- Tanner Roark heads into a contract season with the Nationals in severe need of a rebound campaign, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. As Zuckerman explores, Roark has now posted an ERA north of 4.30 in three of the past four seasons, making what previously looked like outlier campaigns perhaps the new norm. There’s no mention of a possible non-tender or trade in Zuckerman’s piece, though it’s fair to wonder if the Nationals will feel comfortable committing a hefty salary to the 32-year-old Roark given his run of largely pedestrian results; MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz pegs him for a $9.8MM payday in 2019 — his final season of arbitration eligibility. While the Nats have a clear need for starters behind Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, Roark is becoming a relatively pricey option, although to his credit, he’s been a durable rotation cog (30+ starts in three straight seasons).
Nationals Rumors
NL Notes: Cubs, McGwire, Nationals
By renovating the historic Fenway Park in 2002, Boston augmented their baseball ops department with the quickening revenue streams from an improved stadium experience – a strategy Theo Epstein brought with him to Chicago, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Additionally, both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, under Epstein’s leadership, have benefited from in-stadium advertising along the outfield walls – much like your local little league field. In Boston, the seats added above the Green Monster came complete with the ad billboards above. In Chicago, the bleachers were devoid of ad content until 2010 when a 360-foot Toyota sign was installed over the left field bleachers. Baseball purists may balk at these eyesores becoming a focal point of such historic stadiums, but the financial welfare afforded both franchises by these towering facades have produced previously-unmatched eras of on-field success. Lest we forget, Wrigley Field was called Weeghman Park until it was acquired by the chewing gum tycoon, so while it’s not as obvious a money grab as southside rival Guaranteed Rate Field, the Cubs’ northside stadium has long been financially-inspired – Epstein’s major contribution is making these influxes of cash obvious on the field.
Now, some coaching updates around the National League…
- Mark McGwire won’t be returning as the Padres bench coach for 2019, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. McGwire is reportedly stepping down to spend more time with his family after two seasons as the bench coach in San Diego. Big Mac had previously spent three seasons apiece as hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. For the Padres, they will seek to avoid an extended search to fill their three coaching vacancies for 2019 (bench coach, hitting coach, and infield coach).
- In other coaching news, the Washington Nationals will not be making any changes to their coaching staff prior to 2019, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Manager Dave Martinez returns for the second year of a three-year deal, hoping for a turnaround after a disappointing first year in Washington. Bench coach Chip Hale, hitting coach Kevin Long, and pitching coach Derek Lilliquist will return to buttress Martinez in the Washington dugout. Rounding out the coaching crew: former infielder Tim Bogar returns to the first base coaching box, Greg Maddux’s former personal catcher Henry Blanco returns to coach in the bullpen and longtime third base coach Bob Henley returns in his usual role.
2 Teams Have Shown Interest In Nats Exec Dan Jennings
- Nationals special assistant Dan Jennings has drawn interest from two teams, Cafardo reports, but it’s not clear which position he’d fill with either club or whether he’s even interested in leaving Washington. While Jennings is fresh off his third season in the Nats’ front office, he’s best known for serving in a pair of prominent roles with the Marlins. Not only was Jennings the Marlins’ GM from 2013-15, but he also worked as their interim manager for a 124-game stretch during his last season with the team.
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- Nationals special assistant Dan Jennings has drawn interest from two teams, Cafardo reports, but it’s not clear which position he’d fill with either club or whether he’s even interested in leaving Washington. While Jennings is fresh off his third season in the Nats’ front office, he’s best known for serving in a pair of prominent roles with the Marlins. Not only was Jennings the Marlins’ GM from 2013-15, but he also worked as their interim manager for a 124-game stretch during his last season with the team.
Janes: Nats May Have Less Financial Flexibility Than It Seems
The Nationals may not have as much financial flexibility as it seems this offseason, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post observes. The Nationals have $112MM committed to 23 players for next season, Janes estimates, adding that MLBTR’s projected salaries for their seven arbitration-eligible players push the number to $152MM. However, for competitive balance tax purposes, that figure would be closer to $140MM, per Janes, who writes that Washington does “not want to come close” to the CBT in 2019. In the end, Janes expects the Nationals to spend around $180MM, which could include their top free agent – superstar outfielder Bryce Harper – whom they want to re-sign. Regardless of whether Harper stays in D.C., the club will still need help in several other areas, Janes points out. However, thanks to the money that’s already on the Nats’ books, Janes cautions that it’s going to be difficult for them to spend freely this winter.
Nationals Acquire Kyle Barraclough
The Nationals announced that they have acquired reliever Kyle Barraclough in a trade with the Marlins. $1MM of international bonus availability will head to Miami in the swap, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (via Twitter).
This transaction comes as a surprise, though the timing may well be explained by the Marlins’ well-known efforts to land top Cuban prospect Victor Victor Mesa. This’ll pad the team’s bonus coffers as it pursues Mesa — also a reputed target of the Orioles — and other talented amateur players who hail from outside of North America.
For the Nats, meanwhile, the move slots in a high-powered relief arm at a palatable price. The club was barred from spending more than $300K on the current international market regardless. And Barraclough projects to earn only $1.9MM in his first trip through arbitration.
Of course, there’s a reason that Barraclough was available for a return that doesn’t really sting his new club. The 28-year-old continued to show big velocity and swing-and-miss stuff in 2018 — he owns a career rate of 11.5 strikeouts per nine — but he continued to deal with major control problems and his results plummeted over the course of the season.
Indeed, after he held 170 opposing hitters to a putrid .126/.254/.217 slash to open the season, the next 75 to step in the box against Barraclough battered him to the tune of a .367/.486/.667 batting line. It’s hard to know just what went wrong, though some release-point issues seem to correlate with changes in the movement of his arsenal. This all occurred in the same general mid-season timeframe as Barraclough’s dip in effectiveness and trip to the DL for a shoulder impingement.
For the Nats, then, this move injects a rather volatile piece into the bullpen. There’s certainly some upside, though; indeed, Barraclough has delivered 218 2/3 innings of 3.21 ERA ball in his career despite the fact that he has consistently issued more than five free passes per nine innings. If he pans out, he’ll also be controllable for two additional seasons.
Surely, the Marlins hoped not long ago that they’d be able to get more for a controllable power arm with high-leverage experience. Unfortunately, though, they ultimately decided to cash him in at a moment when there was an opportunity to take a more future-oriented risk. In some regards, that’s not so different from the reasoning that brought Barraclough to Miami in the first place, when he was picked up in a mid-season deal that sent then-struggling closer Steve Cishek to the Cardinals.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Players Electing Free Agency
Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.
As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:
Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe
Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney
Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich
Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons
Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando
Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej
Marlins: OF JB Shuck
Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly
Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres
Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas
Padres: OF Matt Szczur
Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe
Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel
Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley
Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber
Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush
Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner
White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish
Joaquin Benoit May Retire
- While nothing’s official, it’s “pretty clear” pending free-agent reliever Joaquin Benoit will retire, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes. The 41-year-old Benoit joined the Nationals on a $1MM guarantee last winter, but a shoulder injury prevented him from throwing a pitch for the team during the regular season. Had Benoit been younger, he likely would have undergone surgery and then rehabbed his way back, general manager Mike Rizzo said last week. Understandably, though, Benoit doesn’t want to fight through a lengthy recovery period at his age. If the journeyman’s career is over, it’ll conclude with a 3.83 ERA, 212 holds and 53 saves over 1,068 2/3 innings.
Mets To Interview De Jon Watson For GM Position
- The Mets will interview Nationals special assistant De Jon Watson as part of their GM search on Wednesday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter). Still just 52 years old, Watson has a wealth of front office experience dating back to the early 90’s, working as a scout, scouting director, assistant GM (with the Dodgers) and senior VP of baseball operations (with the Diamondbacks) before spending the last two seasons in Washington’s front office.
Mike Rizzo Didn't Want Bob Miller To Be Dismissed
- Following yesterday’s report that the Nationals decided not to renew the contract of assistant GM Bob Miller, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports that GM Mike Rizzo didn’t want Miller to leave the organization (likely indicating it was an ownership decision). Miller, as Janes explains, was instrumental in helping to orchestrate the trade that netted the Nationals both Trea Turner and Joe Ross, and he was also involved in contract negotiations, among other key front-office responsibilities. The Nats also let go of advance scout Chris Rosenbaum, Janes reports.
Nationals Won't Renew Contract Of Assistant GM Bob Miller
- The Nationals are parting ways with assistant GM Bob Miller, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that the Nats didn’t renew Miller’s contract. Miller has worked in Washington for the last four seasons, and has longstanding ties with Nats GM Mike Rizzo when the two worked together with in Diamondbacks organization. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link) describes Miller as Rizzo’s “right-hand man” in the front office and the team’s “rules guru,” also crediting Miller with the trade that brought Trea Turner and Joe Ross to the Nationals.
- The Nationals are parting ways with assistant GM Bob Miller, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that the Nats didn’t renew Miller’s contract. Miller has worked in Washington for the last four seasons, and has longstanding ties with Nats GM Mike Rizzo when the two worked together with in Diamondbacks organization. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link) describes Miller as Rizzo’s “right-hand man” in the front office and the team’s “rules guru,” also crediting Miller with the trade that brought Trea Turner and Joe Ross to the Nationals.
- White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning’s season was cut short by an elbow sprain, but after rehabbing the injury, Dunning tells The Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription required) that he is hopeful of avoiding surgery altogether. Dunning may even get a few instruction league innings under his belt just to test his arm before the offseason. The 29th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Dunning came to Chicago as part of the trade that sent Adam Eaton to the Nationals, and his prospect stock has since been on the rise. He cracked the preseason top-100 prospect lists from Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, and MLB.com prior to 2018, and then posted a 2.71 ERA, 3.85 K/BB rate, and 10.4 K/9 over 86 1/3 combined innings at A-ball and Double-A this season.
