Outfielder Travis Blankenhorn has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, the club announced. The free agent route was available to the 27-year-old Blankenhorn because has previously been outrighted earlier in his career.
After signing a minor league deal with the Nats last winter, Blankenhorn spent much of his season at Triple-A Rochester before his contract was selected to the big league roster at the start of September. Blankenhorn appeared in 10 games, but a case of plantar fasciitis sent him to the 10-day injured list and prematurely ended his season.
Blankenhorn has appeared in each of the last four MLB seasons, though he played in just a single big league game in both 2020 and 2022. In total, the outfielder has a .581 OPS over the small sample size of 68 career plate appearances, though his Triple-A numbers are much stronger. Blankenhorn has a .261/.353/.485 slash line and 48 home runs over 1053 PA at the top minor league level, playing with five different organizations’ Triple-A affiliates over the last three seasons.
With that kind of offensive production and experience at first base, second base, and both corner outfield positions, it isn’t surprising that so many teams have taken an interest in Blankenhorn, even if he has been through the grind of moving from organization to organization with only a few cups of coffee at the MLB level. He’ll now test free agency yet again, and the complication of lingering foot pain due to his plantar fasciitis could certainly be a concern for Blankenhorn’s chances of quickly landing another minor league contract.