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Nationals Option Six Players To Minor Leagues

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The Nationals optioned six players to their Triple-A and Double-A affiliates, as per a team announcement.  Right-hander Erick Fedde and catcher Tres Barrera are heading to Triple-A Fresno, while outfielder Andrew Stevenson, infielder Adrian Sanchez, and right-handers Kyle Finnegan and James Bourque are all going to Double-A.

Finnegan is the only member of the group who hasn’t seen any Major League action, with Barrera (two games) and Bourque (one game) each getting a cup of coffee in the bigs last season while Fedde, Sanchez, and Stevenson have all been somewhat regular members of Washington’s roster.

Fedde is perhaps the most prominent name in the group, owing to his status as the 18th overall pick of the 2014 draft.  His pro career got off to a delayed start due to the Tommy John surgery he underwent just a month before that draft, and despite some solid numbers in the minors, Fedde has yet to break out after pitching in parts of the last three seasons.  Over 143 2/3 career MLB innings, Fedde has a 5.39 ERA, 1.62 K/BB rate, and a 6.4 K/9.  That latter statistic is largely fueled by a 4.73 K/9 over 78 innings in 2019, as Fedde missed very few bats but still managed a 4.50 ERA due to an impressive 51% grounder rate.  Fedde has consistently posted high grounder rates both in the majors and minors, though he has also run into problems with the long ball against big league hitters, with a career 20.9% homer/fly ball rate.

The Nationals went into Spring Training with Fedde, Joe Ross, and Austin Voth all competing for the fifth starter role, though Fedde was facing something of an uphill battle since he was the only one of the trio who still had a minor league option remaining.  Fedde did at least help his cause with some good spring numbers, posting a 2.45 ERA and seven strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings of work.

It seems very likely Fedde will still play a notable role in the Nationals’ 2020 title defense season, as the shortened schedule will require every team to deploy a number of pitchers to keep everyone fresh.  The same will also be true on the position player side, so Stevenson and Sanchez (and quite possibly Bourque, Barrera, and Finnegan) are likely to factor into Washington’s plans.

Winter Meetings Preview: Nationals’ Trade Chips

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The World Champion Washington Nationals are waiting with the rest of us for the major free agent dominoes to fall, but in the meantime, there’s work to do. One such task might be finding trade partners for any number of current Nationals who are out of minor league options. Michael A. Taylor, Wilmer Difo, Adrian Sanchez, Raudy Read, Erick Fedde, Joe Ross, and Austin Voth are all potential trade candidates, per MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

The players listed above can no longer be shuttled back and forth between the minor leagues without being exposed to waivers – they either make the Opening Day roster, get traded elsewhere, or the Nats will risk losing them for nothing through the waiver claim process. Granted, this isn’t exactly Anthony Rendon or Stephen Strasburg. Washington can take their chances and not be overexposed. But if there’s value to return, GM Mike Rizzo might do well to look for it this week in San Diego.

On the position player side, there’s not much to offer. Taylor has become somewhat of a folklore “postseason specialist,” and there’s room for him on the roster as a fourth outfielder. But he’ll turn 29 in March, and his bygone ceiling as a second division starter has been replaced with legitimate questions about whether he carries enough bat to make the 26-man roster. He’s somewhat inexplicably beloved by a large contingent of fans in the DMV, but the Nationals may very well explore finding another option as insurance should Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and Adam Eaton not prove as healthy as they were in 2019. Taylor is a capable defender and baserunner, but he’s also due over $3MM, carries a career .240/.294/.393 batting line across over 1700 big league plate appearances, and he’s coming off a season spent almost entirely in Double-A (though for Washington, Double-A served as a holding grounds for potential call-ups, since their Triple-A team was located across the country in Fresno).

Difo is of a similar mold, but in the infield and without the postseason heroics. Neither Difo nor Sanchez are likely to bring back anything via trade, nor should they really be relied upon by the Nats. Difo will turn 28 this year, Sanchez 30, and there’s just not much upside to mine. Read is a 26-year-old catcher with pop who is out of options despite only 22 big league plate appearances. His power numbers in Triple-A last year (.546 SLG) are enough to crane a neck or two, and the Nats are probably fine with Tres Barrera serving as their emergency third catcher.

Where this gets interesting is with the trio of pitchers who rotated in and out of the Nats’ fifth starter spot. Fedde, Ross, and Voth all experienced some degree of success in 2019, though not one is a sure thing to make the roster.

Ross’ overall numbers (5.48 ERA/4.59 FIP) are ugly, but they’re largely attributable to a horrid run in the bullpen. As a starter in the second half, Ross went 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA, showing signs of finally returning to the mid-rotation form he flashed as a younger player. Though high heat is in vogue, Ross hit his stride when his sinker became a primary offering as it had been before injuries derailed his career. Call me crazy – and this brand of breakout is hardly normative enough to form an archetype – but there’s hints of Jake Arrieta here. Ross is just two years from free agency, and even his second half performance is probably more than should be expected moving forward – but after a 1.05 ERA across five starts in August, Ross certainly became a guy a front office can dream on.

There was a time when those within the Nats’ organization were aligned on Voth as nothing more than organizational filler, and he was the last guy on the Nats’ 40-man roster to get a look in the show last year, but he added a couple ticks to his fastball and pitched to a 3.30 ERA/3.70 FIP across 43 2/3 inning worth 1.2 bWAR. Should Strasburg return to Washington, Voth and Ross are probably dueling for the fifth starter spot. It’s also hard to imagine the Nats defending their title with both in the rotation even if Strasburg departs. Still, given the strides shown by Ross and Voth last season, it’s not inconceivable.

Fedde could be the odd man out, but there’s enough of a pedigree to at least explore his value on the trade market. The 26-year-old right-hander was a top-4 Nationals prospect by Baseball America from 2014 to 2017, topping out as the #82 prospect in baseball following the 2015 season. He’s a former first round pick with a Tommy John surgery already in the rearview. The results the last few seasons have been mixed (4.50 ERA in 2019), but there’s no major trauma, and speculatively speaking, he’d be a good fit every fifth day for a younger team like the Blue Jays or Orioles.

Nationals Designate Kyle Barraclough For Assignment

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The Nationals have designated right-hander Kyle Barraclough for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, whose previously reported one-year contract has now been officially announced by the Nationals. Infielder Adrian Sanchez has been optioned to Double-A Harrisburg in an additional corresponding move.

Acquired in a rare October trade that sent international bonus allotments from Washington to Miami, Barraclough was viewed as a controllable, buy-low ’pen option at the time the Nationals picked him up. While he was fresh off a fairly disappointing 4.20 ERA in 55 2/3 innings, Barraclough joined the Nationals with a long track record of missing bats and posting quality bottom-line results to match his gaudy strikeout totals. From 2015-18, Barraclough pitched to a 3.21 earned run average with 11.5 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9 in 218 2/3 innings of work. Although his walk rate was too high, he offset some of those strike-throwing issues with a minimal 0.6 HR/9 mark.

The 2019 campaign, however, proved to be an unmitigated disaster for Barraclough. Gone was his penchant for limiting the long ball — a problem that has plagued many hurlers throughout the league, albeit not to this extent — as he served up eight dingers in just 25 2/3 innings. Barraclough’s time with the Nationals will likely come to a close with a dismal 6.66 ERA and a 30-to-12 K/BB ratio in those 25 2/3 frames.

The Nats won’t have the opportunity to trade him thanks to the newly implemented August trade restrictions, but they could potentially save a bit of cash if another organization claims Barraclough on outright waivers. While this year’s results are obviously troubling, the 29-year-old Barraclough is making $1.725MM in 2019 and is controllable through the 2021 season.

A team willing to take on his remaining $510K salary this season would only owe him a small raise in arbitration and then would have the opportunity to help the right-hander round back into form. Between that and the fact that Barraclough has two minor league option years remaining beyond the 2019 campaign, a claim seems fairly likely. Other clubs have limited access to acquiring depth, and an optionable bullpen piece with a solid pre-2019 track record will be difficult to come by between now and the Aug. 31 deadline for postseason eligibility.

Nationals Option Kyle Barraclough, Recall Adrian Sanchez

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The Nationals optioned Kyle Barraclough to Double-A Harrisburg today, recalling well-traveled infielder Adrian Sanchez, the team announced.

Barraclough, 29, represents the “successful” half of the Nats offseason bullpen upgrades. Entering the season, Washington hoped to install the since-departed Trevor Rosenthal as their eighth inning man, with Barraclough targeted for seventh inning setup duties. Obviously, the Nats had to audible not long into the season as Rosenthal imploded like few pitchers can, while Barraclough’s struggles were more pedestrian in comparison. Still, Barraclough ultimately landed on the injured list with nerve irritation in mid-June.

Yesterday marked Barraclough’s return, which he celebrated with a wild pitch before Justin Turner launched a 3-1 get-me-over fastball into the left field bleachers for the  game-winning three-run homer. He did retire Cody Bellinger to end the inning, but Barraclough nonetheless finds himself headed back from whence he came not 24 hours after his arrival.

For the season, the Nats called on Barraclough 33 times for 25 2/3 innings with a 6.66 ERA (6.57 FIP). His walk rate (4.2 BB/9) is actually at a career low, while his 10.5 K/9 is his highest mark since 2016. Those improvements have paled in comparison to the regression in terms of quality of contact surrendered, however. Hitters against Barraclough have seen their year-over-year solid contact rates improve from 1.4% to 10.0% and barrel rates from 4.8% to 13.8%. Those contact rates have yielded 11.6 hits per nine innings and 2.8 HR/9.

As for Sanchez, 28, he returns to his place at the end of the Nationals bench. Today marks Sanchez’s seventh stint with the big league club this season, where he serves as the emergency backup shortstop and rarely-used 25th man. For the season he has started just once with 20 total plate appearances. He has four hits and seven strikeouts. Without Sanchez, the Nationals don’t have a backup for shortstop Trea Turner on the roster, but given the rarity with which the Nats put Sanchez to use, one would think a playoff contender like Washington could find a better use for a roster spot.

Nationals Outright Tommy Milone, Promote Victor Robles, Activate Joe Ross

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The Nationals announced today that they have outrighted lefty Tommy Milone after activating him from the 10-day disabled list. That move opened a roster spot for the team’s promotion of righty Kyle McGowin, as had been expected.

In addition to McGowin, the Nats will call up outfielder Victor Robles, infielder Adrian Sanchez, and righty Austin Voth. Notably, too, the organization has activated righties Joe Ross and Erick Fedde from the DL.

It’s not terribly surprising to learn that Milone’s roster spot was put to use in another way. The 31-year-old returned to the organization with which he got his start, but functioned as a depth piece. He ended up throwing 26 1/3 innings of 5.81 ERA ball, with 23 strikeouts and only a single walk, in the majors. Milone will have the right to elect free agency now or at season’s end.

While it’s obviously quite common to see a few younger players filter up to the majors at this point in the season, the Nats have some fairly notable names moving onto the MLB roster. In particular, Robles is returning after missing a big chunk of the season due to injury. He could be an important part of the outfield picture next year.

Of arguably greater importance, as concerns the organization’s offseason plans, is the return of Ross and Fedde. The former underwent Tommy John surgery last July, while the latter had been sidelined by shoulder problems. It’s clear the Nats will be looking for starters over the coming winter, but the showing of this pair could help dictate how many and what level of arms are pursued.

Nationals Activate Daniel Murphy

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The Nationals have activated veteran second baseman Daniel Murphy from the disabled list, per a club announcement. He’ll bat fifth and serve as the DH in today’s interleague contest. Murphy takes the roster spot of infielder Adrian Sanchez, who was optioned down to Triple-A.

The 33-year-old Murphy has been out all season while recovering from offseason microfracture surgery to his right knee. Indications are that he’s not at full speed in the field and on the bases, but evidently the team determined that he was ready to chip in at the MLB level and would not unduly risk further injury.

It’s a tough spot for all involved. Entering the year, the plan was for Murphy to take his time working back to health, with veteran Howie Kendrick filling in for the meantime. But Kendrick is among the many notable Nats players who have gone down with injuries of their own, and Murphy has seemingly not come along quite as smoothly as might have been hoped.

In the meantime, even despite the various losses, the Nationals have a bit of a roster logjam on their hands. It’s still not quite pressing, particularly since Murphy is likely not to resume playing every day immediately upon his return, but all the makings of a tough call are in place. The D.C. organization is working with a five-man bench that won’t be sustainable once Ryan Zimmerman is ready to be activated and when the team is finally forced to add some pitching back onto the roster, which will happen in short order.

If and when the Nationals are at full health on the position-player side, the team will have to make some tough decisions. One or two current position players will need to be moved out. Reserves Mark Reynolds and Brian Goodwin could both be at risk, but both would have to be exposed to waivers if removed from the active roster. Optioning Wilmer Difo is a possibility, but that’d mean going without a reserve capable of playing shortstop. Michael Taylor also has an option year left, but he’s been on fire and is the team’s best defender in center and lone right-handed-hitting outfielder.

That leaves one glaring, but unappealing possibility: optioning young outfielder Juan Soto. The nineteen-year-old was called up to the majors as something of a desperation move when Goodwin, Adam Eaton, and then Kendrick went down, representing the culmination of a remarkable early-season sprint through the farm. Having played in only 32 games in 2017 due to injury, Soto opened the current season at Class A. After 16 games there, he moved to High-A. He played 15 more before a quick bump to Double-A, with his promotion coming on the same day that Eaton’s surgery was announced. After just eight contests at the Double-A level, Soto was in the majors. Through 19 big-league games, he carries a .328/.431/.541 slash with three home runs and as many walks as strikeouts (11 apiece).

Generally, it’s preferable to deal with this situation than the one that presented itself earlier in the season, when the position-player picture looked rather bleak for the Nationals. Perhaps the club will even find a way to resolve some of its roster crunch in a manner that will help bolster its pitching staff, which is newly in need of buttressing even as the health situation improves on the other side of the roster.

In the meantime, the Nationals and their medical staff will watch Murphy closely to see how he’s progressing. If he can produce anything like the .334/.387/.569 output he carries through two seasons in D.C., it’ll be easy to look past some limitations in other aspects of his game. Other teams will be watching as well, as Murphy is slated for a return trip onto the open market at the close of the 2018 campaign.

Nationals Activate Anthony Rendon

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After nearly a month on the disabled list, Anthony Rendon has been activated and is hitting second in today’s lineup, the Nationals announced. He’s been out since mid-April after sustaining a hairline fracture in his toe when he fouled a ball into his foot. To make room on the active roster, the Nats optioned infielder Adrian Sanchez to Triple-A Syracuse.

The 27-year-old Rendon turned in a relatively quiet MVP-caliber season in 2017 when he hit .301/.403/.533 with 25 homers and 41 doubles in addition to terrific defense at third base. He’ll be the first of several key bats to return to a Nationals lineup that is still missing second baseman Daniel Murphy and outfielder Adam Eaton.

Prior to his injury, Rendon had gotten off to a solid .286/.355/.411 start with a homer and four doubles in 62 trips to the plate. He’ll rejoin the Nationals’ lineup at a time when the team is righting the ship after a slow start (in no small part due to the absence of those three aforementioned bats). The Nats have snapped off six straight wins to pull their record above the .500 mark, putting them right back in the mix in a perhaps surprisingly competitive NL East.

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