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Nationals Select Tommy Milone, Designate Jose Marmolejos

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9:15am: Washington has announced the move, along with a corresponding decision to designate first baseman/outfielder Jose Marmolejos for assignment. The 25-year-old had struggled at the plate this year at Triple-A.

8:24am: The Nationals are set to select the contract of southpaw Tommy Milone to start tonight’s game. The TalkNats blog first tweeted that it appeared Milone would get the nod, with MLB.com’s Jamal Collier tweeting that was indeed the plan.

Milone will step into the rotation spot opened when Stephen Strasburg was sent back onto the disabled list. While an active roster spot is already accounted for, the Nats also seemingly need to make a 40-man move to accommodate the return of Milone. The veteran southpaw last pitched for the organization in his rookie campaign of 2011.

Milone has compiled 736 2/3 innings of 4.37 ERA ball in his seven seasons in the big leagues, but has struggled in recent campaigns. This will represent his first MLB action of the 2018 season.

Through twenty starts at the Triple-A level on the year, Milone carries a 4.19 ERA over 109 2/3 frames. He’s averaging 9.3 K/9 — well above his typical levels in the majors but right at his career mean at the highest level of the minors — along with a characteristically minimal walk rate of 2.0 BB/9.

Nationals Unlikely To Trade Bryce Harper

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  • “Something extreme would have to happen for us to consider moving [Bryce Harper],” Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  While short of an outright denial, it doesn’t seem like a Harper trade is even a longshot possibility for the Nats.  If anything, Rizzo said the team is still looking to add (in the form of starting pitching and a catcher), though Sherman notes that the general manager didn’t rule out the possibility of eventually selling some impending free agents if Washington can’t get back into the pennant race.  Such moves would be lower-level veterans and not Harper, as Sherman runs through the rather limited and difficult market the Nationals would face if they did make him available.

Latest On Cole Hamels

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7:27pm: Then again, a source tells Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link) that it’s “not accurate” to say the sides have discussed Hamels.

Of course, the Nats do have someone on hand to watch Hamels in action tonight, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. The Braves, Cubs, Phillies, Yankees, and Diamondbacks do as well.

Of course, there are other players on view as well. The Atlanta organization may be looking at lefty reliever Jake Diekman, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman suggests on Twitter.

As for the Nationals, Janes tweets that noted D.C. executive Dan Jennings is the rep in Arlington, though she suggests his appearance is “more due diligence.”

7:15pm: The Nationals are the latest team with some level of interest in Rangers lefty Cole Hamels, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Those two organizations are said to have engaged in “trade discussions,” though there’s no indication that a deal is particularly close.

It’s not surprising to see the Nats angling to deepen their rotation and Hamels is certainly a pitcher with whom the organization is familiar. Of course, it’s also a bit interesting to hear of this particular connection given a rather notable run-in between Hamels and the D.C. ballclub, though that was some years ago.

After a strong outing on June 19th, Hamels owned a 3.41 ERA. After four sub-optimal times out, though, he’s all the way up to a 4.36 mark that arguably better reflects his true talent level at this stage of an outstanding career.

On the one hand, Hamels is back to generating a strikeout per nine after a big fall-off in 2017. On the other, he’s giving up home runs on 20.2% of the flyballs put in play against him. ERA estimators mostly view Hamels as a solid hurler — he’s at a 5.06 FIP, 4.11 xFIP, and 4.06 SIERA this year — but there’s not much reason to believe that Hamels is the top-line starter he once was.

Perhaps there’s some added appeal in the fact that Hamels has a long history of good work in the postseason, even if his most recent appearance — a 2016 dud for the Rangers — did not go as hoped. All told, he has thrown 98 1/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball over 16 playoff starts. Hamels was also named the MVP of the 2008 World Series.

Contract will play a major role in the market for Hamels. He’s earning $22.5MM this year, a hefty rate for a sub-elite starter. He’s also due a $6MM buyout on a $20MM club option for 2019. Increasingly, it seems likely he’ll end up receiving the break-up fee.

Hamels can block trades to twenty teams, but the Nats are not among them. Neither are the division-rival Braves. The Atlanta organization has been linked loosely to Hamels in the recent past. Morosi suggests the Braves are indeed at least taking a look, though it’s not clear if there’s serious interest.

Nationals Reinstate Koda Glover From 60-Day DL

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  • The Nationals announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Koda Glover from the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. The move gives the Nationals a full 40-man roster, and it puts Glover in better position to return to the majors in the near future. Glover, who served as Washington’s closer for some of last season, combined for 39 innings from 2016-17 and registered a 5.08 ERA/3.72 FIP with 7.62 K/9 and 2.54 BB/9. The hard-throwing 25-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors this season on account of right shoulder issues, though he could be up soon, Dan Kolko of MASN tweets.

Royals Acquire Brian Goodwin

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The Royals have acquired outfielder Brian Goodwin from the Nationals for minor league reliever Jacob Condra-Bogan, Washington announced. The Nats also recalled reliever Sammy Solis to take Goodwin’s roster spot.

A National since they chose him in the first round (34th overall) of the 2011 draft, Goodwin never became a full-time player with the club. He debuted in 2016 with a short stint and amassed a career-high 278 plate appearances last year, when he impressed by posting a .251/.313/.498 line (105 wRC+) with 13 home runs, six steals and a stellar .247 ISO. Goodwin had difficulty in the outfield, however, as he combined for minus-7 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-4.6 Ultimate Zone Rating.

Playing time was harder to come by in D.C. this season for the 27-year-old Goodwin, who was stuck behind fellow lefty-swingers Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Adam Eaton – not to mention the righty-hitting Michael A. Taylor – in the team’s outfield pecking order. Each of Harper, Eaton and Taylor missed time because of injuries in 2017, while Soto wasn’t even in the majors – all of which opened the door for Goodwin.

With no clear path to action this season, Goodwin racked up just 79 PAs in his final run with the Nationals and batted .200/.321/.354. Along the way, he showed significantly less power (three HRs, .154 ISO) and raised his strikeout rate from 24.8 percent last year to 32.9 percent. Goodwin did increase his walk rate, which climbed from 8.3 percent in 2017 to 12.7, but that wasn’t enough to lift his offense to a respectable level.

Because Goodwin’s out of options and superfluous to the Nats’ roster, the logical move was to deal him. The rebuilding Royals are apparently in position to take a chance on Goodwin, who won’t be eligible for arbitration until after next season and is controllable through 2022. Kansas City has Alex Gordon and Jorge Bonifacio entrenched as corner outfield starters, but Goodwin could perhaps supplant the struggling Rosell Herrera in center. They’ll have to figure out how to deploy those players and right fielder Jorge Soler when he returns from the left toe fracture he suffered in mid-June. Soler is likely to come back in August, Rustin Dodd of the Athletic suggests.

To land Goodwin, the Royals gave up the hard-throwing Condra-Bogan, whom Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star profiled in June. The Royals signed Condra-Bogan, 23, out of the Frontier League in January, and he has since shown off 99 mph heat “without losing command of the strike zone,” per Torres. The righty has tossed 27 innings at the Single-A level this season and notched a 2.08 ERA with incredible strikeout and walk rates (13.5 K/9, .70 BB/9).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sean Doolittle Has “Stress Reaction” In Foot

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Nationals closer Sean Doolittle underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed a “stress reaction” in his left foot, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. There’s no timetable for Doolittle’s return, but he’s expected to miss “weeks, not months,” according to Zuckerman.

Doolittle has already been out since July 7, though the Nationals were surely hoping the left-hander would return after a minimum stay on the 10-day disabled list. Instead, the latest news on Doolittle is yet another negative development for Washington. Expected to contend for a World Series at the beginning of the season, the Nationals have limped to a 48-49 record, placing them 6 1/2 games out in the National League East and six behind a wild-card spot.

Now, considering how poorly their season has gone, it’s unclear just how aggressive the Nationals will be leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. There are plenty of relievers set to change hands in the coming days, and the Nats could perhaps be involved in that market if they choose to buy. Of course, they already made a major addition to their bullpen last month in acquiring Kelvin Herrera from the Royals. Herrera hasn’t been close to as effective in Washington as he was in Kansas City for the season’s first couple months, but as an experienced closer, he’s the logical replacement for Doolittle in D.C.

The 31-year-old Doolittle’s void certainly isn’t an easy one to fill, given that he has posted outstanding results since debuting with the A’s in 2012. Doolittle was better than ever this year before going on the DL, as he logged a 1.45 ERA/1.97 FIP with 11.81 K/9 and .72 BB/9 in 37 1/3 innings. He also locked down nearly half of the Nats’ wins, saving 22 of 23 opportunities.

Nationals Reinstate Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman

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The Nationals have reinstated right-hander Stephen Strasburg from the 10-day disabled list and brought back first baseman Ryan Zimmerman from the 60-day DL, the team announced. To make room for those two, Washington optioned righties Wander Suero and Trevor Gott to Triple-A.

Strasburg’s back after missing upward of a month with shoulder inflammation, and his return will be a much-needed one for a Washington club with ground to make up in the NL East. The Nationals went just 48-48 before the All-Star break and currently sit five games out of a wild-card spot and 5.5 behind the division-leading Phillies. Part of the problem has been a lack of high-end starters behind ace Max Scherzer. Gio Gonzalez and Jeremy Hellickson have both pitched well, though they haven’t turned in front-line performances. Strasburg, 30, has done that throughout his career, and he managed a 3.46 ERA/3.58 FIP with 10.6 K/9 and 2.12 BB/9 in 80 2/3 innings before going on the DL.

Zimmerman has been out since May 12 because of a back injury, and he struggled prior to landing on the shelf. After reviving his career in 2017, the 33-year-old opened this season with a .217/.280/.409 line in 125 plate appearances. His DL placement opened the door for the addition of fellow veteran first baseman Mark Reynolds, whom the Nats selected from Triple-A Syracuse when they lost Zimmerman. The minor league signing of Reynolds has paid dividends for Washington, as he has slashed a splendid .291/.361/.573 with 10 home runs (and a 10-RBI game) over 133 PAs. It’s now unclear how the Nationals will divvy up playing time between Zimmerman and Reynolds, two righty-swingers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/18/18

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all via Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless otherwise noted:

  • A few right-handed hurlers with some MLB experience have found new homes. Casey Coleman has returned to the Cubs on a minors deal after opening the year in indy ball. He has appeared previously in parts of four MLB seasons and thrown 177 1/3 total frames at the game’s highest level, mostly for the Cubs. Coleman has a lifetime 5.72 ERA in the majors and hasn’t seen time there since 2014. Meanwhile, Mike Broadway will go to the Rays after being released by the Royals. The 31-year-old has struggled in the upper minors of late after making 25 appearances in the bigs with the Giants in 2015 and 2016.
  • Another righty, Jeff Ames, has been announced as the newest member of the Brewers organization. The 27-year-old was a sandwich-round selection in the 2011 draft but has yet to make it to the majors. He had worked to a 5.70 ERA with 12.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 over 23 2/3 Double-A innings this year in the Nationals organization.
  • Eddy lists a variety of players who were cut loose, none more prominent than infielder Alexi Amarista. The 29-year-old, a seven-year MLB veteran, had been with the Phillies but slashed just .238/.285/.288 in his 173 plate appearances at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Amarista has a lifetime 68 OPS+ in 702 games of MLB action, so the lack of offensive production is hardly a surprise. He’s obviously valued primarily for his glovework.
  • Also released were outfielder Rymer Liriano (Angels) and lefty Jairo Labourt (Tigers). Both were in the not-too-distant past considered intriguing enough players to make it into the majors and then bounce around a bit via waiver claims. Liriano had posted a robust .268/.343/.523 slash in his 65 games of action at Triple-A with the Halos organization. But he had not yet been given a shot at the big league level this year and will now go looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. The 24-year-old Labourt, on the other hand, only made it into five rookie ball games with the Chicago organization, recording 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 one-hit innings but also issuing nine free passes and allowing six runs (three earned).

Nationals Notes: Realmuto, Robles, Eovaldi

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The Nationals could be willing to “revisit” talks with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto, according to Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman.  The Nats have long been connected to Realmuto, though GM Mike Rizzo seemingly threw cold water on the potential of a trade a few weeks ago by saying that his team wasn’t willing to meet Miami’s very high asking price for the star catcher.  Now, there is some belief that Washington could be open to dealing star outfield prospect Victor Robles, though Heyman notes that this is unconfirmed.  The Nats were firmly against the idea of dealing Robles or Carter Kieboom to the Marlins for Realmuto, which is what brought talks to a halt in the first place.

DL Placements: Felix Hernandez, Sean Doolittle, Josh Tomlin

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With several players hitting the disabled list this afternoon, we’ll round them up in this post:

  • The Mariners announced that starter Felix Hernandez will hit the DL owing to lower back tightness. It seems the idea is to afford him a longer rest by lining up the placement with the coming All-Star break, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Reliever Nick Rumbelow and infielder Gordon Beckham will head onto the active roster, with outfielder John Andreoli being optioned out. Hopefully for the M’s, a bit of a respite will allow Hernandez to bounce back in the second half. It has been a frustrating season to this point, as he has allowed 5.13 earned runs per nine over 105 1/3 innings.
  • Likewise, the Nationals announced that closer Sean Doolittle is hitting the shelf with left toe inflammation. His placement is retroactive to July 7th, meaning he’ll be eligible to return immediately after the break. The roster will get two fresh arms in Wander Suero and Austin Voth, while fellow right-hander Jefry Rodriguez was optioned after his start yesterday. As for Doolittle, it had been hoped that he would be able to return to action, but the team can ill afford an un-utilized roster spot with a tired relief corps. The club has other capable late-inning arms to turn to, though obviously the fervent hope will be that this placement will stave off any more concerning health matters.
  • Indians righty Josh Tomlin is going to the DL with a right hamstring strain, per another announcement. He’ll be replaced by Adam Plutko, who has seen seven games (including six starts) of action in the majors this year. Tomlin has struggled both before and after being bumped from the rotation. Though he hasn’t been hit quite as hard in a relief capacity, he’s still allowing a .256/.294/.538 slash to opposing hitters while working from the bullpen. The 33-year-old owns a 6.98 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 — and an unhealthy 3.9 homers per nine — over 49 total innings this year.
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