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NL Notes: Blackmon, Gyorko, Gregerson, Glasnow, Hellickson

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Though recently-extended Rockies slugger Charlie Blackmon is a star outfielder, he spent his early career trying to make it as a pitcher. Kyle Newman of the Denver Post details Blackmon’s story, beginning with his high school tenure in Atlanta. After struggling to gain any significant attention early on, Blackmon began experiencing arm troubles in his junior year at Georgia Tech. The following season, however, saw him excel as a hitter en route to being drafted by the Rockies. He’s now set to earn nine figures throughout the course of his MLB career. There are some insightful quotes and tidbits in Newman’s article, including this quote from manager Walt Weiss: “I didn’t foresee the power — he’s made some adjustments, and there’s lightning in the bat now because his power numbers are pretty amazing considering the type of player he was when he broke in.”

More from around the National League…

  • The Cardinals have a pair of players set to return soon in Jedd Gyorko and Luke Gregerson, as Joe Trezza of MLB.com reminds us. In fact, both could come off the DL as early as this coming week. Trezza adds that Gyorko’s situation will complicate the infield alignment in St. Louis, as he could sap some playing time from either Kolten Wong or Matt Carpenter (both of whom are currently ice cold at the plate). Gregerson has thrown four scoreless rehab appearances; he began the season on the DL with a hamstring strain.
  • Tyler Glasnow’s first season in relief has yielded good results so far for the Pirates, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The fireballing righty has allowed just a run across six innings in his first three appearances, in part due to an increase in his spin rate. Brink notes that he’s averaged 2,859 revolutions per minute on his curveball, a mark that’s presently 12th in all of MLB. Glasnow’s also increased his average fastball velocity to 96 MPH. “He’s a little bit more free at ease out there on the mound and being himself,” said Ray Searage, renowned pitching coach for the Pirates. “When you have confidence in yourself and try to execute at the best of your ability, you’re going to be more free and easy.”
  • Jeremy Hellickson will officially start for the Nationals tomorrow, Dan Kolko of MASN reports on Twitter. That falls in line with earlier reports that suggested the possibility. Nats fans are surely glad to see anyone but A.J. Cole, who sports a 12.00 ERA through two starts so far this season. There’s a $2MM salary to gain for Hellickson if he sticks in the rotation, as the terms of his minors pact with the club dictate.

Jeremy Hellickson Could Start For Nationals On Monday

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  • Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson could take the ball for the Nationals on Monday when they open a series against the division-rival Mets, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com suggests. Righty A.J. Cole is penciled in at the moment, though signs are pointing to Hellickson making his Nats debut, Zuckerman explains. Promoting Hellickson, whom Washington signed to a minors deal before the season, would require the team to add him to its 40-man roster and jettison someone else. That wouldn’t be the out-of-options Cole, per Zuckerman, who expects him to move to the bullpen in the event of a Hellickson call-up. The 31-year-old Hellickson, a veteran of 197 starts, will earn a $2MM salary if he lands a spot with the Nats.

Nats Notes: Murphy, Rendon

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  • Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy will begin extended spring training action Monday, manager Davey Martinez told Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and other reporters Sunday (Twitter links). Martinez noted that the Nats aren’t going to rush Murphy, who’s working back from offseason surgery on his right knee. Meanwhile, third baseman Anthony Rendon is unlikely to require a DL stint, Martinez revealed. Rendon’s dealing with a sore left big toe that kept him out of the lineup Saturday. He’ll rest again Sunday.

Anthony Rendon Misses Game Due To Toe Injury

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  • Anthony Rendon left last night’s game after fouling a ball off his left big toe, and he wasn’t in today’s Nationals lineup. X-rays on the toe were negative, and manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com’s Jamal Collier and other reporters that there had yet to be any discussion of a possible DL stint for the star third baseman. Washington is already short Daniel Murphy and Adam Eaton from their first-choice starting lineup, and a Rendon absence would give Bryce Harper even less protection.

Nationals Sign Tuffy Gosewisch, Release Miguel Montero

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  • The Nationals have officially released Miguel Montero, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The veteran catcher was designated for assignment earlier this week. He signed a minor league contract with the Nats over the offseason and ended up appearing in four games with the team, filling in as Washington dealt with some catching injuries.
  • The Nationals have officially released Miguel Montero, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The veteran catcher was designated for assignment earlier this week. He signed a minor league contract with the Nats over the offseason and ended up appearing in four games with the team, filling in as Washington dealt with some catching injuries.
  • With Montero now gone, the Nationals added some minor league catching depth by inking Tuffy Gosewisch to a minors deal, as per the team’s MLB.com transactions page. Gosewisch was released by the Mariners in early April after re-signing with the organization on a new minor league deal over the offseason. Gosewisch appeared in just 11 big league games with Seattle last season, but received 369 PA as a backup catcher with the D’Backs from 2014-16.

Pirates Claim Enny Romero From Nationals

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The Pirates have claimed left-hander Enny Romero off waivers from the Nationals, as per a Pittsburgh media release.  Romero will claim an open spot on the Bucs’ 40-man roster, and the release stated that he’ll join the Major League roster once a corresponding move is made.

Washington designated Romero for assignment last week in the wake of a tough start to the season that saw the lefty allow three runs over two innings pitched.  Romero was something of the victim of a roster crunch, as the Nats chose to subtract from their eight-man bullpen to add extra bench depth in the form of utilityman Matt Reynolds.  In 2017, Romero posted a 3.56 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and a 2.83 K/BB rate over 55 2/3 IP for the Nationals.

Romero will join closer Felipe Vazquez as the only other left-handed reliever on the Pirates’ 25-man roster, with Steven Brault (in the rotation) and Josh Smoker (at Triple-A) representing the only other southpaws on Pittsburgh’s 40-man.  Romero isn’t an ideal candidate, however, to provide balance to the Pirates bullpen since he has been a reverse-splits pitcher over his 138 career innings. Left-handed batters have a healthy .317/.398/.467 slash line against him while right-handed batters have hit just .232/.317/.371.

Could Nationals Target Lucroy Next Winter?

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  • The Nationals could potentially be contenders to sign Jonathan Lucroy next offseason.  Matt Wieters is in his last year under contract, and Washington had some interest in Lucroy this winter despite Wieters still being on the hook for $10.5MM this season.  Of course, quite a bit could happen to affect this interest between now and next winter, particularly since Lucroy is looking to rebound with the Athletics after a very inconsistent 2017 season.  If Lucroy does bounce back and the A’s are out of contention this year, I would think it possible that the Nats could even target Lucroy at the trade deadline.

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  • The Nationals could potentially be contenders to sign Jonathan Lucroy next offseason.  Matt Wieters is in his last year under contract, and Washington had some interest in Lucroy this winter despite Wieters still being on the hook for $10.5MM this season.  Of course, quite a bit could happen to affect this interest between now and next winter, particularly since Lucroy is looking to rebound with the Athletics after a very inconsistent 2017 season.  If Lucroy does bounce back and the A’s are out of contention this year, I would think it possible that the Nats could even target Lucroy at the trade deadline.

Glover Throwing From 75 Feet; Benoit Not Cleared To Throw

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  • MASNsports.com’s Byron Kerr tweets that Nationals reliever Koda Glover is making some progress in his return from shoulder troubles. Glover, who was briefly the team’s closer in a 2017 season marred by back and hip injuries, opened the year on the 60-day DL after a spring MRI revealed inflammation in his right shoulder. He’s now throwing from 75 feet though, which is at least a step in the right direction for a young power arm for whom the organization has quite a bit of hope. The outlook on Joaquin Benoit is less optimistic, as Kerr notes that the veteran has yet to begin throwing. Washington added Benoit late this spring — not long after Glover’s MRI, in fact — but he quickly went down with a forearm strain and opened the season on the DL himself.

Nationals To Sign Mark Reynolds

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The Nationals have agreed to terms with veteran first baseman Mark Reynolds, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It’ll be a minor-league deal if Reynolds passes his physical, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (Twitter link).

Reynolds, 34, had gone unsigned all winter despite reportedly having some contact with the Rockies. He had been the team’s regular first baseman for all of the 2017 season, turning in a useful (albeit Coors Field-aided) .267/.352/.487 batting line with thirty home runs over 593 plate appearances.

Now, Reynolds will head to an organization that does not appear to have much of an opening at the MLB level. Ryan Zimmerman — who played with Reynolds at the University of Virginia — is firmly ensconced atop the depth chart, with the left-handed-hitting Matt Adams supplementing him on the roster.

To be sure, Reynolds has spent time at other positions. The bulk of his time in the majors has come at third base and he has also appeared a few times in the corner outfield and even (quite briefly) at second. But it has been quite some time since Reynolds lined up at the hot corner, so it’s doubtful he’ll be considered more than a depth piece for the Nats for the time being.

Nationals Designate Miguel Montero

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The Nationals have designated catcher Miguel Montero for assignment, per a club announcement. That’ll open an active roster spot for the activation of backstop Matt Wieters and clear a 40-man place for Moises Sierra, whose contract was selected with fellow outfielder Adam Eaton hitting the DL.

[RELATED: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]

Montero, 34, received the nod as the reserve catcher to open the season after signing a minors deal over the winter. His contract included a $1.3MM salary in the majors, though according to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (Twitter link) it was not fully guaranteed.

While he was once a solid regular behind the dish, Montero has trailed off in recent seasons. He still knows how to draw a walk, but is just a .211/.316/.343 hitter since the start of the 2016 season and didn’t quite reach that standard in his Grapefruit League action this spring. On the defensive side, Montero’s once-sparkling framing numbers dropped in 2017 and he had marked difficulty controlling opposing runners on the bases.

Of course, some of those same sorts of questions are still also facing Wieters, who is coming off of a forgettable 2017 season in D.C. He’ll look to get back on track now that he has recovered from a minor oblique injury, though it’s possible he will increasingly need to share time with the younger Pedro Severino, who bypassed Montero after Wieters went down. It’s questionable at best whether Severino will hit consistently in the majors, but at this point the Nats have good cause to give him an opportunity to show he can. On the whole, the catching situation remains a major source of uncertainty for the D.C. organization.

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