Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nationals Rumors

Nationals Designate Carlos Torres, Recall Erick Fedde

By | at

The Nationals announced today that they have designated righty Carlos Torres for assignment. His active roster spot will go to prospect Erick Fedde, who was recalled to make a start today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reported yesterday on Twitter.

Torres, 35, helped the Nats through some bullpen injuries and carried a solid 9:3 K/BB ratio in his 9 2/3 innings. But he also allowed seven earned runs on nine hits, including three long balls, during his time in the D.C. relief corps.

It seems that this’ll be only a one-outing opportunity for Fedde. He could be retained as a relief option, though perhaps the likelier scenario is that he’ll go back to Triple-A to stay stretched out in case there’s a need for something more than a spot starter.

Fedde, a former first-round pick and top-100 prospect, did not turn in a compelling debut effort last year with the Nationals. But he has shown better thus far in 2018 at Syracuse, where he carries only a 4.35 ERA but more promising peripherals — 9.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 with a 50.4% groundball rate — through 41 1/3 innings.

Nationals Sign Jaff Decker, Option Moises Sierra To Triple-A

By and | at

  • The Nationals signed outfielder Jaff Decker to a minors contract, the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes reports (via Twitter).  The 30-year-old has appeared in each of the last five MLB seasons, posting a .510 OPS over 191 career plate appearances with the Padres, Pirates, Rays, and A’s.  Decker signed a minor league deal with Atlanta over the winter but was released earlier this month.
  • The Nationals announced that outfielder Moises Sierra has cleared waivers and been optioned back to Triple-A.  Sierra was designated for assignment earlier this week to clear roster space for the promotion of top prospect Juan Soto.  Appearing in his first MLB action since 2014, Sierra hit .167/.217/.404 over 60 PA for Washington this season.

Justin Miller Could Be Option For Nationals' Bullpen

By and | at

The Nationals added lefty Tim Collins to the big league roster on Monday to step into the void left by Ryan Madson’s trip to the DL, but Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes that another Triple-A arm, veteran Justin Miller, could also emerge as an option in D.C. The former Rockies setup man has impressed to open the season, pitching 12 2/3 shutout innings with a 21-to-3 K/BB ratio and a 44.4 percent grounder rate. Miller’s minor league deal with the Nats has a June 15 opt-out provision, according to Janes, so the Nationals will need to make a call on him in the coming weeks. The 30-year-old Miller showed swing-and-miss stuff with the Rox in 2015-16 but struggled to strand runners and was plagued in 2016 by sub-par control and some home run troubles.

Nationals Select Contract Of Tim Collins

By | at

The Nationals announced on Monday that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed reliever Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse. (Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post first reported that Collins was likely to be added following an injury to Ryan Madson.) In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Collins, the Nats moved Howie Kendrick from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. Kendrick suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon over the weekend and will miss the remainder of the season.

Collins’ promotion will be the culmination of a three-year journey back to the Majors after missing the 2015, 2016 and most of the 2017 seasons due to injury. Once a quality reliever in a dominant Royals bullpen that perhaps helped to kickstart baseball’s bullpen revolution, Collins hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2014 due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries.

Still just 28 years of age, Collins will bring a career 3.54 ERA over the life of 211 big league innings to the Nationals’ bullpen. He’s had no trouble missing bats in his career, averaging 9.4 K/9 in parts of four seasons — highlighted by a career-best 12.0 mark in 2012. Control has been more of an issue for Collins, though, as he’s also averaged 5.2 walks per nine frames at the big league level. That number is skewed to an extent by a rookie campaign in which he averaged 6.5 free passes per nine, but even in Collins’ most effective seasons, he was averaging well north of four walks per nine innings pitched.

Opposing lefties have batted .224/.328/.347 in 498 trips to the plate against Collins in his big league career, while right-handers have hit him at a .219/.341/.362 clip. His time in the Kansas City bullpen and on the Royals’ 60-day DL has left him with five-plus years of service, so Collins will qualify as a free agent if he proves capable of sticking in the Nationals’ bullpen through season’s end. He opened the season with 17 1/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball and a 20-to-9 K/BB ratio in Syracuse.

Details On The Nats' Interest In Jake Arrieta

By | at

  • The Nationals were linked to Jake Arrieta during the offseason, and Heyman reports that the team was interested in signing the righty to a contract similar to the three-year, $75MM deal Arrieta eventually got from the Phillies.  No offer was officially made, however, while GM Mike Rizzo had interest in adding Arrieta, ownership declined to make another big investment in a starting pitcher.  With Arrieta pitching well and the Phillies ahead of the Nats in the NL East standings, this non-signing could be an interesting what-if scenario for the future, though Washington’s rotation is already one of the best in baseball.

    [SOURCE LINK]
  • The Nationals were linked to Jake Arrieta during the offseason, and Heyman reports that the team was interested in signing the righty to a contract similar to the three-year, $75MM deal Arrieta eventually got from the Phillies.  No offer was officially made, however, while GM Mike Rizzo had interest in adding Arrieta, ownership declined to make another big investment in a starting pitcher.  With Arrieta pitching well and the Phillies ahead of the Nats in the NL East standings, this non-signing could be an interesting what-if scenario for the future, though Washington’s rotation is already one of the best in baseball.

Nationals Place Ryan Madson On 10-Day DL

By | at

The Nationals announced that right-hander Ryan Madson has been placed on the 10-day DL with a pectoral muscle strain.  The placement is retroactive to May 17.  Nats manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post) that Madson was feeling “a little bit better” after missing Saturday and Sunday’s games and the placement was “just to be safe,” so it’s possible the reliever could miss only a minimal amount of time.

Madson has a 4.19 ERA over 19 1/3 innings this season, though ERA predictors (2.16 FIP, 3.67 xFIP, 3.42 SIERA) paint a more favorable view of his performance.  Madson has yet to allow a home run this season, and has owns a 9.3 K/9, 3.33 K/BB rate, and a 43.9% grounder rate.  Late-game situations have been a strength for the Nats this season, between Madson and Brandon Kintzler’s solid set-up work and Sean Doolittle’s spectacular early numbers.  As Janes notes, Tim Collins looks to be the likeliest candidate to be called up to fill Madson’s spot in the bullpen; while Madson isn’t truly replaceable, Collins at least provides the Nats with an extra left-hander.

Madson’s absence represents yet another DL setback for the Nats, who are already without Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton, Howie Kendrick, Ryan Zimmerman, Joaquin Benoit, Matt Wieters, Koda Glover, Jhonatan Solano, Brian Goodwin, and Matt Grace.  (Anthony Rendon also missed significant time earlier this season.)  Despite this hard bite from the injury bug, the Nationals are still 24-21 and staying afloat in the crowded NL East and wild card races.

Matt Wieters Undergoes Hamstring Surgery

By | at

SUNDAY: Wieters told Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com and other reporters on Sunday that his surgery was to remove a tendon. Wieters believes he could return within six to eight weeks.

THURSDAY: Nationals catcher Matt Wieters has undergone surgery on his left hamstring, per a team announcement. Wieters had already gone on the DL, so no immediate roster moves will be required.

The big question is what kind of rehabilitation timeline will be necessary. Further details are not yet available, but it certainly does not appear to be promising news for the veteran backstop, who had previously only been diagnosed with a strain. Clearly, this is not a typical hamstring injury that requires only rest and rehabilitation.

Wieters, who is nearing his 32nd birthday, has not exactly overwhelmed since joining the Nationals in advance of the 2017 campaign. But he had been a useful player in the early going this year, reversing his struggles at the plate by carrying a .231/.342/.385 batting line with ten walks against a dozen strikeouts.

Even if the Nats have cause to believe Wieters could return at some point during the current season, it now seems likelier than ever that an outside addition will be needed. Spencer Kieboom is currently backing up newly-minted starter Pedro Severino at the position for the time being. While both are considered defensively proficient, they’re also thin on MLB experience and neither has shown much hitting capability in the upper minors. Suspended youngster Raudy Read will be available again before too long, though the preference will likely be to get him back in the swing of things in the upper minors.

For the Nationals, there’s also a longer-term need to consider. Wieters is earning $10.5MM this season before returning to the open market. While Severino ought to represent a reserve or platoon piece for some time, he does not profile as anything approaching an everyday backstop. Read perhaps offers greater upside with the bat, but is hardly a can’t-miss prospect.

There are a variety of hypothetical options out there for the Nationals, who’ll likely find it difficult to make a substantial upgrade until closer to the trade deadline. Bringing in a player such as Miguel Montero, who opened the season in D.C., could help bridge the gap. And it’s conceivable the Nats could give Blake Swihart a crack, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted yesterday, though they’d have to believe more in his capabilities behind the dish than do the Red Sox. It also may just be that the Nationals will prefer to roll with what they have for a bit while seeking to boost the depth at Triple-A.

Looking ahead a bit to the deadline, J.T. Realmuto remains the obvious prize, as we explored recently in a post. But he’ll be widely pursued and figures to cost a significant haul in prospect value. Old friend Wilson Ramos is among the potential rental assets the Nationals could consider, but he and others likely won’t hit the block unless and until the Rays and other organizations decide to pack it in for the season.

Nationals Promote Juan Soto

By | at

SUNDAY: Soto’s promotion is now official. To make room for him on its roster, Washington designated Sierra for assignment and optioned righty Jefry Rodriguez to Double-A. Sierra, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Nationals during the offseason. He went on to amass 60 PAs with the Nats and bat .167/.217/.204 prior to his designation.

SATURDAY: The Nationals will promote outfield prospect Juan Soto, Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com tweets. Soto will join the Nats on Sunday, Kerr adds. Given that Washington’s 40-man roster is at capacity, it’ll need to make a corresponding move to create a spot for Soto.

The 19-year-old Soto is one of the game’s most exciting prospects and will immediately become the majors’ youngest player, though his promotion comes under unfortunate circumstances for the Nationals. The club has been dealing with a spate of injuries in the outfield, where Adam Eaton, Brian Goodwin and high-end prospect Victor Robles have missed most of this season, and Howie Kendrick will sit out the rest of it after suffering a ruptured Achilles on Saturday. Moreover, the Nats lost minor leaguer/40-man option Rafael Bautista to a season-ending knee injury earlier this week.

Now, thanks in part to the hits the Nats’ depth has taken, Soto is set to join a Bryce Harper-fronted outfield alignment whose other 25-man choices at the moment include Michael A. Taylor, Matt Adams, Moises Sierra and Andrew Stevenson. It has been a meteoric rise for the Dominican-born Soto, who signed with the Nationals as a 16-year-old in 2015. Soto was among the most highly regarded players available in that year’s international class, and the $1.5MM he received represented the biggest bonus the Nats had given to a Latin American teenager at the time.

Since immigrating to the United States, the lefty-swinging Soto has paid back the Nats by running roughshod over minor league pitching. Dating back to his minors debut in 2016, he owns a tremendous .361/.433/.608 batting line across 508 plate appearances. Soto has racked up 178 of those trips this year among the Single-A, High-A and Double-A levels, though only 31 came with the latter affiliate prior to his promotion. He was hardly overmatched during that small sample of work, however, evidenced by his .296/.387/.556 slash.

Judging by his history, Soto will emerge as an offensive centerpiece in Washington either this season or down the line. He’s also a capable corner outfielder, notes MLB.com, which ranks him as the game’s 15th-best prospect. While Soto has spent the majority of his pro career in right field, Harper figures to man that spot in D.C. at least through this season. As such, Soto seems likely to line up in left for the Nats, who have gotten off to a respectable start (24-20) but could use a boost if they’re going to overcome the Braves and Phillies en route to a third straight NL East crown.

Howie Kendrick Suffers Ruptured Achilles

By | at

10:53pm: Kendrick suffered a ruptured Achilles, manager Dave Martinez announced Saturday (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). He’ll undergo season-ending surgery Monday.

7:16pm: The Nationals have placed infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick on the disabled list with a right Achilles injury, per a team announcement. His roster spot will go to right-hander Jefry Rodriguez, whom the Nats recalled from Double-A Harrisburg.

The severity of Kendrick’s injury isn’t yet known, though both the location of the problem and the fact that he left the team’s game on a cart Saturday are alarming.

Kendrick, whom the Nationals re-signed to a two-year, $7MM guarantee in the offseason, had gotten off to a productive start to the season prior to Saturday (.303/.331/.474 and four home runs in 160 plate appearances). The 34-year-old has also played several positions, primarily lining up at second base in place of injured star Daniel Murphy. With Murphy still working back from offseason knee surgery, Wilmer Difo should have second base to himself for the time being. The Nats had been turning to Difo at the keystone anyway in recent days while Kendrick occupied left field to help cover for the absences of the banged-up Adam Eaton–Brian Goodwin duo.

Now that Kendrick has joined Eaton, Goodwin and top prospect Victor Robles on the shelf, and minor leaguer Rafael Bautista is set to undergo season-ending knee surgery, Washington’s outfield depth is clearly weaker than it was entering the day. Bryce Harper and the struggling Michael A. Taylor still remain on hand in starting roles, though, with Matt Adams, Moises Sierra and Andrew Stevenson also serving as potential 25-man options. Their only other healthy, outfield-capable 40-man choices are Matt Reynolds and Jose Marmolejos, both of whom are on Triple-A. Of course, Washington also has another of the game’s best outfield prospects in Juan Soto, but he’s only 19 and has taken just 31 PAs above the Single-A level. Unsurprisingly, then, the Nats aren’t looking to rush Soto to the majors.

Rafael Bautista To Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

By | at

  • Nationals outfielder Rafael Bautista will undergo season-ending knee surgery, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports. Bautista, 25, tore the ACL, LCL and meniscus in his left knee on a collision Thursday while playing for the Nats’ Triple-A affiliate. Even though Bautista has only totaled 33 major league plate appearances (six this year) since debuting last season, his loss is another unwelcome one for a team whose outfield depth has taken multiple hits in 2018. Washington was already down Adam Eaton and Brian Goodwin prior to Bautista’s injury, and it may have to go without Howie Kendrick after he departed Saturday’s game on a cart with an apparent ankle issue.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top