyvw

    5 years ago

    Good pickup

    Reply
    • davidkaner

      5 years ago

      Why? He’s injured all the time and can’t hit a lick. More like a dumb ass pick up.

      Reply
      • SalaryCapMyth

        5 years ago

        David, haven’t you noticed this year is just a tad different? Players are going down a bit faster than usual and if a season is going to be played it’s going to include players that would otherwise be playing in the minors.

        Reply
  2. Captain-Judge99

    5 years ago

    Excellent pick-^ for the Crashinals

    Reply
    • wv17

      5 years ago

      Go away.

      Reply
  3. Joggin’George

    5 years ago

    I don’t see what folks see in this guy , he was recently released by one of the worst teams in baseball. Had exactly one plus season with the bat and that was 5 years ago. Replacement level the last two years. Decent glove, but only plays second base…. it must be a name recognition thing again.

    1
    Reply
    • Francys01

      5 years ago

      Are you sure that he only plays second base?

      1
      Reply
      • Joggin’George

        5 years ago

        I see he’s played some OF and third, but still, even as a utility bench guy he’s a stretch to be valuable. Usually guys who play second are there cuz they can’t play elsewhere ( like if they could play short, they be there already) . Not crazy of a guy to sign to a minor league deal (or whatever this years equivalent is) but just because we recognize his name half the fan base starts getting way too excited about a fading veteran who was somewhat overrated in his prime.

        Reply
    • shortytallz

      5 years ago

      Utility guy with plus clubhouse presence. Exactly the type you pick up for depth.

      Reply
      • Joggin’George

        5 years ago

        Not me. It may be exactly the mistake teams have routinely made in the past but I’m not bothering with someone who put up 0.1 WAR last year and certainly not putting them in my plan A if I expect to win. Again, it comes down to name recognition, little more. I mean, good club house presence? Sure, that’s a decent point but still not enough. Plus, is he really a utility guy? If he could play short or third he’d have done more of it in the past and do really you really want that bat in the OF?

        Reply
        • mlb1225

          5 years ago

          Team’s have to fill 4 extra spots for now. Might as well have a guy who can play wherever you put him. Not every super utility guy is going to be Kikie Hernandez or David Fletcher.

          Reply
        • Joggin’George

          5 years ago

          You’re right. I’m not saying signing him as a bench piece is moronic, let’s just not get too excited about it. Personally I’d rather gather up younger AAAA retreads but that’s me.

          Reply
        • shortytallz

          5 years ago

          Good and great teams need exactly this guy to fill in when needed and help the kids when not. It’s quite obvious. Not about WAR for this type of player.

          Reply
        • Joggin’George

          5 years ago

          Good character, veteran guys like Harrison may have value beyond the stats. It’s something that needs to be studied more.

          Reply
        • Metsfan9

          5 years ago

          He asked to be released

          Reply
        • Joggin’George

          5 years ago

          He asked for his release? What difference does it make?

          Reply
        • rangerslegend34107

          5 years ago

          That’s the problem with statisticians and baseball guys. I have multiple degrees in mathematics, physics, and engineering so please do not say I am anti-statistics, but Harrison’s value is not solely in his stats. That’s the problem with baseball right now. They’re pushing out the middle tier guys because it is cheaper to just bring a kid up with team control–I understand the value in that. But statistics do not factor in clubhouse intangibles: leadership, mentors, experience, strong character—these guys are the glue that hold good teams/clubhouses together. That’s why in baseball, above other sports, the most talented team does not always win the championship. A utility guy like Harrison who has a good personality is like having multiple players on the bench AND a coach. That’s why many of those players tend to go on to be coaches because they’ve been around the bench so often, been around multiple managers and learned underneath them, had to really learn the game and fundamentals, and not solely rely on pure talent.

          Will Harrison show up on the stat sheet positively? Likely not. But what if he teaches something to Will Turner that improves his game for the rest of his career. Or Robles. Or Soto. That’s invaluable.

          It’s like Darryl Kyle. Good #4 pitcher that ate innings. Around league average pitcher for most of his career. But he taught Chris Carpenter how to throw his curveball…Carpenter went on to win the Cy Young. Carpenter then taught Adam Wainwright how to throw his curveball. Wainwright went on to finish in top 3 in CY voting 4 times and has a stellar career. Now Wainwright is teaching Jack Flaherty how to throw that curveball. Again for the most part, Kyle was a innings eater league average pitcher, but his legacy is still effecting outcomes of games to this day.

          Reply
      • craigmiller13

        5 years ago

        Exactly! Well said.

        Reply
        • craigmiller13

          5 years ago

          Responding to shorty

          Reply
  4. chrisbiz

    5 years ago

    hey i got a question do any of yall know of a free player rankings graph that I can customize to my league settings?

    Reply
  5. sigmanj

    5 years ago

    Puig would make more sense on a one year (59 game) deal than Harrison does with the loss of Soto.

    1
    Reply
    • nymetsking

      5 years ago

      LOL Puig’s got Corona too.

      4
      Reply
    • Briffle2

      5 years ago

      Soto will be back soon enough. Looks like he had a false positive.

      Reply
  6. HubcapDiamondStarHalo

    5 years ago

    It would seem very strange to me for a player to be released by the Pirates and picked up by the reigning world champions…

    Reply
    • oscar gamble

      5 years ago

      Josh Harrison was never released by the Pirates.

      1
      Reply
      • Joggin’George

        5 years ago

        Tigers, even worse

        Reply
        • HubcapDiamondStarHalo

          5 years ago

          Yipes, my bad!!!
          Old Man disease. I read “Phillies” as “Pirates.” Sounds like a Monty Python skit…

          2
          Reply
  7. 920kodiak

    5 years ago

    This is a little baffling. Don’t they already have similar utility players like Kendrick, Cabrera and Castro. Even Kieboom can play multiple positions. For locker room presence, they could have brought Parra back. It’s not a bad move per se, just a little strange.

    Reply
    • The Human Rain Delay

      5 years ago

      This looks to be the Nats blueprint now

      Put it all on 3-4 top Sps and piece mill the offense on older/cheaper/shorter contracts

      Will be interesting to see them heading into the big 22′ free agent class. Their payroll drops down low to 54 mill (Stras Corbin Harris basically) while still having some nice players still on arbs (Turner Soto Robles kieboom Voth) so there will be big money to spend IF the want. Ill be interested to see

      Reply
    • DeezNatsFan

      5 years ago

      In this COVID season, there is no such thing as too much depth.

      1
      Reply
      • SalaryCapMyth

        5 years ago

        @FunBall. Got it right on the nose.

        Reply
  8. bravesfan

    5 years ago

    He stinks and has been washed up… I don’t think it’s even that great of a depth move. Maybe I’m wrong

    1
    Reply
  9. Natsman1

    5 years ago

    The Nats announce the signing of this guy since Carter Kieboom has been hobbling. Yet according to this Comments section, despite having NO fans in parks, The World Series champions need “name recognition” so bad that they sign (drumroll) Josh Harrison…uh huh. Gerardo Parra shouldve been signed instead oh oops he’s under a NICE contract in Japan. And The Nats have a serial habit of signing “old, cheap” contracts for offense…LOL Pure Comedy Channel stuff.

    Reply
  10. pappyvw

    5 years ago

    He is T-Bone Shelby’s nephew … so that alone makes him awesome

    Reply
  11. mikemcsaudi

    5 years ago

    Great fielder. Poor hitter. Could have some value. Not much though.

    Reply
  12. wagner13

    5 years ago

    This addition seems kind of unnecessary with Difo already on the roster. Pretty similar batting history and Wilmer is more versatile on defense

    Reply
  13. Natsman1

    5 years ago

    Signing Harrison pretty much tells you what The Nats think of Difo.

    Reply
  14. Philsmania

    5 years ago

    Howie Kendrick, Asdrubal Cabrera….now Josh Harrison. The parade of Phillies turned Nationals supersubs continues.

    1
    Reply
  15. SalaryCapMyth

    5 years ago

    Players like this are going to find jobs because they are going down faster than usual. Harrison and others like him who otherwise would be playing in the minors are going to find landing spots in the majors. There’s just no point in saying this player or that one shouldn’t have been picked up this season.

    Reply
  16. gotigers68

    5 years ago

    He more or less had an “ incomplete”, in Detroit

    Reply

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