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Nationals Sign Josh Lucas To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with righty Josh Lucas, per an announcement from Paul Braverman of the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies (Twitter link). Lucas will report to the Grizzlies.

It’s been a tough season for the 28-year-old Lucas, who struggled through multiple stints with the Orioles before being released. He’s totaled 15 2/3 innings but surrendered a total of 12 runs (10 earned) on 14 hits and seven walks with 16 strikeouts. His Triple-A results have struggled too, as despite a strong track record there in prior seasons, Lucas owns a 6.85 ERA (5.99 FIP) with a 19-to-12 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 innings of work.

From 2017-18, Lucas tallied 98 2/3 innings of 2.92 ERA ball in Triple-A with a 100-to-27 K/BB ratio, so he does have a fair bit of success in the upper minors. He’ll now join a lengthy list of depth options that the Nationals have picked up in recent months. The Nats have signed Greg Holland, Sam Freeman and Jake Buchanan to minor league deals in the month of August and have regularly speculated on recently released relievers throughout the season as they work to patch together a bullpen that has been their primary weakness in 2019.

NL Notes: Votto, Franchy, Doolittle

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Reds legend Joey Votto will be eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday, but it appears that the plate discipline devotee will need at least a few more days before resuming his role as the elder statesman on the Cincy lineup card. “He’s making a lot of progress,” manager David Bell told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Still no date. I know he’s eligible tomorrow. That won’t happen. Maybe not too far behind.”

Votto did some on-field work in rehab for his lower back injury on Friday. Cincinnati has around a 1% chance of reaching the playoffs this year on the strength of a 60-67 record entering Saturday, so Votto’s return will likely be mostly about gaining a little feel-good momentum entering 2020–a year in which the Reds expect to compete, as evidenced by their deadline acquisition of ace Trevor Bauer.

More jottings from around the National League this weekend…

  • For Padres fans suffering through their 13th-consecutive season without a playoff appearance, there has been no greater “what if” story in recent years than the continued tease offered by outfielder Franchy Cordero. Long noted for his prodigious raw power and tantalizing athletic gifts, Cordero’s path toward center field playing time has been submarined by repeated injury–an unfortunate circumstance given the recent-year struggles of center fielders Wil Myers and Manuel Margot. Now, as noted in a tweet from MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell, Cordero is back on the rehab trail. While it was a wonky elbow that sidelined Cordero for most of 2018 and the beginning of this year, it was a hurt quad that has delayed his rehab for the last two months. Saturday marked Cordero’s first game in the resumption of his rehabilitative assignment, as the outfielder appeared at DH in the Arizona League. Manager Andy Green, however, has apparently learned to be cautiously optimistic in regard to Franchy’s injuries–with the key word being “cautiously”. “He’s on the path toward returning,” Green said. “It’s not a short path, though.”
  • Mark Zuckerman of MASN provides partial updates on Nationals arms Roenis Elias and Sean Doolittle, saying that Elias is “heading in the right direction” and that Doolittle should be ready for activation when his IL stint is up on August 28th (Twitter link). Does it even bear repeating that the Nats are in need of as much pitching help as they can get? Elias, for his part, appeared in just one D.C. game before being felled by injury. Between Seattle and Washington this year, the veteran has a 3.59 ERA through 47.2 relief innings, although his 4.68 xFIP indicates that he should be due for some bad luck regression if he does indeed make it back soon. Doolittle, for his part, has been the subject of a great deal of armchair psychology in recent weeks, as a rough stretch of play (10 earned runs in his last 5 appearances) culminated in his placement on the 10-day injured list with a knee injury. Nats relievers have amassed a 6.00 ERA on the year.

Max Scherzer Not Yet Back To Full Health

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Max Scherzer is back in the Nationals rotation, but he’s not yet back to full health, per MLB.com’s Jamal Collier. How he feels the day after a start is a touchstone for Scherzer, who classified his own health status as “not out of the woods yet.”

In what amounted to a rehab start, Scherzer went four innings in a series finale win in Pittsburgh on Thursday, but as he gutted out a 4-inning, 71-pitch return, he was clearly working a gear or two below normal. It’s uncertain how long it will take before he’s back to full-blown Mad Max status.

Still, Scherzer remains ever-confident in his ability to not only bounce back, but potentially emerge stronger. “You know, heck, in some ways this might make me a better pitcher,” Scherzer said, per Collier. “When I come out on the other side, I may be a better pitcher because of this because of what I’m learning how to do right now and how to still be sharp and yet still be controlled. So let’s look at this glass half full.”

While that’s certainly a scary proposition for opposing hitters, simply returning to full health as one of the two or three best pitchers in the game would be more than enough progress for the Nationals.

Scherzer’s understudy has also been dealing with an injury scare, but Joe Ross is set to make his scheduled start today at Wrigley Field. Ross had been immaculate in holding the line with a 0.42 ERA in four starts before a Josh Bell line drive off his shin forced him to leave his last start early.

As for Erick Fedde, the presumptive fifth starter before Ross’ recent run, he could eventually move to the bullpen. For now, he will likely get at least one more turn in the rotation. Dave Martinez suggested the Nats might keep a 6-man rotation for the next week or so. Even with days off already built in, the Nats would err on the side of caution in giving everyone an extra day or two between turns as they gear up for the final push in September. After all, even the Nats healthy contingent of starters – Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Anibal Sanchez – have dealt with injuries in the past. Of course, if the Nats offense keeps this up – they’re averaging 10 runs per game over their last 9 games – Scherzer can take all the time he needs.

Nationals To Sign Jake Buchanan

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The Nationals have agreed to a deal with righty Jake Buchanan, according to Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league arrangement for the 29-year-old, who was recently cut loose by the Athletics.

Buchanan has seen time in four MLB campaigns, but has not established himself in the bigs. Indeed, he hasn’t appeared there since 2017. Over the past two campaigns, Buchanan has worked as a starter at the Triple-A level without notable success.

It’s likely that this move is designed only for depth for the Nats, who have hunted for low-cost pitching all season long. Buchanan carries a 6.16 ERA in 99 1/3 Triple-A frames on the year, with 6.4 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.

Nationals Secure Key Ruling In MASN Dispute

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The Nationals secured a key legal victory in their long-running TV rights fees battle with the jointly owned and Orioles-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), as Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun was among those to report. The decision upholds an arbitration award in the Nationals’ favor, which was issued earlier this year.

This does not represent a final victory for the Nationals, as the Orioles (through MASN) will still be able to appeal on various issues. But there may now be an end in sight for the D.C. club, which lost at the trial-court stage when the O’s challenged the original arbitration decision in late 2015. That decision kicked off the complicated, multi-round process that is still unfolding.

The Nationals have cured the conflict-of-interest issue — relating to legal representation — that led to the initial ruling. This time, the O’s presented a theory that MLB could not serve as the arbitration forum because it had an interest in the outcome due to loans it made to the Nationals.

If the Baltimore legal team isn’t able to pull off another upset win at the appellate level, the team will ultimately owe a hefty bill to its southern neighbors. As discussed at the time of the arbitration panel’s decision, the expectation is that the Nationals will be due something in range of $60MM to $70MM once all the accounting is sorted out. The new ruling also requires the Orioles to pony up interest on the obligations — one of the matters that will surely be addressed on appeal.

There are still plenty of loose ends. As noted, there will be a direct appeal on several issues. The Orioles have also initiated a separate arbitration proceeding regarding the team’s decision not to distribute certain funds to the Nationals during the pendency of the initial dispute. And since the rights fees re-set occurs every five years, this particular litigation/arbitration covers the rights fees for only the 2012-16 seasons … meaning there’s an ongoing need to work out the numbers for the ensuing five-year periods.

NL East Notes: Mets, Nationals, Marlins

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Mets infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports. McNeil went to the injured list Aug. 14 with a hamstring strain, making him eligible to return Saturday. It’s not clear whether he’ll come back this weekend, though, as the Mets first “want to see him ranging and running down balls just to make sure he’s totally healthy,” according to manager Mickey Callaway. Meanwhile, although right-hander Marcus Stroman left his start early on Wednesday with left hamstring tightness, he doesn’t expect to miss any time (via Tim Britton of The Athletic). “I’m going to make that start against the Cubs on Tuesday,” Stroman said of his next scheduled outing.

Here’s more on a couple other NL East clubs…

  • It looks as if Nationals righty Joe Ross will make his scheduled start Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes. Ross left his most recent start this past Monday in the fourth inning after taking a 110 mph comebacker off the right leg. Even though Nationals ace Max Scherzer finally returned from a weeks-long absence Thursday, the club doesn’t plan to lift Ross from its rotation. The 26-year-old helped Washington weather the temporary loss of Scherzer by delivering an incredible 21 1/3 innings of one-run ball in his first four starts of the month, though Ross only managed a 13:9 K:BB ratio in that span.
  • More from Zuckerman, who observes that the Nationals’ signing of Asdrubal Cabrera has worked out brilliantly for the club. The Nationals brought in Cabrera on a low-paying deal Aug. 5 after the Rangers released the 33-year-old infielder, who underwhelmed in Texas over the season’s first few months. However, since joining the Nats, Cabrera has slashed .324/.422/.622 with a pair of home runs over a small sample of 45 plate appearances. Cabrera attributes some of his success to hitting coach Kevin Long, whom he has reunited with in Washington after the two were with the Mets from 2015-17. “He knows me,” Cabrera said. “I played for him two years, and he knows when my swing is good or when it’s not.”
  • Marlins righty Pablo Lopez could return to their rotation before the month’s out, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Lopez has been out for just over two months with a shoulder issue, having gone on the injured list June 19. The 23-year-old impressed over 14 starts before then, notching a 4.23 ERA/3.56 FIP with 8.57 K/9, 2.11 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent groundball rate in 76 2/3 innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/21/19

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-handed pitcher Sam Freeman, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN. He’ll report to Triple-A Fresno. Though he was a mainstay in Braves bullpens over the last two years, he has only appeared in one big league game in 2019. He could very well get a chance to boost that number with the Washington organization, which has sorely lacked a lefty out-getter this season. In 35 games with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, he has a 7.01 ERA over 52 2/3 innings.
  • After the Giants designated him for assignment, Rule 5 selection Travis Bergen has cleared waivers and will return to his former organization, the Blue Jays. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo as he makes his return to the team that drafted him in 2015. Bergen, a left-handed reliever, got into 21 games for the Giants this year and compiled a 5.49 ERA in his first taste of the big leagues. Between two levels of the minors in 2018, he posted a 0.95 ERA while striking out 74 batters in 56 2/3 innings.

Injury Notes: Strickland, Elias, Ross, Arrieta, Eickhoff, Kluber

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The Nationals pitching staff has taken another hit, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter links). Reliever Hunter Strickland is having X-rays taken at PNC park after a bar struck him across the face. The injury stems from a weight room accident, but Strickland was up and about, playing catch ahead of tonight’s contest in Pittsburgh. It’s unclear whether he will be available out of the pen tonight. Strickland has been great since coming over to the Nats at the deadline, looking fully the part of the eighth-inning reliever they’ve longed for all season. He’s 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA/3.07 FIP and 5 holds in 8 contests. At best, Strickland’s mishap may lead to a second Washington pitcher taking the hill with more black-and-blue in the color scheme than usual. While we’re here, let’s check in on another couple of notes from Washington and beyond…

  • Strickland’s travel buddy from Seattle, Roenis Elias, remains out after injuring himself running out a groundball in his first appearance as a National. He could be close to returning from the strained hamstring, however, as he plans to throw off a mound for the first time since the injury this upcoming Thursday, tweets MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman.
  • Dougherty also provided an update on Joe Ross, who left last night’s blowout win after taking a Josh Bell one-hopper off the shin. His leg is wrapped, but Dave Martinez says the plan is for Ross to be ready to go for his next scheduled start on Saturday. Ross has pitched with newfound fervor since taking Max Scherzer’s spot in the rotation. Less four-seamers and a heavy reliance on his power sinker have at least been part of the story for the rejuvenated Ross. In four starts since the trade deadline, he’s thrown 21 1/3 innings with a hard-to-believe 0.42 ERA. Coming into August, Ross had a 9.85 ERA over 24 2/3 innings that spanned 18 games out of the bullpen and 1 start. If he’s healthy enough to go Saturday, the 5th spot in the Nats rotation appears his. If not, Erick Fedde will be ready to go.
  • The Phillies transferred Jake Arrieta to the 60-day injured list today, the team announced. Arrieta was already known to be out for the year because of a bone spur in his elbow that requires surgery. This move is but the paperwork allowing Jerad Eickhoff to be reinstated and sent to Triple-A. Eickhoff should have the final ten days or so in August to fine tune with Lehigh Valley, as he would be expected to join the Phillies when rosters expand in September.
  • Corey Kluber’s recent setback was due to abdominal tightness experience during a rehab start on Sunday, the Indians announced. The final diagnosis was an internal oblique strain. Kluber has been shut down to begin a rehab program with the hopes of being reevaluated and cleared to resume throwing in two weeks time. Obviously, that’s a very loose timetable, as Kluber’s return will depend entirely on his progress over this next fortnight.

Pitcher Notes: Doolittle, Nix, Lindblom

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Though manager Dave Martinez has maintained that he will regain his closer’s role when he returns from the injured list, Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle isn’t taking anything for granted, as shown in a profile from the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty. “I mean that’s awesome to get that vote of confidence from your manager. But I have to pitch better if I want to stay in that role,” Doolittle told Dougherty on Monday. Of course, it’s probably the proper attitude for the veteran lefty to assume after a recent run of poor play–outlined by a 7.36 ERA in his last 15 appearances–culminated in his placement on the injured list on Sunday with right knee tendinitis. While watching video of his last outing, a three-homer drubbing at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers, Doolittle says he has identified several mechanical concerns that could be the cause of his struggles, including a low release point and shortened extension.

More hurler notes to keep handy this Tuesday…

  • Jacob Nix of the Padres is grinding his way back from an elbow issue that has sidelined him for the entirety of the 2019 season, as noted in a column from Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune. After opting for rest and rehab in recovery from a UCL tear, Nix has climbed back up to Triple-A El Paso, where, on Monday, he struck out six hitters in five shutout innings. The 23-year-old Nix, a third-round draft pick of GM AJ Preller’s in 2015, debuted last year with 7.02 ERA, 4.46 K/9, and 2.76 BB/9 numbers across 42.1 innings. As you might expect regarding someone with such a shaky big league resumé, manager Andy Green indicates to Sanders that Nix’s return will be, in the writer’s words, “predicated on his results”.
  • You would be forgiven for not recognizing the name of one Josh Lindblom, but that exact name is drawing a great deal of attention in Korea–and, increasingly, in MLB circles. As The Athletic’s Sung Min Kim points out (link), MLB scouts have been attending the KBO starts of Lindblom in droves as the former big league reliever makes a historic foreign run. A veteran of 114 MLB games, the 32-year-old Lindblom is trouncing KBO hitters in his quest for the all-time record for wins by a foreign pitcher (22) in one season. In 24 starts for the Doosan Bears, Lindblom is 19-1 with a 2.03 ERA–truly intriguing numbers for a pitcher operating in such a hitter-friendly environment. Lindblom hasn’t appeared stateside since pitching for a stint with the Pirates in 2017.

Nationals Likely To Activate Max Scherzer Thursday

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The Nationals will likely activate ace Max Scherzer on Thursday, manager Dave Martinez tells Jamal Collier of MLB.com (via Twitter). Scherzer threw a simulated game yesterday and came out unscathed.

Of course, a Scherzer return will be a boon to a Washington club holding onto a 2.5 game in the Wild Card standings. The Nats just lost their closer and have one of the game’s worst bullpens, so their starting rotation takes on outsized importance. Scherzer, meanwhile, remains arguably baseball’s best pitcher. His 2.41 ERA is tied for second leaguewide (minimum 100 innings), while his combination of strikeouts (35.3%) and walks (4.7%) is the best in MLB. Scherzer’s been among the best pitchers of this decade, having accrued 200+ innings with an ERA of 3.15 or below every year between 2013 and 2018. While the injuries will keep him from that 200 inning mark this season, he remains dominant as ever on a rate basis, making his return one of the most noteworthy around the league as we approach the season’s stretch run.

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