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Trea Turner

Nationals To Promote Trea Turner

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The Nationals will call up top position-player prospect Trea Turner, as the Talk Nats blog first reported on Twitter. He’ll join the club tomorrow, per MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (via Twitter), likely taking the active roster spot of first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who is going on paternity leave.

Given that Zimmerman will only miss a few days, it’s not yet clear how long Turner will be up. It could be that he’ll just fill in temporarily at second base, with Daniel Murphy shifting to first, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier suggests on Twitter.

But it’s certainly possible that this represents the beginning of Turner’s first full trial in D.C., which could have important repercussions for this season and the future. The Nats have relied on a combination of Danny Espinosa and Stephen Drew at shortstop. While that makes for a solid defensive pairing, the two have combined for an ugly .194/.281/.347 batting line on the year.

Turner, meanwhile, has improved upon the already-strong results he posted in his first attempt at Triple-A in 2015. He only managed nine hits in 44 plate appearances at the big league level in his brief call-up last year, but has put to rest any questions as to whether he’s due for another chance. Over 222 plate appearances at Syracuse in 2016, Turner owns a .310/.376/.472 batting line with three home runs and 17 steals.

The division-leading Nats aren’t exactly in need of a boost, as the club is off to a promising 33-and-21 start. But going to Turner now would allow the organization to get a firm idea of its middle infield mix in advance of the summer trade deadline. Were it not for the presence of Turner, the Nationals could well be considered a plausible buyer at the shortstop position over the next two months.

It’s important to note, too, that service time is no longer a compelling consideration for the team. After entering the season with 45 days on his ledger, Turner will not be able to tally a full season even if he remains active the rest of the way. That means that Washington can deploy him in the majors for all of this season while still controlling him through the 2022 campaign.

Turner came to D.C. along with Joe Ross in the three-team deal that sent Wil Myers to the Padres from the Rays, who in turn picked up Steven Souza from the Nats (among other players changing hands). With Ross providing strong contributions at the game’s highest level in his age-22 and 23 seasons, the deal already looks good from Washington’s perspective. If Turner successfully transitions to the majors, it could prove to be a coup.

NL East Notes: Kolek, Nats, Arroyo, Phils

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Marlins prospect Tyler Kolek is heading for a medical check-up after suffering an elbow injury and experiencing continued discomfort, MiLB.com’s Michael Leboff reports. That’s a disappointing turn of events for the 20-year-old, who scuffled in his first full professional season last year and was hoping to make strides in 2016. It’s important to note that it’s not yet clear whether Kolek will need any kind of surgery. The righty is still working to harness his high-powered fastball, and is obviously a long-term asset, but as things stand it certainly stings that Miami bypassed the promising Carlos Rodon — who’s already entrenched in a major league rotation — to take a shot on Kolek.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • The Nationals made a variety of roster moves today, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com was among those to report. Top infield prospect Trea Turner was sent down, thus ending any speculation that he might crack the Opening Day roster. Likewise, a series of veterans were moved to minor league camp, including infielder Scott Sizemore and bullpen candidates Aaron Laffey and Nick Masset. As Zuckerman explains, that appears to clarify the remaining battles in those areas, though there are still multiple possibilities for the remaining bench and pen spots.
  • Nationals righty Bronson Arroyo is planning to rehab his ailing shoulder and could return to the hill as soon as June, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (via TwitLonger). That’s certainly a better outlook than once had been feared, and it seems possible that Arroyo could provide rotation depth down the line if he can get back to full health.
  • The Phillies appear to have stopped their search for outfield depth after adding Will Venable, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Philadelphia had been inquiring about a number of possibilities, but rival executives tell Stark that the sense is those efforts have been halted.
  • Meanwhile, the Phillies appear to be leaning toward keeping Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf in the major league pen, manager Pete Mackanin tells Stark (Twitter link). The newly-extended skipper adds that Edward Mujica is “still in the mix,” but seemingly did not commit to handing him an Opening Day roster spot.

NL East Notes: Freeman, Strasburg, Harper, Turner, Mejia

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Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman left today’s spring action with a right wrist issue, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Such a potentially minor occurrence might not warrant mention for most players, but Freeman missed significant time last year owing to issues in the same area, and he was proceeding cautiously as he ramps up for the 2016 season. (Indeed, as O’Brien has previously written, Freeman has long dealt with difficulties in his right wrist and hand.) For now, it’s only a situation to monitor, but there’s obviously added concern in his case.

Here’s more on Freeman and some other interesting players in the NL East:

  • Of course, Freeman was the topic of plenty of trade speculation this winter as the Braves continued to tweak their player assets — at least until GM John Coppolella made as clear as possible that Freeman wouldn’t be going anywhere. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark explores the big lefty’s interesting offseason, reporting that Atlanta may have been closer to moving Freeman at one point than the organization has been willing to acknowledge. Coppolella denies that anything ever seriously progressed, while acknowledging that there was outside interest (which, of course, is no surprise). Freeman himself said he heard a lot of the chatter, but was eventually put to ease by the front office. And Coppolella explains that the first bagger is the organization’s “rock.” You’ll want to read the whole piece for the full story, as it is full of interesting content.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had some interesting comments today in an interview with MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). He said that righty Stephen Strasburg “could be a long-term fit” in DC and suggested that the organization would seek to explore a new deal with the pending free agent. While “health is obviously a big factor with him,” said Rizzo, it seems clear that the Nats at least have interest in seeing what an extension (or, potentially, a free agent deal) would look like. The club GM and president also talked about star Bryce Harper’s long-term status, saying that the “money part of it … is going to be extreme and complicated” while noting that he feels the Nationals have done a good job of selling Harper on the organization as a fit down the line.
  • Rizzo also talked more Nationals matters on the podcast of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. In addition to providing some more thoughts about Strasburg and Harper, more from an on-field than a contractual perspective, Rizzo spoke at length about top shortstop prospect Trea Turner. The Nats’ head baseball decisionmaker wouldn’t commit to an Opening Day roster job for the youngster, but also didn’t rule it out, and emphasized that Turner is “not far away from the big leagues” while crediting him not only with 80-grade speed, but also outstanding maturity. As for the deal that brought him to DC, Rizzo tipped his cap to the scouts who helped to identify Turner and Joe Ross as targets within the Padres organization. He explained further: “[W]hen they showed interest in Steven Souza … we made it clear that, you know, we had to have these two players in the trade or we wouldn’t be interested in moving Souza.” The Nats were able to “get[] involved in a three-team trade later in the process” — the Rays, of course, being the organization that ultimately ended up with Souza — to land a return that has looked quite promising ever since the deal was struck.
  • Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia spoke again with the media today, emphasizing — as he said recently — that he was not using any banned substances when he was tagged with his second and third positive tests, as Laura Albanese of Newsday reports (Twitter links). While he acknowledged his initial suspension was valid, he “framed it as an accident,” by Albanese’s characterization. Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com notes on Twitter that it appears Mejia’s lifetime ban was never formally appealed, so there may be some possibility that he could still have a chance at contesting the decision. As Nathaniel Vinton of the New York Daily News reports, it appears Mejia will attempt to do just that, though it should be noted there could well be procedural hurdles. For its part, the league issued a strong statement rejecting Mejia’s claims of a conspiracy against him, calling the righty a “repeated user of banned performance-enhancing substances” who is doing nothing more than “hiring aggressive lawyers and making wild, unsupported allegations about the conduct of others in an effort to clear their names.” Newsday’s David Lennon was among those to tweet the full statement.

NL East Notes: Nats, Clippard, Inciarte, Albers, Giles

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The Nationals would like to add a left-handed bat that can play second base, and Kelly Johnson is one possibility for them, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Per Rosenthal, the Nats plan to open next season with Danny Espinosa at shortstop while Trea Turner continues to develop. Once Turner is ready, Johnson (or another lefty batter) could slide over to second base and platoon with Espinosa, who is a stronger batter from the right side of the dish.

A few more notes from the division…

  • The Mets haven’t ruled out bringing back Tyler Clippard, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, though the Twins, Blue Jays and Dodgers are among the clubs also in the market for setup help, he notes. Crasnick wonders if Clippard’s high workload is causing clubs to shy away, though one exec said of the durable right-hander (Twitter link): “Considering the terrible contracts being given to relievers, he’ll get his money. He’s too good not to.”
  • Crasnick also notes that the Braves have received steady interest in Ender Inciarte since acquiring him (links to Twitter). Atlanta is willing to listen on anyone but Freddie Freeman, but the club’s plan is to keep Inciarte in the organization and use him as a leadoff hitter and center fielder for the foreseeable future.
  • The Mets are expected to show interest in free-agent right-hander Matt Albers as they look to upgrade the bullpen, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Albers, 32, missed half of last season with a broken finger in his hand but didn’t allow a run across the final two months of the season. He’s been a Mets target in the past, Rubin notes.
  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, that the Ken Giles trade was an opportunity that was “too good to pass up.” Klentak maintains that he never wanted to trade Giles, but adding a slew of starting pitching candidates, headlined by Mark Appel and Vincent Velasquez, improves the club’s outlook in both the short and long term. Klentak also discussed the importance of the depth that veterans Charlie Morton and Jeremy Hellickson give to the club and called Brett Oberholtzer (also acquired in the Giles deal) a “stabilizer.” As Zolecki notes, Oberholtzer is out of minor league options, so he’s well-positioned to make the rotation in 2016.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Gio, Yelich, Cespedes, Freeman

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Phillies GM Matt Klentak must see upside in bounceback starters like Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton, tweets ESPN’s Jayson Stark (1, 2). Both pitchers are a year from free agency. As Stark puts it, the club gave up replaceable parts for the chance to re-market them to contending clubs at the trade deadline. From my perspective both pitchers also give the Phillies the opportunity to compete in the weak NL East. Philadelphia took some momentum into the offseason with a solid second half. While a hypothetical rebound campaign would probably ultimately sputter like the Braves’ 2015 season, it doesn’t hurt to put some parts in position just in case. The Phillies also have several pitching prospects due to debut during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Hellickson and Morton can hold the door just long enough for the next guy.

Here’s more from the rest of the division:

  • The Marlins inquired about Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Talks promptly concluded when the Nationals asked for outfielder Christian Yelich in return. It’s possible the Marlins see Gonzalez as a match for Marcell Ozuna (my speculation), but it’s always hard to work out an in-division trade – especially when both teams aim to contend.
  • Even though former Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer is now off the books, the club isn’t likely to jump on top outfielders like Yoenis Cespedes, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The $12.5MM saved from Cuddyer (assuming there was no buyout), will probably be used on quality bench depth. The team improved dramatically when they acquired Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. Ensuring that similarly valuable players are available to fill cracks in the roster will better serve the Mets hunt for contention.
  • It may be time for the Braves to trade Freddie Freeman, suggests Mike Petriello of MLB.com. The trades of Shelby Miller and Andrelton Simmons have focused the club’s talent in the minor leagues. Freeman could be used to acquire another impressive haul. The Braves are already gearing up for a lengthy rebuilding process, so they might as well get top dollar for Freeman before he begins to decline.
  • Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa wants to start at shortstop next season, writes Todd Dybas of the Washington Times. After two consecutive bad seasons, Espinosa rebounded in 2015 with a 2.3 WAR campaign. Good defense in a utility role plus an improvement at the plate to roughly league average helped. He improved his plate discipline which looks like a sustainable fix. Even with the solid season, Espinosa will have to hold off top prospect Trea Turner. Acquired in the Steven Souza trade, Turner appears ready for a major league opportunity.

NL Notes: Heyward, Reds, Desmond

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The Cardinals need to re-sign impending free agent Jason Heyward, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Heyward’s traditional stats don’t jump off the page, but he makes a difference with his fielding, throwing and baserunning, says Hochman, who also points to Heyward’s age and clubhouse presence. The Cardinals aren’t showing their hand  yet, but they believe they have enough talent that they won’t let the situation with Heyward slow them down. “[H]istorically we’ve had that issue come up where are you held prisoner until you get something accomplished. The good news for us is I don’t think that’s the case here,” says GM John Mozeliak. “I think we have enough internal flexibility where we can still look to do other things and still accomplish what we need to do.” In a recent MLBTR Newsletter, Tim Dierkes examined 25 teams as potential suitors for Heyward, concluding that the teams most likely to sign him were the Yankees, Astros, Angels and Mariners along with the Cardinals. Here’s more from the National League.

  • The Reds have a long road ahead as they attempt to catch up with the Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. The Reds need help offensively and won’t have much money with which to acquire it this offseason. “We have really, really stiff competition in our division,” says Joey Votto. “We can’t go in with a half effort because of how good those three teams are. … They’re good it seems at every aspect of the game. We have to exceed them.” Earlier this week, I looked for the Reds’ path forward as part of MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series.
  • After a down season in 2015, it looks highly unlikely shortstop Ian Desmond will re-sign with the Nationals, Chase Hughes of Nats Insider writes. The Nats won’t want to add another risky long-term contract, given that they already have the Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman deals on the books. And Trea Turner’s emergence gives them a potential replacement for Desmond at shortstop.
  • North Carolina State’s 2011 recruiting class has already produced Turner and Carlos Rodon, and four other players from that class were also drafted, as Baseball America’s Jim Shonerd notes. That kind of haul is noteworthy not only for the talent involved, but because NC State got all those players in the last year before the new CBA limited the abilities of teams to spend heavily on late-round draft picks. The Wolfpack had, for example, also recruited righties Jake Junis (who ended up signing with the Royals for $675K) and Jason Creasy (who signed with the Pirates for $250K).

Nationals Promote Trea Turner

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The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of top shortstop prospect Trea Turner to the Majors.In order to clear a spot on the active roster, the Nationals have placed Tyler Moore on the disabled list. Meanwhile, righty Aaron Barrett will hit the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man spot.

With the move, Washington has added its best position-player prospect for the stretch run. The team previously called up fellow middle infielder Wilmer Difo, but used him only sparingly and decided this time to give the nod to Turner.

This move seems more significant than the Difo call-up, because Turner did not need to be added to the 40-man after the season. Giving him a roster spot now means that the club has one less opening to protect other assets from the Rule 5 draft. It’s certainly possible that Washington decided it could get by without the extra space, but the move might also suggest that the club feels Turner can contribute down the stretch and/or make a viable challenge to take over for pending free agent Ian Desmond to open the 2016 season (in which case it might be valuable to give Turner a look at the bigs this year).

Turner came to the Nats along with right-hander Joe Ross in the three-team trade that sent Steven Souza to the Rays and Wil Myers to the Padres. He now joins Ross as part of the organization’s 25-man roster, a fact which reflects better on the trade than it does the team’s overall performance this year.

Since the deal, Turner has done nothing but enhance his value. He’s now a consensus top-20 prospect leaguewide, if not better, after dominating at Double-A and putting up a strong .314/.353/.431 slash with 14 steals in his first 205 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors.

While his first-round draft status and rising stock have elevated Turner’s profile, he is probably still best known for being dealt as the player to be named later in the aforementioned trade. The two sides used a loophole in a since-changed rule that stated a player could not be traded until one year after he is drafted. San Diego took Turner 13th overall in the 2014 draft, and they took advantage of the fact that teams can take up to six months to determine a PTBNL to trade him in December. Of course, that meant that Turner, who had been widely reported as the PTBNL, spent Spring Training and the first three months of the season with the Padres despite the fact that everyone knew he’d been traded to the Nationals. This was far from the first occurrence of PTBNL manipulation, but it was perhaps the most public example, and it spurred the league to take action and amend the rules so that players can be traded upon completion of the World Series in the year they are drafted.

Trea Turner Joins Nationals

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12:06pm: The Nationals officially announced that Turner has joined the organization, as Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets.

11:27am: At long last, Trea Turner is on his way to join the Nationals.  Turner is headed to Double-A Harrisburg today, according to Mike Saeger, the play-by-play announcer for the Padres’ Double-A affiliate (on Twitter).

Turner, of course, was shipped from the Padres to the Nationals in December’s three-way deal involving Wil Myers and the Rays.  However, Turner was termed as a player to be named later in the swap since he was not eligible to be traded at the time.  The agent for the shortstop prospect, Jeff Berry of CAA, expressed concern about his client’s situation almost immediately.  At the time, Berry intimated that he might file a grievance action, but ultimately he had a change of heart.

“Trea has put this matter behind him and is focusing on his development and being a productive member of the Padres organization,” Berry said in a February statement.

Of course, just last month, the league ultimately decided to alter the PTBNL rules.  Now, players selected in the amateur draft are permitted to be traded beginning the day after the conclusion of the World Series.

Over 321 plate appearances at the low-A and Class A levels last year, Turner slashed .323/.406/.448 with five home runs and 23 stolen bases.  This year, in Double-A San Antonio, the former No. 13 overall pick has hit .322/.385/.471 across 254 plate appearances with five homers.

Coming into the season, Turner was rated as the No. 65 prospect in the game by Baseball America.  Back in January, John Manuel of Baseball America speculated that the Padres did not view Turner as a shortstop in the long run since he does not have an exceptionally strong arm.  Others believe that Turner can blossom into a strong shortstop at the big league level, however.

Prospect Notes: Turner, Draft Updates, Cuba

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The Nationals can finalize their acquisition of Padres shortstop Trea Turner as soon as June 14, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports. Turner, the widely-reported player to be named later in the deal that delivered Wil Myers to San Diego — with the Nationals giving up Steven Souza (to the Rays) and also picking up righty Joe Ross — has remained with the Padres organization under the since-changed rules regarding drafted players. The 21-year-old owns a .322/.389/.478 slash with five home runs and ten steals in 231 plate appearances at Double-A.

  • Several notable names have come off the board early on day two of the draft. Duke righty Michael Matuella went to the Rangers with the third pick of the third round (78th overall). Not long after, the Padres took fellow right-hander Jacob Nix, whom the Astros were unable to sign last year after their deal with top pick Brady Aiken fell through. And the Nationals grabbed Mariano Rivera Jr. with the 134th choice.
  • Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs offers his thoughts on yesterday’s draft proceedings, explaining that it is premature to judge the Marlins harshly at this juncture for choosing young slugger Josh Naylor in the first round (much higher than most pundits had him rated). After all, as McDaniel rightly notes, the supposed “value” of a pick will never be as important in the long run as the simple fact of whether that player develops and produces, and at some point teams simply have to take guys they believe in when they can get them. Check out the piece for Kiley’s views on the clubs that chose well on the draft’s first day.
  • Amateur players come to clubs through the draft and the international signing market, of course, making comparison difficult. Ben Badler of Baseball America discusses the latest news and analysis on the Cuban market, providing a helpful guide on several notable names by assigning them a rough (and entirely hypothetical) draft value. Notably, Badler does not share the optimism that some have expressed regarding righty Yadier Alvarez and, in particular, outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez.

NL East Notes: Duda, Wilpon, Gonzalez, Turner

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The Mets and Lucas Duda intend to cut off extension negotiations when the season opens, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes. It remains to be seen whether anything gets done, of course, especially since the 29-year-old still has just one complete season of strong performance on his ledger. A league executive tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that the comparables suggest a deal in the four-year, $30MM range could make sense, pointing to the cases of Allen Craig, Alex Gordon, and Billy Butler. In spite of his somewhat late start, Duda could have a higher earning capacity than that trio if he keeps hitting thirty-plus home runs.

  • One notable new feature of Mets camp has been the presence of owner Fred Wilpon, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes. Though Wilpon has not said much publicly, he has been fairly visible and active behind the scenes, says Martino, consistently conveying the message that he expects winning baseball.
  • Phillies righty Miguel Gonzalez looks like he may never pay off on the team’s investment, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, particularly since he has not managed to earn a job in spite of the team’s desperate need for arms. “He hasn’t pitched well enough to be a major league starter for us,” said GM Ruben Amaro Jr. “His stuff and his command just weren’t good enough. It’s kind of simple. He needs to be better for us to utilize him in our rotation. He’ll go down and pitch and hopefully he improves. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t.” Amaro continued to acknowledge: “He hasn’t performed as well as we would have liked. He may never perform as well as we would have liked, but that’s the risk you take. Sometimes, you’ve got to take a risk.”
  • Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post takes a look in at Nationals shortstop-to-be Trea Turner, who is currently still with the Padres until he can formally be sent to D.C. The club had to check with the league to see if the deal could be structured that way, and pulled the trigger when it found it would be permitted. Washington had been intrigued with Turner in last year’s draft, says Svrluga, and a strong entry into the professional ranks has only raised his stock. For his part, as he waits to get introduced to a new organization, Turner says that his former team has “treated me just like one of their players.”
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