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Luis Garcia (infielder)

Nationals Release Maikel Franco

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The Nationals have released veteran infielder Maikel Franco, reinstated second baseman Luis Garcia from the injured list, optioned righty Cory Abbott and selected the contract of top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli, per a team announcement. Cavalli’s looming promotion had been announced by the team earlier in the week. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com first noted that Garcia was in the clubhouse and that Franco appeared to be packing up and saying his goodbyes, indicating a move was on the horizon.

Franco, who turns 30 today, has spent the season as Washington’s primary third baseman. The Nats signed the former Phillies top prospect to a minor league deal over the winter, and he broke camp with the team. Franco has gotten 99 starts, with the vast majority of that time coming at his customary position at the hot corner. While he’s been a durable lineup fixture, the right-handed hitter simply hasn’t produced much at the plate. Franco posted a .229/.255/.342 showing across 388 plate appearances, only connecting on nine home runs with a meager 3.1% walk rate.

It’s a second straight well below-average season for Franco, who managed a .210/.253/.355 line with the Orioles last season. Fellow journeyman Ildemaro Vargas, who was selected onto the big league roster at the start of this month, has a far more productive .317/.354/.450 showing in 65 plate appearances. The switch-hitting Vargas has taken hold of the third base job as a result, while Garcia is now in line to pair with top prospect CJ Abrams as the primary middle infield duo. That pushed veteran second baseman Cesar Hernandez to the bench and squeezed Franco off the roster.

A nine-year MLB veteran, Franco finds himself on release waivers. Assuming he goes unclaimed, he’ll hit free agency and be able to explore other opportunities elsewhere. It seems likely he’ll be limited to minor league offers, although he’d technically be eligible for another team’s postseason roster if he signs before the end of this month.

NL East Notes: Abrams, Harper, Knebel, Guillorme

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Nationals’ infielder Luis Garcia has been dealing with a sore groin and may be headed to the injured list. Manager Dave Martinez relayed this info to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, who added C.J. Abrams was pulled from the Rochester Red Wings lineup today. Dan J. Glickman of Pickin’ Splinters then relayed word from Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy that the removal of Abrams was on order of the big league club, with ESPN’s Jeff Passan later confirming that Abrams will indeed be called up.

Abrams, of course, was one of the pieces coming to Washington in the Juan Soto trade, with many considering him the centerpiece of Washington’s return in the deal. Abrams got some MLB time with the Padres this year, though the Nats initially optioned him to the minors after the trade. With Garcia’s injury, it seems like he is set to make his debut as a National, about two weeks after the trade.

Even before this injury popped up, recent reporting had suggested Abrams would take over at shortstop, with Garcia moving over to second base due to his poor defensive showing at short. Abrams should take over regular shortstop duty for now, with Garcia eventually slotting in next to him at the keystone whenever his groin heals. Currently considered the #11 prospect across the league by Baseball America, Abrams hasn’t hit much at the major league level yet, but he’s hit .310/.360/.480 in Triple-A this season. He’ll celebrate his 22nd birthday in October.

In other NL East news…

  • Phillies’ slugger Bryce Harper will take batting practice tomorrow for the first time since fracturing his thumb in June, with Matt Gelb of The Athletic relaying word from skipper Rob Thomson. Harper was dealing with torn UCL before that thumb issue, which had limited him to DH duties only. Though it was hoped the downtime from the thumb issue might lead to improvement in the elbow, that doesn’t seem to be the case, with the club just focusing on getting Harper’s bat back into the lineup for now. On that front, getting Harper back into BP is a notable step. Despite the torn UCL, Harper has hit .318/.385/.599 on the year for a wRC+ of 166. Getting him back to the Phils would obviously provide a huge boost down the stretch, as the club looks to battle its way through a tough postseason race with less than two months now remaining on the schedule.
  • While the progress of Harper is good news, the Phillies also got some bad news today. Reliever Corey Knebel left today’s game with a lat strain, the team announced to reporters, including Gelb. The severity isn’t yet known, with Knebel now slated for an MRI that will likely provide more information. The hurler has a 3.45 ERA on the season, though his 20.9% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rates both represent career worsts. Things looked much rosier earlier this month, as Knebel had a 2.59 ERA until a five-run outing on August 2. Taking that one outing away would certainly make his numbers look better, though the lack of punchouts and increased free passes are still concerning.
  • The Mets announced to reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that infielder Luis Guillorme left today’s game with left groin tightness. He will undergo imaging tomorrow. Though it’s unclear how serious the issue is, the timing is unfortunate as the Mets’ infield has been taking a beating of late. Both Eduardo Escobar and Jeff McNeil had to leave Friday’s game due to injuries, which forced the club to turn to outfield Mark Canha as an emergency third baseman. Escobar relieved Guillorme today and McNeil started the game, so it doesn’t appear terribly dire. However, the club may have to consider adding another infielder to the roster in order to build in some rest for such a banged-up group.

Nationals Notes: Abrams, Garcia, Hernandez, Franco, Corbin

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The Nationals could soon be in line for a shakeup of their infield. Top shortstop prospect C.J. Abrams was arguably the centerpiece of the six-player return for Juan Soto and Josh Bell. The Nats immediately optioned Abrams to Triple-A Rochester, but Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post writes that the club is likely to soon recall the 21-year-old to the majors.

Once Abrams makes his way to Nationals Park, he’s likely to play everyday at shortstop. Dougherty indicates the organization views Abrams as their long-term franchise shortstop, which is hardly a surprise after the club made him a key piece of such a monumental trade. The former sixth overall pick only has a .232/.285/.320 line through his first 46 big league games, but he owns an impressive .311/.366/.503 mark in his first taste of Triple-A action. Baseball America rated him as the sport’s #11 overall prospect on their latest update.

The Nats have already been turning to a young player at shortstop. Luis García has been one of the organization’s more promising prospects for years, but he’s still just 22 years old. The 6’2″ infielder has drawn praise from evaluators for his pure hitting ability. He’s hit plenty of line drives in his limited big league time, but he’s also shown an extremely aggressive approach. García carried a .290 batting average into play tonight, but he’d reached base at just a .295 clip based on a microscopic 0.9% walk rate. (That’s gone up slightly, as he did draw a free pass in tonight’s game).

The jury may still be out on García’s offensive upside, but it’s apparent he’s miscast as a shortstop. Prospect evaluators were divided on his ability to stick at the position long-term, and the results in his big league time have been ghastly. In 568 2/3 career innings at shortstop, García has rated a staggering 19 runs below average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast’s Outs Above Average has him at 17 plays below par. As Mike Petriello of MLB.com observed this afternoon (Twitter link), public defensive metrics have rated the Nationals’ shortstops as by far the worst collection of defenders in the majors this season. That’s not entirely on García — the since-released Dee Strange-Gordon and Alcides Escobar also struggled — but it’s clear the team could use a better defender to anchor the infield.

García won’t lose his spot in the starting lineup on a rebuilding team, though. Once Abrams is in the big leagues, García is likely to kick to the other side of the second base bag. He’s rated as a below-average but not quite so disastrous defender at the keystone. Still, there’s reason for Washington to challenge their young players in non-competitive seasons. That’s particularly true with the team rostering a couple of aging veterans who are playing out the final few months of one-year contracts.

Second baseman César Hernández and third baseman Maikel Franco have each played the majority of games this season, but neither has performed well. Hernández owns a .241/.305/.306 line through 476 plate appearances. The switch-hitting infielder has incredibly not connected on a single home run all season after popping a career-high 21 longballs last year. Franco has only a .228/.255/.337 showing in 373 trips to the plate. Among players with 300+ plate appearances, only Tigers second baseman Jonathan Schoop has a lower on-base percentage (.240) than Franco’s .255.

Clearly, neither player is going to be a key piece of the rebuild. The club’s hope of cashing either in for future value at the trade deadline has come and gone, with both struggling so badly there was no real interest from contenders. With that in mind, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com wonders whether Hernández and Franco will even hold their roster spots for the rest of the 2022 season. Zuckerman notes that Franco may be in better position to remain in the lineup. While Abrams’ arrival should push Hernández out of the starting lineup, journeyman Ildemaro Vargas stands as Franco’s biggest competitor for reps at the hot corner with Carter Kieboom out for the season.

Hernández and Franco aren’t the only struggling veterans on a club that’s 39 games under .500. Southpaw Patrick Corbin has been one of the sport’s least effective starters. After allowing six runs and failing to make it out of the first inning in a start against the Phillies on Saturday, Corbin carries a 7.02 ERA through 110 1/3 innings. That’s easily a personal worst, but Corbin has been well below-average for three straight years after an excellent first season in Washington. Since the beginning of 2020, he owns a 5.98 ERA through 65 starts.

Manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Andrew Golden of the Washington Post) that the club will take advantage of a team off-day on Thursday to skip Corbin’s next turn through the rotation. That’s a temporary measure designed to afford the left-hander more time to work with pitching coach Jim Hickey, and the club is apparently not considering permanently removing Corbin from the starting five. “I want to leave this year with a positive moving forward to next year because, regardless of what anyone thinks, he’s going to be one of our starters next year and the year after that,” Martinez said of Corbin.

The 33-year-old is under contract for two seasons beyond this one. He’s due around $24MM next season and will make a bit more than $35MM come 2024. Given Corbin’s struggles, it’s hard to envision the Nationals getting out from under any of that money. With Washington likely to be rebuilding over the next two seasons anyhow, the club can live with some struggles from Corbin as he picks up innings as part of an uncertain rotation.

NL Notes: Knebel, Phillies, Cain, Garcia

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Recently-minted Phillies manager Rob Thomson told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia today that Corey Knebel is out as the team’s closer, for the time being. Signed to a one-year $10MM deal this past offseason, Knebel hasn’t demonstrated the same sharpness he did in last year’s campaign with the Dodgers. While this season’s 3.24 ERA through 25 innings is plenty respectable, his 20.7% strikeout rate is far from his career average while his 14.4% walk rate ranks amongst the worst in the league. Knebel’s four blown saves also stand as the highest mark in the league at the moment.

After a messy May, the Phillies have surged with an 11-2 record thus far in June, bringing their season record above .500 to 32-31. Despite the recent hot stretch, the Phillies remain eight and a half games back of the first place Mets in their division and three and a half games back of the last NL wild card spot. A closer-by-committee approach figures to help the team stay in their groove, with Seranthony Dominguez and Brad Hand representing steadier options than Knebel thus far.

Some other Wednesday items from the Senior Circuit…

  • After optioning Mickey Moniak on Tuesday, the Phillies appear set to roll with a platoon of Matt Vierling and Odúbel Herrera in center field. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb speculates how the team may upgrade that arrangement given the feeble production from the first two players thus far, plus the questions that have plagued Herrera dating back to his 2019 suspension. Gelb lists Michael A. Taylor, Ramón Laureano, and Victor Robles as realistic trade targets for the club should they seek to plug a defense-first option between corner outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. The center field platoon’s production will be worth monitoring through the summer, as the Phillies have holes in the infield and bullpen as well but may not possess enough financial or prospect capital to address all three areas.
  • One center fielder who isn’t an option for the Phillies, or perhaps for any team much longer, is Lorenzo Cain. Speaking with Andy McCullough of The Athletic, the 36-year-old Brewer acknowledged the likelihood that this season may very well be his last in the major leagues. The two-time All-Star remains a strong defensive player and as affable a clubhouse personality as any, but admits to difficulties in elevating his offense at the ten-year mark of his career. To that end, a .168/.223/.226 showing through 41 games has already begun to cost him some playing time this season. For now though, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns remains in Cain’s corner, citing Cain’s defense and contributions to four straight years of playoff baseball in Milwaukee as reasons to exhibit patience.
  • Nationals manager Dave Martinez has an update on another 2015 World Series champ, stating that Opening Day shortstop Alcides Escobar will return in a utility role when he completes his current rehab assignment. 22-year-old Luis García will be given some leash at the position after his hot start to the year at the Triple-A (.899 OPS in 42 games) and Major League (.829 OPS in 13 games) levels. Neither player profiles as a defensively elite shortstop at this point in their careers, so Escobar’s current OPS of .552 figures to cut into the playing time of other slow-starting veterans’ around the infield (Maikel Franco, .669 OPS; Cesar Hernandez, .646 OPS) over the youngster looking to establish himself.

Nationals Promote Luis Garcia

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The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled infielder Luis Garcia from Triple-A Rochester and placed shortstop Alcides Escobar on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring. Manager Dave Martinez tells reporters that Garcia will be the everyday shortstop moving forward (Twitter link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Washington also optioned righty Francisco Perez to Rochester and recalled southpaw Evan Lee from Double-A Harrisburg for what will be his Major League debut. Talk Nats first reported that both Garcia and Lee were headed to the big leagues (Twitter links).

Garcia, who turned 22 last month, has too much big league experience under his belt to technically qualify as a “prospect” anymore, but he’s still a key young player whom the organization hopes to install as a core player. Signed as a 16-year-old amateur back in 2016, Garcia was in the big leagues by 20 years of age and has already accumulated 386 Major League plate appearances, albeit with an underwhelming .254/.285/.395 slash line to show for it.

However, Garcia was a consensus top-100 prospect heading into both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and his work so far in Triple-A illustrates the reason evaluators have been so bullish on the young middle infielder. Through his first 42 games (193 plate appearances), Garcia is hitting .314/.368/.531 with eight home runs, six doubles, four triples and a stolen base. His 17.6% strikeout rate is well below the current average, and he’s drawn walks at a respectable 8.3% clip as well.

It’s the second straight season of huge Triple-A production for Garcia, who hit .303/.371/.599 in 159 Triple-A plate appearances a year ago. That didn’t translate into big league success when he tallied 70 games in 2021, but he’d hardly be the player to struggle in the Majors at such a young age before piecing it together as he continues to develop.

It’s easy to argue that the Nationals should’ve had Garcia in the Majors awhile ago. Escobar, one of several veteran minor league signees on whom the Nats have relied in the infield this year, hit just .220/.264/.288 prior to his IL placement. Maikel Franco is fourth on the team in plate appearances despite a .258/.284/.376 output, though the magnitude of his role is due in no small part to Carter Kieboom’s Tommy John surgery. Dee Strange-Gordon has managed a .315/.315/.370 output in 54 trips to the plate, but his most recent productive MLB season came back in 2017.

Whether this was the plan or not, it’s worth pointing out that enough time has passed that Garcia can no longer reach two full years of Major League service time this year. He entered the 2022 campaign with one year and 37 days of service time, meaning he needed 135 days on the active roster or Major League injured list to reach two full years. As of today, there are 126 days remaining on the regular-season calendar. Had Garcia reached two years of service in 2022, he could have potentially been eligible for free agency after the 2026 season. The earliest he can reach the open market now is post-2027.

Of course, all of that is dependent on whether Garcia is able to solidify himself at the Major League level, which he has thus far been unable to do despite multiple auditions. Had the Nats truly been concerned about his free-agent trajectory, they probably wouldn’t have fast-tracked him to the big leagues and let him accrue a full year of service before he even turned 22.

As for the 24-year-old Lee, he’ll be tabbed to start this afternoon’s game against the division-leading Mets. He’s had a nice start in Harrisburg this year, pitching to a 3.60 ERA with a strong 29.4% strikeout rate but a more problematic 11.9% walk rate. MLB.com ranks Lee 17th among Nats farmhands, while Baseball America lists him 20th in the system. Both scouting reports on Lee praise his low-90s heater and a potentially plus curveball while noting that his lack of a third strong offering creates some risk that he’ll eventually land in the bullpen. Lee was a two-way player at the University of Arkansas and is thus still relatively new to full-time pitching, so there’s perhaps a bit more room for development than one would expect out of most soon-to-be 25-year-old pitchers.

Nationals To Promote Joan Adon

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October 3: The Nationals have announced the recall of Adon, with Luis Garcia going on the IL with a strained oblique muscle as the corresponding move.

October 2: The Nationals will promote right-hander Joan Adon prior to tomorrow’s game, manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post) tonight.  Adon will make his MLB debut starting Washington’s final game of the season.  The 23-year-old Adon is already on the Nats’ 40-man roster, added last November in advance of the Rule 5 draft.

While it might not be a long outing for Adon, he’ll at least get a cup of coffee in The Show to cap off his fourth professional season.  An amateur signing out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016, Adon hadn’t even pitched at high-A ball prior to 2021, but advanced up the ladder with over 105 combined innings at the high-A (87 IP), Double-A (14 IP), and Triple-A (four IP).  Adon has a 26.9% strikeout rate and 8.81% walk rate during his 2021 season, and those decent numbers have translated only to a cumulative 4.97 ERA.

MLB Pipeline rates Adon as the 22nd-best prospect in Washington’s farm system, citing his 60-grade fastball with mid-90s velocity.  Though Adon has worked only as a starting pitcher in 2021, Pipeline’s scouting report feels his future as a starter or as a reliever will depend on whether or not Adon can get consistent success with at least one other secondary pitch.

Nationals Select Gerardo Parra, Designate Ben Braymer

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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.

Nationals Place Starlin Castro On Restricted List, Call Up Luis Garcia

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12:42PM: Castro went on the restricted list because he is “dealing with a family matter which requires his immediate attention,” a source tells Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.

11:23AM: The Nationals announced that infielder Starlin Castro has been placed on the restricted list.  Infielder Luis Garcia has been called up from Triple-A to take Castro’s spot on the 26-man roster.

No further details were released about Castro’s situation, though he didn’t play in last night’s game against the Pirates.  After his debut season with the Nats in 2020 was cut short by a broken wrist, Castro has struggled to a .239/.287/.312 slash line over 254 plate appearances this season.  Castro’s .266 wOBA is one of the lowest in the league and his .296 xwOBA isn’t much better, as the veteran isn’t making much hard contact whatsoever.

Castro has played almost every inning at third base for Washington this season, so depending on how long he is absent, the Nats will have a major hole to fill in their lineup.  Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison, or Garcia could all get some playing time at the hot corner while Castro is gone.  Garcia hasn’t hit much over 152 career PA in the big leagues, but the former top-100 prospect has been swinging the bat well at Triple-A Rochester this season, hitting .270/.336/.478 with seven homers in 128 PA.

Nationals Reinstate Victor Robles From 10-Day IL

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Victor Robles is returning to the Nationals lineup, as the team announced that the outfielder has been activated from the 10-day injured list.  Infielder Luis Garcia was optioned to Triple-A yesterday to create room on the 26-man active roster.

Robles hasn’t played since May 19 (also his 24th birthday) due to a right ankle sprain.  Looking to bounce back from a 2020 season that was disappointing both offensively and defensively, Robles got off to a very slow start but was hitting better in the few games immediately prior to his ankle injury — over 133 PA, Robles is hitting .246/.348/.325.  His glovework has rebounded more strongly, as Robles has a +7.6 UZR/150 and +4 Defensive Runs Saved over 300 1/3 innings in center field.

With Robles back, Washington is more or less finally healthy on the position-player side for the first time all season, due to regular injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of the season.  The Nationals will need all the help they can get as they look to recover from a 21-28 start that has sent them to the NL East basement.

Injury Notes: Chisholm, Duvall, Soler, Garcia

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Two Marlins regulars are nursing injuries, as Jazz Chisholm has missed four games due to an ankle sprain and Adam Duvall has missed games due to soreness in his left side.  Manager Don Mattingly indicated to reporters that both players were being held out largely due to precautionary reasons, noting that “if we weren’t being conservative, I think [Chisholm] probably could have played today.”  Chisholm spent just shy of three weeks on the injured list earlier this season after suffering a hamstring strain, and the Marlins are naturally being careful to ensure that their young star isn’t lost for another extended amount of time.

Chisholm is hitting .286/.350/.486 with five home runs and nine stolen bases over 117 PA this season.  Duvall hasn’t been performing as well (.213/.257/.425 in 171 plate appearances) at the plate, but the veteran has provided some extra utility in the field by playing respectable defense over 53 innings as a fill-in center fielder.  Mattingly described Duvall as already feeling “better” by Saturday, so it’s possible Duvall could be back in the lineup for Sunday’s game with the Red Sox.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • Jorge Soler left today’s 6-5 Royals loss to the Twins after the first inning due to right groin discomfort.  An injury would further damper what has already been a rough season for Soler, who is hitting just .178/.257/.314 with four home runs over his first 195 plate appearances.  Soler’s last full season in 2019 saw him lead the American League with 48 homers while batting .265/.354/.569 in 679 PA.
  • Nationals infielder Luis Garcia will receive an MRI after suffering an on-field hamstring cramp prior to the third inning of the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with the Brewers.  While warming up before the inning, a cramp that had bothered Garcia earlier in the game suddenly forced him to the ground, and he had to be helped off the field.  Garcia has spent much of the season at Triple-A, at Washington’s alternate training site, or on the big league taxi squad, and was just called back up to the active roster earlier this week.
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