Carter Kieboom Done For Season
The Nationals have placed infielder Carter Kieboom on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist contusion and recalled right-hander Wil Crowe, the team announced. Kieboom’s IL placement is retroactive to Tuesday, but this will nonetheless end his season.
Kieboom was a first-round pick of the Nationals in 2016 who continues to be regarded as a high-end young talent, but this will go down as a disappointing season for him. The reigning World Series champions Nationals had designs on Kieboom capably replacing departed star Anthony Rendon at third base as early as this season, though the campaign has instead gone poorly for the sub-.500 Nats and the 23-year-old.
While Kieboom does lead Washington in playing time at the hot corner, where he has amassed 30 starts and 122 plate appearances, he could only put together a .202/.344/.212 line before his season ended. Kieboom failed to hit a home run this year, and with a mere one extra-base hit, he ranks last in isolated power (.010) among 243 major leaguers who have amassed 120-plus plate appearances in 2020.
Nationals Select Paolo Espino
The Nationals have selected right-hander Paolo Espino, placed righties Aaron Barrett (triceps strain) and James Bourque (elbow strain) on the 10-day injured list, and moved lefty Seth Romero to the 45-day IL, the team announced. The Nats also recalled outfielder Yadiel Hernandez.
Espino, 33, could now log major league action for the first time since 2017 – his only season in the majors thus far. He posted a 6.00 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.75 BB/9 in 24 innings between the Brewers and Rangers then, but divided the previous two years among the Triple-A affiliates of those teams and the Nationals. Overall, he has recorded a 4.21 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 657 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level.
Injuries have been an unfortunate part of the package for Barrett, a ninth-round pick of the Nationals in 2010 who was an effective part of their bullpen from 2014-15. Barrett underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, though, and also suffered a fractured elbow. He made his return to the majors late last season, but the 32-year-old has only combined for four innings of six-run ball since then.
Sam Freeman Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Nationals’ reliever Sam Freeman underwent Tommy John Surgery earlier this summer, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The southpaw has been out since August 12 with a flexor strain.
Freeman went under the knife on August 19, relays Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. Given that timeline, it’s likely he won’t be able to return to game action until 2022. Fortunately, the initial stages of the recovery have gone well, Martinez added.
It’s a devastating blow for the 33-year-old Freeman, who underwent the same procedure as a prospect back in 2010. He has seen big league action every year since 2012 but combined for just seven innings over the past two seasons. Freeman only allowed one run in seven appearances for the Nats this season, although his seven walks against six strikeouts hinted at potential forthcoming regression.
Freeman is eligible for arbitration this offseason, but he’s a slam dunk to be non-tendered. He could look to lock on with another club on a minor-league deal this winter or attempt to rehab on his own and explore a deal when he’s further along in his recovery.
Nationals Place Adam Eaton On 10-Day IL
The Nationals announced that they have placed outfielder Adam Eaton on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left index finger. They reinstated infielder Brock Holt from the paternity list in a corresponding move.
With the Nationals at 18-29 and in no position to defend their 2019 World Series championship, this injury will end the season for Eaton. The 31-year-old batted a career-worst .226/.285/.384 with four home runs and three stolen bases over 176 plate appearances in 2020.
It’s now possible Eaton has played his final game as a National, as they’ll have to decide whether to pick up a $10.5MM club option or buy him out for $1.5MM in the offseason. In the wake of his output this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Nats move on from Eaton (at least at his current cost) and save $9MM. They originally acquired Eaton from the White Sox in December 2016 for right-handers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez. While Eaton has been fairly productive for Washington, Chicago’s surely thrilled with its part of the deal.
Nationals Place Tanner Rainey On 10-Day Injured List
The Nationals have placed right-handed reliever Tanner Rainey on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain and recalled fellow righty Aaron Barrett from their alternate site, the team announced.
Considering the nature of his injury, it seems highly questionable whether Rainey will pitch again this season – especially with the Nationals at 17-28 and unlikely to qualify for the playoffs. Not much has gone right for the reigning World Series champions this year, but Rainey has been a bright spot in 2020.
Acquired from the Reds for righty Tanner Roark entering 2019, Rainey was a useful part of Washington’s bullpen in his first season as a member of the club, with which he logged a 3.91 ERA/4.37 FIP and posted 13.78 K/9 and 7.08 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings. Fortunately, the walks and runs have gone way down this season for the 27-year-old, hard-throwing Rainey, who owns a 2.66 ERA/3.79 FIP with 14.66 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 20 1/3 frames.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, May, A’s, Piscotty, Nationals, Doolittle, Rainey
Dustin May left his start on Thursday after just one inning, but the Dodgers received good news today. There’s no fracture in May’s foot, as was feared, but a contusion still garners a day-to-day status and an eventual IL stint is not out of the question, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). There may be some smoke and mirrors behind May’s 2.81 ERA, as a 4.51 FIP suggests the underlying work hasn’t been as strong as the ERA. At a surface level, May’s strikeouts have been down to 6.0 K/9 while a 2.2 BB/9 mark represents a slight year-over-year increase. Let’s get another couple injury updates from around the game…
- The Oakland A’s face a reality without star third baseman Matt Chapman in the lineup for the rest of the season. The good news for Oakland is they’ve built a 7-game lead over the Astros for the division, and with less than a third of the season remaining, they have 99.6% likelihood of winning the West, per Fangraph’s playoff odds. They’ll get a little more help with Stephen Piscotty expected to return to the lineup today, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The 29-year-old outfielder carries a .264/.308/.438 line through 131 plate appearances, 4% better than average so far this season with the stick. Piscotty was given the last two days off, but he will be in the lineup for the second game of today’s doubleheader.
- Sean Doolittle hasn’t been his dominant self the last year or so, though he’s largely remained a productive arm for the Nats. Luckily for Washington, Doolittle’s up-and-down spells were on the upswing during last year’s playoffs, where he and Daniel Hudson did most of the heavy lifting for the bullpen. He’s on a downswing now, however, stuck with a 5.87 ERA while he hopes to recover from an oblique strain. Doolittle is likely done for the year, though if the Nats can rehash some 2019 magic and erase their five game deficit to make the playoffs, it’s possible Doolittle could return to participate, per Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).
- Tanner Rainey has largely stepped into the high-leverage role vacated by Doolittle, but he’ll be taking a couple of days off due to forearm soreness, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. An MRI came back negative, so the Nats will give Rainey a couple days off and hope his discomfort dissipates.
Nationals Place Sean Doolittle On Injured List
Nationals lefty Sean Doolittle has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain, manager Dave Martinez tells reporters (Twitter link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The exact results of his MRI aren’t yet available, but Martinez described Doolittle’s injury as a “pretty good” strain. Left-hander Ben Braymer is up from the Nats’ alternate site to take his spot on the roster, and the Nats have formally announced that Doolittle is on the 10-day injured list.
It’s a tough blow for the 33-year-old Doolittle, who missed about three weeks in August due to knee troubles. He hadn’t looked right prior to his first IL stint, but Doolittle didn’t allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings upon activation late last month. His velocity was down early in the year, and while it hadn’t yet returned to its typical levels, Doolittle’s heater had shown some more life this month.
There’s no specific timeline provided for his return, but even low-grade oblique strains can sideline players for around a month at a time. Given that there are only 16 days remaining in the regular season, it’s eminently possible — if not probable — that Doolittle will not return before the 2020 campaign draws to a close. With the Nats all but out of postseason contention and Doolittle slated to become a free agent this winter, one can’t help but wonder whether yesterday’s early departure marked the end of what has been a highly successful tenure in D.C.
Acquired alongside Ryan Madson back in 2017, Doolittle has spent parts of four seasons in the Nationals organization — much of it as the team’s closer. He’s racked up 142 2/3 innings of 3.03 ERA ball with 10.3 K/9 against just 2.1 BB/9 en route to 75 saves during the regular season. Doolittle’s postseason work has been even better, as he’s allowed just two runs on seven hits and a walk with 12 punchouts in 13 1/3 innings across the 2017 and 2019 playoffs. Doolittle tallied three saves and three holds in that time.
The trade cost the Nationals a then-19-year-old Jesus Luzardo, who was recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time. Still, it’s hard to say that it hasn’t worked out for the Nats. Madson was brilliant down the stretch in ’17, and Doolittle has been a mainstay in the bullpen since the time of his acquisition, ultimately closing out Game 1 and Game 6 in last year’s World Series.
Nationals Select Yadiel Hernandez
The Nationals are selecting the contract of outfielder Yadiel Hernandez after placing veteran Howie Kendrick on the injured list yesterday, manager Dave Martinez announced to reporters today (Twitter link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The team’s recent DFA of Wilmer Difo left them with a vacancy on the 40-man roster.
Whenever Hernandez gets into a game, it’ll mark the MLB debut for the 32-year-old. A high-quality performer for los Cocodrilos de Matnzas in the Cuban National Series from 2009-14, Hernandez defected from Cuba back in 2015 and began the lengthy process of establishing himself as a free agent for Major League clubs. He signed with the Nats for $200K more than a year after leaving Cuba and spent the 2017-19 seasons climbing through their minor league system.
That rise through the Nats’ farm included a monstrous .324/.406/.604 showing in Triple-A last year (139 wRC+), during which Hernandez slugged 33 homers, 22 doubles and a triple while going 7-for-12 in stolen base attempts. We don’t see too many soon-to-be 33-year-old rookies of note, but Hernandez has performed at a high level in Cuba’s top league and throughout three full minor league seasons, so he’ll carry a bit more intrigue than the standard journeyman receiving a September cup of coffee.
Nationals Place Howie Kendrick On 10-Day Injured List
The Nationals have placed veteran utilityman Howie Kendrick on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. The placement is retroactive to September 6.
Given both the calendar and the difficult nature of hamstring injuries, there is certainly a chance that Kendrick could be out of action for the remainder of the 2020 season. With the Nationals at 16-25, the team could also explore shutting Kendrick down if and when a postseason berth becomes an impossibility. Washington’s .390 winning percentage sits 13th out of 15 National League teams.
Kendrick missed two weeks of Summer Camp due to a coronavirus quarantine, so between that missed time and a hamstring problem that The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli notes has bothered him for much of the season, it isn’t surprising that Kendrick has delivered below-average production (.275/.320/.385) over an even 100 plate appearances. This is well below the .294/.337/.431 career slash line he carried into 2020, but there is some misfortune baked into Kendrick’s performance this season, as his .358 xwOBA is considerably higher than his .293 wOBA.
With the DH spot open to the National League this season, Kendrick has mostly filled that role for the Nats, only appearing in the field (at first base) for six of his 25 games. Juan Soto was the designated hitter in last night’s lineup, and since the young slugger is still recovering from an elbow problem, Soto could see the bulk of DH action until he is ready to resume his usual outfield duties.
Since being traded by the Phillies to the Nationals in July 2017, Kendrick has been a very valuable part-timer for Washington, particularly during a big 2019 that saw him star in both the regular season and in the postseason. Kendrick signed a one-year deal for the 2020 season that carries a $6.5MM mutual option for 2021 (with a $2.25MM buyout), so it remains to be seen if his struggles this year could lead the Nats to part ways with the 37-year-old.
Nationals Place Dakota Bacus On IL, Recall James Bourque
The Nationals have placed Dakota Bacus on the 10-day disabled list with a right flexor strain. James Bourque has been recalled to take his roster spot, per the team.
Bacus, 29, made his major league debut this season for Washington to meandering results. He’s appeared in 11 games for a 7.94 ERA/5.44 FIP across 11 1/3 innings. Bacus started the year out strong with four scoreless appearances, but he’s been called upon a lot this season, and his last couple of appearances went particularly poorly. Still, outside of a couple of blowups, Bacus did a nice job stepping up when he wasn’t necessarily a Plan A option for manager Dave Martinez coming into the season.
Of course, very little has gone as planned for the Nationals this season, and that includes the bullpen. Sean Doolittle – once a stalwart of the Nats’ pen – has seen his struggles from the tail end of 2019 carry over to this season with a 7.11 ERA. Daniel Hudson has continued to pitch fairly well despite a bloated 7.35 ERA, though he, like Bacus, has been overtaxed. He’s also blown three saves in definitive fashion. On the plus side, Tanner Rainey (2.08 ERA, 17 1/3 innings) brought his triple-digit heat to high-leverage innings and established himself as a setup option for the Nats.
Bottom line: Stephen Strasburg being lost for the season and Joe Ross opting out thinned the Nationals’ pitching corps. Struggles in the rotation from Erick Fedde and Anibal Sanchez spilled over into the bullpen and put a lot of innings on the Nats’ bullpen arms.
They’ll get a fresh one now to help out in Bourque. The 27-year-old has been featured at the tail end of Nationals’ top-30 prospect lists. He’s made two appearances so far this season at the tail end of July, providing 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019, Bourque logged 64 innings across 47 appearances with a 4.22 ERA, 12.1 K/9, and 5.1 BB/9.