The Nationals have released utilityman Derek Dietrich and catcher/corner outfielder Blake Swihart, relays Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Both players had been with their top affiliate in Rochester after signing minor league deals this year.
Dietrich began the year with the Yankees’ Triple-A club, posting a bizarre but productive .215/.413/.393 line over 143 plate appearances. While the left-handed hitter struck out at a huge 32.2% clip and posted that low batting average, he walked in a fantastic 18.9% of his plate appearances and hit for a decent enough amount of power. When the Yankees didn’t select him to the big league roster, Dietrich triggered an opt-out clause in his contract and was granted his release in early July.
He hooked on with the Nationals on another minors deal not long after, but his time in the Washington organization didn’t go well. Over 160 plate appearances with the Red Wings, Dietrich slumped to a .121/.270/.212 line, with his walk rate more than cut in half relative to his time in the Yankees’ system. He’ll now hit the open market and look for another opportunity. Dietrich hasn’t appeared in the majors this season, but he saw big league action with the Marlins, Reds and Rangers from 2013-20.
Swihart hasn’t appeared in the majors in two seasons. A one-time top prospect in the Red Sox system, Swihart always came with some defensive question marks behind the plate but was expected to be a high-end offensive player. He’s never really found his footing at the plate in the majors, though, hitting .243/.301/.355 in 696 plate appearances between Boston and the D-Backs from 2015-19. Signed to a minors deal in January, the left-handed hitting Swihart had a .198/.299/.339 mark in 204 plate appearances in Rochester.
Not every day you see bottom feeders releasing future hall of famers.
Pujlos?
Swihart certainly acted like he thought he was a future HOF’er, one of the cockiest players I’ve ever come across.
Classic case of holding onto a prospect for too long.
A classic case of holding on to a prospect too long is never a player like Molina, Judge, Devers, Altuve,or Trout. But keep acting like every prospect should be traded instantly. Ignore that prospects have much lower salaries and allow teams to pay for positions of need. You never hear how the Diamondbacks made the right move in trading Scherzer while his value was still high! (They did get Edwin Jackson) The Tigers were smart to move Smoltz while he still had value! Yeah, just trade them all.
And the Dodgers traded Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields.
What a moronic response. People really should know what the heck they are talking about before criticizing others.
Red Sox held onto Swihart for 8 years, until he was 27.
Took Trout only 3 years to become a star at Age 20.
Took Devers only 5 years to become a star at Age 22.
Took Altuve only 5 years to become a star at Age 22.
Took Judge only 4 years to become a star at Age 24.
Took Molina only 4 years to become the starting catcher at Age 22.
You’re the first person who has ever compared Swihart to any of those 5 guys, what a horrendous analogy.
Tell us how well you know him..
Besides other people’s experiences with him, I’ve met him a couple times. Winter Weekend at Foxwoods. Confirmed what I had heard.
Nothing wrong with cocky, if you can back it up.
I knew Blake Sweihart would again be featured in a MLBTR column…
That’s said, I’d still rather have his MLB career than mine…
Blake Swihart and Rob Refsnyder will be voted into HOF together. They are truly fan favorites.
Don’t forget Peter “Rave Reviews” O’Brien.
If you’re a vet and weren’t called up for a cup of coffee this season it might be time to apply for the salesman’s job at the local used car dealership.
Can’t say I’m sad to see Derek not in the MLB.. But that is only because I’m a pirates fan.
Edit: whoops MilB season ends before MLB so probably not latch on to another Minors deal this year.
Didn’t Swihart’s career run parallel to Christian Vasquez? Many people thought both were future All Stars. Vasquez turned out to be serviceable. Swihart just couldn’t get there.
I remember the Red Sox valued them both very highly at one time. Vazquez for his catch and throw and framing skills, Swihart for his athleticism and hit tool. Playing left in Fenway he had a gruesome ankle injury. Never really the same guy. Always pulled for him. Baseball is hard. Good luck in life.
Nah, Swihart was a 1st round pick in 2011 and Vazquez was a 9th round pick in 2008.
Swihart was overvalued because he was a first rounder and considered a multi-talented athlete who can play several positions.
Vazquez was known for his strong arm more than anything else.
Sandy was the superior catching partner, but couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag except for 2016.
Swihart was horrible, saw him play a couple of times and he was terrible. The pitchers were better hitters than him.
In 2018 Cora made the horrible decision of starting Swihart at 1B.
On a groundball by Gurriel, future HOF’er Swihart bobbled the ball and then threw it behind ERod who was running to cover first base.
ERod injured his ankle because of the awful throw and it took a very long time for him to recover from it.
Here’s the video of Swihart’s horrendous fielding that caused injuries to two players:
https://www.mlb.com/news/eduardo-rodriguez-injures-ankle-at-first-base-c285792326
I believe the Phillies insisted on Swihart in any Cole Hamels deal instead of Mookie Betts.
I think the Phillies initially asked for both Betts and Swihart for Hamels. But to your point, the Red Sox also must’ve once valued Swihart over Betts. In 2011, the Red Sox drafted Swihart in the 1st round and Betts in the 5th round.
Makes sense considering Mookie couldn’t hit during his first year in A ball in 2012
.658 OPS isn’t that bad for a middle infielder’s first professional season.