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Nationals Sign Jesse Winker To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed Jesse Winker to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. Winker is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Winker, 30, is not too far removed from being one of the better hitters in the league but he’s fallen on hard times recently as injuries have seemingly held him back. With the Reds from 2017 to 2021, he walked in 12% of his plate appearances while only going down on strikes 16.5% of the time. His .288/.385/.504 slash line in that time translates to a wRC+ of 132, indicating he was 32% better than league average in that five-year stretch. Among players with at least 1500 plate appearances over those years, only 24 had a higher wRC+.

The left-handed hitter has fallen on harder times over the past couple seasons. Cincinnati traded Winker to the Mariners going into 2022. He slumped to a .219/.344/.344 line over 547 plate appearances. Seattle flipped him to Milwaukee last winter in a challenge trade that brought in Kolten Wong. The deal didn’t work for either team. Wong struggled badly enough that Seattle released him midseason.

Winker held his spot on the Milwaukee roster all year but didn’t fare much better. He ran a career-worst .199/.320/.247 line with only one home run in 197 plate appearances. He didn’t appear in the majors again after being placed on the injured list with back spasms in late July.

Washington doesn’t have a clear option at designated hitter, making this a decent landing spot for Winker on a rebound deal. The Nats signed Joey Gallo to join Lane Thomas in the corner outfield. Stone Garrett looks like a solid right-handed complementary bat, while Winker could push for a role against righty pitching.

Extension Candidate: CJ Abrams

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With Spring Training a matter of days away for most clubs (and already underway for the Dodgers and Padres), the time of year during which teams begin to focus on extending their players is nearly upon us. A handful of teams have gotten a head start on extension season already as the Tigers signed top infield prospect Colt Keith to a pre-debut extension, the Astros locked up franchise face Jose Altuve for an additional five seasons, and the Royals committed more than $288MM to Bobby Witt Jr.in recent weeks.

As noted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, one club that has generally eschewed extensions for its players in recent years is the Nationals. Despite a pipeline of stars that included the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, and Juan Soto over the past decade, the club only managed to extend one player from that era of regular playoff contention: right-hander Stephen Strasburg. With that being said, Zuckerman does point out that the club may be on the verge of changing its reputation for rarely extending players. Catcher Keibert Ruiz signed a $50MM extension with the club last spring that could keep him in D.C. through the 2032 season, and as Washington hopes to take another step towards contention Zuckerman argues the club ought to consider a similar deal for shortstop CJ Abrams.

Abrams, 23, is perhaps best known as the former top Padres prospect who headlined the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto from D.C. to San Diego at the 2022 trade deadline. Prior to the 2022 campaign, Abrams was a consensus top 10 prospect in the sport. While the then-21-year-old struggled in his first taste of big league action, slashing just .232/.285/.320 in 46 games in the majors prior to the trade, the youngster’s 80-grade speed, plus hit tool and ability to stick at shortstop were enough (alongside multiple other top prospects) to convince the Nationals to part with a generational hitter entering his prime.

Since donning a Nationals uniform for the first time on August 15 of that year, Abrams has largely held his own but not quite reached the tantalizing potential scouts saw in him during his prospect days. Across 195 games with the club, Abrams has posted a .248/.295/.393 slash line that comes in as a touch below average by measure of wRC+ alongside defense at shortstop that Statcast’s Outs Above Average grades as well below average with a -15 figure, though Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saves paints a slightly rosier picture with a roughly scratch -1 figure.

Difficult as the start to Abrams’s big league career has been, it’s worth noting that he’s steadily improved as his time in the majors has gone on. Over the youngster’s final 88 games last season, Abrams slashed .265/.325/.442 with 33 extra base hits in 381 trips to the plate. That performance at the plate was good for an above-average wRC+ of 105, which when combined with an astonishing 41 stolen bases in 43 attempts over that time span made Abrams a quality offensive contributor out of the leadoff spot for the Nationals. Abrams’s defense at shortstop enjoyed some level of improvement during the 2023 campaign, as well: the 22-year-old posted a +4 DRS last year, a figure that put him in the same conversation as regulars at the position such as Bo Bichette and Javier Baez in terms of glove work.

Given his minimal track record at the big league level, an extension for Abrams comes with plenty of risk. At the same time, Witt’s extension in Kansas City earlier this offseason showcased how pricey even pre-arbitration extensions can become after young talents establish themselves at the big league level. The potential savings in the event that Abrams breaks out and reaches his ceiling is considerable enough to make the prospect of an extension one that’s at least worth considering for Washington. As a young, talented infielder who has shown flashes of success but struggled with consistency over the course of his first service year in the majors, one player in particular stands out as a potential point of reference when considering a hypothetical Abrams extension: Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.

Hayes, much like Abrams, was a consensus top-10 prospect in the sport when he lost prospect eligibility during the 2021 campaign. After slashing an incredible .376/.442/.682 across his first 95 trips to the plate in the big leagues during the shortened 2020 season, Hayes came back down to Earth in 2021 with a .257/.316/.373 slash line while being limited to just 96 games by wrist issues. That mediocre slash line still left Hayes as a career .280/.340/.432 hitter in the big leagues, however, a slash line good for a solid 106 wRC+ that dwarfs Abrams’s career figure of 84. While the speed Abrams has flashed to this point in his career dwarfs that of Hayes at the time, the latter makes up for that with his elite glove at the hot corner. In 2021, Hayes posted a whopping +12 OAA at third base, good for the 98th percentile among all qualified fielders. Abrams, by contrast, was in the 4th percentile last season with an OAA of -9.

All that’s to say that Abrams appears unlikely to surpass or even match the eight-year, $70MM guarantee that Hayes managed to secure from the Pirates just after the 2022 season began, even as Abrams is two years younger than Hayes was at the time of his deal with the club. Another potential point of comparison for Abrams would be the seven-year, $58MM extension shortstop Andrelton Simmons signed with the Braves back in 2014.

Simmons was coming off a 2013 campaign that saw him earn a Gold Glove award and even some down-ballot NL MVP votes for his superlative defense at shortstop, an area where Abrams’s profile is severely lacking. That being said, Simmons’s career 94 wRC+ at the time of the deal is in the same ballpark as Abrams’s figure, and Abrams is both younger and a far bigger threat on the basepaths than Simmons, who stole fewer bases across his first six seasons in the majors than Abrams did in 2023 alone. Perhaps most importantly, however, Simmons’s deal with Atlanta will be a decade old later this month.

Given these factors, it’s fair to assume that any deal between Abrams and the Nationals would would likely guarantee the youngster at least $60MM, giving him the largest guarantee awarded to a shortstop with between one and two years of service time in the majors. Speculatively speaking, an eight-year deal in the $60-65MM range would appear to be reasonable extension for both sides, likely with a club option or two at the end as has become typical of early-career extensions for players who aren’t already established stars. Such a deal could allow the Nationals to extend their window of control over Abrams, who is currently slated to hit free agency following the 2028 season following his age-27 campaign, through his early thirties.

Of course, it’s fair to wonder if Abrams would be interested in a deal of this sort. After all, players who enter free agency in their mid-to-late twenties tend to have significantly more earning potential than those who hit the open market after their thirtieth birthday. While the additional financial security offered by this sort of deal can certainly be appealing to some players, it’s also worth noting that Abrams, as an early first round pick in the 2019 draft, received a healthy $5.2MM signing bonus from the Padres. What’s more, Abrams appears to be in line to become a Super Two player next winter. Super Two players, defined any player with between two and three years of service time who falls in the top 22% of his service bracket, enjoy the benefit of reaching arbitration a year early, meaning that Abrams is likely in line for a significant pay raise next winter with or without an extension, so long as he avoids being demoted to the minor leagues in 2024.

Nationals, Luis Perdomo Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Nationals are in agreement with Luis Perdomo on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). The right-hander returns to the affiliated ranks after spending the 2023 season in Japan.

Perdomo, 30, has appeared in parts of six big league campaigns. The bulk of that experience came with the Padres, who carried him as a Rule 5 pick in 2016. Perdomo got a decent amount of run as a starter with San Diego early in his career. He moved to the bullpen by 2019 and turned in the best year of his career, working to an even 4.00 ERA through 72 innings.

An elbow injury necessitated Tommy John surgery late in 2020. That marked the end of his time in San Diego, as the Friars released him that offseason. He spent the following year rehabbing before returning to the majors with the Brewers. Perdomo pitched in 14 contests with Milwaukee in 2022, allowing 3.80 earned runs per nine, before signing with NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines last winter.

While Perdomo’s time in Japan was relatively brief, he had a strong season. He made 53 appearances with the Marines and worked to an excellent 2.13 ERA. That was in spite of a modest 19.6% strikeout rate. Perdomo never missed many bats at the MLB level, instead relying on a mid-90s sinker to keep the ball on the ground at a lofty 57.6% clip.

Washington has taken a few fliers on non-roster relievers lately. Luke Farrell, Adonis Medina, Stephen Nogosek, Richard Bleier and Robert Gsellman have also inked minor league pacts within the last 10 days.

Report: MLB Can Make Orioles Relinquish Nationals’ TV Rights As Condition Of Sale

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The Angelos family has a deal in place to sell the Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein, though that deal still needs to be approved by the league. Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to the media today about various topics including that sale. Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun relayed some of those comments while also reporting that the league has the power to require the O’s to relinquish ownership of the Nationals’ television rights as part of approving the sale, though it’s not currently clear if they plan to do so. “Change always produces opportunity,” Manfred said when asked about the situation. “We’ll see. We’ll see.”

When the league was moving the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, a compromise was reached with the Orioles. Since the league was moving a club into Baltimore’s territory, there was an agreement wherein the two clubs would co-own the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which would broadcast the games of both clubs. The Orioles owned 90% of the network at that time and the Nats just 10%, with the Nats gaining an extra 1% each year.

The two clubs have been battling each other over the revenues from that network ever since, reaching a settlement just last June for the 2012-2016 period. In December, Sports Business Journal reported that the two sides agreed on a deal for the 2017-2021 period.

In addition to those difficulties, the MASN dispute may have had an impact on the planned sale of the Nationals. The Lerner family announced in April of 2022 that they would explore the possibility of selling the club. Reporting from about this time a year ago suggested the MASN dispute was a key factor in the lack of progress towards a sale. Given those factors, MLB’s power to put a finger on the scale is a significant development.

Ted Leonsis, who already owns the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics, has been seen as a favorite to purchase the Nationals. He also owns Monumental Sports Network, which broadcasts those three clubs. Purchasing the Nationals and adding them to Monumental’s lineup would seemingly be a business decision that would make sense for him, but the fact that the Nats don’t own their own rights complicates things. Rubenstein’s group is also acquiring a controlling stake of MASN in purchasing the Orioles and it was reported last week that Rubenstein could sell the Orioles’ share of MASN to Leonsis.

There are many elements at play but it seems the league is motivated to approve the sale of the Orioles fairly quickly. “I’d like to get it done,” Manfred said. “I’ve never been comfortable with protracted approval processes. Once it’s public that there’s going to be a sale, I think it leaves both the departing group — [John Angelos is] not really departing but — the one who’s no longer going to be the control person and the one who’s about to become it, it leaves them both in an awkward spot. So, we just want to get it done as quickly as possible.” The pace of the process will depend upon the paperwork done by Angelos and Rubenstein, Weyrich reports, with a possibility for it to be completed as soon as six weeks from now.

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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28 out of the 30 clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, with the Padres and Braves the only exceptions. That means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days.

Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, as the 60-day injured list comes back when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, having gone away shortly after the conclusion of the World Series. This year, the Dodgers and Padres will have an earlier reporting date, due to their earlier Opening Day. Most clubs will begin their 2024 campaign on March 28, but those two clubs are playing a pair of games in Seoul on March 20 and 21. The official 60-day IL dates, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post, are February 8 for the Dodgers, February 11 for the Padres and February 14 for every other club. It’s fairly moot for the Padres since they only have 36 players on their 40-man roster right now, but the Dodgers could be moving guys to the IL as soon as today.

It’s worth pointing out that the “60 days” don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. Transferring a player to the 60-day IL also requires a corresponding move, so a club can’t just make the move in isolation.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, as well as guys like Michael Lorenzen, Adam Duvall, Brandon Belt and many more. A player like Brandon Woodruff, who is expected to miss significant time and will need an IL spot himself, might be better able to secure a deal once IL spots open up. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon, sorted by division.

NL West

Diamondbacks: Drey Jameson

Jameson underwent Tommy John surgery in September of last year. He will almost certainly spend the entire 2024 season on the IL.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Nick Frasso

Kershaw is not officially signed yet, with his physical reportedly taking place today. It doesn’t seem as though it’s a coincidence that today is the first day the club can move players to the IL. He is recovering from shoulder surgery and not expected back until late in the summer. Gonsolin underwent Tommy John surgery in August and may miss the entire campaign. May had surgery in July to repair his flexor tendon as well as a Tommy John revision. He is expected to return at some point midseason. Frasso underwent labrum surgery in November and may miss the entire season.

Giants: Robbie Ray, Alex Cobb

The Giants acquired Ray from the Mariners in a trade last month, knowing full well that he underwent Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair in May of last year. He recently said that a return around the All-Star break would be a best-case scenario. Cobb underwent hip surgery in October and isn’t expected back until May at the earliest. His is a more of a borderline case since placing him on the IL would prevent him from returning until late May.

Padres: Tucupita Marcano

Marcano underwent ACL surgery in August of last year while with the Pirates. The Padres claimed him off waivers from the Bucs in November. Recovering from an ACL surgery usually takes about a year or so, meaning Marcano is likely to miss a decent chunk of the upcoming campaign. But as mentioned earlier, the Friars only have 36 players on their 40-man right now, meaning there’s no rush to get Marcano to the IL and open up a roster spot.

Rockies: Germán Márquez, Antonio Senzatela, Lucas Gilbreath

All three of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery last year. Gilbreath may be the closest to returning, as he went under the knife back in March. Márquez and Senzatela underwent their surgeries in May and July, respectively. General manager Bill Schmidt said recently that the club is hopeful Márquez can be back after the All-Star break but is anticipating Senzatela to miss the whole campaign.

NL Central

Brewers: None.

Cardinals: None.

Cubs: None.

Pirates: JT Brubaker, Mike Burrows, Johan Oviedo, Endy Rodríguez,

Brubaker and Burrows both underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. It’s possible they could be ready to go early in the upcoming season, as some pitchers return around a year after going under the knife. But most pitchers take 14 months or longer so their respective rehabs may push deeper into the upcoming season. Oviedo also underwent TJS but his was in November, meaning he’ll certainly miss the entire 2024 season. The same goes for Rodríguez, who underwent UCL/flexor tendon surgery in December.

Reds: None.

NL East

Braves: Ian Anderson, Penn Murfee, Ángel Perdomo

Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. He was on optional assignment at the time and spent the whole year on the minor league injured list. He could be placed on the major league IL this year if the club needs a roster spot, but they only have 37 guys on the 40-man as of today. Murfee underwent UCL surgery while with the Mariners in June of last year. The Braves signed him to a split deal even though he isn’t likely to be a factor until midseason. Perdomo also got a split deal despite undergoing Tommy John surgery in October of last year, meaning he will miss all of 2024. Since Murfee and Perdomo signed split deals, the club might try to pass them through waivers at some point rather than transferring them to the IL.

Marlins: Sandy Alcántara

Alcántara underwent Tommy John surgery in October and will have to miss the entire 2024 season.

Mets: Ronny Mauricio, David Peterson

Mauricio just suffered a torn ACL in December and will almost certainly miss the entire 2024 season. Peterson underwent hip surgery in November with a recovery timeline of six to seven months, meaning he won’t be able to return until May or June.

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, Cade Cavalli, Zach Brzykcy

By all accounts, Strasburg will never be able to return to the mound due to nerve damage stemming from his battle with thoracic outlet syndrome. He and the Nats had a deal for him to retire but it reportedly fell apart due to some sort of squabble about his contract. His deal runs through 2026 and he may spend the next three years on the IL unless those retirement talks can be revamped. Cavalli had Tommy John surgery in March of last year, so he could return relatively early in the upcoming campaign. The Nats will probably only move him to the 60-day IL if they don’t think he can return before June. Brzykcy underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year but was added to the club’s roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Phillies: None.

AL West

Angels: José Quijada

Quijada underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and will miss some portion of the 2024 season. He’ll likely wind up on the 60-day IL unless the club expects him back within about a year of going under the knife.

Astros: Kendall Graveman, Luis García, Lance McCullers Jr.

Graveman recently underwent shoulder surgery and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season. García underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and will have to at least miss some of the upcoming campaign. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend upon how his rehab is progressing. McCullers underwent flexor tendon surgery in June and isn’t expected back until late in the summer.

Athletics: Ken Waldichuk

In December, it was reported that Waldichuk is rehabbing from a flexor strain and UCL sprain. He and the club opted for a non-surgical approach involving a Tenex procedure and PRP injection. As of reporting from this weekend, he still hasn’t begun throwing. His situation will likely be monitored in the spring to see how his rehab proceeds.

Mariners: None.

Rangers: Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, Carson Coleman

deGrom underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last year and is targeting a return this August. Mahle underwent the same procedure in May and the Rangers signed him to a two-year deal, knowing he likely won’t be able to return until midseason in 2024. Scherzer underwent back surgery in December and won’t be able to return until June or July. Coleman was a Rule 5 selection of the Rangers, taken from the Yankees. He had Tommy John in April of last year and will likely still be rehabbing for the early parts of the upcoming campaign.

AL Central

Guardians: Daniel Espino

Espino underwent shoulder surgery in May of last year with an estimated recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Royals: Kris Bubic, Kyle Wright, Josh Taylor

Bubic underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will have to miss at least some of the 2024 season. Whether he winds up on the 60-day IL or not will depend if the club thinks he can return before June. Wright underwent shoulder surgery while with Atlanta last year and will miss all of 2024. The Royals acquired him in a trade, hoping for a return to health in 2025 and beyond. Taylor was already on the IL due to a shoulder impingement in June of last year when he required surgery on a herniated disc in his lower back. His current status isn’t publicly known.

Tigers: None.

Twins: Josh Staumont

Staumont underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in July of last year while with the Royals. He was non-tendered by the Royals and then signed by the Twins. His recovery timeline is unclear at the moment.

White Sox: Matt Foster, Davis Martin

Both of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery last year, Foster in April and Martin in May. They could perhaps return early in the season if their rehabs go especially well, but they also might need to continue rehabbing until midseason.

AL East

Blue Jays: None.

Orioles: Félix Bautista

Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October of last year and will miss the entire 2024 season.

Rays: Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, Taylor Walls

Springs underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. He could be a factor in the early months of the season if his rehab is going well, as some pitchers can return after about a year, but he also may need a bit more time. McClanahan underwent the same procedure but in August and will likely miss the entirety of the upcoming season. Rasmussen was dealing with a flexor strain last year and underwent an internal brace procedure in July, which will keep him out until midseason. Walls underwent hip surgery in October and is more up in the air as there’s a chance he’s ready as soon as Opening Day, depending on how his rehab goes.

Red Sox: None.

Yankees: Jasson Domínguez

Domínguez underwent Tommy John surgery in September of last year. The return for hitters is generally shorter than pitchers, but the Yanks estimated his return timeline as 9-10 months, which will still keep him on the shelf until midseason.

Nationals Sign Luke Farrell To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-hander Luke Farrell to a minor league deal, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Rochester for now but might show up in major league camp.

Farrell, 33 in June, spent last year in the White Sox’ system after signing a minor league deal. He tossed 55 innings over 37 appearances, including seven starts, for Triple-A Charlotte. He posted an earned run average of 5.56 in that time, along with a 20.1% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 39.7% ground ball rate.

Though he didn’t make it to the big leagues last year, he does have prior major league experience. From 2017 to 2022, he suited up for the Royals, Reds, Cubs, Rangers and Twins, with an even ERA of 5.00 in 102 2/3 innings. His 23.3% strikeout rate in that time was around league average but he paired it with an 11.7% walk rate.

The Nats are set to go into 2024 with one of the weaker pitching staffs in the league. Young pitchers like Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin should continue to get looks in the rotation but the three of them each have career ERAs roughly midway between 4.00 and 5.00 thus far. Patrick Corbin has one year left on his deal but his ERA has been above 5.00 in three straight years now. Trevor Williams is halfway through a two-year deal but posted a 5.55 ERA last year. There are a few solid arms in the bullpen but the rebuilding club will be tempted to trade any reliever throwing well this summer.

Farrell has worked both as a starter and a reliever in his career and did both last year. There’s a decent chance of the Nats needing to cover some innings throughout a long season one way or another and he may get tapped on the shoulder at some point. If he does get added to the roster, he’s out of options and would need to be removed from the 40-man if the club wants to take him off the active roster.

Nationals, Stephen Nogosek Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals are signing reliever Stephen Nogosek to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link). He returns to the NL East, where he has spent the bulk of his career as a member of the Mets.

Nogosek, 29, was drafted by the Red Sox in 2016. Boston traded the Oregon product to New York the following deadline as part of a prospect package for veteran reliever Addison Reed. Nogosek pitched in parts of four seasons in Queens. He made a career-high 13 appearances last year, posting a 5.61 ERA in 25 2/3 innings. The Mets designated him for assignment in June.

The right-hander caught on with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. As is the case for most pitchers, he struggled with Arizona’s Triple-A team in Reno. Nogosek was tagged for a 6.55 ERA across 33 innings for the Aces and didn’t get an MLB look from the eventual NL champions.

Rough stint in Reno aside, Nogosek has a generally solid track record at the top minor league level. He has allowed 3.76 earned runs per nine in 143 2/3 Triple-A frames. Nogosek has punched out 27.3% of Triple-A opponents, although he has also issued walks at a lofty 11.9% clip. He has roughly average strikeout and walk numbers in his 57 1/3 MLB innings, in which he has posted a 5.02 ERA.

Washington had a below-average bullpen a year ago, making them a decent landing spot for relievers looking to get back to the majors on minor league deals. Nogosek joins Richard Bleier and Robert Gsellman as recent non-roster signees.

Nationals Sign Adonis Medina To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-hander Adonis Medina to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions section of the righty’s MLB.com profile page.

The 27-year-old hurler was once a consensus top-100 prospect and made his big league debut with the Phillies back in 2020. Over two seasons with the club, he posted a respectable 3.86 ERA with a 4.03 FIP in 11 2/3 innings of work spread across five appearances, including two starts. Solid as those big league numbers were, Medina was unable to find that same success when working at the Triple-A level during the 2021 season, as he struggled to a 5.05 ERA across 17 starts while striking out just 18.5% of batters faced against an 8.7% walk rate. That weak performance in the upper minors led the Phillies to place Medina on waivers, where he was promptly claimed by the Pirates. Medina didn’t stay in Pennsylvania for long, however, as Pittsburgh dealt him to the Mets the very next month.

Medina converted to full-time relief while pitching for the Mets and found slightly stronger results at the Triple-A level after switching roles. The right-hander posted a 4.65 ERA in 31 innings of work with the club’s affiliate in Syracuse while striking out 22% of batters faced. Unfortunately, that improvement didn’t translate over to the major league level, as Medina was rocked to the tune of a 6.08 ERA in 23 2/3 innings of work across 14 appearances in the big leagues that year. The righty’s peripheral numbers were better than his on-field results as he generated an impressive 51.9% groundball rate while cutting his walk rate to just 5.5%, leaving him with a decent 4.04 FIP and a 3.89 SIERA.

After his struggles with the Mets in 2022, Medina departed stateside ball to pitch for the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization. The right-hander returned to starting during his time overseas, but the experiment did not go well as he struggled to a 6.05 ERA in 58 innings of work across 12 starts. Unlike his time in Queens, Medina’s struggles on the field were now reflected in his peripheral numbers as he struck out just 13.4% of batters faced while walking a whopping 10.8%. Medina’s rough performance led to him being released back in July. Since then, he’s pitched in the Dominican Winter League and found solid results with a 2.93 ERA in 15 1/3 innings of work across nine appearances.

Now back in affiliated ball for the first time since 2022, Medina figures to compete for a job with the Nationals in camp this spring. It seems unlikely Washington would consider Medina for a role in the starting rotation, though it’s certainly feasible that Medina could earn himself a role in the big league bullpen where he would be set to compete with the likes of Joan Adon and Jordan Weems as well as non-roster veterans like Robert Gsellman and Spenser Watkins.

Nationals Outright Israel Pineda

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The Nationals announced that catcher Israel Pineda, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Rochester. He will stick with the club but without taking up a roster spot.

Pineda, 24 in April, was added to the Nationals’ roster in September of 2022 when Keibert Ruiz was injured. Pineda was kept mostly on the bench, only playing four games, hitting .077/.143/.077 in his 14 plate appearances. He then endured a challenging 2023 season, beginning the campaign on the injured list due to a right finger fracture. He was slowed by an oblique strain while rehabbing and wasn’t reinstated from the IL until early August, getting optioned to the minors at that time. Between his rehab stints and optionable assignment, he hit just .176/.229/.268 in 41 minor league games on the year.

Defensively, Baseball Prospectus looks fondly upon his work with the throwing game but is less enthused about his framing and blocking. That tracks with a scouting report from Baseball America, with that outlet still considering Pineda to be the #21 prospect in the system, but noting that his framing is a work in progress.

Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright or three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment. He will stick with the Nats as non-roster depth behind Ruiz, Riley Adams and Drew Millas. Pineda will look to get back to the form he showed at the plate in 2022, when he hit 16 home runs in 99 games across three different minor league levels. He finished that year with a combined slash line of .258/.325/.458 and wRC+ of 111 before getting called up to the majors.

Latest Details On Sale Of Orioles

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The baseball world got a shocking development this week when it was reported that the Angelos family would be selling the club to an investment group led by David Rubenstein. The next day, the club confirmed the agreement with an announcement of the $1.725 billion sale.

Details continue to trickle out about the deal, with Pamela Wood of The Baltimore Banner looking backwards to the club’s negotiations with the State of Maryland. The Orioles and state officials were in contact for much of last year. The club’s lease of Camden Yards was set to expire after 2023 and the two sides took talks down to the middle of December before a new lease was approved.

There were plenty of speed bumps along the way. It was in early December that it was initially reported that Rubenstein was in talks to purchase the club. That seemed to delay the lease talks, with state senator Bill Ferguson expressing trepidation about giving out land development rights to an organization with an unclear ownership structure. The land development rights were part of the talks because John Angelos was reportedly attempting to leverage the negotiations into getting public land for a mixed-use project, combining Camden Yards with commercial and residential spaces.

Per Wood’s report, Angelos did not give Governor Wes Moore or other state officials any kinds of heads up about the sale agreement. Treasurer Dereck Davis said that Angelos “categorically denied that that they were for sale” before selling the team. “It wasn’t just that we weren’t told something. We were lied to,” Davis said.

“The transparency that was required — it was not there,” Gov. Moore said. “And it’s disappointing.”

“I do think that John’s behavior displayed an incredible lack of respect for the state and our role in working with the Baltimore Orioles and our role as the owners of the home of the Baltimore Orioles,” comptroller Brooke Lierman said. “It’s incredibly disappointing, although, frankly not surprising.” Despite the harsh words, it seems state officials suspected something was up and proceeded accordingly. “That said, we crafted an agreement in such a way that it would not matter who owned the Orioles because I think many of us believed that the Angelos family’s days as owners were numbered anyways,” Lierman said. “It was important for us to protect the state and taxpayers and our assets, no matter who the owners are.”

Though the two sides did eventually get a deal done, Angelos did not get the land he craved. The 30-year agreement does give the club a chance to opt out after 15 years if they don’t get a development deal within the next four years. Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic also reported on the sale this week, relaying that some people in baseball believe that the lack of a land deal was part of what motivated Angelos to sell. On top of that, the family is also looking to improve its liquidity. Rosenthal and Ghiroli relay that they are looking to sell various assets, including One Charles Center, a 22-story office tower in Baltimore.

Going forward, the sale still needs to be approved by Major League Baseball. The owners are having a scheduled meeting next week but Buster Olney of ESPN reports that the sale is not on the docket. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest it will likely take months for the league to conduct background checks on everyone in the ownership group. Per Wood and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner, the full group includes New York businessman Michael Arougheti, his partners Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of Baltimore Kurt Schmoke, Washington Spirit majority owner Michele Kang and NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill.

There’s also the future of the MASN issue to be considered. The Orioles and Nationals share ownership of the network, which has the broadcast rights for both clubs, with the O’s currently owning 76% of the network but dropping to 67% by 2032. Those details were worked out as part of the agreement to move the Expos from Montreal to Washington almost 20 years ago. As a compromise for moving a club into Baltimore’s territorial range, the O’s got control of the Nationals’ TV rights and the two sides have been disputing the finances of that arrangement for quite some time.

The Lerner family has been trying to sell the Nats for almost two years now, announcing in April of 2022 that they would explore the possibility. There’s been little apparent progress towards a deal, however, with reporting from about this time a year ago suggesting the MASN dispute was a key factor. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest that Rubenstein might sell the O’s share of MASN to Ted Leonsis, with some in the industry expecting that to eventually happen.

Leonsis owns the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics, as well as the Monumental Sports Network, which broadcasts those three clubs. Getting the Orioles’ TV rights could enhance the programming options for Monumental. It was reported in November of 2022 that the Lerner family was hoping to get $2.5 billion in selling the Nats but the TV rights situation was preventing them from getting to that price point. Rosenthal and Ghiroli report today that Leonsis had offered $2.2 billion. It’s unknown whether Leonsis acquiring Baltimore’s MASN share would impact any future negotiations with the Lerners.

All told, there will be plenty of domino effects worth watching out for as the situation progresses.

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