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Nationals Sign Kevin Quackenbush

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The Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Kevin Quackenbush to a minor league contract, Dan Kolko of MASN tweets. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.

Now 31 years old, Quackenbush was a valuable late-game option with the Padres at the outset of his career. Quackenbush amassed 172 1/3 innings of 3.50 ERA/3.63 FIP ball with 8.15 K/9 and 3.13 BB/9 from 2014-16, but it’s been all downhill since then. With the Padres and Reds from 2017-18, Quackenbush combined for an ugly 7.86 ERA/5.82 FIP with 7.86 K/9 and 5.47 BB/9 over 26 1/3 frames.

Quackenbush didn’t pitch in the majors at all last season, instead working at the Triple-A level with the Dodgers’ top affiliate. He also had his fair share of trouble preventing runs there, evidenced by a bloated 5.06 ERA in 58 2/3 innings. To his credit, though, Quackenbush did strike out 13 batters per nine while walking just 2.5.

Teams That Gained Or Lost Draft Picks Via Qualifying Offer Free Agents

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Now that Marcell Ozuna has signed, all 10 of the players who were issued a one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer in November have settled on teams for the 2020 season.  Of that group, two (Jose Abreu of the White Sox and Jake Odorizzi of the Twins) accepted their qualifying offers and returned to their clubs — Abreu, in fact, topped off his QO by signing a contract extension that will run through the 2022 season.  Stephen Strasburg also isn’t changing uniforms, as the longtime Nationals ace rejected the club’s qualifying offer but eventually re-signed with Washington on a seven-year, $245MM deal.

That leaves us with seven QO players who will be playing on new teams in 2020, and as such, the draft compensation attached to those seven players has also now been allotted.  Under the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the same compensation was handed out to all six teams who lost those players, as the entire sextet fell under the same financial criteria.  The Mets, Cardinals, Braves, Giants, Nationals, and Astros all aren’t revenue-sharing recipients, nor did they exceed the luxury tax threshold in 2019, so all six teams will receive a compensatory draft pick between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round of the 2020 draft.

Here is how the so-called “Compensation Round” breaks down.  The order of the picks is determined by worst record-to-best record from the 2019 season.

68. Giants (for Madison Bumgarner)
69. Giants (for Will Smith)
70. Mets (for Zack Wheeler)
71. Cardinals (for Marcell Ozuna)
72. Nationals (for Anthony Rendon)
73. Braves (for Josh Donaldson)
74. Astros (for Gerrit Cole)

San Francisco now possesses five of the first 87 picks in next June’s draft.  With the Giants still in the NL wild card race last summer, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi opted to hang onto Bumgarner and Smith rather than trade either player, a decision that led to some criticism since San Francisco was widely considered to be closer to rebuilding than truly contending.  The critics’ judgement grew even harsher after the Giants went 22-32 record in August and September and fell well short of the postseason.  Still, given that teams were reluctant to part with top-flight young talent for even controllable players (let alone rentals like Bumgarner and Smith) at the trade deadline, Zaidi clearly felt that the two picks he could recoup from the qualifying offer process were more valuable than anything offered for the two Giants pitchers last July.

It’s worth noting that the 74th overall pick will be Houston’s first selection of the 2020 draft, after the Astros lost both their first- and second-highest selections in both 2020 and 2021 as part of their punishment for the sign-stealing scandal.  Since the Red Sox are also under league investigation for their own alleged use of electronics to steal opponents’ signs in 2018, Boston could also potentially lose at least one pick in this year’s draft, so we can’t yet say that the 2020 draft order is finalized.  Of course, the order could be further muddled if more trades occur involving picks from the two Competitive Balance Draft rounds, which are the only types of draft picks that can be traded.  We’ve already seen the Rays and Cardinals swap their picks in Rounds A and B as part of the multi-player trade that sent Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena to Tampa Bay earlier this month.

Let’s now look at the six teams who signed the seven QO-rejecting free agents, and see what those clubs had to give up in order to make the signings.

Yankees, for signing Gerrit Cole: Since New York exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2019, they gave up their second- and fifth-round picks in the 2020 draft (a.k.a. their second- and fifth-highest selections).  The Yankees also gave up $1MM in funds from their international signing bonus pool.

Diamondbacks, for signing Madison Bumgarner: As a team that didn’t exceed the luxury tax threshold and was a revenue-sharing recipient, the D’Backs had to give up their third-highest draft choice to sign Bumgarner.  This ended up being Arizona’s second-round selection — the team’s first two picks are their first-rounder (18th overall) and their pick in Competitive Balance Round A (33rd overall).

Twins, for signing Josh Donaldson: Minnesota also received revenue-sharing and didn’t exceed the luxury tax threshold, so signing Donaldson put the Twins in position to give up their third-highest draft selection.  However, the Twins are actually giving up their fourth-highest pick in the 2020 draft, which is their third-round selection.  The Twins’ actual third selection is their pick in Competitive Balance Round B, but those picks aren’t eligible to be forfeited as compensation for QO free agent signings.

Angels, for signing Anthony Rendon: Since the Halos didn’t receive revenue-sharing funds and also didn’t pay any luxury tax money, they had to give up their second-highest draft pick (their second-rounder) and $500K in international bonus funds to sign Rendon.

Phillies, for signing Zack Wheeler: The Phillies surrendered their second-highest selection (their second-round pick) and $500K of their international bonus pool, since they were another team that didn’t exceed the luxury tax line and didn’t receive revenue-sharing money.

Braves, for signing Will Smith and Marcell Ozuna: The dual signings put Atlanta in line for a dual penalty.  The Braves didn’t exceed the luxury tax threshold and also didn’t receive revenue-sharing money, so they gave up their second-highest draft pick (their second-rounder) and $500K of international bonus money for Smith.  In landing Ozuna, the Braves then had to also forfeit their third-round pick (their third-highest selection) and another $500K from their international bonus pool.

Losing two draft picks and $1MM in international pool money isn’t nothing, though these particular sanctions had less impact on the Braves than on other teams, which undoubtedly influenced their decisions.  First of all, the compensatory pick Atlanta received for Donaldson is higher in the draft order than their third-round pick, so the net loss is only a second-round pick.  Secondly, the Braves’ movement in the international market is still limited by the punishment handed out by Major League Baseball in November 2017 for Atlanta’s past international signing violations.  Part of that punishment included the Braves’ pool for the 2020-21 international market being reduced by 50 percent — being so handcuffed in the international market anyway, the Braves probably felt $1MM in pool money was no great loss.

Nationals Have Room Under Tax Line

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  • Now that franchise cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman is back on an exceedingly affordable $2MM deal, the Nationals have financial flexibility under the tax, writes MASN’s Mark Zuckerman. Roster resource puts the Nats’ tax payroll at about $204MM, which doesn’t provide a ton of wiggle room under the $208MM tax line. Zuckerman figures it closer to $194MM, which is the number given by Cot’s Contracts, roughly $14MM under the tax line. Either way, the Nats have been a willing tax payer in the past, and after ducking under the line in 2019, they’re safe to exceed it again without extra penalty. Given the level of free agent available, however, the Nats are probable to enter the season – like their divisional mates in New York and Philadelphia – near the line with the ability to exceed it with midseason additions should they be close enough to push for the playoffs.

Nationals To Sign Welington Castillo

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The Nationals have a deal in place with backstop Welington Castillo, per reports from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter) and Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter). He’ll be in big league camp this spring.

Castillo will join a catching mix that already includes two MLB fixtures in Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes, both of whom are playing on guaranteed contracts. The former has dealt with some health issues, but all indications are that the pairing will be available at the outset of the season.

Accordingly, Castillo will have a hard time cracking the Nats’ 26-man roster unless an injury arises or the club decides to carry three backstops. It’s certainly possible he could look to catch on elsewhere if he turns in a solid spring but can’t get a look in D.C. Alternatively, Castillo could end up as depth at Triple-A.

At times in his career, Castillo has been quite a strong offensive producer for a catcher. But he’s coming off of a suboptimal 2019 season (.209/.267/.417) after sitting out for a big chunk of the prior campaign owing to a PED suspension. Through 2,701 career plate appearances over the past decade, Castillo carries a .254/.313/.426 batting line.

Castillo’s reputation isn’t quite as good on the other side of the action. Outside of an outlying 2017 season, he has mostly rated as a poor framer. Castillo has typically graded well as a blocker and thrower, but nosedived in both areas (the former, especially) in that rough 2019 showing.

Checking In On Last Season’s Worst Bullpens

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We’ve gone over how the five worst offenses and rotations of last season now look with the offseason nearing completion. We’ll do the same here with the quintet of bullpens that had the most difficulty preventing runs in 2019. Judging a bullpen just by ERA is an admittedly crude method, though each of the relief units in question here also posted subpar fielding-independent metrics. The bottom line is that they struggled. Let’s see how they stack up now…

Baltimore Orioles (5.79 ERA/5.38 FIP; current depth chart)

  • No surprise to see the Orioles at the bottom, considering the rebuilding outfit’s myriad difficulties last season. The Orioles didn’t get particularly impressive production from any of their relievers. Even their No. 1 option, Mychal Givens, had trouble at times, though he did strike out better than 12 batters per nine. Givens is on track to open the season with the Orioles, but he could certainly be an in-season trade candidate. If they move him, it would further weaken a bullpen that hasn’t added anyone of note this offseason.

Washington Nationals (5.68 ERA/4.94 FIP; current depth chart)

  • The Nationals proved last season that you can have a bottom-of-the-barrel bullpen from a statistical standpoint and still win the World Series. However, general manager Mike Rizzo’s in-season tinkering with the group proved effective, especially the acquisition of flamethrowing closer Daniel Hudson at the trade deadline. Hudson remains in the fold, having re-signed in free agency for two years and $11MM. In an even bigger move, the Nationals signed Will Harris – a former Astro whom they upended in the Fall Classic – to a three-year, $24MM pact. With those two and the returning Sean Doolittle, Washington appears to be in nice shape late in games, but it’ll need more from Hunter Strickland, Roenis Elias, Wander Suero and Tanner Rainey.

Colorado Rockies (5.18 ERA/5.12 FIP; current depth chart)

  • There were few oft-used bright spots last season in Colorado’s bullpen, which didn’t get much from anyone but Scott Oberg and Carlos Estevez. The good news is that it’s hard to imagine Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee pitching much worse in 2020 than they did last season. And even if they do, they’re all entering the final guaranteed season of their onerous contracts, so they shouldn’t be the Rockies’ problem for much longer. In the meantime, the Rockies are going to need bounce-back efforts from them because they haven’t meaningfully addressed their late-game setup this offseason.

Kansas City Royals (5.07 ERA/4.55 FIP; current depth chart)

  • Kansas City’s another team that has been quiet in the past few months, despite its less-than-stellar output a year ago. There are a couple bullpen trade candidates on hand in Ian Kennedy and Tim Hill, arguably the Royals’ two best relievers, but nothing has materialized on those fronts thus far. Kennedy was terrific last season in his first year as a reliever, though the fact that he’s due $16.5MM in 2020 has likely scared off interested teams.

New York Mets (4.99 ERA/4.71 FIP; current depth chart)

  • The Mets were extremely busy in trying to repair their bullpen last offseason, when they traded for ex-Mariners star Edwin Diaz and signed Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson. The latter pitched well during an injury-shortened campaign, but Diaz and Familia fell off a cliff, which is why the Mets are on this list a year later. At least in Diaz’s case, though, it would be reasonable to expect a much better performance in 2020. He struck out over 15 batters per nine and maintained his 97 mph velocity last year, after all, and isn’t going to surrender home runs on 27 percent of fly balls again this season. Regardless of how he does, the Mets have added some notable support to their relief unit in the past several weeks. They signed former Yankee Dellin Betances, one of the elite relievers in recent memory (albeit one coming off an injury-ruined year), as well as the accomplished Brad Brach. They also have the newly signed Michael Wacha as a potential long relief option, not to mention holdovers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman.

Nationals Considering Turner To Bat Third

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  • The Nationals are entering another year of uncertainty in their lineup. Manager Dave Martinez is weighing a move for powerful leadoff man Trea Turner into the middle of the order, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Turner certainly has enough oomph to man the middle of the order. A full season of the .298/.353/.497 line he put up last year would ably fill the 3-hole recently vacated by his bromance partner Anthony Rendon. Adam Eaton remains a viable top-of-the-order presence after putting up a .365 OBP mostly out of the 2-hole, who could presumably move up a slot into the leadoff vacancy. Putting Turner’s speed directly in front of the ever-patient and fear-inducing cleanup presence of Juan Soto might not be the most natural pairing, however. Martinez will have some big decisions to make, largely dependent upon who wins the third base job and what kind of jump Victor Robles can make at the plate.

Carter Kieboom To Get Opportunity At Third Base Job

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  • The Nationals plan to give Carter Kieboom an opportunity to win the third base job, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington). The 22-year-old is a consensus top prospect coming off a year in which he hit .303/.409/.493 with 16 home runs in 494 plate appearances. Kieboom has played mostly in the middle infield in the minors, but Martinez indicated he’ll be used strictly as a third baseman for the time being. Washington hadn’t previously had room for Kieboom at the hot corner, but the departure of Anthony Rendon and failure to reel in Josh Donaldson created an opening. If Kieboom doesn’t prove ready for everyday playing time on a contender, Asdrúbal Cabrera gives Martinez a fallback option. Starlin Castro is on hand, too, but it seems Washington will keep him at second base full-time, relays Sam Fortier of the Washington Post.

Zimmerman On New Nats Contract: "Just A Matter Of Time"

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  • Ryan Zimmerman feels “it’s just a matter of time” before he signs a new contract with the Nationals, the veteran first baseman tells The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli (subscription required).  “We’ve talked.  We are continuing to talk,” Zimmerman said.  “I’ve made my intentions pretty clear, they know where I stand and we know where they stand.  We’ve been going back and forth the last couple weeks.”  It has been widely assumed that Zimmerman will return for his 16th season with the Nats, and as Ghiroli notes, a deal doesn’t necessarily need to be finalized before camp opens since Zimmerman “has never been a big fan of spring training.”

Nationals, Mac Williamson Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Mac Williamson, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. He’ll be in Major League camp this spring and would earn a modest $700K salary if he makes the big league club. He’s represented by CAA Sports.

For years, the Giants hoped that Williamson, now 29, would eventually seize an everyday spot in an outfield corner. But despite a strong Triple-A track record and some occasional flashes of potential, Williamson mustered a tepid .203/.282/.348 line with 17 homers, 10 doubles and a triple in 483 plate appearances over the life of 160 MLB games. Williamson didn’t get a prolonged opportunity at regular at-bats in San Francisco or in Seattle after the Mariners picked him up, and it seems unlikely that he’ll have such an opportunity in a crowded Nationals outfield.

Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Adam Eaton comprise a strong starting unit in D.C., while Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Stevenson are on hand as reserve options. Newly signed slugger Eric Thames, too, has corner outfield experience.

The Nationals’ upper-level outfield depth is rather thin, however, which also prompted the club to pick up center fielder Carlos Tocci on a minor league arrangement. If Williamson isn’t able to crack the roster as a bench bat, he could head to Fresno as a depth option in Triple-A, where he’s a career .265/.343/.487 hitter in 1156 plate appearances.

Nationals Re-Sign Daniel Hudson

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JANUARY 14: The Nats have announced the signing.

JANUARY 6, 3:29pm: The deal’s worth $11MM with up to $1MM in performance bonuses based on games finished, per Passan. The total falls in line with the two-year, $12MM guarantee MLBTR projected for Hudson at the beginning of the offseason.

2:17pm: The Nationals and free-agent reliever Daniel Hudson have reached a two-year contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the two sides were nearing an agreement. Hudson is a client of Jet Sports Management.

This is the second significant bullpen signing in a matter of days for the Nationals. They added righty Will Harris on a three-year, $24MM commitment last week, and signing him and Hudson shows a desire on the team’s part to avoid last season’s well-publicized bullpen foibles. The Nationals’ relief corps was a major problem throughout the season, but they still earned a wild-card spot and then rallied to win their first-ever World Series title. Hudson, whom general manager Mike Rizzo acquired from the Blue Jays before the July 31 deadline, was a key reason for Washington’s triumph.

Between Toronto and D.C. a season ago, the flamethrowing Hudson, 32, put up a 2.47 ERA/3.97 FIP with 8.75 K/9 and 3.33 BB/9 over 73 innings. For the most part, those aren’t great numbers, and Hudson hasn’t been lights-out for the majority of his career, but he was an important part of the Nats’ playoff run. Hudson converted all four of his save attempts in the postseason, in which he threw 9 2/3 frames of four-earned run ball with 10 strikeouts against four walks, and closed out the Astros in Game 7 of the World Series.

While the Nationals did lose star third baseman Anthony Rendon to the Angels earlier this offseason, the Hudson re-signing continues a busy winter for the club. Before bringing back Hudson, they picked up Harris and re-signed four important members of their title-winning team in starter Stephen Strasburg, infielders Howie Kendrick and Asdrubal Cabrera, and catcher Yan Gomes. The team also agreed to sign established infielder Starlin Castro last week, and it could still be in the running for the No. 1 free agent available in third baseman Josh Donaldson.

An ideal offseason for the Nationals likely would’ve meant keeping Rendon. Even in the wake of his departure, though, it’s clear this isn’t a club that’s ready to rest on its laurels after a championship season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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