The Nationals have signed first baseman/outfielder John Nogowski to a minor league contract, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. He’ll head to Double-A Harrisburg for the time being.
Nogowski, 29, has seen big league time in part of two seasons, including 52 games between the Cardinals and Pirates in 2021. He posted a combined .233/.301/.310 batting line in that small sample of 143 trips to the plate and became a minor league free agent when the Bucs released him from their Triple-A affiliate in September. Nogowski signed a minor league deal with the Giants that ran through the end of the 2022 season, but he was selected by the Braves in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft and opened the year with Atlanta’s top affiliate in Gwinnett.
The lefty-hitting Nogowski managed just a .234/.338/.323 line with a pair of home runs in 148 plate appearances with the Stripers. He drew walks at an excellent 12.2% clip and had a solid 19.6% strikeout rate, but he didn’t make much of an impact from a power perspective. Nogowski’s career track record in the upper minors is more impressive, as he owns a .260/.376/.407 mark through parts of three Triple-A seasons.
That Nogowski will head to Harrisburg instead of Triple-A Rochester suggests he’s fairly low on the organizational depth chart at the moment. MLB first baseman Josh Bell is very likely to be traded within the next six weeks, though. Jake Noll and minor league journeyman Joey Meneses have split most of the first base time in Rochester this year. Noll has struggled, but the 30-year-old Meneses has a .303/.353/.526 line through 64 contests.
Hey Steve, John is a right handed hitter.
but he stands in the left batters box, when looking towards the field
@notnamed. I only liked your joke because I’m stoned.
It was stupid. Well done.
The legend continues
Actually a right hitting 1st baseman.
Hard to believe that a year ago, the Cards were trying pretty hard to shoehorn this guy into the lineup.
For the 20 PA he got with them? Spread over 19 games? Ya, they tried real hard!
The Pirates should have picked him back up. They need a righty and someone who is a natural 1B. Chang isn’t the answer and Nogowski was a fan favorite during the short time he was a Pirate.
Yes, above average defender at first. and will hit better than Chang.
Isn’t this the guy that made that swell defensive play at 1st vs the cubs?
That was Will Craig
Fun fact: 18 players have worn the number 69. 8 of them played for the Pirates, including Nogowski.
Nats stocking up on roster fodder for when Bell and/or Cruz are traded
How the Nats have fallen. When you pick up Buc cast offs life isn’t going well.