Headlines

  • Mets To Extend Jeff McNeil
  • Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025
  • Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension
  • Royals Sign Aroldis Chapman To One-Year Deal
  • Athletics Sign Jesús Aguilar
  • Orioles Acquire Cole Irvin From A’s
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Gerardo Parra

Gerardo Parra Retires

By Mark Polishuk | May 8, 2022 at 11:58pm CDT

After 12 Major League seasons, Gerardo Parra has decided to retire, as reported by MASNsports.com’s Dan Kolko during today’s broadcast.  Parra will move into a new role as a special assistant in the Nationals front office.

Parra (who celebrated his 35th birthday two days ago) had signed a minor league deal with the Nats in Spring Training, but opted against a Triple-A assignment after not making the Opening Day roster.  He’ll now call it a career after 1519 MLB games spread over 12 seasons with the Diamondbacks, Brewers, Orioles, Rockies, Giants, and Nationals, plus 47 games with NPB’s Yomiuri Giants in 2020.  For his big league career, Parra batted .275/.322/.403 with 90 home runs over 5290 plate appearances.

An international signing for the D’Backs in 2004, Parra played his first five-plus MLB seasons in Arizona, establishing himself as one of the game’s best defensive outfielders.  Parra won two Gold Gloves and a Fielding Bible Award during his time with the D’Backs, and also showed some occasional pop at the plate.

This production (particularly against right-handed pitching) helped Parra keep getting chances after his glovework started to decline.  He scored a three-year, $27.5MM free agent deal from Colorado prior to the 2016 season, and while his own performance didn’t quite live up to expectations, Parra at least helped the Rox reach the postseason in both 2017 and 2018.

After signing with the Giants in the 2018-19 offseason, Parra didn’t last long in San Francisco, and caught on with the Nationals in May 2019.  That set the table for probably the most memorable moments of Parra’s career, as he quickly became a Washington fan favorite after adopting “Baby Shark” (his young daughter’s favorite song) as his walk-up music.

More importantly, Parra became a clubhouse leader for a Nats team that went onto win the World Series.  While he only hit a modest .250/.300/.447 over 204 PA for Washington during the regular season, and then made only seven total PA during the playoffs, Parra’s leadership was widely credited as a key reason why the Nationals were able to turn their season around after an ugly start in the first two months.  Parra played in Japan in 2020, and then made one final encore run with the Nats in 2021, playing what would end up being his final 53 Major League games.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Parra on a tremendous career, and we wish him all the best in his new front office role.

Share 0 Retweet 19 Send via email0

Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies Newsstand Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra Retirement

44 comments

Nationals Sign Gerardo Parra To Minors Deal

By Darragh McDonald | March 13, 2022 at 3:20pm CDT

The Nationals have signed outfielder Gerardo Parra to a minor league deal, reports Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Parra is in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Parra, who turns 35 in May, is a veteran of 12 MLB seasons and 1519 games played. His best stretch of play was from 2010 to 2015. He was never elite at the plate, but had enough speed and defense to still be valuable in that time. Over those six seasons, he hit .274/.326/.404 for a wRC+ of 94 and 10.8 fWAR.

In 2019, he started the season with the Giants but was designated for assignment in early May. After clearing waivers, he signed on with the Nats and became a fan favorite when he chose “Baby Shark” as his walk-up music. This eventually became an unofficial team anthem as the club went on their incredible run to become that year’s World Series champions. Parra played in Japan in 2020 but came back to the Nats last year on a minor league deal. He ultimately had his contract selected and got into 53 games, hitting .237/.292/.351.

For the Nationals, there’s no harm in adding some veteran depth, especially in the wake of a deadline selloff last year that has left plenty of question marks going forward. Juan Soto obviously has one outfield spot spoken for. Lane Thomas had a nice showing after coming over in the Jon Lester trade and will probably be pencilled in. Victor Robles is still around, though he’s now had two consecutive rough seasons at the plate. Then there’s a handful of other guys who could see some time on the grass but aren’t necessarily guaranteed a long stretch, such as Ehire Adrianza, Andrew Stevenson, Lucius Fox and Yadiel Hernandez. Bringing on a veteran like Parra is a no-risk way of improving the depth behind this group.

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Transactions Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra

10 comments

Nationals Activate Gerardo Parra, Place Josh Rogers On 10-Day Injured List

By TC Zencka | October 2, 2021 at 12:55pm CDT

The Nationals have placed starter Josh Rogers on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. The move allows local legend Gerardo Parra to return to the active roster from the injured list. Parra will bring baby shark back to Nats Park for the final two games of the season.

The 34-year-old Parra received more run than one might have expected this season, stepping to the plate 105 times and slashing .232/.288/.347 with a pair of home runs. Parra continues to be a positive clubhouse influence and fan favorite. Just two years removed from their title run, Parra is one of surprising few links left to that title team.

As for Rogers, the southpaw was a scrap heap pickup from the Orioles who gave the Nats some valuable innings down the stretch. The 27-year-old has some fan fav flair of his own, bringing a bouncy energy to the mound in six starts totaling 35 2/3 innings. Rogers did enough to likely earn himself a look next year for the pitching-needy Nationals.

Rogers finishes the year with a 3.28 ERA/5.83 FIP, the latter number due to a disinclination to miss bats. Rogers has just a 14.6 percent strikeout rate and 8.6 percent swinging strike rate, well below the 22.6 percent and 10.9 percent mark averaged by starters throughout the game. Regardless, with only Patrick Corbin, Josiah Gray, and Stephen Strasburg (if healthy) guaranteed rotation spots next season, Rogers should have a continued opportunity to prove he can continue to keep runs off the board in Washington.

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Transactions Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra Josh Rogers

3 comments

Nationals Place Gerardo Parra On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | September 5, 2021 at 11:58am CDT

The Nationals have placed outfielder Gerardo Parra on the injured list with right knee inflammation, per a team announcement. Left-handed pitcher Josh Rogers has been recalled to take Parra’s placed on the roster. Rogers was already with the team as the 29th man for yesterday’s double-header.

Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com talks to Nats’ manager Dave Martinez, who says the plan is for Parra to just rest for 10 days. At that point, there would only be a few weeks remaining in the schedule, but Martinez is still hopeful Parra can return before the season ends. It’s been a subpar season so far for the 34-year-old, perhaps somewhat attributable to the knee issues, since Parra had knee surgery in the offseason. He’s slashing .232/.288/.347 on the year for a wRC+ of 71.

The club is well out of contention and Parra is a free agent at season’s end, leaving little reason to rush him back onto the field. But if he’s healthy enough, he can get some plate appearances before the winter comes, giving both Parra and the club a chance to assess his status going into the offseason.

As for Rogers, he could have perhaps earned himself a longer look in the Washington rotation after his start last night. The 27-year-old threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, three walks and three earned runs with five strikeouts, earning a win in the process.

Share 0 Retweet 4 Send via email0

Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra Josh Rogers

7 comments

Recurring Depth Shortage Makes Nationals A Team To Watch

By TC Zencka | July 3, 2021 at 3:12pm CDT

The Nationals were the beneficiaries of an otherworldly run of power from Kyle Schwarber in June. Schwarber’s hot streak has been well-documented, but to put it in brief, Schwarber hit 16 home runs after June 12th to finish with the second most home runs in June all-time. Better yet, in that 19-game stretch, the Nationals went 15-4, putting the team back over .500 and firmly in the conversation for the NL East crown. They are 2.5 games behind the Mets entering play on Saturday.

But it’s July now, and the Nationals have a stark new reality to confront. Schwarber left yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury and was placed on the 10-day injured list today. Manager Dave Martinez called the injury “significant” and said that he’ll be out for more than a 10-day injured list stint, per Todd Dybas of Inside the Clubhouse (Twitter links). That’s not a death knell for the Nats, but it is a crushing blow for a team that’s long been one of the most top-heavy teams in the league.

The Nationals not only lack the depth to cover for significant injuries, but there’s very little by way of system depth to shore up those weaknesses via trade. Case and point, Trea Turner is day-to-day after jamming his finger on a triple, which forced the team to use catcher Alex Avila as their starting second baseman the next day. But this isn’t just a clerical misunderstanding or bit of ill-timing that left the Nats temporarily short-handed in the infield. Their dearth of ML-capable infielders is such that they immediately turned around and traded for Alcides Escobar from the Royals.

That the Nationals have any kind of question for which Escobar is the answer should be a tell-tale giveaway of their current circumstances. Escobar hasn’t played in the Majors since 2018. He hasn’t reached base at a better than .300 OBP clip since 2014. He has never slugged over .400 SLG for a season.

For the optimists out there, he does have a capable glove, the Royals won a World Series with Escobar at shortstop, and he posted a league-average bat over the past two seasons in Triple-A. For six seasons from 2011 to 2016, Escobar averaged 1.82 rWAR/1.83 fWAR per season. That’s not star quality, but it’s a capable Major Leaguer.

To return to the cup-half-empty crowd, those years were firmly in Escobar’s physical prime, and at 34 years old, he’s well beyond that. He averaged -1.45 rWAR/-0.2 fWAR in his final two seasons in the Majors, which to reiterate, was three seasons ago.

Granted, it’s not clear right now what the Nationals’ plan is for Escobar. He is on the active roster, but it’s anyone’s guess how long he stays. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Escobar find a home in DC, as other unlikely roster castoffs have in the past — guys like Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison, and Gerardo Parra.

In the short term, Humberto Arteaga had his contract selected, and he started at short yesterday. Arteaga is another Royals’ castoff. Arteaga was the Royals’ 20th-ranked prospect by Baseball America in 2013, and he’s never at any level posted a better than 93 wRC+. Just as quickly, he’s been designated for assignment. If he goes unclaimed, however, the Nats may need Arteaga again.

The caveat to the Nats’ shortstop problem is that it doesn’t seem like Turner will be out for long. For a couple of days, Arteaga or even Escobar are fine stopgaps. But if Turner’s injury extends to a stint on the injured list, the Nats might consider turning to one of two top prospects: Luis Garcia or Carter Kieboom. The sheen has worn off these two, but they still hold tremendous promise, and they’re both raking in Triple-A. The problem is that neither profiles as a shortstop. Garcia has started 25 games at short in Rochester, but he’s been dealing with injury concerns of his own.

Garcia — who is still just 21 — is the Nats’ sole in-house option that has some chance to hold the line in the case of a Turner injury. That said, there’s no replacing Turner, who has been among the most productive regulars in the game with 3.6 fWAR, tied for sixth-most among qualified position players in the Majors.

Returning to left field, the Nats are going to have a similar problem filling in for Schwarber. Gerardo Parra was the immediate replacement, and beyond him, only Josh Harrison has experience in the outfield. While playing with a four-man bench and a hobbled Turner, Harrison is essentially the emergency backup at every position.

He’s also a decent counterpoint to skepticism of the Nats’ strategy to trust trusted hands. Harrison was all but out of the league after back-to-back putrid seasons with losing teams in the Pirates and Tigers, the latter of whom released him after he hit .175/.218/.263 in 36 games. He’s been rejuvenated in Washington, however, hitting .275/.352/.386 in 358 plate appearances across 2020-21. The 5’8″ sparkplug has been worth 1.3 rWAR this year.

Parra doesn’t have the hard evidence to back up his on-field value since latching on with the Nats mid-way through 2019, but his contributions as a clubhouse presence cannot be discounte — not when “Baby Shark” continues to rev the engines of Nats Park whenever Parra steps to the plate. With the ability to play all three outfield spots, Parra certainly adds enough value to hold a roster spot, but he’s overextended as an everyday player.

Which leads us to Yadiel Hernandez, the likeliest option to get the call as the regular left fielder until Schwarber returns, especially with Andrew Stevenson also out (Stevenson is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, notes Dougherty). Hernandez has some power and regularly puts together quality at-bats. In his youth, he could play all three outfield spots, but now he’s best used in a corner. He has mashed to the tune of .309/.367/.618 in 14 games since being optioned to Triple-A, where the Nats sent him to get more regular playing time.

The 33-year-old rookie may seem an uninspired option at first glance, but there’s cause for his believers to feel righteous: he hit a particularly righteous .333/.390/.417 in 41 plate appearances earlier this season when getting regular playing time as Juan Soto’s injury replacement. His overall line slipped to .261/.316/.362 in 76 trips, but with Schwarber and Soto healthy, Hernandez’s opportunities were limited to pinch-hitting. That’s a tough gig and not everyone can be Lenny Harris or Matt Stairs (though Stairs is actually a decent comp for body type and swing style).

As with Turner, nobody is capable of stepping into the role left behind by Schwarber, at least as he was in June. Even Schwarber was unlikely to continue to be that guy. The macro problem for the Nationals isn’t replacing Turner and Schwarber over the next few days or even weeks, it’s that the pool of talent behind the active roster is thin enough that it’s not hard to imagine a total collapse — which is why teams continue to eye the Nats closely as the trade deadline approaches.

On the one hand, Stephen Strasburg could return, Patrick Corbin could find his form, Turner’s finger issue could pass quickly, Soto could hit a much-anticipated power surge, and Daniel Hudson, Tanner Rainey, and Kyle Finnegan could make hasty returns from the injured list to reinforce the bullpen. In a relatively flaccid NL East, the Nationals certainly can make a run.

On the other hand, Strasburg’s mysterious poor health could remain mysterious and poor, Corbin could struggle to find his mechanical consistency all season, and with just an injury or two, the offense could crater. That was the story for the Nationals in 2020, which resulted in a last-place club. That was also the case in 2019 when — stop me if you’ve heard this before — an injury to Turner’s finger nearly tanked their season.

The watch is on to see how the Nats respond to Schwarber’s injury. At the very least, we now know Schwarber isn’t coming back any time soon — which quite literally puts an end to the run that got them back into contention.

Share 0 Retweet 11 Send via email0

MLBTR Originals Washington Nationals Alcides Escobar Gerardo Parra Kyle Schwarber Luis Garcia Trea Turner Yadiel Hernandez

28 comments

Nationals Select Gerardo Parra, Designate Ben Braymer

By Mark Polishuk | June 20, 2021 at 9:57am CDT

The Nationals have selected the contract of outfielder Gerardo Parra from Triple-A.  Parra will take the active roster spot of infielder Luis Garcia, who was optioned to Triple-A after last night’s game.  Left-hander Ben Braymer was designated for assignment to open up 40-man roster space.

After playing in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants in 2020, Parra made his return to Washington by signing a minor league deal with the Nats in the offseason.  The 34-year-old will now officially return to the big leagues and receive a salute from D.C. fans for his contributions to the Nationals’ 2019 World Series championship club.  After originally joining the Nats on a free agent deal in May 2019, Parra’s clubhouse leadership was praised as a key factor in the team’s midseason turnaround, and he quickly became a fan favorite for his choice of “Baby Shark” as his walk-up music.

In terms of on-field production, Parra hit .250/.300/.447 over 204 plate appearances for Washington in 2019, but it has been a while since he has provided even average offensive numbers.  Since the start of the 2016 season, Parra has hit .273/.315/.404 with 32 homers in 1150 PA for an 80 OPS+, and he batted a modest .267/.305/.384 for the Yomiuri Giants last season.  With Andrew Stevenson recovering from a strained oblique, however, the Nats were in need of outfield depth, so Parra got the call from the minors.

Braymer posted a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 innings for the Nationals last season, which represents the only MLB experience of his six-year professional career.  An 18th-round pick for Washington in the 2016 draft, Braymer posted some solid numbers as a starting pitcher until he hit Triple-A, as he has a 7.06 ERA over 88 innings at the top minor league level.  It wouldn’t be out of the question if another team claimed Braymer off waivers to see if they could get him back on track, or perhaps even just give him a look as a relief pitcher.

Share 0 Retweet 16 Send via email0

Transactions Washington Nationals Ben Braymer Gerardo Parra Luis Garcia (infielder)

6 comments

NL East Notes: Mets, deGrom, McNeil, Nationals, Strasburg, Scherzer

By TC Zencka | June 19, 2021 at 11:19am CDT

Jacob deGrom appears on target to make his regularly-scheduled start on Monday, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). DeGrom threw his second bullpen session without incident. Though the Mets haven’t set anything in stone, the unofficial best pitcher on the planet should take the hill against the Braves two days from now.

Jeff McNeil is likely to join deGrom on the diamond on Monday, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). McNeil has been out with a hamstring strain since May 16th. McNeil was hitting .242/.336/.374 when he went on the injured list. Though still six percent better than average with the bat, that’s a far cry from McNeil’s usual production. He owned a 139 wRC+ across 1,024 plate appearances coming into the season. In the other dugout today…

  • The Nationals have some updates on their own star hurlers. Stephen Strasburg was playing catch in the outfield today – a small, but positive step in the right direction. There remains no timetable for Strasburg’s return.
  • Max Scherzer, however, will throw a bullpen session later today and potentially return to the rotation on Tuesday in Philadelphia, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). The Nats rotation has held up surprisingly well in Scherzer’s absence: They’ve posted a 0.78 team ERA since Scherzer exited his latest start after just two hitters. Should he remain on track and return Tuesday, however, he’ll no doubt provide a boost to the surging Nats, winners of five in a row.  [UPDATE: Scherzer told Zuckerman and other reporters that he is “all good” for Tuesday’s start.]
  • Two years ago on this date, Gerardo Parra walked to the plate to “Baby Shark” for the first time, sparking a trend that would enliven Nats fans for the entirety of their magical 2019 campaign. Parra might soon bring his act back to Washington, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter notes). The 11-year veteran has a .222/.385/.333 line in 91 plate appearances for the Nats Triple-A club this season.
Share 0 Retweet 7 Send via email0

New York Mets Notes Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra Jacob deGrom Jeff McNeil Stephen Strasburg

19 comments

Health Notes: Yordan, E-Rod, Bailey, Nottingham, Parra

By Connor Byrne | February 26, 2021 at 6:21pm CDT

After he missed all but two games last season, the Astros are set to welcome back slugger Yordan Alvarez this year. It appears the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year will be limited solely to designated hitter, though, as manager Dusty Baker said Friday (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) that it’s “very unlikely” he’ll play any outfield in 2021. Alvarez underwent surgery on both knees, and Baker commented, “It’s shown in the past that whenever [Alvarez] plays in the outfield, he’s hurting for two or three days, you know what I mean?” If Alvarez doesn’t see any action in the grass, it’ll leave left field to Michael Brantley, who battled his own injury troubles a year ago and spent most of his season at DH.

  • Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will return to the mound Saturday when he throws two innings in a simulated game, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays. That’s welcome news after Rodriguez missed all of last year because of myocarditis and COVID-19. Rodriguez was one of Boston’s top pitchers during the previous couple seasons, and as a pending free agent, the 27-year-old is heading into a pivotal campaign.
  • Reds right-hander Brandon Bailey announced on Twitter that he underwent Tommy John surgery on Friday. It was the second TJ procedure for the 26-year-old Bailey, whom the Reds acquired from the Astros in November. The 26-year-old Bailey made his major league debut last season in Houston with 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball, six hits allowed, and four walks against three strikeouts. During his most recent minor league action in 2019, Bailey recorded a 3.30 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning across 92 2/3 Double-A frames.
  • Brewers catcher Jacob Nottingham is not recovering from late-December thumb surgery as quickly as expected. Nottingham is only doing “small baseball activities” right now and will not be ready for the start of Cactus League play, according to manager Craig Counsell (via Todd Rosiak and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). A healthy Nottingham and free-agent pickup Luke Maile figured to jockey for the No. 3 catcher position behind Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina, so Nottingham’s injury could help Maile in his quest to land that job. Nottingham, who is out of minor league options, amassed 54 plate appearances last year and hit .188/.278/.458 with four home runs.
  • Nationals outfielder Gerardo Parra underwent right knee surgery in the fall and is currently at 70 to 80 percent, he told Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post and other reporters Friday. Parra expects to be ready for Opening Day, but having signed a minor league deal in the offseason, he has work to do this spring in order to earn a spot on Washington’s roster.
Share 0 Retweet 1 Send via email0

Boston Red Sox Cincinnati Reds Houston Astros Milwaukee Brewers Notes Washington Nationals Brandon Bailey Eduardo Rodriguez Gerardo Parra Jacob Nottingham Yordan Alvarez

77 comments

Nationals Sign Gerardo Parra To Minor League Contract

By Connor Byrne | February 3, 2021 at 4:21pm CDT

The Nationals have signed outfielder Gerardo Parra to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. He’ll earn a $1MM salary if he makes the majors, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Parra has appeared with seven teams in the majors since debuting in 2009. He was most recently a member of the Nationals and Giants in 2019, when he batted .234/.293/.391 with nine home runs and eight stolen bases in 301 plate appearances. Parra became a fan favorite in Washington that year for his “Baby Shark” theme when he came to the plate. The Nationals, of course, won the World Series that season, though Parra hasn’t been in the majors since then. He spent last year with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

As a major leaguer, the 33-year-old Parra has batted .276/.323/.404 with 88 home runs and 96 stolen bases over 5,183 plate appearances. Parra has played every outfield position in the bigs, so he’ll now vie for a role as a backup to Nats starters Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Kyle Schwarber.

Share 0 Retweet 30 Send via email0

Transactions Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra

27 comments

Never On Top, But Still The Champs

By TC Zencka | June 6, 2020 at 6:12pm CDT

 The Washington Nationals have had more time than your average champ to take a bow after their World Series victory last October. Their win in Game Seven over the Astros more than seven months ago stands as the most recent non-exhibition game, and though Major League Baseball continues to bob and weave their way back to play amidst this pandemic, the Nats are still the champs until a new one is crowned. Luckily for baseball fans, Davey Martinez’s crew in Washington certainly made the most of their first World Series victory from a lore perspective. Their turnaround after starting 19-31 has been the most often trumpeted fact from their run to the top, but there are plenty more factoids that add flavor to the Nats’ first championship.

For example, as their Twitter account graciously reminds us, they’re “The Greatest Comeback Team In MLB History” after reversing an in-game deficit five times when facing elimination in the postseason. Then there’s Ryan Zimmerman hitting the first home run in their World Series history 15 years after the Nats made him the first-ever draft pick. Howie Kendrick certainly has a story to share, as does Stephen Strasburg, as does, believe it or not, Gerardo Parra, who bonded the clubhouse around – of all things – a South Korean children’s song.

They also became the first team to win a World Series via four road wins, they took out the Astros just weeks before news broke of the sign-stealing scandal, and they coined multiple slogans along the way, like “Stay In The Fight,” “Bumpy Roads Lead To Beautiful Places,” and “Go 1-0 Every Day.”

But despite the rings, the accolades, and the lore aplenty, there’s at least one thing the Nationals did not accomplish. The 2019 Nats became just the second team in the Wild Card Era to win the World Series without spending a single day in first place (2003 Marlins). 

Of course, the introduction of the wild card in 1995 makes this fun fact possible. Since the single wild card was brought into play, we have 25 seasons of wild card history. Seven wild cards survived the gauntlet of the playoffs to win it all: 1997 Marlins, 2002 Angels, 2003 Marlins, 2004 Red Sox, 2011 Cardinals, 2014 Giants, 2019 Nationals (that’s it, right?). While the run in the early aughts gave the wild card some serious juju, the shine had worn off a bit in recent years. Still, each of the past two decades brought a 30% championship rate for wild card entrants. 

Meanwhile, World Series champions on the whole over the past 25 years have spent an average of 95.88 games in first. Of course, we’re dealing with a small sample size here and a fairly large spread. A standard deviation of ~54 games means that roughly 95% of our champs should have spent somewhere between 41 and 150 games in first, meaning there really are many ways to skin this cat – especially since more than a quarter of World Series champs fell beyond those bounds (thanks a lot, sample size). 

The 2016 Cubs came pretty close to running the table, leading the NL Central for 154 games before capping a season for the ages. They were outdone – White Sox fans will not be surprised to hear – by their crosstown rival. The White Sox were in first place for 161 games during the 2005 season before sweeping the Astros. They did, in fairness, share first place with the Tigers and Twins for (small) portions of the season. The ’02 Angels and ’97 Marlins, meanwhile, barely managed to escape our list by spending 12 and 11 days in first, respectively. 

So while the Nationals had a season for the ages in 2019, there’s yet more for this team to accomplish (if/when play resumes for the 2020 season). The Braves would seem to rule the roost, but the Phillies held a share of the NL East lead for 60 days of the 2019 season, and the Mets took the top spot for a cool 14 days. The Marlins’ 105-loss season didn’t share a ton in common with the Nats’ by the end of the year, but this fact they shared: neither managed to lead the division for even a day.

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Miami Marlins MLBTR Originals Washington Nationals Gerardo Parra Howie Kendrick Ryan Zimmerman Stephen Strasburg

43 comments
Load More Posts
Show all

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Mets To Extend Jeff McNeil

    Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

    Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

    Royals Sign Aroldis Chapman To One-Year Deal

    Athletics Sign Jesús Aguilar

    Orioles Acquire Cole Irvin From A’s

    Astros Name Dana Brown General Manager

    Rays Extend Jeffrey Springs

    Royals, Red Sox Swap Adalberto Mondesi For Josh Taylor

    Red Sox Designate Matt Barnes For Assignment

    Scott Rolen Elected Into Baseball Hall Of Fame

    Red Sox Sign Adam Duvall

    Brad Ausmus Reportedly Among Astros’ GM Finalists

    Mike Clevinger Under Investigation For Domestic Violence Allegations

    Arte Moreno No Longer Pursuing Sale Of Angels

    Twins Acquire Michael A. Taylor From Royals

    Padres Sign Nelson Cruz To One-Year Deal

    Sal Bando Passes Away

    Twins, Marlins Swap Luis Arraez For Pablo Lopez In Four-Player Trade

    Marlins To Move Jazz Chisholm To Center Field

    Recent

    Mets To Extend Jeff McNeil

    Orioles Sign Curtis Terry To Minor League Contract

    Trio Of Free Agent Pitchers Work Out For Clubs

    Guardians’ Prospect George Valera Recovering From Hand Surgery

    Brewers Sign Skye Bolt, Colin Rea To Minor League Contracts

    Rangers Sign Danny Duffy, Clint Frazier, Travis Jankowski To Minor League Contracts

    Cardinals Sign Andrew Suarez To Minor League Deal

    Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

    Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

    Nationals Sign Alex Colome

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Offseason Outlook Series
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version