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Nick Senzel

Dodgers, Nick Senzel Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have reached agreement with infielder Nick Senzel on a minor league contract, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Senzel makes his return to affiliated ball after a brief stop in Mexico. The former #2 overall pick had signed with the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos. It didn’t take long for him to find interest from a big league club. Senzel hit .591 with three homers, four walks, and one strikeout over six games. That attracts attention even in an exceptionally hitter-friendly league.

A veteran of parts of six MLB seasons, Senzel divided last year between a pair of rebuilding clubs. He signed a $2MM deal with the Nationals and was released in July after hitting .209/.303/.359 over 64 games. Senzel briefly caught on with the White Sox, but they moved on after just 10 appearances. He elected free agency in August and had remained unsigned until getting the opportunity in Mexico.

Senzel never panned out as the Reds had expected when they drafted him so highly. He turned in a .239/.302/.369 line through parts of five seasons — much of that spent as Cincinnati’s primary third baseman. He’ll try to get back to the highest level in Los Angeles, where third base has been an issue. Max Muncy is out to a .171/.273/.237 start with 32 strikeouts in 88 plate appearances.

Nick Senzel Signs With Mexican League’s Tecolotes De Los Dos Laredos

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Infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel has signed with the Tecolotes De Los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Senzel is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Senzel, 30 in June, was once a notable prospect but he wasn’t able to take advantage of his major league opportunities. The Reds selected him with the second overall pick in the 2016 draft and he posted huge numbers in the minors, slashing .314/.390/.513 over the 2016-18 seasons. Baseball America ranked him as Cincinnati’s top prospect and one of the ten best league-wide from 2017 to 2019.

That got him plenty of big league chances, which he never was able to capitalize on. The Reds gave him fairly regular playing time from 2019 through 2023. Injuries limited him to just 23 games in 2020 and 36 in 2021 but he got into at least 104 contests in the other three seasons of that stretch.

By the end of the 2023 campaign, he had 1,366 big league plate appearances but just 33 home runs, a 7.6% walk rate and a .239/.302/.369 slash line. His 76 wRC+ in that span indicates he was 24% worse than league average on the whole. An infielder as a prospect, the Reds had moved him around and given him some outfield time to improve his versatility, but it didn’t matter much with that lackluster offensive performance and he didn’t get strong defensive grades anywhere either.

Going into 2024, the Reds moved on. They declined to tender him a contract for that season, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $3MM salary, sending Senzel to free agency instead. He signed a $2MM deal with the Nationals with the plan of Senzel taking over as the everyday third baseman in Washington.

Unfortunately, he broke his thumb prior to the game on Opening Day and missed the first couple of weeks. He returned in mid-April and then slashed .209/.303/.359 in 64 games as a Nat. He was designated for assignment in early July. He then signed with the White Sox but hit just .100/.129/.133 in ten games for them. He was designated for assignment and back in free agency before the end of August. He remained unsigned until now.

It seems as though Senzel didn’t get a major league offer from any club, which isn’t surprising based on his numbers. He’ll instead head to Mexico to join the Tecolotes and see if he can turn things around. Based on his past prospect pedigree, teams will surely keep an eye on him to see if his results improve. If that comes to pass, perhaps he could return to affiliated ball down the line.

Nick Senzel Elects Free Agency

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Infielder Nick Senzel has elected free agency, per James Fegan of Sox Machine on X. The White Sox had designated Senzel for assignment earlier this week and it appears he cleared waivers. Since he has more than five years of service time, he has the right to elect free agency while also retaining his salary.

Senzel, 29, started the season by signing with the Nationals, a one-year deal with a $2MM guarantee. He hit .209/.303/.359 in 235 plate appearances, production that translated into an 88 wRC+. He was designated for assignment in July and the Nats simply released him, likely due to his aforementioned right to elect free agency.

He then signed a major league deal with the Sox, which didn’t lead to better results. He only got into 10 games in over a month on the roster, stepping to the plate 32 times. He produced a dismal line of .100/.129/.133 in those, dropping his season-long line to .195/.283/.331 and a 73 wRC+. When combined with his time with the Reds in previous seasons, he has slashed .232/.299/.363 for a 76 wRC+ in over 1600 career plate appearances.

He hasn’t been able to provide anything on the other side of the ball either. He came up as a third baseman but the Reds had that spot filled by Eugenio Suárez at the time and moved Senzel around to other spots. He’s now played over 2,000 major league innings in the outfield, as well as over 800 at the hot corner and a brief look at second base to this point in his career. Advanced defensive metrics have given him negative grades at all those spots.

Given that track record, any interest in Senzel at this point would be based on his previous prospect pedigree. The Reds took him second overall in the 2016 draft based on his huge numbers at Tennessee, where he hit .332/.426/.509. He then hit .314/.390/.513 in the minors over the 2016-18 period, which got him onto the top ten of most league-wide prospect lists. But the big offensive production stopped once he reached the majors in 2019.

The results have come in far below expectations thus far, but Senzel is a cheap flier for any club that still has hope of him tapping into his previous form. The Nats are still on the hook for his salary since they released him earlier this year. Any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Nats are paying.

White Sox Claim Jacob Amaya, Designate Nick Senzel For Assignment

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The White Sox announced today that they have claimed infielder Jacob Amaya off waivers from the Astros. The latter club had designated him for assignment on the weekend. Infielder Nick Senzel was designated for assignment by the White Sox in a corresponding 40-man roster move for the claim of Amaya. Infielder Bryan Ramos has been recalled to take Senzel’s active roster spot. The Sox also recalled left-hander Sammy Peralta and optioned lefty Ky Bush.

Amaya, 25, has just five major league games and ten plate appearances but is now joining the fourth organization of his career. An 11th-round pick of the Dodgers, he was flipped to the Marlins in the January 2023 trade that sent infielder Miguel Rojas to Los Angeles. He spent just over a year in the Marlins’ system but was designated for assignment in April of 2024 before being flipped to the Astros for right-hander Valente Bellozo and cash considerations.

Prospect evaluators have long praised Amaya for his defense, but his bat has been more questionable, which is borne out by the numbers. In 450 minor league games from 2021 to the present, he has slashed .240/.335/.384 for a wRC+ of 86. His 12.3% walk rate in that time is strong but he hasn’t made a ton of impact when putting the bat on the ball.

Amaya can still be optioned for the rest of this year but will be out of options next year. He has mostly played shortstop but has also seen some time at second and third base. The rebuilding Sox don’t have a ton set in stone in their future infield. Nicky Lopez has appeared in 105 games for them this year but is hitting a tepid .240/.309/.293 for a wRC+ of 74. He could be retained via arbitration for next year but would be a due a raise on his $4.3MM salary and could be non-tendered. Paul DeJong was traded to the Royals. Yoán Moncada is in the final guaranteed season of his contract and club won’t have much interest in picking up his $25MM club option for 2025.

Perhaps that will get Amaya a chance to earn some playing time for the rebuilding club. Even if his bat doesn’t come around, having a glove-first infielder is a sensible move for a rebuilding team that will undoubtedly be giving plenty of chances to unproven pitchers in the future.

That same uncertainty is what opened a spot for Senzel. The White Sox signed him in the middle of July after he was released by the Nationals. He got 32 plate appearances with the Sox but hit just .100/.129/.133 in those. Those struggles have nudged him off the roster and the Sox will have to put him on waivers now that the trade deadline has passed.

The Nats signed him to a one-year, $2MM deal in the offseason after he was non-tendered by the Reds. He was designated for assignment by the Nats in July, when a trade was still possible, but he ended up released. Presumably, the interest hasn’t been raised during Senzel’s tenure with the White Sox, so he’s likely to end up a free agent again.

Though he was once a second overall pick and ten ten prospect in the sport, his bat hasn’t played at the major league level. He has over 1600 plate appearances to this point but has hit .232/.299/.363 in those for a wRC+ of 76.

The Nats are still on the hook for the majority of that $2MM salary. If another club is intrigued by Senzel’s past prospect pedigree, they could sign him and pay him only the prorated portion of the $740K major league minimum salary. That amount would be subtracted from what Washington pays.

White Sox Outright Danny Mendick

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July 19: Mendick cleared waivers and is headed to Triple-A Charlotte, with Fegan among those to relay the news on X.

July 17: The White Sox announced that they have signed infielder Nick Senzel, a move that was reported last night. To make room for Senzel, they designated infielder Danny Mendick for assignment. They also optioned infielder Lenyn Sosa, leaving a roster spot open. James Fegan of Sox Machine suggests on X that Yoán Moncada could take that spot, though that’s not confirmed as of now.

Mendick, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Sox and was added to the club’s roster in late April. He has appeared in 47 games for the Sox, stepping to the plate 141 times. Unfortunately, he has hit just .197/.243/.318 this year. He has struck out in 24.8% of his plate appearances while walking at a 4.3% clip, with both of those being subpar.

This is his sixth straight major league season, with most of his offensive output being fairly uninspiring. He had a nice flash of brilliance in 2022, slashing .289/.343/.443, but that season was cut short when he suffered a torn ACL after 31 games. Overall, he has a .232/.286/.346 batting line and 76 wRC+ in 656 career plate appearances.

He has now been nudged of Chicago’s roster and they will have some time to try to work out the next steps, whether that’s a trade or trying to pass Mendick. DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so any possibility of a trade will have to be explored in the next five days. Though with Mendick’s performance this year, interest is likely to be muted anyhow.

He can at least provide clubs with defensive versatility. He has played second and third base this year and also has some work at shortstop and in the outfield on his track record. He hasn’t been much of a base-stealer in his career but has swiped six bags without being caught this season. Mendick has an option and can therefore be kept in the minors if any club gives him a 40-man roster spot. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he will have the right to elect free agency, both because he has a previous career outright and because he has more than three years of service time.

White Sox, Nick Senzel Agree To Major League Deal

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The White Sox are reportedly in agreement with free agent infielder Nick Senzel on a major league contract. Senzel, a client of the Boras Corporation, was released by the Nationals last week. Chicago will need to open space on the active and 40-man rosters once the move is finalized, which might not happen until after the All-Star Break.

As MLB’s clearest rebuilding team, the Sox are a sensible fit for Senzel. No team has gotten less from its third basemen this year. Through 371 plate appearances, Sox third basemen are hitting .206/.246/.315 with six home runs and a 4.6% walk rate. That’s in part because Yoán Moncada has been on the injured list since the second week of the season. Yet even with Moncada on a minor league rehab stint and nearing a return, there’s ample opportunity for Senzel around the Chicago infield.

The Sox have turned to Nicky Lopez, Paul DeJong and Lenyn Sosa as their primary options alongside first baseman Andrew Vaughn. DeJong has popped 16 homers and would certainly be dealt if the Sox can drum up any level of trade interest over the next two weeks. Sosa and Lopez have been well below-average hitters.

DeJong and Moncada are impending free agents. (The latter has a $25MM club option that certainly isn’t getting exercised.) Lopez would be due a raise on this year’s $4.3MM salary in his final year of arbitration, so he could be a non-tender candidate. Chicago’s infield could look quite a bit different next year.

Senzel is a long shot to emerge as a key piece himself, but there’s minimal risk for Chicago in taking a look at the former #2 overall pick. The one-time top prospect hasn’t met expectations on either side of the ball over his five-plus MLB seasons. He’s a career .235/.302/.368 hitter in just over 1600 big league plate appearances. Most of that came in one of the sport’s most favorable home hitting environments in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.

Injuries perhaps played some role in diminishing Senzel’s production. He has never topped 420 plate appearances in a season and battled knee and toe issues during his time with the Reds. Cincinnati also bounced him around the diamond without much success in trying to expand his defensive versatility.

After the Reds non-tendered Senzel last winter, he landed with the Nationals on a $2MM free agent deal. Washington moved him back to his customary third base position in the hope that a more stable defensive setup could allow him to unlock some of his offensive upside. That’s not how things played out. Senzel hit .209/.303/.359 with below-average defensive grades over 64 games. Washington decided to move on and turn third base over to rookie Trey Lipscomb.

The Nationals are on the hook for the majority of Senzel’s contract. The White Sox will only pay him the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for any time he spends in the big leagues (which comes out of Washington’s obligations). Senzel surpassed the five-year service threshold earlier this season. That means he can no longer be sent to the minor leagues without his consent. He would be eligible for arbitration for the 2025 campaign if he plays well enough to hold a roster spot down the stretch.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Senzel was signing with the White Sox. James Fegan of Sox Machine reported it was a big league deal.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Nationals Place Nick Senzel On Release Waivers

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The Nationals announced this morning that they’ve placed Nick Senzel on unconditional release waivers. Any team that claims him would assume the remainder of his $2MM salary. It’s likelier he’ll go unclaimed and become a free agent.

Washington had five days to find a trade partner after designating the third baseman for assignment last Saturday. That didn’t come to fruition, making a release the likely outcome. Senzel entered the season with four years and 150 days of service time. He surpassed the five-year mark in April, thereby earning the right to decline any assignments to the minor leagues without forfeiting salary. Since Senzel would likely have elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment to Triple-A, the Nats simply released him.

The Nationals took a flier on the former #2 overall pick last offseason. Senzel never developed into the offensive force that the Reds envisioned when they drafted him so highly. That’s in part because of injury, as the University of Tennessee product missed time because of knee and toe issues. Even when healthy, Senzel turned in middling offensive numbers. He combined for a .239/.302/.368 line in nearly 1400 plate appearances with Cincinnati.

The Reds opted not to tender him an arbitration contract. The Nationals, still at the tail end of their rebuild, guaranteed him $2MM in hopes that a change of scenery could unlock some of the upside he showed in college and in the minors. The Nats also committed to moving Senzel back to his natural third base position after the Reds had bounced him around the diamond in recent years.

Senzel continued to struggle in his new home. He opened the season on the injured list after breaking his thumb in Spring Training. Senzel returned in mid-April and blasted five home runs over his first couple weeks of the season. His production tailed off almost immediately thereafter. Since the start of May, he’s hitting .207/.309/.299 in 188 plate appearances. That wasn’t going to translate to any kind of trade interest.

Washington is giving rookie Trey Lipscomb an audition at third base after moving on from Senzel. The 24-year-old has struggled to a .228/.293/.257 slash line over his first 43 MLB contests. The Nats have dropped 10 games under .500 and are quickly falling from the Wild Card race, though, so they’ve taken the past couple weeks to get looks at younger players. Washington also released Eddie Rosario in conjunction with the promotion of top outfield prospect James Wood.

Once he clears release waivers, Senzel might need to take a minor league contract. If he secures a spot on the MLB roster with another team, that club would only owe him the prorated portion of the $740K minimum for time spent in the majors. The Nationals remain on the hook for the rest of his salary.

Nationals Designate Nick Senzel For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that third baseman Nick Senzel has been designated for assignment.  Infielder Trey Lipscomb was called back up from Triple-A Rochester in the corresponding move.

It is the second time this week that the Nats have DFA’ed one of their veteran pickups from the offseason, as Eddie Rosario was designated and subsequently released (and then quickly signed by the Braves, his former team).  Rosario’s minor league deal carried a $2MM base salary once he was selected to the Nationals’ active roster, and likewise, Senzel signed a guaranteed one-year, $2MM contract with Washington over the winter.  If Senzel isn’t claimed or traded during his DFA period and then released, the Nationals will be responsible for the roughly $950K still owed to Senzel, apart from the prorated minimum MLB salary that would be covered by a new team if Senzel signs elsewhere.

The financial element of today’s move is probably secondary to the bigger-aspect of the Nationals pulling the cord early on a veteran player rather than looking to move Senzel in a trade closer to the deadline.  As with Rosario, it seems like Washington just opted to move on entirely since Senzel wasn’t producing enough to generate much trade interest.  Senzel has hit .209/.303/.359 with seven home runs over 235 plate appearances, translating to a below-average 90 wRC+.  Apart from an excellent 11.5% walk rate, Senzel wasn’t bringing much to the table either offensively or defensively as the Nats’ regular third baseman, and he had only 0.1 fWAR over 64 games.

As has often been the case for Senzel, health was a factor.  He suffered a fractured thumb right at the end of Spring Training that required a season-opening stint on the 10-day injured list, and though the fracture was slight enough that he missed less than three weeks of action, it is easy to imagine how any kind of lingering thumb discomfort might’ve impacted Senzel’s performance at the plate.

This is essentially the story of Senzel’s career, as a wide range of injuries has kept him off the field for long stretches of time, to say nothing of how his ceiling as a talent has been lowered.  Selected second overall by the Reds in the 2016 draft, Senzel battled injuries and a number of position changes over his first five MLB seasons, and he hit only .239/.302/.369 in 1366 PA for Cincinnati from 2019-23.  The Reds then non-tendered him last fall, sending Senzel to free agency and for what he hoped was a welcome change of scenery in Washington.

While the Nationals’ 41-47 record still puts them on the outskirts of the NL wild card race, 2024 was always seen as another step in the team’s rebuilding process, as the Nats were looking for more development from their youngsters already on the active roster and those just on their way into the Show for the first time.  Star outfield prospect James Wood made his MLB debut this past week in the wake of Rosario’s departure, Victor Robles’ release last month created more time for Jacob Young as the regular center fielder, Joey Meneses was optioned to Triple-A to make more room for Juan Yepez at first base.  Lipscomb should be the favorite for the third base job with Senzel out, though top prospect Brady House is the team’s longer-term third baseman of the future.

Impending free agents Jesse Winker and Dylan Floro remain as two of the Nationals’ likeliest veteran trade chips heading into the July 30th deadline.  Such players as outfielder Lane Thomas and relievers Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan have also reportedly drawn interest, and while that trio is all arbitration-controlled through the 2025 campaign, one would image the Nats would be open to listening to offers as they look towards reinforcing their core.

Nats Notes: Deadline, Winker, Hassell, Wood, Crews

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The Nationals have received trade interest in veterans Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Lane Thomas but haven’t considered dealing any veteran pieces just yet, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Washington, even with a sub-.500 record (35-36), is tied with the Padres for the final Wild Card spot in the National League at the moment and has not yet made a determination on how to approach this year’s trade deadline, Morosi adds.

It’s sensible for teams to inquire with the Nats, who entered the season as a playoff long-shot after spending the past two years in a rebuilding pattern. The Nats have outplayed expectations thanks to myriad factors (e.g. breakouts from MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin and Trevor Williams; a stronger-than-expected debut for lefty Mitchell Parker; a big step forward by CJ Abrams; a rebound by Jesse Winker). Those positive developments, plus widespread mediocrity in the National League, have thrust the Nationals into postseason conversations in mid-June. Williams’ recent flexor strain is a big damper on the team’s solid showing this year, but it’s only natural that GM Mike Rizzo and his staff aren’t yet ready to concede that they’ll be deadline sellers.

The next six weeks will be pivotal for the Nats. Holding the status quo or even playing winning ball between now and July 30 could push the Nationals to function as buyers. They may not be keen on dealing prospects for short-term rentals in a season like this, but targeting some names with multiple years of club control remaining feels plausible. On the other side of the coin, if the Nats fall a few games back in the standings and/or incur further injury problems of note, then listening on short-term veterans would be far likelier.

All three of the names listed by Morosi are controlled only through the 2025 season. Finnegan and Harvey would both draw widespread interest among contenders, given the perennial demand for bullpen help among playoff hopefuls. Harvey, in particular, has been dominant with a 28.3% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate en route to a 2.75 ERA. Finnegan leads the team with 20 saves and a terrific 1.78 ERA, though he’s benefited hugely from a microscopic .157 BABIP and a sky-high 94.7% strand rate — neither of which feels sustainable long-term.

Thomas drew interest at last summer’s trade deadline, but he’s likely someone the Nats value more than many of the teams seeking to acquire him. Washington reportedly priced him like an everyday player on last summer’s trade market — which is also how they use him — but Thomas carries enormous platoon splits and could be seen by other clubs as a player best deployed in a timeshare. He’s batting .327/.390/.588 against lefties this season (166 wRC+) but has an awful .196/.256/.330 output against righties (65 wRC+). His career splits aren’t quite that dramatic but are quite stark: .305/.364/.524 versus left-handers (141 wRC+) compared to .223/.290/.392 versus right-handers (86 wRC+).

The next few weeks will be pivotal for Rizzo and his lieutenants as they chart a course for this year’s deadline planning. If the Nats fall several games out of the race, all three of the names listed by Morosi could feasibly hit the market, and they likely wouldn’t be alone. Third baseman Nick Senzel and reliever Derek Law are also only controlled through 2025 as well. Veterans Dylan Floro and Eddie Rosario are free agents at the end of the current season, as are the aforementioned Williams and Winker.

Speaking of Winker, he had an injury scare over the weekend when he felt knee pain after taking a big turn at first base, slamming on the brakes and (unsuccessfully) diving back to the bag. He exited the game two innings later. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports that Winker underwent an MRI that thankfully came back clean. He’s listed as day-to-day for now.

Winker, 30, isn’t hitting for much power this season but is drawing walks at his typically lofty rate (13.4%) and has made significantly better contact than he did over the past two seasons in a pair of down years with the Mariners and Brewers. He’s batting .265/.378/.390 with six homers and ten doubles through 268 plate appearances. Like Thomas, he’s better utilized in a platoon setting but has been an everyday player in Washington. Winker, to his credit, has a roughly league-average .239/.345/.338 slash in 84 plate appearances against fellow lefties, but he’s a career .210/.325/.338 hitter (89 wRC+) in left-on-left situations, compared to .279/.383/.467 (130 wRC+) against righties.

Eventual trades of Winker, Rosario and/or Thomas could open the door for any number of Nationals farmhands at the big league level. One near-MLB-ready option, Robert Hassell III, doesn’t seem as though he’ll be an option anytime soon, however. The Nats placed Hassell on the minor league injured list last week, and TalkNats.com reports that he’s dealing with another wrist injury and that the team plans to proceed cautiously. Hassell has had multiple wrist injuries in the past, including a broken hamate bone that necessitated surgery.

One of the most notable prospects acquired in the Nationals’ blockbuster trade of Juan Soto to the Padres, Hassell opened the season with a .278/.369/.369 slash in 215 plate appearances at the Double-A level. Those numbers don’t jump out, but they’re about 14% better than average in his currently pitcher-friendly environment, by measure of wRC+. They’re also a sizable step forward from the .225/.316/.324 batting line recorded by Hassell at the same minor league level last year (476 plate appearances).

Both Hassell and uber-prospect James Wood are on the minor league injured list at the moment — the latter due to a hamstring strain. Wood, in particular, could be an option to make his big league debut later this summer, with Andrew Golden of The Washington Post relaying on X today that Wood could return to game action this week. But Hassell could force his way into that conversation as well if he’s cleared to return sooner than later and continues to show improvement over last season. His prospect stock has taken a notable hit since the time of that swap, but he’s maintained strong plate discipline (11.6% walk rate) and cut his strikeout rate from last year’s alarming 31.9% to a far more palatable 21.4% in 2024.

Dylan Crews will also be in the mix, as he’s being promoted to Triple-A, per @PROducerIOTB on X. That’s come on the heels of Crews hitting .274/.343/.446 in Double-A this year while stealing 15 bases.

Nationals Promote Mitchell Parker

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April 15: Washington officially recalled Parker to start tonight’s game. The Nats also brought up catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester and placed Keibert Ruiz on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 12, because of the flu. Washington also reinstated Nick Senzel from his season-opening IL stint and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb.

April 14: The Nationals will call up left-hander Mitchell Parker on Monday to make his Major League debut.  Grant Paulsen of 106.7FM Radio (X link) reported the news earlier today, and Nats manager Davey Martinez confirmed to reporters that Parker will start Washington’s game against the Dodgers.  Right-hander Amos Willingham was optioned to Triple-A today, which makes room for Parker on the 26-man roster.

Parker was a fifth-round pick for the Nats in the 2020 draft, and was added to the team’s 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 draft so another club couldn’t select the 24-year-old.  MLB Pipeline ranks Parker as the 21st-best prospect in Washington’s farm system, while Baseball America puts the southpaw 29th.

The strikeout potential has always been there for Parker, who has a 28.88 K% over his 329 2/3 career minor league innings.  Parker’s top pitch is a 55-grade fastball that averages roughly 93mph with a ton of break, and he also has a plus curveball that works particularly well as a complement to his fastball.  However, controlling either of these pitches or his other offerings has been Parker’s biggest challenge, as his 11.6% walk rate is on the high side.  Parker has pitched in only four Triple-A games, with an underwhelming 7.53 ERA over those 14 1/3 innings with Rochester.

Some evaluators feel his ultimate future is in the bullpen, but Parker has started 72 of his 76 games in the minors, and the Nationals figure to at least give him a trial run as a starter before deciding on a possible turn to relief pitching.  Facing the star-studded Dodgers lineup is quite a way to hit the ground running as a big leaguer, but Parker will get an opportunity as the Nats are still figuring out how to manage their rotation.

Josiah Gray was placed on the 15-day injured list last Tuesday, leaving MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams, Patrick Corbin, and Jake Irvin as the District’s starting four.  It seems possible that Jackson Rutledge might’ve gotten the call ahead of Parker, but Rutledge might not be 100 percent after being hit by a comebacker earlier this week.

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