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Nationals Announce World Series Roster

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The Nationals face a tall order over the final series of the season, as they’ll run into the powerhouse Astros in this year’s World Series. To an extent, it feels like the Nats are playing with house money after the brutal start to the season. But this team has been knocking on the door for years and doesn’t want to waste its opportunity to cash in fully with its own star-laden roster.

Here are the 25 players who’ll appear in uniform for the D.C. organization:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Catchers

The Nats have tweaked their pitching staff several times throughout the postseason, but haven’t yet added to the number of arms they’re carrying. It’ll again be eleven pitchers for the Washington club, with hopes that the team won’t need to rely much at all upon several of them.

Southpaw Roenis Elias moves off the roster after being added for the NLCS. Presumably, the team decided the extra lefty wasn’t needed for the lefty-leaning Astros, though having the additional match-up option might have been nice. Right-handed reliever Wander Suero takes his place. It’s notable that Suero has had success against both right and left-handed hitters, though his bottom-line results this year didn’t quite match up to his promising peripherals and the club hasn’t trusted him with a postseason appearance since a rough showing against the Dodgers.

Like Elias, Hunter Strickland was acquired at the deadline in hopes he’d contribute. But the righty is again off the roster after a rough NLDS showing. That leaves Hudson as the lone mid-season trade piece who’s contributing; his good work has been pivotal. The Nats are also still carrying Cabrera, who was signed just after the trade deadline and played a big role down the stretch. He has not been utilized much in the postseason, but could see added opportunites with Kendrick expected to DH for games in which that slot is available.

Meanwhile, the Nats have made a somewhat unexpected move with their long man role. Austin Voth is off the roster; he had been a potential long man but wasn’t needed in the NLCS. He’ll be replaced by Ross, who is a candidate for similar duty. Ross has also been tasked with pinch running at times in the past and might also be used in that capacity.

 

Astros Announce World Series Roster

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The Astros have announced the roster that they’ll put up against the Nationals in this year’s World Series. It’s nearly the same exact unit that the club trotted out to success in the divisional series. The ’Stros feature mid-prime hitting and pitching stars as well as a variety of useful additional component parts, making for one of the more imposing overall rosters we’ve seen in recent memory.

Here’s the 25-man group:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

  • None

Infielders

Outfielders

Catchers

Going without a southpaw seems like a bold strategy, but it hasn’t yet hurt the Houston club. The Nats do feature a star southpaw slugger in Juan Soto, but he’s not particularly susceptible to left-handed pitching and the overall D.C. lineup balance makes it tough to mix and match too match. The Houston club continues to prioritize overall pitching ability over handedness, a stance that’s made easier with hurlers that can retire batters on both sides of the dish.

The one switch that the Houston team did make involved relief pitchers. Young power hurler Bryan Abreu has loads of upside, but was knocked around in his lone ALCS appearance. He’ll be replaced by the veteran Devenski, a changeup artist who hasn’t been in peak form but represents another reliable arm. The availability of Pressly had been in some doubt, but he was obviously deemed good to go.

Since the Astros were able to close out the Yankees in six games, they didn’t need to use Cole in an all-or-nothing contest at the end of their just-completed series. That means they’ll be able to line him up for the first game, with Verlander and Greinke to follow. And it reduced the need to add further length to the staff, which helps explain why Wade Miley continues to watch from the sideline. Other roster candidates — Myles Straw, Abraham Toro, Framber Valdez — will also wait to see if a need happens to arise by way of injury.

Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Position Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

Here are the position players that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Latest On Mets’ Managerial Search

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OCT. 22: Luis Rojas will also interview for a second time, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.

OCT. 20, 8:55pm: Tim Bogar is also getting a second interview, Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).

7:50pm: Joe Girardi will also receive a second interview from the Mets, as per Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).

7:33pm: The Mets are entering their second round of managerial interviews, with two names already scheduled for another meeting with team brass.  SNY’s Andy Martino reported yesterday that long-time Mets star Carlos Beltran was expected to get another interview, and Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that the Mets have indeed asked the Yankees for permission to speak with Beltran (who is a special advisor to the Yankees GM Brian Cashman).  Eduardo Perez, the former first baseman and current analyst for both ESPN and MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, is also being asked back for a second interview, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports.

At least one more candidate is expected to join this next stage of the interview process, though the identity of the third person isn’t yet known.  Joe Girardi, Skip Schumaker, Derek Shelton, Luis Rojas, Tim Bogar, and Mike Bell are the other six candidates who have received interviews to date.  Martino also tweets that the Mets are still looking into some other candidates who have yet to be revealed.

Beltran and Perez aren’t under consideration for any of the other seven managerial openings around the game, though Beltran has said that he is only interested in managing in New York, to the point of turning down requests to interview with the Padres and Cubs.  Perez was interviewed by the Reds and Blue Jays about their managerial vacancies last offseason.  Though Beltran and Perez have 33 combined seasons of MLB playing experience between them, neither has managed at the big league level, which means the Mets would be following up Mickey Callaway’s short-lived tenure with another first-time skipper if either Beltran or Perez (or, in fact, any of the known candidates except Girardi) are hired.

Perez has been a manager in Puerto Rico and also managed Colombia’s team in the qualifying rounds for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.  Perez’s resume also include a stint as a special assistant in the Indians front office, as well as one season as the Astros bench coach in 2013 and roughly a season and a half as the Marlins’ hitting coach from 2011-12.

Beltran only hung up his spikes after the 2017 season, and after taking a year away from the sport, joined the Yankees’ front office as Cashman’s advisor.  Beltran came relatively close to becoming a New York manager two winters ago, as he was one of the six candidates interviewed by the Yankees for the position that eventually went to Aaron Boone.

David Hale Elects Free Agency

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Veteran right-hander David Hale has elected free agency, according to the International League transactions page. The Yankees outrighted Hale on Oct. 19. He had been projected to earn $900K in arbitration.

This may conclude Hale’s time with the Yankees, but it’s worth noting they’ve brought him back in the past after cutting him loose. The club designated Hale for assignment on three separate occasions during the 2018 campaign, though the well-traveled 32-year-old stuck around and managed impressive numbers this season.

Hale, who divided 2019 between New York and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, put up a strong 3.11 ERA/3.32 FIP with 5.5 K/9, 1.67 BB/9 and a 50 percent groundball rate across 20 relief appearances and 37 2/3 big league innings. As a starter in the minors, Hale totaled seven outings and 32 2/3 frames of 4.13 ERA/4.08 FIP ball with 8.27 K/9, 2.76 BB/9 and a 53.3 percent grounder rate. However, a lumbar spine strain derailed his summer, sidelining from the last week of July until the final days of September.

Latest On Giants’ Managerial Search

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The Giants have identified at least seven serious candidates in their search for departed manager Bruce Bochy’s successor. Regardless of who ultimately gets the job, it appears it’ll be president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi making the call. Giants ownership is putting “the entirety of this decision” in Zaidi’s hands, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic writes (subscription link). That isn’t the case for every team with a managerial opening, as we’ve seen with the Phillies.

As for those in the running for San Francisco’s job, Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay may be the favorite. One source told Baggarly it’ll be a surprise if the Giants don’t select Kotsay, a longtime major league outfielder who played in Oakland (2004-07) when Zaidi was in its front office. Kotsay, like the vast majority of candidates on the Giants’ radar, has never managed in the majors.

While Kotsay may be the front-runner for the Giants, the club’s still keeping its options open. The Giants have told a pair of their assistants, bench coach Hensley Meulens and third base coach Ron Wotus, that they remain under consideration to take over for Bochy, according to Baggarly. They’re the only in-house candidates so far for San Francisco, which Baggarly reports is not close to making a hire.

MLBTR Poll: Didi Gregorius & The Qualifying Offer

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Now that the Yankees’ season is over, their front office is left to ponder the futures of many of the club’s players, including shortstop Didi Gregorius. While Gregorius has largely been an above-average to excellent contributor since the Yankees acquired him entering 2015, the two sides’ five-year partnership may be on the verge of ending. Gregorius is weeks from a trip to free agency, where he’s easily slated to be the highest-upside shortstop available. The question, if Gregorius does reach the open market, is whether he’ll come with a qualifying offer attached.

The 29-year-old Gregorius would’ve been a slam dunk for a $17.8MM QO were he coming off a similar season to the ones he posted from 2017-18. Gregorius was a 4.0-fWAR player in each of those years, though he underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after the latter of those campaigns. As a result, Gregorius didn’t debut this year until June 7. When Gregorius returned, he wasn’t the same player the Yankees grew accustomed to seeing in the previous two seasons. He wound up playing just about half the season (82 games) and slashing a mediocre .238/.276/.441 in 344 plate appearances. The power outburst Gregorius enjoyed from 2017-18 remained intact, evidenced by his 16 home runs and his .204 ISO, yet he still only managed an 84 wRC+ (he checked in at 122 just a year ago).

In light of his downtick in production this season, it’s fair to wonder whether the Yankees will qualify Gregorius and risk paying him a hefty sum for 2020. They did bring Gregorius back for a pricey $11.75MM in the wake of his TJ surgery last year, but as mentioned, he was coming off a much stronger season at the time. Now, it’s easy to imagine Gregorius accepting a much more expensive QO and trying for a bounce-back year in New York. Doing so would take a significant chunk out of the luxury tax-minded Yankees’ spending room for a position to which the club arguably doesn’t need to allocate a ton of financial resources. The Yankees could let Gregorius walk, plug Gleyber Torres in at short and use DJ LeMahieu at second. Alternatively, if the Yankees really want to go for a bold strike after yet another season without a World Series title, they could trade for someone like Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, keep Torres at second and continue to move the versatile LeMahieu around the infield.

Regardless of whether Lindor’s a realistic trade target for the Yankees, what should they do with Gregorius in the next couple weeks? Is he worth taking a chance on via QO, or should general manager Brian Cashman let him hit the market unfettered?

(Poll link for app users)

World Series Roster Notes

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World Series media day gave us a bit of a look behind the curtain at the planning that is going into the early portion of this year’s series. We still don’t have full and final 25-man rosters for the Astros and Nationals, but their respective managers did discuss a few major tactical decisions that have already been made. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and Jake Kaplan of The Athletic were among those to cover the festivities; all links below are to their Twitter feeds.

  • There aren’t any surprises in terms of the initial pitching plans. The Nationals will roll out a rested Max Scherzer for the first game tomorrow night. As a prize for eliminating the Yankees in six games, rather than taking it to a seventh, the Astros will be able to counter with their top option in Gerrit Cole. The second match-up of the series will be just as compelling, with the Nats starting Stephen Strasburg and the ’Stros going with Justin Verlander.
  • After that? You might presume that each team will turn to its third starter — in each case, a hurler that would feature as an ace on quite a few other staffs around the game. Houston manager A.J. Hinch committed to utilizing mid-season trade acquisition Zack Greinke to open game three. But D.C. skipper Davey Martinez says he’s not going to name a starter yet for the first contest back in the nation’s capital. Does that mean that southpaw Patrick Corbin might be utilized in relief in Houston, as he has on several occasions already in the postseason? Martinez said we’ll just have to wait and see how things unfold.
  • It remains to be seen whether either team will end up utilizing a fourth starter to open any contests. The Nats can perhaps have some added confidence in Anibal Sanchez after watching him nearly no-hit the Cardinals in the NLCS, though tip-toeing through an exceptionally potent Astros lineup would be another thing entirely for the wily veteran. It’ll also be a wait-and-see situation for the Houston organization, with Hinch saying Brad Peacock, Jose Urquidy, or some other pitcher could be tapped to open a game that will likely feature quite a few pitching changes.
  • The availability of a designated hitter slot will open some opportunities for the Nats in games one and two. The club is planning to place veteran Howie Kendrick in the bat-only slot, Martinez suggested. Kendrick has stung the ball all year long and thrived in big situations in October, but he has also hurt the Nationals with the glove at times. Meanwhile, Hinch says the Astros will be sticking with young slugger Yordan Alvarez — at least for the first two contests. Whether or not he’ll be installed in left field once the series moves to D.C. could depend upon who’s starting game three — and whether Alvarez can break out of the 1-for-24, 12-strikeout skid he left in the championship series.
  • In terms of a formal roster announcement, that isn’t yet available. The Astros, in particular, are waiting until the last possible moment. The club believes that excellent reliever Ryan Pressly will be good to go after dealing with a knee injury in the ALCS. But it’ll hold off on making the final call until checking on his condition tomorrow. Both teams figure to rely heavily upon their core players throughout the series. Each could go in a variety of directions with a few of the final roster spots — those players that may not end up being used much at all, but could end up being thrust into major roles at key junctures.

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