Nationals Rumors

NL East Notes: Marlins, Mets, Ramirez, Fedde

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | May 17, 2017 at 10:55am CDT

Though a potential ownership change has many Marlins fans hoping for an increased payroll, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal argues that any new owners should operate in familiar fashion and tear down the organization with an aggressive rebuild. Miami’s farm system is barren, and the team already has as much as $95MM committed to players in 2018. Rosenthal suggests that the Marlins should prepare to deal some relief pitching and market breakout outfielder Marcell Ozuna — while perhaps also beginning to think about what to do with the massive contract of Giancarlo Stanton.

Plenty of other National League East competitors are struggling as well, with the Mets in particular playing well shy of expectations. As John Harper of the New York Daily News writes, there’s no easy solution for an organization that has been beset with injuries. The club’s short-term veteran assets are all fairly expensive, and all but Jay Bruce have had their own issues with injury and/or performance downturns. Having dealt from the farm in recent years, the upper ranks are somewhat depleted; and with needs set to arise in the near future, dealing from what’s left (particularly given the poor start) may not be advisable.
New Mets reliever Neil Ramirez discussed his recent signing with reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, who tweets a video of the righty’s comments. Ramirez says he feels he was throwing well with the Giants despite some poor earned-run results. When the Blue Jays claimed and then outrighted him, he elected to test the market in search of “an opportunity to stick” with another team. His deal with the Mets came together in very short order.
With the Nationals still struggling to find reliable relief arms, the team has moved top pitching prospect Erick Fedde into a bullpen role, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets. While it seems likely that the organization still views Fedde as a starter in the long run, the consensus top-100 prospect may be of greater use in the near term out of the pen. He has impressed thus far at Double-A, throwing 42 2/3 innings of 3.16 ERA ball with 7.4 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9, and could conceivably function as a multi-inning option in the majors. While a deadline deal or two remains all but inevitable for the division-leading Nats, utilizing Fedde in that manner might provide a boost while limiting the need to part with young talent later this summer. Of course, the team tried something similar last year with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez with less-than-ideal results, though both were still able to return a big piece in Adam Eaton over the winter.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/16/17

By Jeff Todd | May 16, 2017 at 9:10pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves, all by way of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have released Triple-A righty Keegan Yuhl and Double-A lefty Michael Freeman (Twitter links). Yuhl, 25, had a solid Double-A season in 2016 but has been torched for 58 earned runs in 46 Triple-A innings since being promoted on the heels of his strong Double-A output last year. Freeman, also 25, had a seemingly encouraging 3.15 ERA with Double-A this year but walked 16 batters (against 14 strikeouts), hit three more and threw three wild pitches in just 20 innings. He was Houston’s seventh-round pick as recently as 2015.

Earlier Moves

The Diamondbacks have released veteran lefty Brian Matusz. Once a fixture in the Orioles’ pen, Matusz has struggled to regain his footing over the past two seasons. He was hit hard in nine MLB frames last year and was off to a rough start with the D-backs organization. Through 17 2/3 innings at Triple-A, he carried a 6.11 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
The Padres also released first baseman/outfielder Jamie Romak, among a few others. The 31-year-old has seen brief MLB time in two seasons, then struggled badly last year in a short stint in Japan. He was, however, off to quite a nice start at Triple-A, with a .347/.392/.800 slash and 11 home runs over 102 plate appearances.
First baseman Ben Paulsen was given his release by the Twins, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports on Twitter. The 29-year-old, who slashed a Coors Field-aided .271/.316/.446 over the past three MLB seasons, was hitting .230/.278/.432 with three home runs over 79 Triple-A plate appearances.
Meanwhile, the Twins added righty Kam Mickolio, the 33-year-old reliever who has been pitching in Japan since wrapping up a brief MLB career. The towering hurler generated excellent results in the NPB, with 208 1/3 innings of 2.42 ERA ball and 6.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
The Orioles cut ties with third baseman Juan Francisco. Still just 29 years of age, the six-year MLB veteran hasn’t seen the majors since 2014 — which is also the last year in which he accumulated any playing time with an affiliated organization. Over 1,091 total trips to the plate in the majors, he owns a .236/.297/.439 slash with 48 long balls.
Righty Erik Cordier was released by the Red Sox, who signed him after a stint last year in Japan. Cordier, 31, has seen the majors briefly but went to the Orix Buffaloes for the 2016 campaign. He managed only a 7.30 ERA through 12 1/3 innings there. His early work at Triple-A Pawtucket in the current season was somewhat interesting. Through 8 1/3 innings, Cordier has allowed five earned runs on just four hits, with 15 strikeouts against nine walks.
The Nationals have parted ways with 2013 second-rounder Jake Johansen, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Johansen, 26, had reached Double-A for this first time this year. Through 11 2/3 innings, he had permitted eight earned runs on 11 hits and eight walks while recording 13 strikeouts.
The Royals have released righty Evan Beal, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter). The former eighth-round draft pick had been working at Double-A, where he owned a 5.40 ERA through 15 innings with 5.4 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9.
The Giants reached a minors deal with righty Collin Balester. The 30-year-old appeared briefly last year in the Korea Baseball Organization’s Samsung Lions. His most recent affiliated action came in 2015, when he posted solid results in the upper minors but struggled to a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 MLB innings.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Rosario, Cespedes, Straily

By Steve Adams | May 15, 2017 at 10:03pm CDT

While the Nationals still hold the best record in the National League, the team’s bullpen struggles remain a real concern, as Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. Boswell acknowledges the benefit of hindsight but points out that the very trade that brought the Nats a closer last summer (Mark Melancon) cost them a much-needed future piece, as left-hander Felipe Rivero went to the Pirates in that deal. Rivero, 25, has a 0.87 ERA in 20 games for the Bucs this season, while the Washington relief corps has one of baseball’s worst bullpens, in terms of ERA. Manager Dusty Baker acknowledged to Boswell that the bullpen is a problem but suggested that there’s no quick fix at this time. “You’re always pushing for a trade, but ain’t nobody trading right now,” said Baker. “Sometimes you have no choice but to have patience. Nobody is going to drop you down a knockdown closer out of the sky until there’s some teams out of it. We have to look from within right now.”

East Notes: Quintana, Escobar, Pomeranz, Pearce

By Mark Polishuk | May 14, 2017 at 10:37pm CDT

On the night when the Yankees officially retired Derek Jeter’s #2, let’s take a look at news from both the AL East and the NL East…

The Nationals and Red Sox have had evaluators watching White Sox players, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports. Both clubs have been scouting Jose Quintana, while the Nationals continue to have interest in closer David Robertson, and Levine figures the Sox could also be looking at Todd Frazier to address their need at third base. Chicago already completed major trades with both teams this past winter, of course, in deals that sent Adam Eaton to Washington and Chris Sale to Boston, so there is already a great deal of familiarity between these organizations. Quintana would fill the Nats’ revolving door in the fifth starter’s spot, though obtaining Robertson to help their struggling bullpen seems like the more pressing fit. The Red Sox could use Quintana and Frazier, though they seem likely to wait to see how David Price and their internal third base options return before deciding if upgrades are necessary.
Asdrubal Cabrera tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that he is suffering from a torn ligament in his left thumb, and a DL stint could be possible if the thumb isn’t feeling better tomorrow. The Mets shortstop has been bothered by the injury for the last week, and while an MRI taken last week reportedly showed no ligament damage, Cabrera said he was told there was a tear. Cabrera continued to play (through mostly in pinch-hitting roles) over the past week, so it is possible his injury could have worsened. As Ackert notes, the Mets can hardly afford to lose Cabrera with so many other stars already on the disabled list. If Cabrera did require some DL time, it will renew calls for the Mets to promote top prospect Amed Rosario, though the team reportedly doesn’t want to rush the youngster to the big leagues.
Drew Pomeranz left today’s Red Sox loss after three innings due to tightness in his left triceps. While the southpaw’s health has been a question mark since his trade to the Sox from the Padres last summer, Pomeranz told media (including Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal) that both his triceps and his lowered velocity this season were due to a problem in his mechanics, not due to any physical issues. Pomeranz will undergo an MRI tomorrow but said he believes he can make his next start.
Steve Pearce left today’s Blue Jays victory with right calf tightness after sliding into second base on a double in the second inning. Manager John Gibbons told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters that Pearce will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. The veteran utilityman is off to a very slow start in his first season in Toronto, hitting just .205/.256/.373 through 90 PA, though he has somewhat gotten on track after a horrible April. Losing Pearce to the DL would be yet another blow to the injury-ravaged Jays, though they did get Aaron Sanchez back on the active roster today.

NL Notes: Nationals, Mets, D-backs, Cards

By Connor Byrne | May 13, 2017 at 10:09pm CDT

The Nationals and Bryce Harper began working toward the one-year, $21.625MM extension the right fielder signed Saturday over the winter, general manager Mike Rizzo told Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (all Twitter links). The deal could end up as a slight discount for the Nationals, who believe Harper would have pushed for $25MM in arbitration next offseason if he were to win his second National League MVP this year, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).

Looking ahead, Rizzo revealed that there haven’t been any discussions about Harper’s status beyond next season, when he’s scheduled to become a free agent. In the meantime, by settling Harper’s salary for next year, the Nationals ensured that he’ll be “comfortable” and won’t have to worry about it this season, Rizzo added. Harper agrees, saying: “It’s huge. We’re able to go into the offseason and worry about other things.” The 24-year-old also noted that anything past the 2018 campaign is “still a long way away.”

Nationals Extend Bryce Harper Through 2018

By charliewilmoth | May 13, 2017 at 1:33pm CDT

The Nationals have announced that they’ve agreed to terms with Bryce Harper on a deal for the 2018 season. Harper will receive $21.625MM, making his 2018 salary the largest ever for a player who would have been eligible for arbitration, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes (Twitter links). Harper can also receive up to a maximum of $1M in bonuses, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) — he can receive the full $1M for winning the NL MVP, $500K for second, $250K for third, $150K for fourth and $100K for fifth, and he can also receive $100K each for winning an All-Star berth, a Gold Glove or a Silver Slugger. Harper was already under team control through 2018, so he can still become a free agent following the 2018 campaign.

Harper’s massive 2018 salary surely provides a bit of satisfaction for his agent Scott Boras, whose love of precedent-shattering contracts is well known. Harper is making $13.625MM in 2017, his second to last season before hitting the market. His $21.625MM salary next season gives him a big raise that’s difficult to evaluate, since so few players have come anywhere near that figure during their arbitration-eligible seasons. Jake Arrieta was the highest paid arbitration-eligible player last offseason, at $15.637MM; the year before that, Aroldis Chapman made the most, at $11.325MM. That year, Josh Donaldson agreed to a two-year extension that bought out two seasons of arbitration eligibility at $11.65MM and $17MM. In 2014-15, David Price received $19.75MM from the Tigers for his last arbitration season. The year before that, Clayton Kershaw received a salary of $4MM plus an $18MM signing bonus in agreeing to a long-term deal that bought out his last year of arbitration eligibility.

Of those, the Price and Kershaw salaries stand out as the clearest precedents for Harper’s current deal. Another is Mike Trout’s current long-term contract with the Angels. That deal is, of course, significantly different in structure and purpose than Harper’s 2018 deal, but it pays him $19.25MM for this season, which he entered with five-plus years of service time.

Harper’s $5MM 2016 salary was relatively low in part because he agreed to it following the 2014 season as part of a two-year extension that settled a grievance between with the Nats about a clause in the contract he signed upon being drafted. But Harper got a huge $8.625MM raise for 2017 (shattering MLBTR’s projection) that probably came thanks largely to his monstrous 2015 season, in which he batted .330/.460/.649 while hitting 42 home runs and winning the NL MVP award. That big 2017 salary established a baseline that led to his record-breaking deal for 2018. After somewhat of a down year in 2016 that might have been partially due to shoulder troubles, Harper has begun the 2017 season on an MVP-caliber pace yet again, hitting a ridiculous .372/.496/.717 so far.

In the past, Harper and Boras have shown intense interest in testing the free agent market rather than signing a long-term deal, and Harper’s new contract for 2018 does nothing to change that. He’ll still be eligible in the 2018-19 offseason, joining a headline-grabbing free agent class that also includes Donaldson and Manny Machado. Harper will still be just 26 at that point and could yet again set a contract record, particularly if anything resembling his current 2017 pace continues until then. Following the 2015 season, Harper suggested to a reporter that he thought he could make over $400MM on the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nationals Activate Koda Glover, Shawn Kelley

By Jeff Todd | May 12, 2017 at 3:04pm CDT

The Nationals have activated righties Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley, per a club announcement. A.J. Cole and Matt Grace were each optioned back to Triple-A to create roster space.

The absence of Glover and Kelley had left a void at the back of the Nats’ bullpen. Washington has struggled to find an order of priority in the late innings as most of the relief unit has scuffled, but the righty pairing seemingly sits atop the closing depth chart at present.

Glover, 24, has been said at times to possess the stuff to handle the role and may be the club’s next homegrown closer. But it’s not clear he’s ready to handle the role now. Before going down with a hip impingement, Glover carried solid, though hardly dominant, numbers. He permitted four earned runs on seven hits over 8 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking one.

As for Kelley, he has landed among the league’s best in generating swinging strikes in recent years. But the 33-year-old is seen as requiring regular rest and careful handling given his history of elbow problems, so he may not be a standalone option in the ninth. Kelley has allowed five home runs in his first ten frames, but otherwise has been his typically dominant self, with 13 strikeouts against three walks.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether either of these pitchers can provide enough certainty in the ninth inning to foreclose the addition of a more-established closer at the trade deadline. If nothing else, though, their return will hopefully reduce the need to consider more drastic moves to shore up the the lead-protection unit far in advance of the summer trade period. Odds are, the Nats will be among the game’s most aggressive pursuers of quality relievers this summer.

2018 Vesting Options Update

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2017 at 8:26am CDT

Each year, the free-agent class is impacted by the performance of players with vesting options (as is the financial future of players with said provisions in their contract). For those unfamiliar with the option, a vesting option is typically (though not always) a club option that can automatically trigger based on the player’s health and/or performance. Meeting pre-determined criteria for games played, innings pitched and plate appearances are the most common ways of triggering a vesting option. Some also require that a player avoid the DL at the end of the season and/or for a certain number of games over the course of the year.

Here’s a look at all of the 2018 player options that can automatically trigger based on the players’ 2017 performance…

Matt Cain: The 2017 campaign is the final season of a six-year, $127.5MM extension that Cain signed with the Giants on April 2, 2012. Prior to that point, Cain had been one of the most durable and efficient starters in the NL, but injuries have completely derailed Cain’s career since that 2012 season. Cain hasn’t thrown more than 90 1/3 innings since 2013, and so far he’s delivered just a 4.64 ERA in 455 1/3 innings over the five extra years of control the Giants bought out. If he can reach 200 innings this season and is not on the disabled list due to elbow or shoulder troubles to end the year, his $21.5MM club option would become guaranteed. However, he’s averaging fewer than 5 1/3 innings per start in 2017, and his previous health woes make that decidedly unlikely. His option comes with a $7.5MM buyout, which seems like an inevitable outcome.
Andre Ethier: Ethier batted .273/.351/.429 through the first three seasons of his five-year, $85MM extension (including particularly strong efforts in 2013 and 2015), but he played in just 16 games last season and has been on the disabled list for the entire 2017 season (herniated disk in his lower back). His $17.5MM club option would automatically vest with 550 plate appearances this season, but that’s obviously not going to happen, so he’ll receive a $2.5MM buyout instead.
Matt Garza: Garza’s four-year, $50MM contract with the Brewers contained one of the more convoluted vesting options in recent memory. Injury concerns surrounding Garza allowed the club to land a team option valued at a base of just $5MM. However, had Garza made 110 starts over the contract’s four years, pitched 115 innings in 2017 and avoided the DL at the end of the 2017 season, the option would’ve become guaranteed at $13MM. On the other side of the coin, the Brewers would’ve been able to pick it up at just $1MM had Garza missed 130 or more days during any single season of the contract. Neither of those scenarios will play out at this point, though. All of that is a long-winded way of saying that Garza’s option won’t be vesting at $13MM and will come at a potentially reasonable rate of $5MM.
Gio Gonzalez: Gonzalez’s five-year, $42MM extension came with a $12MM club option for the 2017 season (which was exercised) and a $12MM club/vesting option for the 2018 campaign. If the left-hander reaches 180 innings this season, he’ll be locked in at $12MM next season. For a player as durable as Gonzalez, who averaged 31 starts per year from 2010-16, that seems simple enough. But, Gonzalez has had difficulty working deep into games and has not crossed the 180-inning threshold since 2013. This season, though, he’s already racked up 44 1/3 innings through seven starts — an average of about 6 1/3 frames per outing. He’d need only 29 starts at that pace to trigger the option. And even if he doesn’t sustain that innings pace, if he can avoid the DL and average even 5 1/3 to 5 2/3 innings per start for the rest of the year, he’d accrue enough innings to guarantee that option. Of course, if Gonzalez delivers anything close to the 3.57 ERA he’s turned in through parts of six seasons as a National, the team will likely pick up the option even if it doesn’t vest.
J.J. Hardy: Hardy decided to forgo the open market at the end of the 2014 season, instead re-upping with Orioles in early October on a three-year, $40MM deal. His contract comes with a $14MM club option ($2MM buyout) that could automatically vest in the event that Hardy reaches 600 plate appearances this season. Hardy, however, has reached that total just twice in six previous seasons with the Orioles, and he’s hitting a mere .196/.232/.252 through his first 113 plate appearances in 2017. Based on his recent health track record, it could be considered unlikely that he stays healthy enough to trigger the option. But if he does remain healthy and doesn’t turn things around at the plate, the O’s won’t have a hard time justifying a reduction in playing time to prevent the option from vesting.
Greg Holland: Holland signed a one-year, $7MM deal with a mutual option for the 2018 season, though so long as he remains healthy it’s effectively a two-year, $22MM contract with a player option/opt-out provision. Holland’s $10MM mutual option becomes a $15MM player option if he appears in 50 total games or finishes 30 games in 2017. He’s come out of the gate roaring as a dominant closer in Colorado, just as he was in Kansas City. Holland has already finished 14 games, meaning he needs just 16 more to trigger that player option and secure the right to re-enter the open market. An injury seems like the only thing that will stand in Holland’s way, as he’s currently sporting a 1.29 ERA with a 17-to-5 K/BB ratio, a career-best 51.6 percent ground-ball rate and a 93.9 mph average fastball through his first 14 innings.
Hisashi Iwakuma: After injury concerns stemming from Iwakuma’s physical caused the Dodgers to back out of a reported three-year, $45MM agreement in the 2015-16 offseason, Iwakuma instead returned to the Mariners on a one-year deal with a pair of vesting options. Iwakuma needed 162 innings to trigger his 2017 option, and he needed either 162 innings in 2017 or 324 innings between 2016-17 to trigger his $10MM option for the 2018 season. The 36-year-old racked up 199 innings last year, meaning he now needs just 125 innings in 2017, though he must also avoid the disabled list at season’s end as well. Iwakuma has barely averaged five innings per outing (31 through six starts), but he also needs just 94 more innings this year for that option to kick in.
Ricky Nolasco: Nolasco’s option isn’t a standard vesting option, but his $13MM club option would become a player option with 400 innings pitched between 2016-17. The 34-year-old logged 197 2/3 innings last year, meaning he’d need 202 1/3 innings in 2017 in order to convert his option. That’s a total that Nolasco has reached only twice in his career, and he’s not on pace to approach that number through his first seven starts of the season. If Nolasco were to make the same number of starts as last season (32), he’d need to average nearly 6 2/3 innings per outing for the rest of the season to reach that level. If he ties his career-high with 33 starts, he’d need to average 6 1/3 frames through season’s end. It’s technically possible that Nolasco does end up with a $13MM player option, but the likelier scenario is that the Halos will choose between a $13MM club option and a $1MM buyout. (Thanks to MLBTR commenters paytoplay and jdobson1822 for pointing out Nolasco’s option.)

Cot’s Contracts was used in the creation of this post.

NL East Notes: Cecchini, Cabrera, Nationals, Neris

By Steve Adams | May 8, 2017 at 12:28pm CDT

The Mets will promote infielder Gavin Cecchini prior to tonight’s game against the Giants, Adam Rubin reports (on Twitter). A corresponding move for Cecchini’s recall is not yet known. Once considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Cecchini’s stock has taken a step back, though he still entered the season rated as the Mets’ No. 6 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com. In addition to making his MLB debut last season and hitting a pair of doubles in seven plate appearances with the Mets last season, the 23-year-old turned in a solid year in Triple-A Las Vegas. In 499 plate appearances there last season, Cecchini batted .325/.390/.448. He’s off to a slower start in 2017, slashing .254/.316/.369.

More from the Senior Circuit’s Eastern Division…

Flamethrowing reliever Mauricio Cabrera was activated from the disabled list by the Braves yesterday, though he was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Cabrera was one of Atlanta’s best relievers in 2016 and is touted as a potential closer, though as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets, he’ll remain in Triple-A to continue to hone his control. The reasons for the Braves’ apparent concerns with his control aren’t hard to see; in six minor league innings this season (he was previously pitching on a rehab assignment), Cabrera has issued four walks, hit a batter, and thrown three wild pitches. That said, it shouldn’t be hard for Cabrera to force his way back into the mix in short order if he begins to locate his pitches more effectively. Josh Collmenter, Ian Krol and Eric O’Flaherty all have ERAs north of 5.50, and the Braves’ relief corps as a whole has pitched to a 4.99 ERA in 95 2/3 innings this year.
The Nationals are weighing whether to keep right-hander Jacob Turner in their struggling bullpen or use him as their fifth starter, writes Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Turner has fired six shutout innings in the bullpen but has also impressed the team in a starting role, Castillo notes. The five-spot in the rotation comes up next on Thursday, and Washington’s other option for that outing in Baltimore is right-hander A.J. Cole. Castillo notes, however, that Cole was hit fairly hard by the Phillies this weekend despite escaping with just one run allowed. Right-hander Joe Ross, who was optioned to Triple-A last week, is slated to pitch for Syracuse tonight, so he’s seemingly not an option.
Since surrendering back-to-back-to-back homers to blow a save against the Dodgers a bit more than a week ago, Hector Neris has once again ramped up the usage of his splitter, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out. Gelb notes that 30 of the 43 pitches Neris has thrown since that meltdown have been splitters. The Phillies have “implored” Neris to throw his splitter, which is his best pitch, with more and more frequency, Gelb adds. “The more he uses it, the more hitters have to worry about it, and they can’t sit on his fastball,” says manager Pete Mackanin. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes that during Neris’ shakiest stretch this season, he was throwing 40 percent splitters against 60 percent four-seam fastballs. Neris looks to be back on track, and it doesn’t seem as if there’s any real thought in making a ninth-inning change in Philadelphia at this time. (Reminder to fantasy players: you can track all of the latest ninth-inning drama by following MLBTR’s @closernews account on Twitter.)

Jeremy Guthrie Not Pursuing Contract

By Steve Adams | May 8, 2017 at 10:27am CDT

Veteran right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who elected free agency after being outrighted by the Nationals earlier this season, is not actively seeking an opportunity to sign with another team, according to MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. The 38-year-old didn’t go so far as to use the word “retire” during an excellent, lengthy interview with Zuckerman, but he also spoke like a man whose playing days could be behind him.

Guthrie’s lone start with the Nationals was memorable, although certainly not in the way that any pitcher would want to be remembered. Pitching on his 38th birthday, Guthrie was rocked for 10 runs in just two-thirds of an inning — a disastrous outcome for a pitcher that had turned in an outstanding Spring Training and forced himself into consideration for a 40-man roster spot.

“That start has not been something easy for me to let go,” Guthrie tells Zuckerman. “I wanted to end on a good note. I wanted to go out on my terms.”

Prior to that outing, Guthrie had tossed 18 2/3 innings for the Nats in the spring, posting a 2.41 ERA with a strong 15-to-5 K/BB ratio. The performance was impressive enough, Zuckerman writes, that GM Mike Rizzo promised Guthrie he’d start the team’s fifth game of the season (despite not technically being placed onto the roster out of camp, thus allowing the Nats to briefly carry an extra reliever). Guthrie was well aware that he’d be designated and sent back to Triple-A no matter how he fared, Zuckerman continues, though he’d have been considered for future spot starts and opportunities with the club had he performed well.

“I had a conversation with Mike Rizzo during the game, in the clubhouse, where he was positive and kind,” Guthrie tells Zuckerman. “But he didn’t sugarcoat the devastating blow that game meant to my future.”

Similarly, Guthrie doesn’t sugarcoat his own take of his brutal start to the season, telling Zuckerman, ” I was realistic with myself enough to know that was the type of outing that could completely change what had transpired the prior six weeks.”

Zuckerman’s column is rife with honest, candid quotes from Guthrie that serve as a poignant reminder of the human component of the game that is often easy to forget. The decision not to return to Triple-A Syracuse does not seem like one which Guthrie took lightly, as he details the amount of thought that both he and his wife put into the decision.

I’d highly recommend that MLBTR readers give it a full read — especially those who were fans of Guthrie during his more successful years earlier. Nats fans, too, will want to give it a look, as Guthrie offers nothing but praise for the entire organization, from the front office to the training staff to the current roster of players in D.C. “I would tell every player, if they have the chance, to come play for them,” says Guthrie.

It’s possible that Guthrie again feels the urge to seek out one last shot at a Major League roster, but if this is indeed the end of his career, he has little to hang his head about. Guthrie spent parts of 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, pitching to a 4.42 ERA over the life of 1765 1/3 innings between the Indians, Orioles, Rockies, Royals and Nationals. He made three starts for the Royals in the 2014 postseason, including two in the World Series, and he received a World Series ring for his time with the 2015 Royals.

Guthrie may never have been a front-line starter, but he was a durable workhorse for the Orioles and Royals for the better part of seven seasons. From 2008-14, he averaged 32 starts and 201 innings per year. Guthrie earned nearly $47MM in his career, between his $3MM signing bonus as the No. 22 overall pick in 2002 and the player contracts he’d go on to take home. Baseball-Reference pegs his career at 17.9 wins above replacement, while RA9-WAR had him at 20.4.

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