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Dodgers Acquire Ryan Madson

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1:50pm: The Dodgers have announced the trade.

1:06pm: The Dodgers are sending minor league right-hander Andrew Istler to the Nationals in return, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).

12:54pm: The Dodgers and Nationals have agreed to a trade that’ll send right-hander Ryan Madson from D.C. to L.A., reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Madson was placed on revocable waivers earlier this week, per the Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com had previously reported that the Dodgers placed a claim on the veteran setup man.

Ryan Madson | Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Though the Nats could have simply let Madson go to the Dodgers and shed the remainder of his $7.5MM salary, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets the Dodgers will indeed send a prospect to Washington in return for the right-hander. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale adds that the Dodgers are taking on all of the $1.24MM remaining on the 38-year-old Madson’s contract. He’s a free agent at season’s end, so Madson will be a rental piece for the Dodgers as they strive for a postseason berth in the competitive NL West.

Madson was only recently activated from the disabled list after missing time with a nerve issue in his back. He has a strong big league track record and has generally been a reliable late-inning arm in recent seasons since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2015, but he’s struggled with the Nats so far this season. Through 44 1/3 innings this year, Madson has posted an unsightly 5.28 ERA, though he’s averaged a healthy 95.8 mph on his heater and is still missing bats (8.3 K/9, 12.4 percent swinging-strike rate).

The Dodgers’ bullpen has been struggling to near unthinkable levels in the month of August, as manager Dave Roberts tried to use virtually every arm at his disposal in late-inning situations with star closer Kenley Jansen on the disabled list. The Dodger ’pen blew leads in seven straight games at one point, and when the team welcomed Jansen back from the DL, he too struggled to uncharacteristic levels. Jansen has allowed runs in each of his four appearances since returning from a DL stint due to an irregular heartbeat. With the bullpen reeling, Madson and this weekend’s slate of September call-ups will give Roberts some additional options to mix and match as he tries to keep his club in the race.

As for Istler, he wasn’t considered to be among the Dodgers’ top prospects but has enjoyed a solid season across three minor league levels. A 23rd-round pick in 2015, Istler opened the 2018 season at Class-A Advanced but has steadily risen through the ranks to Triple-A. He’s pitched to a combined 2.37 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a roughly 43 percent ground-ball rate through 79 2/3 innings. Istler, who has allowed just two homers on the season, could conceivably give the Nats a bullpen option as soon as next season given his 2018 ascension.

Jed Hoyer, Daniel Murphy Discuss Trade From Nationals To Cubs

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Fans and pundits alike were surprised when Daniel Murphy fell to the Cubs on revocable waivers, and that was the reaction of the Cubs’ front office as well, GM Jed Hoyer explains to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Hoyer says the Cubs had been claiming anywhere from one to as many as “eight or nine” players per day without much to show for it and were indeed “surprised” to learn they’d been awarded the claim on Murphy. (Interestingly, Rogers notes that the Cubs also tried to claim Bryce Harper, though the Dodgers reportedly blocked other contenders from succeeding in that regard.) Hoyer delves into negotiations with the Nationals a bit and reveals that the Murphy trade came together all of two minutes before his waiver period was set to expire.

Rogers’ column gives interesting insight into the mechanics behind the waiver process from the team perspective, explaining how clubs go about placing claims and learning when they have or have not succeeded in claiming a player. Rogers also chats with Murphy himself about the waiver process and the transition from the Nationals to the Cubs. Those looking to learn more about August trade maneuverings and the nuts and bolts behind these claims will want to check out the column in full to gain some additional perspective. And, of course, we’d be remiss to not thank Murphy for his readership, as the veteran infielder tells Rogers he “frequents” MLBTR and first learned of his placement on waivers right here.

Dodgers Claim Ryan Madson On Revocable Waivers; No Agreement Reached Yet

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6:18pm: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that the Dodgers were the team that placed the claim on Madson (Twitter link).

5:53pm: Nationals right-hander Ryan Madson was claimed on revocable trade waivers by an unknown team earlier today, reports Robert Murray of The Athletic (on Twitter). The Nationals and the claiming team will have 48 hours to work out a trade, which would give the two sides until early afternoon Friday to work out a deal. The Nats, alternatively, could simply allow Madson and the roughly $1.36MM remaining on his salary go for no return other than full salary relief.

Madson, who turned 38 yesterday, is in the final season of a three-year deal and will reach free agency at season’s end. He’s struggled to a 5.28 ERA in 44 1/3 innings this season and missed time on the DL due to chest and back injuries. However, he’s also averaging a career-best 95.8 mph on his fastball this season and has posted solid marks of 8.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. Much of the damage done against Madson has come in a trio of meltdowns this season, as he’s had a pair of outings in which he yielded four earned runs and another in which he was clobbered for six runs.

For all of his struggles in 2018, Madson has a lengthy track record of quality results as a late-game reliever and has been highly effective in recent seasons. From 2015-17, Madson notched a 2.55 ERA (3.08 FIP) with 8.4 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 187 innings for the Royals, Athletics and Nationals. If a deal is ultimately reached, he’d join his new team in advance of the Sept. 1 deadline for postseason eligibility and have a month to get back on track following a change of scenery.

Nationals Place Ryan Madson On Revocable Trade Waivers

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The Nationals placed veteran reliever Ryan Madson on revocable trade waivers yesterday, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (via Twitter). He’ll be on the wire until tomorrow.

It’s true, of course, that almost all major league players are run through trade waivers at some point. But the timing is still relevant, particularly in this case, as the placement kicks off a two-day waiver period. If a claim is made, the team that sought waivers (in this case, the Nationals) has another two-day stretch in which to work out a trade, pull back the player, or allow the contract to move to the claiming team without compensation.

[RELATED: How August Trades Work]

With Madson returning from the DL, and immediately thereafter hitting waivers, the Nats may have an opportunity to recoup some value — or, at least, save some salary — for the hurler. Having already moved veteran hitters Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams, and then lost pending free-agent reliever Kelvin Herrera to an injury, it seems likely that the D.C. organization will be quite motivated to move Madson.

Though he’s now 38 years of age, Madson still delivers plenty of velocity. Indeed, he’s averaging a career-high 96.4 mph with his four-seamer and getting swings and misses on 12.4% of his deliveries.

Those stats may help contending organizations look past some of the less-than-promising figures on Madson’s 2018 stat line. After posting a sparkling 1.83 ERA last year, he’s working at an ugly 5.28 clip through 44 1/3 innings this season, with only 8.3 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.

Opposing hitters are carrying a .326 batting average on balls in play and averaging a 13.0% HR/FB rate against Madson, both of which sit above his typical recent levels. His 66.6% strand rate also hints at some potential poor fortune. Whether those numbers are due primarily to natural variability or an erosion in his skills is a matter for scouts to assess.

National League organizations will have first crack at Madson, who is earning $7.5MM on the season before reaching free agency this fall. Presently, the Dodgers and Phillies are the two clear contenders with the worst records in the league. Both could consider a move for Madson, though surely there are other players under consideration as well.

Kelvin Herrera Diagnosed With Torn Ligament In Foot

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Nationals right-hander Kelvin Herrera has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a torn Lisfranc ligament in his left foot, the club announced Monday. Right-hander Ryan Madson was reinstated from the 10-day DL in a corresponding move.

The timing of the injury could hardly be worse for either Herrera or the Nationals. The 28-year-old Herrera was fresh off the disabled list for an unrelated shoulder issue when he incurred his foot injury over the weekend and is just weeks away from his first crack at free agency.

It’s not yet clear how long Herrera will need to get back to full health or just what his outlook is. Of course, it’s all but certain he’ll miss the rest of the season, as Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com notes on Twitter. Herrera is headed for a second opinion before deciding on a course of treatment.

Generally, Lisfranc injuries aren’t all that quick to heal. Neither are they always straightforward. Issues with that particular ligament played a role in the downturn of the career of Chien-Ming Wang, for example, though there’s really no indication that the cases are analogous.

Hopefully, Herrera will be able to rest up over the winter and enter the spring ready for a full camp. Even in the best case, though, his free-agent outlook is not as promising as it was when the Nats dealt for him in mid-June. As the injuries woes have arisen, Herrera has struggled on the mound. He carries a 4.34 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in his 18 2/3 frames with the D.C. organization.

As for the Nationals, they’ve already sold off veterans Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams this month, and Herrera stood out as a reasonable candidate to be dealt in exchange for some prospect help between now and Friday’s postseason eligibility deadline. Instead, it’s another negative turn in a bitterly disappointing season. Washington will owe Herrera the balance of his $7,937,500 salary.

Nationals Notes: Herrera, Harper, Trades

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Kelvin Herrera had to be removed from the field on a cart after suffering a potentially serious left foot injury in the ninth inning of the Nationals’ 15-0 win over the Mets today.  Herrera took a bad step while fielding a ground ball, and fell down on the ground after completing the out at first base.  Manager Davey Martinez told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other reporters that Herrera’s foot was the issue, not the right-hander’s Achilles.  Results aren’t yet known from x-rays taken on Herrera after the game, though he was seen in the clubhouse on crutches and wearing a protective boot.  Herrera ranked sixth on MLBTR’s recent list of the top 20 August trade candidates, though today’s unfortunate news may make it unlikely that Herrera returns to the field at all this season.  [UPDATE: X-rays were negative, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports.  Herrera will undergo further tests tomorrow to check for any ligament damage.)

Here’s more D.C. baseball chatter…

  • Reports indicated that the Dodgers’ claim of Bryce Harper was meant to block other NL contenders from obtaining the star outfielder, though ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Dodgers “also placed some expensive veterans on the waiver wire” when they put in their claim for Harper.  Clearly, L.A. had to prepare itself for the possibility, however remote, that the Nationals might’ve simply let Harper go on waivers without a trade, which would’ve left the Dodgers over the luxury tax threshold.  Since the Nats seemingly had no intention of parting ways with Harper, though, it ended up being a moot point.  While it isn’t unusual for teams to put most, or even all, of their players on waivers as a matter of procedure in August, it is interesting to speculate who the Dodgers could’ve tried to deal or simply let walk on a waiver claim if they had been forced to make room for Harper — Yasiel Puig or the slumping Matt Kemp come to mind, given that Harper would’ve stepped into an everyday outfield role.
  • Also from Olney’s column, he takes a broader look at the Nationals’ disappointing season, and speculates about the club’s unusual transaction strategy over the last month.  If the Nats weren’t going to sell at the trade deadline, it would’ve made more sense for Washington to buy, particularly to address a bullpen that has been a season-long issue.  When the team did decide to sell (i.e. the trades of Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams), rival executives were reportedly curious about the timing, since there’s still time before August 31 and the Nationals aren’t totally out of the race.  Beyond the past month, however, Olney also believes the Nats have a bigger-picture issue to solve, as “it would be helpful if they work to figure out why so many players have left the organization speaking of an unusual and sometimes counterproductive clubhouse culture.”

Nationals Pulled Mark Reynolds Off Revocable Waivers Following Claim By Braves

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The Nationals placed first baseman Mark Reynolds on revocable trade waivers earlier this week but pulled him back after he was claimed by the Braves, reports Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). That Reynolds has already been pulled off waivers makes him unlikely to change hands at this point. While the Nats could try to pass him through waivers a second time, those waivers would no longer be revocable.

Reynolds, 35, is hitting .255/.335/.497 with 11 home runs in 172 plate appearances with the Nats after signing a minor league deal back on April 17. He eventually played his way onto the MLB roster and has rewarded the organization’s minimal investment of a $1MM base salary with a solid season of production — largely in a bench role.

Reynolds’ minimal salary gave the Nationals little reason to let go of him as a means of cost savings — he’s owed about $209K more as of this writing — and the Nats may simply not have been keen on helping the chances of a division rival in this manner. While the Nats’ playoff hopes are obviously slim, at best, they’re still technically within striking distance of the Braves at eight games out of first place. It’s extremely unlikely that they’ll overcome that deficit, but teams have erased larger leads with less time to play in the past. Beyond that, fan reaction to simply letting Reynolds go to a division rival in exchange for a mere couple hundred thousand dollars would surely have been quite negative.

Even if Reynolds is extremely likely to stay put, though, the Nationals may not yet be done dealing. The Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo reported earlier today that Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters and Ryan Zimmerman have cleared waivers. Wieters and especially Zimmerman may be long shots as trade pieces, but Gonzalez could be viewed as a potential rotation option for a contender down the stretch. It also remains to be seen whether the Nationals will part with Kelvin Herrera, who is a free agent at season’s end and will not be receiving a qualifying offer.

Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters, Ryan Zimmerman Clear Revocable Waivers

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A trio of Nationals players have cleared revocable trade waivers and are now eligible to be traded to any club, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Left-hander Gio Gonzalez, catcher Matt Wieters and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman all went unclaimed by rival teams.

Of the trio, Gonzalez would be the likeliest to hold appeal to a contending team. While his numbers are down somewhat in 2018, Gonzalez is still averaging 8.0 K/9 and just 0.94 HR/9 with a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate. He’s averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings and is sitting on a 4.51 ERA through 133 2/3 innings, though his 4.26 FIP and 4.38 xFIP are slightly more encouraging than his ERA. Gonzalez’s average fastball velocity (89.7 mph) is nearly identical to his 2017 mark, and he’s actually had a modest improvement in his swinging-strike rate (from 8.7 percent to 9.2 percent).

[Related: How August Trades Work]

Gonzalez, 33 next month, is a free agent at season’s end and is earning $12MM in his final season of club control. There’s still about $2.5MM of that sum yet to be paid out on his contract, so it’s not a big surprise to see him pass through waivers unclaimed. However, now that he’s done so, the Nationals can negotiate with any club and agree to include some cash to help offset the remainder of that salary in exchange for what would likely be some modest prospect value.

While the Nationals aren’t embarking on a full-scale rebuild, they’ve signaled a willingness to move impending free agents who are unlikely or ineligible to receive qualifying offers (as was the case with Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams). Given his inconsistent season, Gonzalez likely falls into that same bucket, so it’ll be interesting to see if trade talk surrounding the veteran lefty picks up between now and the Aug. 31 deadline for postseason eligibility. Gonzalez recently checked in at No. 8 on MLBTR’s ranking of the top 20 remaining August trade candidates. A source confirmed to MLBTR that Gonzalez won’t reach 10 years of MLB service this season and therefore does not have 10-and-5 rights allowing him to veto a trade.

Like Gonzalez, Wieters is a free agent at season’s end, but he’s in the midst of a second disappointing campaign with the Nats. The switch-hitter has managed just a .240/.325/.365 batting line in 192 plate appearances during an injury-shortened second season in D.C. He’s owed about $2.19MM through the end of the season, making it unlikely that any team would pursue a trade to acquire the final month or so of his services (at least, without some significant financial help from the Nats).

Zimmerman, 34 in September, is still owed $3.57MM of this season’s $18MM salary in addition to an identical $18MM salary next season and a $2MM buyout on an $18MM option for the 2020 season. That remaining $23.57MM made him a no-brainer to clear waivers, but the veteran has remained productive into the late stages of his contract. He’s hitting .260/.332/.526 this season, though Zimmerman’s full 10-and-5 rights would mean he’d have to approve any trade. Ultimately, his clearing is more or less a formality, because there’s almost no realistic scenario in which he’s traded this year.

Nationals Activate Stephen Strasburg

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The Nationals have activated righty Stephen Strasburg from the 10-day disabled list, per a club announcement. He’ll start for the organization tonight.

Strasburg had been sidelined with a cervical nerve impingement. This’ll be the second time that he has attempted to return; previously, he made it back only for one outing. He last pitched in the majors one month ago.

The hope had long been that Strasburg would provide a jolt as the Nats continued to chase down the division-leading Braves and Phillies. But the club has failed to gain ground as it expected, leading to the decision yesterday to trade away quality left-handed hitters Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams.

Of course, the returns of Strasburg and reliever Kelvin Herrera (activated yesterday) will still improve the D.C. roster. But the 7.5-game advantage held by Atlanta represents quite an obstacle, particularly with Murphy and Adams now suiting up for rival National League ballclubs.

Whatever happens in the standings, these next five weeks will afford Strasburg a chance to finish another injury-limited season on a high note. The 30-year-old has thrown 85 1/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball this year, though he does carry typically strong K/BB numbers (101:21). Strasburg is under contract through 2023, at a total cost of $135MM over the next five seasons, but may elect to opt out after 2019 or 2020.

Nationals Notes In Wake Of Murphy & Adams Trades

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Yesterday provided a notable turning point for the Nationals, who’ve struggled to build momentum all season long. The organization shipped out a pair of big lefty bats — Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals — though it decided to keep another in Bryce Harper. While it’s still not impossible to imagine a late-season run, the organization obviously decided it would no longer forego cost savings and prospects in order to maximize its chances.

Here are some notes on the disappointing ballclub:

  • Principal owner Mark Lerner penned a letter to fans in which he characterized August 21st as the point at which the time came for the organization “to make decisions that will bolster our roster for next season and beyond.” With an eye to the future, he says, the Nats moved Murphy and Adams to achieve “roster flexibility” and audition younger players. Still, Lerner emphasized, “this is not a rebuilding effort.”
  • It’s not surprising to hear that the D.C. organization intends to re-tool and make another run in 2019, of course. The roster is still loaded with high-end talent, with some promising players rising up through the system. But there are many needs to be accounted for in the coming winter, and Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post takes an early look. It’s not a short list, though the club will have plenty of payroll space to work with. As Svrluga notes, Nationals president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo emphasized that the club would reinvest the money it has saved through its dealing into baseball ops, saying: “The money that we are making from the cash considerations goes directly into procuring talent for us to compete in the future.” 
  • In his other comments yesterday, Rizzo struck a tone suggesting confidence in the future but disappointment in the present, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. Unsurprisingly, that seems to be the prevailing sentiment around the organization. In terms of the nuts and bolts of the deals that were and weren’t made, Rizzo explained that the financial savings won’t necessarily allow the club to dip below the luxury-tax line. (Additional moves later this month could do so, perhaps, though there’s no clear indication as of yet whether any will occur.) Dealing Harper would have helped, to be sure, but Rizzo says “you have to get a deal that makes sense to trade one of the elite players in the game.” Evidently, that was not forthcoming. (Indeed, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, the Dodgers placed the claim to block other NL contenders from possibly working out a swap.)
  • Most of the above discussion is forward-looking, but there’s certainly cause and opportunity to look back at what went wrong. Injuries were unquestionably a factor, as Lerner noted in his letter, but that hardly explains the disappointment in full. Notably, the Nats have drastically underperformed their expected outcomes by measure of Pythagorean W/L and BaseRuns. Failing to capture wins is a complicated area to address, but the Nationals’ bullpen woes surely are a prime factor. Before yesterday’s roster reckoning, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post documented the collapse of that unit over the course of the season. It’s a fascinating read that includes a detailed explication of the team’s decisionmaking and colorful accounts of the recent departures of Brandon Kintzler and Shawn Kelley. The piece is highly recommended, particularly for Nats fans.
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