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Nationals Notes: Strasburg, Outfielders

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  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo isn’t planning to look for outfield help before the trade deadline, Rizzo told media (including MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman).  Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor and Chris Heisey are all on the DL, and Ryan Raburn is on bereavement leave, putting the Nats in a tight spot for outfield depth.  Still, Rizzo believes the club has enough depth to hold up without any external additions.  “I think we have confidence in the guys we have, and as long as the core of our lineup is healthy and hitting on all cylinders, I think we can make it through until Jayson and Michael get better.  I don’t see that being too far of a distance,” Rizzo said.

Stephen Strasburg left today’s game between the Nationals and Diamondbacks after just two innings.  Manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Jamal Collier (Twitter links) and other reporters that the star right-hander was removed as a precautionary measure after Strasburg couldn’t get loose.  No tests are scheduled for Strasburg when the team returns to Washington, though he will be examined by team doctors.  “An achy forearm [and] general tightness” is how Strasburg described his injury to the media (including Collier), and the righty said that he preferred to leave the game when he did before the problem turned into something serious.

  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo isn’t planning to look for outfield help before the trade deadline, Rizzo told media (including MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman).  Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor and Chris Heisey are all on the DL, and Ryan Raburn is on bereavement leave, putting the Nats in a tight spot for outfield depth.  Still, Rizzo believes the club has enough depth to hold up without any external additions.  “I think we have confidence in the guys we have, and as long as the core of our lineup is healthy and hitting on all cylinders, I think we can make it through until Jayson and Michael get better.  I don’t see that being too far of a distance,” Rizzo said.
  • The Cubs and Dodgers recently had scouts watching the Phillies’ Pat Neshek in action, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).  Both teams have been known to be looking at other relievers, so it isn’t any surprise that Neshek is on their radar.  Neshek, widely expected to be moved before the deadline, has been linked to several teams — Chicago and L.A. are the newest names on a long list that includes the Nationals, Royals, Red Sox, Yankees, Brewers and Rays.

Nationals Notes: Payroll, Bullpen, Werth

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  • The Nationals want to add another reliever and potentially some rotation depth, though it remains to be seen if they’ll have the prospects or money to make those deals happen, MLB.com’s Jamal Collier writes as part of a reader mailbag piece.  It doesn’t look like the Nats will move top prospects Victor Robles, Juan Soto or Erick Fedde as part of any trade, plus the club already dealt from its secondary farm system stockpile in acquiring Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle from the A’s.  That deal added roughly $5MM in salary to the Nationals’ 2017 payroll, so it’s possible Washington might be out of financial room, unless they can move some current salaries as part of a trade.
  • The Nationals want to add another reliever and potentially some rotation depth, though it remains to be seen if they’ll have the prospects or money to make those deals happen, MLB.com’s Jamal Collier writes as part of a reader mailbag piece.  It doesn’t look like the Nats will move top prospects Victor Robles, Juan Soto or Erick Fedde as part of any trade, plus the club already dealt from its secondary farm system stockpile in acquiring Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle from the A’s.  That deal added roughly $5MM in salary to the Nationals’ 2017 payroll, so it’s possible Washington might be out of financial room, unless they can move some current salaries as part of a trade.
  • Earlier this week, Jayson Werth told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post and other reporters that he suffered a fracture in his left foot in addition to the bone bruise that has sidelined him since early June.  Despite the ominous-sounding injury, Werth said that the bone bruise is the real problem, as he still can’t sprint.  The veteran outfielder is taking batting practice and throwing, however, so going by the rough two-month timeline for bone bruise recovery, Werth could potentially be back with the Nationals in early August.

Nats In On Justin Wilson But Reportedly Won't Deal Robles, Soto, Fedde

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With David Phelps now officially a Seattle Mariner, the Marlins could look to make AJ Ramos the next piece they deal. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that while the Fish had about 10 teams express interest in Phelps, they currently have three teams expressing serious interest in Ramos. One of those clubs appears to be the Rays, as FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Tampa Bay is among the clubs with interest in the Miami closer. Ramos has also been linked to the Rockies, and was previously linked to the Yankees and Nationals before each of those clubs acquired two relievers in a single trade. (Though the New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweets that the Yankees never had any interest in him.)

  • While the Nationals are in on Tigers left-hander Justin Wilson, they won’t part with top prospects Victor Robles, Juan Soto or Erick Fedde in a trade to acquire him, tweets MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal. Per Rosenthal, the Red Sox, Dodgers and Astros are all still in the mix for Wilson. Heyman tweets that the Rays are still looking at Wilson, to whom they were linked earlier this week, but at this point it seems that other teams are likelier to land him. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, meanwhile, adds the Brewers to the substantial group of teams looking into Wilson (Twitter link).

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/19/17

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Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Nationals announced that right-hander Jacob Turner has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse. Washington briefly selected Turner’s contract on Monday this week in order to add some length to the bullpen while waiting for the arrival of new acquisitions Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. Turner didn’t pitch in Monday’s contest and was designated for assignment the following day in order to clear a spot on the roster for Edwin Jackson, who started Tuesday’s game for the Nats. This is the second outright assignment that Turner has accepted with the Nationals this year, which isn’t surprising considering that he’d punt the rest of the money on his contract if he rejected in favor of free agency. The 26-year-old has a 5.08 ERA in 39 big league innings this season and has also struggled to a 6.50 ERA in a smaller sample of 18 Triple-A frames.

Nats Still Prioritizing Bullpen Over Rotation

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  • Despite the loss of Joe Ross for this season (and much of next), further upgrading the bullpen is a larger priority for the Nationals than pursuing a rotation piece, reports Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Edwin Jackson is currently getting a chance to make some starts thanks in part to the struggles of righties A.J. Cole and Austin Voth in the minors. Meanwhile, well-regarded prospect Erick Fedde is being stretched back out as a starter after briefly converting to the bullpen, Janes notes.

Nationals To Designate Jacob Turner

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The Nationals will designate Jacob Turner for assignment, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). His roster spot will be needed for the ascension of Edwin Jackson to take a start today.

Washington also needed to clear active roster space for just-acquired relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. That’ll be accomplished by optioning Austin Adams and Trevor Gott, each of whom had come up briefly while the club nailed down that trade.

Turner, 26, has played much the same role the Nats will now ask Jackson to occupy, with one major difference: now, there’s an open rotation spot. Jackson will have the first crack after allowing just one earned run on nine hits in his 20 1/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse. Assuming he clears waivers and accepts an assignment, Turner will likely remain a major league option as well.

Nationals Interested In Neshek, Wilson, Watson

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  • The Nationals are also in on Neshek, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, who also links the Nats to Tigers lefty Justin Wilson and Pirates southpaw Tony Watson. Wilson has drawn wide interest in the midst of an excellent campaign, while Watson has flown somewhat under the radar while scuffling through a down year. The latter has allowed just one earned run in his last fourteen appearances, though he also has managed only a single strikeout in the month of July.
  • While the Nationals are still looking at arms, they obviously have somewhat less urgency after landing two quality relievers over the weekend. We have heard that the Nats reached out to the Orioles regarding Zach Britton, who in theory could still be of interest. But Baltimore “didn’t engage the Nationals” before the latter club’s recent deal, Buster Olney of ESPN.com notes. Whether that’s due to the ongoing acrimony between those organizations isn’t clear.

Nationals Still In Market For Bullpen Upgrades

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Even after acquiring Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from the A’s yesterday, the Nationals remain interested in bolstering their bullpen, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets. Tigers lefty Justin Wilson is of particular interest to them, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (also via Twitter), and Morosi notes that the Nats could also yet add a starting pitcher in the wake of Joe Ross’ season-ending injury.

The addition of Madson and Doolittle to the Washington relief corps undoubtedly strengthens the group, but with young righty Koda Glover on the shelf, Blake Treinen shipped to the A’s as part of yesterday’s trade, and Shawn Kelley’s health currently in limbo, the Nats have plenty of room for further reinforcements. Treinen, Glover and Kelley were counted upon heavily to anchor the ’pen headed into the season, but that group has clearly underwhelmed, as has offseason pickup Joe Blanton, whose ERA sits at 7.04 even after tossing 6 1/3 scoreless frames across his past eight appearances. The Nats reportedly had “substantive” talks with the Marlins about David Phelps and AJ Ramos before acquiring Madson and Doolittle, though it’s uncertain if they’ll circle back on either of those arms.

It’s also not yet clear exactly how much of a priority rotation help will be for the Nats. It’s worth noting, however, that two of their top internal options, A.J. Cole and Austin Voth, have posted an ERA north of 6.00 in Triple-A this season despite track records of vastly superior performance at that level. The struggles of both 25-year-olds may have factored into the decision to give Edwin Jackson the first look in Ross’ vacant rotation spot tomorrow. Beyond the injury to Ross, the Nats have watched Tanner Roark struggle to a 4.98 ERA through 106 2/3 innings this season, so the back end of the rotation is hardly a strength at the moment.

There should be a handful of rental options available — Marco Estrada, Jaime Garcia, Trevor Cahill, Clayton Richard, Jhoulys Chacin among them — but with Ross out for most of the 2018 season as well, the Nats could conceivably look a bit longer-term if they wish. Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg are locked up to guaranteed deals next season, while Roark is arbitration-eligible and Gio Gonzalez looks like a lock to see his $12MM option vest, barring injury. (Gonzalez is 58 1/3 innings shy of the requisite 180 frames he’ll need.) The Nats could look short-term for now and reassess their needs this coming winter, but Rizzo didn’t part with any of his top-tier prospects in landing Madson and Doolittle, so he should still have the firepower to think bigger and do some offseason shopping in advance (so to speak) — if there’s a longer-term asset that the Nationals covet.

Nats Select Jacob Turner’s Contract; Edwin Jackson Likely To Start Tuesday

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The Nationals announced today that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Turner and transferred Koda Glover to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. As MASNsports.com’s Dan Kolko tweets, newly acquired Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson will join the team tomorrow in Los Angeles, so Turner’s recall could just be a one-day stint. Because Blake Treinen went to the A’s in that trade, there’s already an open spot on the 25-man roster for Turner.

While Turner could conceivably start tomorrow’s game in place of the injured Joe Ross, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports that Edwin Jackson will be called upon to start tomorrow’s contest. Signed to a minor league deal last month, the veteran Jackson has allowed just one run on nine hits and 10 walks with 22 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. That performance, it seems, has earned him the first crack at the fifth spot in the rotation, which is now vacant following the news that Ross will require Tommy John surgery. His promotion will require another 40-man move.

Regarding Glover, manager Dusty Baker told reporters today that the 24-year-old hasn’t yet thrown since being placed on the disabled list more than a month ago (Twitter link via Castillo). However, Baker also said that he’s hopeful Glover will be able to return when he’s first eligible to be activated. That seems like an ambitious but not impossible goal. Glover has already spent 37 games on the shelf, but if he’s able to resume throwing in the near future, the club could get him on track for a couple of minor league rehab innings within that roughly three-week window.

Law On Nationals' Trade With A's

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  • The trade the Nationals and Athletics made on Sunday looks like a win-win, opines ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required and recommended). In acquiring Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle, the Nationals managed to land a pair of quality relievers who possess excellent control without giving up any of their absolute best prospects. On the other hand, Law writes that the rebuilding A’s cleared salary, got back a capable big league reliever in Blake Treinen and a couple promising young players, both of whom were high selections in the 2016 draft. Nineteen-year-old Jesus Luzardo, the 35th choice, had the upside of a No. 2 starter before undergoing Tommy John surgery a summer ago, per Law, who notes that the right-hander seems to be bouncing back well from the procedure. Infielder Sheldon Neuse, the 58th pick, boasts “an above-average hit tool and excellent instincts on both sides of the ball,” and could have a future in the middle infield (likely second base), at third base or at a combination of those positions.
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