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Heyman: Nats A Potential Landing Spot For Yoenis Cespedes

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With the Dodgers in payroll-trimming mode, they’re probably not legitimate threats to sign free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, observes FanRag’s Jon Heyman, who lists the Giants and Nationals as likelier landing spots (Twitter link). The Giants are known to be in the market for an outfielder, having discussed J.D. Martinez with the Tigers, and the Nats tried to sign Cespedes last offseason before he re-upped with the Mets. Executives around the majors expect big moves from Washington this winter, and signing Cespedes – MLBTR’s top-ranked free agent – would clearly qualify as a significant splash.

Nationals A Possible Destination For Aroldis Chapman

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  • The Yankees, Dodgers and Giants are known to be eyeing free agent closer Aroldis Chapman, and the Nationals have also emerged as a possible destination, per Cafardo. Executives around the majors expect aggressiveness from the Nats this winter, and signing Chapman to what should be a record deal for a reliever would certainly qualify as a bold move. Notably, Washington attempted to acquire Chapman from the Yankees over the summer, but he ended up with the Cubs. The Nationals then picked up Mark Melancon from the Pirates. He’s also a free agent now, leaving the Nats in need of late-game help.

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  • The Yankees, Dodgers and Giants are known to be eyeing free agent closer Aroldis Chapman, and the Nationals have also emerged as a possible destination, per Cafardo. Executives around the majors expect aggressiveness from the Nats this winter, and signing Chapman to what should be a record deal for a reliever would certainly qualify as a bold move. Notably, Washington attempted to acquire Chapman from the Yankees over the summer, but he ended up with the Cubs. The Nationals then picked up Mark Melancon from the Pirates. He’s also a free agent now, leaving the Nats in need of late-game help.

Nationals Notes: Encarnacion, Drew, Ramos

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Some news out of D.C. from Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post…

  • The Nationals could use a right-handed power bat and/or first base help given Ryan Zimmerman’s injury history, though the biggest option in both categories (Edwin Encarnacion) isn’t likely to be a possibility.  Janes notes that the Nats haven’t made much contact with Encarnacion’s agents, and he is an imperfect fit since Washington is still counting on Zimmerman (who is too expensive to bench) as a regular.  Janes cites Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday and Brandon Moss as potential Nationals targets who would bring an ability to help out in the outfield, though she notes that most of this group would be better suited to an AL team that can provide DH at-bats.
  • Stephen Drew is getting some attention from teams as an everyday player, which could make a return to the Nationals unlikely given the team’s infield depth.  Drew hit .266/.339/.524 over 165 PA for D.C. last season, splitting time between second, third and shortstop.  If Drew goes leave, Wilmer Difo is the top choice as the new utility infielder and Clint Robinson would become Washington’s top left-handed bench bat.
  • In another piece, Janes reports that the Nationals haven’t had many talks with Wilson Ramos’ camp in the last couple of weeks.  The two sides were scheduled to touch base at the GM Meetings, though apparently little has taken place since, leaving the Nats still looking for a catcher in a thinning market (as Brian McCann and Jason Castro have been removed from the board).  Since there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty about how much of the 2017 season Ramos will miss due to his ACL surgery, he could get more attention from Washington and other teams once his recovery timeline is more clearly established.

Nationals Acquire Jimmy Cordero

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The Nationals have acquired minor league righty Jimmy Cordero from the division-rival Phillies, per a club announcement. Philadelphia will receive cash or a player to be named in the agreement.

Cordero, who recently turned 25, was designated for assignment as part of the Phillies’ house-cleaning effort in advance of the recent deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Though he hasn’t appeared in the majors, he was added to the 40-man last winter to prevent other organizations from staking a Rule 5 claim on him.

Arm issues limited Cordero to just 22 appearances last year, spread across the Phillies’ farm system. But he showed promise in 2015, when he ran up 67 innings of 2.55 ERA pitching with 8.6 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. Cordero was acquired by the Phils in the middle of that season in the deal that sent Ben Revere to the Blue Jays.

Phillies GM Matt Klentak recently explained why the organization had made the decision to move Cordero off of the big league roster. “A year ago at this time, we were pretty high on Jimmy,” Klentak said. “His year was not as productive as we had hoped and as he had hoped. It becomes a numbers game. That may sound cliche, but truly that’s the reality of it. We like him a lot and we would love to keep him in the organization, if possible.”

Instead of stick in Philly, Cordero will move south to D.C. For the Nats, he represents a reasonably high-upside arm on which to take a chance. Scouts have been intrigued in the past by Cordero’s sometimes-triple-digit velocity and promising slider. While the control hasn’t always been there and his health is now in question, there’s some reason to believe that he could be ready for major league action in the near-term.

Rival Executives Expect Nationals To Be Aggressive

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Executives with rival organizations anticipate some big moves from the Nationals this winter, according to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Washington is particularly motivated to build out an already talented roster given its recent postseason failings, he notes.

GM Mike Rizzo appears to be dabbling in several intriguing areas. We’ve already heard of interest in White Sox lefty Chris Sale, and an official with another team says that the Nats “are hovering” on the ace southpaw. While they won’t deal Trea Turner, that exec notes that Rizzo and co. “are open on a lot of different things.”

One other intriguing possibility is Yoenis Cespedes, whom the Nationals pursued with some seriousness last winter. Generally, D.C. is “looking for a right-handed power bat,” one source tells Sherman, noting that the club also looked into Jose Bautista (now a free agent) at the trade deadline.

Whether or not any of those particular concepts comes to fruition is anyone’s guess, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the Nationals have often surprised with his biggest strikes. The signing of Max Scherzer was largely unforeseen, as was the trade for Doug Fister and the swap that netted Turner and Joe Ross.

According to Sherman, the Nats are “aggressively” shopping lefty Gio Gonzalez, who struggled in the earned run department and showed a velocity drop last year, but has largely maintained quality peripherals and thrown a lot of good innings. He’d be an appealing piece to a variety of other organizations, and might bring back a useful veteran at an area of need or simply free up funds and a rotation spot while landing some prospect capital.

As I explained in assessing the Nationals’ offseason outlook, it remains to be seen just how high the organization will push its payroll. Washington is already within $20MM of its team-record 2015 balance sheet, and has several notable needs — including, potentially, a center fielder (or shortstop), catcher, and closer. The club has also been forced to defer salary in several notable instances, at least in part due to the ongoing MASN television rights fees dispute with the Orioles. But with some roster flexibility, intriguing young pitching in the upper levels of the minors, and an apparent willingness to push the envelope, there are plenty of avenues for Rizzo to exercise his creative faculties to improve the roster over the coming months.

Nationals Remain Possible Suitor For Matt Wieters

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Matt Wieters’ poor ratings in terms of pitch-framing are weighing down his market, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney (ESPN Insider required). Olney spoke to multiple evaluators who believe that Wieters’ defense declined in 2016, and as he notes, a number of executives around the game are placing a greater emphasis on framing, which is perhaps why Jason Castro just landed a three-year deal despite poor offensive production dating back to the 2014 season. Per Olney, while both the Twins and Rays are interested in Castro, it’s not clear that either has any interest in Wieters. Olney lists the Orioles and Nationals as potential landing spots for Wieters and also adds that the Braves have expressed some interest, “but probably for far less than what [agent Scott Boras] wants.” Also worth a brief mention with regard to Wieters: Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports that he suffered a laceration to his non-throwing arm in a household mishap this offseason. The wound required stitches, and Wieters is wearing a protective shield for the time being, but he’s expected to be able to resume baseball activities in January. The injury shouldn’t see any delay in his readiness for Spring Training.

Nats Sign Dustin Antonlin To Minor League Deal

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  • The Nationals announced yesterday that they’ve signed former Blue Jays right-hander Dustin Antolin to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League Spring Training. The 27-year-old made his big league debut with the Jays in 2016, tossing two innings and surrendering three runs in his lone appearance. Antolin was tremendous during his time with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate, pitching to a 2.04 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 53 innings. However, he didn’t reach the Triple-A level until his age-26 season and also displayed some control issues, walking 28 batters (4.8 BB/9) and hitting another three batters as well. The Hawaiian-born Antolin has a career 4.16 ERA in the minors and has averaged eight strikeouts against four walks per nine innings pitched.

Nationals Sign Four To Minor League Deals

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9:07am: In addition to Snyder, Washington has signed left-hander Braulio Lara, right-hander Derek Eitel and infielder Corban Joseph to minor league pacts with spring training invitations, per a team announcement. The only member of the trio with major league experience is Joseph, who collected seven PAs with the Yankees in 2013.

8:38am: The Nationals have signed free agent utilityman Brandon Snyder to a minor league contract, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. The deal contains an invitation to big league camp, where Snyder will have a chance to compete for a roster spot on next year’s Nats.

Snyder, who played high school baseball in Northern Virginia, landed on the open market when the Braves outrighted him in mid-October. He was successful last season with Atlanta in a 47-plate appearance sample, though, posting an unusual batting line of .239/.255/.652 with four home runs. In a combined 205 career major league PAs with the Orioles – who chose him in the first round of the 2005 draft – Rangers, Red Sox and Braves, Snyder has slashed .242/.279/.459 with nine long balls. Snyder has seen far more action at the Triple-A level, where he has batted an uninspiring .259/.319/.411 in 1,837 trips to the plate.

The right-handed Snyder, who will turn 30 on Wednesday, could catch on with a Nationals team that currently has an unsettled bench, as Zuckerman notes. Most of Snyder’s major league time has come in the corner infield, though the Nats are set at third base as long as Anthony Rendon stays healthy. First base is perhaps a different story, however, as both Ryan Zimmerman and Clint Robinson are coming off dreadful seasons.

Nationals Re-Sign Chris Heisey

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TODAY: The Nationals have officially announced the signing.

NOVEMBER 11: The Nationals have agreed to a one-year, $1.4MM to bring back outfielder Chris Heisey, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The contract includes various performance incentives as well.

[RELATED: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]

Heisey, 31, provided Washington with a solid, right-handed-hitting presence from the bench last year. He ended with a .216/.290/.446 slash over 155 plate appearances, with nine home runs. There’s a fair bit of swing and miss in his game — he posted a 28.4% K rate last year — and Heisey has been an essentially average fielder and baserunner. But he obviously impressed the Nats, and it probably didn’t hurt that he came up with a big home run in the NLDS.

Looking at the roster, locking in a right-handed-hitting outfielder probably doesn’t dictate many other moves. Heisey has traditionally carried reverse splits, and will be expected to play a relatively minor role as a spot starter and pinch hitter. The signing probably doesn’t help Michael Taylor’s chances of cracking the Opening Day roster, and makes it appear somewhat unlikely that the club will sign a more significant fourth outfielder, but otherwise the primary needs remain the same.

Players Added To The 40-Man

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We’ll use this post to keep track of the players being added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters today, which is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Players must be added to the big league roster within either four years (if they were 19 or older at the time of their original signing) or five years (if 18 or younger) of their signing year in order to be shielded from selection.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo took a look at some of the biggest names who face roster decisions, though most of those won’t be much in question. At the fringes, teams must also consider the major league readiness of the player, since that factors heavily into whether they’ll be taken and kept. Any drafting team, of course, must keep a player on its active MLB roster for the full season (with certain exceptions relating to the DL) in order for their control rights to vest. Adding a player to the 40-man too early can have its own risks, because it limits flexibility and could require a team to expose that player to waivers if a need arises. With 26-man rosters reportedly under consideration, the Rule 5 draft could be quite intriguing this year, and that may bleed into today’s decisions as well.

Below is a division-by-division rundown of the names that were added to each team’s 40-man roster (plus the various waiver claims that spawned from teams trying to outright players to protect Rule 5-eligible prospects). We won’t delve into each player’s background, but if you’re looking to a little more about the names that were added, I’d highly recommend this tremendous, in-depth examination of each team’s additions by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. If you want to see how the moves look in the context of a team’s roster, head over to Roster Resource for your club’s depth chart.

Onto the moves…

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