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Minor MLB Transactions: 4/5/21

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The latest minor moves from around the game…

  • The Nationals have re-signed first baseman/outfielder Yasmany Tomas and southpaw reliever T.J. McFarland to minor league contracts, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post relays. The team originally signed the pair of veterans to minors pacts during the offseason, but it released them shortly before the 2021 campaign began. Still just 30, Tomas was a star in his native Cuba, which led the Diamondbacks to sign him to a six-year, $68.5MM deal heading into 2015. However, Tomas had a rough time in Arizona, where he combined an underwhelming line of .266/.306/.459 (97 wRC+) in 1,175 plate appearances with poor defense, and hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2019. McFarland, another ex-Diamondback, spent last year as a member of the Athletics, with whom he registered a 4.35 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old has induced grounders at a tremendous 62.8 percent clip and notched a 4.08 ERA/3.83 SIERA during his 401-inning run in the majors among Arizona, Oakland and Baltimore, though he has only recorded a strikeout percentage of 13.6.
  • The Marlins have brought back lefty Brandon Leibrandt on a minors deal, Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets. The 28-year-old Leibrandt picked up his first MLB experience with the Marlins last season and tossed nine innings of two-run, three-hit ball, but he succeeded in spite of issuing seven walks against three strikeouts. The Marlins outrighted him after the season. He’ll report to their alternate site, according to Mish.

Nationals To Begin Season On Tuesday

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TODAY: In another announcement from MLB, the Braves and Nationals will play a doubleheader on Wednesday to account for today’s postponement.  The Nats are currently working out on their home field, and as the league’s release states, “Since the most recent round of test results of Nationals personnel included no new positives, all of the Club’s eligible personnel are permitted to participate in baseball activities at Nationals Park today.”

SUNDAY, 9:35pm: The Braves and Nationals will play on Tuesday, according to an announcement from Major League Baseball.  “The most recent round of test results of Nationals personnel included no new positives.  All of the Club’s eligible personnel will be able to participate in baseball activities at Nationals Park on Monday,” the league’s statement reads.  Monday’s game will be postponed, and details are still forthcoming on when that game and the series with the Mets will be made up.

9:03pm: Discussions are still “ongoing” about the status of Monday’s game, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post writes, and no official announcement about a postponement has been made.  The Nats have yet to hold a full-team workout, and Rizzo told Dougherty and other reporters that he was “concerned” about the possibility of playing after “a very, very short workout schedule before” Monday’s game begins.

6:00pm: Monday’s game between the Braves and Nationals has been postponed, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The two sides are still planning to take the field for Tuesday’s scheduled game.

1:49pm: A few more people have entered quarantine as close contacts, GM Mike Rizzo told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington). Fortunately, the Nationals’ most recent set of tests all came back negative. No one who tested positive continues to suffer from symptoms. The “majority” of the players affected by the situation were expected to open the year on Washington’s active roster, Rizzo says. All told, eleven players and two staff members are in quarantine.

9:07am: The Nationals’ season-opening series was postponed due to COVID-19 spread within the organization. As things currently stand, Washington is scheduled to host the Braves tomorrow afternoon to kick off their season. Even if the team is able to return, they’ll be without a handful of key players.

Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester, Josh Harrison and Alex Avila are among the players expected to be sidelined if the Nationals begin play early next week, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Four Nats players have tested positive for the coronavirus, while five more are currently in quarantine as close contacts. It isn’t clear which (if any) of Schwarber, Lester, Harrison and Avila have tested positive versus being close contacts. Under the league’s 2021 health and safety protocols, an individual who tests positive is subject to a 10-day quarantine period, while close contacts are subject to seven-day quarantines. The identities of the other five players currently in quarantine are not yet known.

Avila’s potential absence could’ve played a role in the Nationals’ decision to sign veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy to a minor-league deal last night. If Avila is forced to miss time, Washington would be down to Yan Gomes and Tres Barrera as the only catchers on the 40-man roster. Barrera, initially optioned to the alternate training site, was among the handful of players reportedly slated to be recalled in the spread’s initial aftermath.

Nationals To Add Kyle McGowin To Active Roster

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So far, we know that Sam Clay, Tres Barrera, Luis Garcia and Yadiel Hernandez are being added to the Nationals’ roster before their Tuesday opener, while Jon Lester, Alex Avila, Kyle Schwarber, and Josh Harrison are among the players expected to have their debuts delayed. We can now add right-hander Kyle McGowin to the roster additions, per the Athletic’s Maria Torres (via Twitter). At least one more player from their expected opening day roster will thus be unavailable. Reports have suggested that upwards of nine players could miss time due to contact tracing protocols, so there may be more moves coming.

There was positive buzz around McGowin for the work he’d put in refining his slider this winter. Nats’ fans will get an earlier look than expected. The 29-year-old has seen time in each of the past three seasons for the Nats. He has a 7.53 career ERA/6.20 FIP across 21 appearances (2 starts) spanning 34 2/3 innings. McGowin has primarily been a starter in the minors, though it’s not yet clear what role he’ll play early this season. At least one rotation spot will have to be filled in the short-term, though Erick Fedde or Austin Voth could easily step back into the role they filled in spring training.

Looking ahead, the Nationals are able to add players from off of their 40-man roster as replacements for COVID-related injuries, notes Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Thus far, all the names added to the roster have been on the Nats’ 40-man roster. There are a number of bullpen arms that could be natural adds as well, depending on need, but we should know the full roster by their opener against the Braves on Tuesday.

Nationals Prospect Mason Denaburg Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Nationals pitching prospect Mason Denaburg recently underwent Tommy John surgery, reports Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The right-hander was Washington’s first-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2018.

This is the latest injury in a career that has been riddled with health problems so far. Seen as one of the most talented pitchers in the 2018 draft class, Denaburg fell to the Nationals at 27th overall due to biceps tendinitis. He didn’t pitch professionally that season, threw 20.1 innings of rookie ball in 2019, then missed all of last year recovering from shoulder surgery. He’ll now miss all of 2021 and quite likely a good portion of 2022 rehabbing from this latest procedure.

Denaburg remains a highly-regarded talent; Baseball America placed him ninth among Washington farmhands in their most recent organizational rankings. The 21-year-old will rehab and hopefully return to action at some point next season. Denaburg will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he’s not added to the Nationals’ 40-man roster after the 2022 season.

Latest On Anibal Sanchez

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Aníbal Sánchez has attracted interest from multiple teams and could sign within the next week, report Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The Nationals are among the teams with interest in Sánchez, who pitched for Washington from 2019-20.

Sánchez was productive in his first year in D.C. He tossed 166 innings of 3.85 ERA/5.07 SIERA ball in the regular season before making a couple strong postseason starts during the Nats’ World Series run. His 2019 peripherals were rather poor, though, hinting at some potential regression. That came in 2020, as Sánchez was tagged for a 6.62 ERA over 53 innings despite posting similar strikeout and walk numbers as the year before.

The Phillies were the only team linked to Sánchez during the winter, but plenty of clubs had representatives on hand for a showcase in which he threw alongside Julio Teheran. Ultimately, Sánchez reportedly turned down multiple major league contract offers over the offseason due to concerns about COVID-19 and accompanying protocols. He wasn’t expected to completely opt out of the season, though, and it seems he’s now comfortable returning to action. It remains to be seen if those guaranteed offers are still on the table.

Nationals To Sign Jonathan Lucroy

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Jonathan Lucroy, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter links).

Lucroy returned to the free agent market earlier this week when he asked to released from his previous minors deal with the White Sox, since Chicago wasn’t going to include him on the big league roster.  The Cubs showed some interest during Lucroy’s brief second stint on the open market, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported earlier today that the Nats were considering the veteran backstop’s services.

A two-time All-Star in his heyday with the Brewers, Lucroy’s production has fallen off in recent years, as he has hit only .237/.297/.338 over 782 plate appearances with four different organizations since the start of the 2018 season.  If Lucroy sees any time on Washington’s active roster, the Nats will become his eighth different franchise, and 2021 will be Lucroy’s 12th Major League season.

Yan Gomes and Alex Avila already provide the Nationals with a veteran tandem behind the plate, and Tres Barrera was also due to be called up before Washington’s season-opening series with the Mets was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Nats’ clubhouse.  It’s possible Lucroy could be a replacement for Welington Castillo, who also sided a minor league deal with D.C. over the winter but was sidelined with a shoulder problem throughout Spring Training.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Royals, Nationals

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Ke’Bryan Hayes left today’s game against the Cubs with left wrist discomfort, per Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Chicago (via Twitter). The injury occured while diving back to the first base bag during a pickoff attempt. Hayes is a hot name coming into the season coming off a robust 1.9 bWAR/1.6 fWAR in just 95 plate appearances last season. He hit a two-run homer yesterday to affirm many who made him their pick for 2021 NL Rookie of the Year. Easily the most exciting young talent on this Pirates team, it would be quite the blow to fan morale to lose Hayes for any length of time this early in the season. [UPDATE: X-rays were negative on Hayes’ wrist, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.]

Elsewhere around the game…

  • Hunter Dozier’s hand is swollen, but the Royals don’t think he’ll miss enough time to warrant a roster move, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Dozier left Thursday’s opener late in the game when he right thumb swelled up as he took practice swings. Hanser Alberto was his in-game replacement, and he’s a good candidate to start games at the hot corner until Dozier is well enough to go again.
  • The Nationals are exploring the market for veteran catchers, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). Jonathan Lucroy is at least one name on their radar. The Nats would appear to be relatively set at catcher with veterans Yan Gomes and Alex Avila already on the roster. It is best to avoid connecting any dots between this report and the Nats’ COVID-19 outbreak for the time being, however. Though the names of those affected have not yet been released, there’s little utility nor sensitivity in speculating. That said, the Nationals are fairly well stocked in the minors as well with Welington Castillo, Tres Barrera and Raudy Read in Triple-A, though only Barrera is currently on the 40-man roster.

Latest On Nationals’ Covid-19 Testing

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TODAY: The Nationals have no new positive cases from their latest round of testing, per the Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli (via Twitter). The Nationals continue to work towards hosting the Braves on Monday, but no official announcement has yet been made.

4:55pm: Three Nationals players have tested positive, and the Nats are awaiting another test from a player that is likely positive, Rizzo told Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic and other reporters (Twitter link). Rizzo said one of those players has a fever, but the rest are asymptomatic. The entire team is now self-quarantining, Nightengale tweets. It’s unclear whether the Nats and Mets will play at all this weekend.

10:45am: Despite a previously scheduled off-day on Friday, the Nats and Mets will not make up their game tomorrow, tweets Olney. Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears the same, adding that the league prefers to exercise extreme caution, particularly given that the additional early off-days in the schedule and the two teams’ geographic proximity makes it easier to reschedule the opener.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Nats are awaiting official confirmation from a follow-up test, but initial results from the latest wave of tests did reveal a second positive among their players.

10:15am: Tonight’s season-opening contest between the Nationals and the Mets has been postponed due to Covid-19 related issues, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link). The Nats were known to be down five players as of yesterday, due to one positive test from a player and five close contacts (four players, one staffer).

Nats general manager Mike Rizzo said yesterday that his club was expecting to make a series of corresponding roster moves and play as scheduled. That, apparently, will not be the case. ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that there are concerns about “at least one more” positive test among the Nationals this morning.

The names of the player or players who tested positive aren’t known, although some of the roster moves that had been planned by the Nationals had come to light. The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reported last night that outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, infielder Luis Garcia and lefty Sam Clay were all ticketed for the Majors (Twitter links), while FanSided’s Robert Murray added that catcher Tres Barrera was in line to be added to the big league club as well.

Under the league’s 2021 health and safety protocols, an individual who tests positive is subject to a 10-day quarantine period, while close contacts are subject to seven-day quarantines. The first positive test for the Nationals came Monday morning, although the result wasn’t learned by the club until early Wednesday.

Nationals-Mets Series Postponed

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12:16pm: Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo tells reporters that the fourth suspected positive has indeed been confirmed (Twitter links via Jesse Dougherty and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). The organization currently has 10 individuals in quarantine: the four positive cases and six (five players, one staff member) impacted by contact tracing.

11:23am: Major League Baseball announced Friday that it is postponing the entire weekend series between the Nationals and the Mets to allow for additional testing and contact tracing in the wake of multiple positive Covid-19 tests among the Nationals’ roster. At least three Nationals players tested positive leading up to Opening Day, and the team is said to be awaiting definitive word on what it believes is a fourth positive test.

It would appear, then, that the Mets’ season opener will be pushed back to Monday in Philadelphia. It’s not clear when the Nationals will get underway at this time. The league’s press release indicates only that it will “continue to provide scheduling updates as available.” At the moment, the Nationals are scheduled to host the Braves in a three-game series beginning Monday before traveling to the West Coast to take on the Dodgers next Friday.

Under the league’s 2021 health and safety protocols, an individual who tests positive is subject to a 10-day quarantine period, while close contacts are subject to seven-day quarantines. The first positive test for the Nationals came Monday morning, although the result wasn’t learned by the club until early Wednesday. Details surrounding the additional positives and potential absences — including the identity of the players in question — remain unclear.

Nationals’ Opening Day Roster Will Be Impacted Following Positive Covid-19 Test

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On the eve of Opening Day, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced to reporters that his club had a positive Covid-19 test that will impact the Opening Day roster (Twitter links via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman). One player tested positive, per Rizzo, but another four players and one staffer were deemed to close contacts in need of quarantine. Rizzo made clear that the Nationals plan to play tomorrow night.

All five players — who have yet to be named — will be inactive for Opening Day. The positive test was performed on March 29, and the Nats learned of the result this morning. The positive player and the five close-contact individuals were all on a charter flight together this week, thus necessitating the quarantine.

Under this year’s updated health-and-safety guidelines, which were agreed upon by MLB and the Players Association back in early February, players who test positive “will be required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, receive appropriate care and monitoring from the Club medical staff, and be cleared by the Joint Committee and the individual’s team physician, following a mandatory cardiac evaluation and a determination that the individual no longer presents a risk of infection to others.”

Under those same guidelines, individuals who have been identified as being in close contact with a confirmed positive “will be subject to a mandatory quarantine of seven days and must test negative on day 5 or later among other requirements to rejoin Club facilities.”

It’s not year clear at this time which players are impacted by the positive test, but Rizzo acknowledged that the Nationals will “certainly” have to make some roster moves prior to tomorrow’s game (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli).

Players can be placed on the Covid-19 related injured list with no minimum time required, and those on the Covid-19 list do not count against a team’s 40-man roster. Replacement players can also be temporarily added to the Major League Active List, “without the need for those players to be placed on waivers, outrighted or optioned in order to be removed from the 40-man roster when players return from the Covid-19 Related Injured List,” per MLB’s updated 2021 protocols.

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