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Nationals Rumors

Nationals Place Paolo Espino On Release Waivers

By Nick Deeds | August 6, 2023 at 10:53am CDT

The Nationals announced a series of roster moves today as they reinstated right-hander Trevor Williams from the bereavement list, reinstated catcher Israel Pineda from the 60-day injured list, and optioned him to Double-A. In a corresponding move, right-hander Paolo Espino was placed on unconditional release waivers.

Williams signed a two-year, $13MM deal with the Nationals ahead of the 2023 on the heels of a solid season as a swingman for the Mets last year, when he posted a 3.21 ERA and 3.88 FIP in 89 1/3 innings of work. In a full-time rotation role this season, Williams hasn’t been able to replicate that success, as he’s struggled to a 4.72 ERA and 5.55 FIP in 22 starts. Among pitchers who have recorded at least 100 innings this season, Williams’ 0.4 fWAR ranks ahead of only Michael Kopech of the White Sox and Martin Perez of the Rangers.

While Williams has struggled as a full-time starter this season, the former second round pick has previous success as a rotation piece dating back to 2018, when he posted a 3.11 ERA in 170 1/3 innings of work with the Pirates. He’ll look to get back on track through the remainder of the 2023 campaign with an eye toward 2024, where he figures to continue as a rotation option for Washington alongside the likes of Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, and Patrick Corbin.

Pineda, 22, has just four games of big league experience under his belt and has missed the entire season to this point due to a fractured ring finger and an oblique strain. He’s ranked as the club’s 23rd best prospect per MLB Pipeline and 17th per Fangraphs. While Pineda could be ready for a longer-team big league role as soon as next season, the Nationals are fairly well set up at the major league level behind the plate with a tandem of youngsters in the form of Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams.

Espino, 36, had been on the 15-day IL since mid-July with a flexor strain. He pitched just four innings with the big league Nationals this season, during which he allowed 11 runs on 14 hits and three walks while striking out three. Prior to his disastrous stint with the club earlier this season, Espino had spent the last two seasons as a fixture of Washington’s pitching staff, throwing 223 innings across 77 appearances (38 starts) to a 4.56 ERA and 4.70 FIP. Going forward, Espino will likely have to look for a new minor league deal as he looks for a new team to rehab his current injury with.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Israel Pineda Paolo Espino Trevor Williams

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Nationals Release Jose Urena

By Mark Polishuk | August 5, 2023 at 7:26am CDT

The Nationals released right-hander Jose Urena, according to his MLB.com profile page.  Urena has been part of the Nats organization since May, when he inked a minor league contract after being released by the Rockies.

Things haven’t gone smoothly for Urena at either the major or minor league levels in 2023.  He posted a 9.82 ERA with nine homers allowed over 18 1/3 innings for the Rockies, before being released at the end of April.  Urena followed up those struggles with a 6.31 ERA in 67 frames for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, with 16 more long balls allowed.  A low-strikeout grounder specialist throughout his career, Urena has had some home-run issues in the past, but those problems have become a full-blown crisis this season.

Colorado still owes Urena the balance of his 2023 salary — roughly $950K left of a $3MM guarantee, and there is a $500K buyout of his 2024 club option.  The Nationals ended up not having to pay Urena even a prorated MLB minimum salary, as he never made Washington’s big league roster.

Rough 2023 numbers aside, there’s a chance Urena might still catch on elsewhere on a minors deal, as teams are always looking for starting pitching depth.  The right-hander could also fill a roster hole left as clubs call up pitching prospects to the Show.  However, with about a month left in the minor league season, teams also simply might prefer to give that remaining playing time to their future prospects, rather than a 31-year-old who hasn’t been effective at the MLB level (5.61 ERA in his last 324 innings) for a few years now.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Jose Urena

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Corey Dickerson Clears Release Waivers

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2023 at 7:08pm CDT

The Nationals announced that veteran outfielder Corey Dickerson went unclaimed on release waivers. He’s officially a free agent.

Dickerson, 34, lost his roster spot on Wednesday. The left-handed hitter signed a $2.25MM free agent contract over the winter. His stint in the nation’s capital didn’t go well. Dickerson missed six weeks with a calf strain and struggled over the 52 games he played. He hit .250/.283/.354 with a pair of home runs. The on-base and slugging marks were the lowest of his career.

Once the trade deadline passed, the Nationals decided to move on from the former All-Star. They called up former Yankees’ first-rounder Blake Rutherford for an audition in the corner outfield. It’s understandable the last-place club preferred to get a look at Rutherford, who’d be controllable for a number of seasons if he plays well enough to secure a spot.

The Nationals remain on the hook for the rest of Dickerson’s salary. He’ll likely be limited to minor league offers now that he’s back on the open market. If another club called him to the majors at any point this season, they’d pay just the prorated portion of the $720K minimum, which would be subtracted from the Nationals’ payments.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Corey Dickerson

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Nationals Option Luis García, Release Corey Dickerson

By Darragh McDonald | August 2, 2023 at 4:55pm CDT

The Nationals announced after today’s game that they have requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson and optioned infielder Luis García to Triple-A Rochester. The corresponding moves haven’t been announced but Talk Nats reports that outfielder Blake Rutherford will be selected to the roster for one of them. Infielder Jeter Downs will be recalled for the other, per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post.

García, 23, was once a top 100 prospect but has continually struggled to hit in the big leagues. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s appeared in 302 games and taken 1,169 plate appearances, coming into today’s action. He’s mustered a batting line of .263/.291/.388 in that time, which amounts to a wRC+ of 82. That includes a .260/.294/.363 showing this year, translating to a 74 wRC+.

Those numbers are especially concerning since his hit tool was supposed to be his standout feature as a prospect. Advanced defensive metrics don’t like his glovework at second base much, with García having tallied -2 Defensive Runs Saved there in his career, along with -14 Outs Above Average and a grade of -6.5 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His numbers at shortstop are worse.

The Nats will now send him back to Triple-A to get more work there, though he has little to prove at that level. In 82 games there in his career, he’s hit .306/.368/.554 but hasn’t been able to replicate that at the big league level. He’ll now try to get back in a groove and earn himself another chance.

From a service time perspective, he began this year with one year and 164 days of service. He’s already gone well past the two-year mark but his chances of reaching Super Two status at the end of the this year could go down, depending on how long he’s out. Perhaps more importantly, he has just one option year remaining. Once he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he’ll burn that last option here in 2023 and be out of options going into 2024. The Nats will likely still be rebuilding next year and could give him another shot, though his grasp on a roster spot would likely be more tenuous at that point.

As for Dickerson, 34, it’s hardly a surprise to see him lose his roster spot now. He was one of a handful of veterans that the Nats brought in over the winter on one-year deals to serve as veteran mentors and hopefully become trade chips. Jeimer Candelario showed the best-case scenario as he mashed and was able to be flipped to the Cubs for a couple of prospects. But Dickerson has hit just .252/.285/.357 for the year, producing a wRC+ of 71 that would be a career low for him. Now that the deadline has passed, the club will use his roster spot to give a chance to other players with a greater chance to help in future seasons.

One of those players the Nats will get a look at will reportedly be Rutherford. The 26-year-old was a first round pick of the Yankees, getting selected 18th overall in 2016. He was considered a top 100 prospect going into 2017 before getting flipped to the White Sox that summer as part of a seven-player deal that sent Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees.

The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019 to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, but he didn’t hit much in the years to come and was eventually outrighted off the roster, without getting a chance to make his major league debut. He cleared waivers in the process, meaning the other 29 clubs in the league had a chance to grab him and passed.

He reached free agency after last year, signing a minor league contract with the Nats in the winter and has seemingly been back in good form. He’s hit .345/.395/.583 in 62 games split between Double-A and Triple-A this year, producing a 153 wRC+. That’s obviously much better than his combined batting line of .262/.305/.399 from 2019 to 2022. The Nats will now give him a chance to see how he can handle major league pitching. If he succeeds, he still has no service time and can be retained for six seasons beyond this one. He also has an option year remaining, giving the club a bit of roster flexibility to use at some point.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Blake Rutherford Corey Dickerson Jeter Downs Luis Garcia (infielder)

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Nationals’ Matt Cronin Undergoes Back Surgery

By Steve Adams | August 2, 2023 at 1:51pm CDT

Nationals left-hander Matt Cronin announced on Instagram that he underwent surgery this week to repair a herniated disc in his back (hat tip to Talk Nats, on Twitter). Wrote Cronin:

“For those that don’t know, I had been dealing with pain in my left shoulder/arm for the last 2 years but could never seem to find anything wrong with them. That was up until about a month ago when we decided to have my spine checked out and found a large herniated disc at my C5-C6 level.”

Cronin, 25, is on the Nationals’ 40-man roster but has not yet made his Major League debut. He’s been limited to just 14 1/3 innings this season owing to that injury, logging a 5.02 ERA at the Triple-A level in that sample. Despite the pain apparently impacting him last year, he still posted a strong 2.42 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate in 52 innings of relief between the Double-A and Triple-A levels (including 16 1/3 scoreless frames at the former of those two levels).

The Nats haven’t formally announced the surgery or a timetable for Cronin’s return, though he surely won’t be getting back on the mound in 2023. If the Nats need a spot on their 40-man roster in the near future and don’t mind starting up his service clock, Cronin could be called up to the Majors and placed directly on the 60-day injured list as a means of opening that spot. Baseball America ranked Cronin 18th among Nationals farmhands this year, touting excellent carry on the southpaw’s low-to-mid 90s fastball and the potential in his slider and changeup. MLB.com has him 22nd among Washington prospects, calling him a “high-floor bullpen arm” whose secondary offerings should allow him to be effective against righties and lefties alike.

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Washington Nationals Matt Cronin

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Nationals Claim Robert Garcia

By Nick Deeds | August 1, 2023 at 1:48pm CDT

The Nationals claimed left-hander Robert Garcia off waivers from the Marlins this afternoon, per a team announcement. There had been no previous public indication that Garcia, who the Marlins selected to the roster in early July, had been placed on waivers, but the move opens up a spot on the club’s 40-man roster. There’s no need for a corresponding move on the part of the Nationals, as a spot 0n their 40-man was opened by yesterday’s Jeimer Candelario trade.

Garcia, 27, made his major league debut with the Marlins earlier this year, though he recorded just one out in his only appearance while surrendering a hit and a walk. While Garcia has virtually no major league experience, he’s pitched well during his time in the minors with a 2.85 ERA in 41 1/3 innings of work with a 35.4% strikeout rate at the Triple-A level. That kind of strikeout ability could certainly prove valuable to a Nationals club that currently relies on Jose Ferrer and Joe La Sora, both of whom sport ERAs north of five, as their left-handed bullpen options.

As for the Marlins, the club will now have additional 40-man roster flexibility as they head into the final hours before the trade deadline. While Garcia certainly appears to be a useful, optionable relief arm, Miami has a well-stocked bullpen that has A.J. Puk, Tanner Scott, and Steven Okert as options from the left side and recently added late-inning arms in David Robertson and Jorge Lopez to the mix.

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Miami Marlins Transactions Washington Nationals Robert Garcia

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Cubs Acquire Jeimer Candelario

By Anthony Franco | July 31, 2023 at 6:01pm CDT

Jeimer Candelario is headed back to Chicago. The Cubs announced they acquired the switch-hitting third baseman from the Nationals for prospects DJ Herz and Kevin Made. The Cubs had an open 40-man roster spot after outrighting Edwin Ríos yesterday.

Candelario was one of the best rental hitters on the market after a strong four months in Washington. It was exactly what the Nats had envisioned when signing him to a one-year, $5MM free agent contract last winter.

Originally signed by the Cubs as an amateur more than a decade ago, Candelario made his big league debut with Chicago. His first stint on the North Side was short-lived. He played in five games in 2016 and 11 more the following season before being dealt to the Tigers in the Justin Wilson trade, as the Cubs pushed in young talent for veterans while trying to defend their World Series title.

Candelario got his first extended run down the stretch in Detroit and was an everyday player by the following season. He was a below-average regular for the first two years but took a significant step forward in 2020. Candelario carried that over a full schedule the following season, when he led the majors in doubles. Between those two seasons, he hit .278/.356/.458 in more than 800 trips to the plate.

As was the case for essentially everyone in the Detroit lineup, things fell apart in 2022. Candelario slumped to a .217/.272/.361 line over 124 games. The Tigers non-tendered him in lieu of paying around $7MM for his final season of arbitration eligibility. While it’s a move Detroit probably wishes they had back in hindsight, the subsequent $5MM free agent deal indicates the market didn’t value Candelario as a $7MM player just a few months ago.

The 29-year-old has certainly elevated his stock since that point. He has more or less regained his 2020-21 form. Candelario hit .258/.342/.481 through 419 plate appearances with Washington. He connected on 16 homers and 30 doubles, ranking fifth in the majors in the latter category. He’s walking at a roughly average 8.6% clip against a decent 21% strikeout rate.

Candelario has been better from the left side of the plate this season, a departure from his early-career work. He’d typically fared better against southpaws but now has similar platoon splits overall. Since the start of 2020, he’s a .253/.334/.438 hitter against right-handed pitching and owns a .256/.330/.437 line versus lefties. That well-rounded offensive production adds to a Chicago lineup built mostly on strong depth as opposed to impact talent aside from Cody Bellinger.

While his profile has mostly been built on offense, Candelario has also gotten solid reviews from public metrics for his third base defense this year. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him two runs above par in 834 1/3 innings of hot corner work, while Statcast has estimated him as four runs above average. Candelario had gotten mixed to below-average marks throughout his time in Detroit but should at least be a solid gloveman in Chicago.

He has some experience at first base as well but hasn’t played anywhere aside from third since 2020. The Cubs could plug him in at either spot but will presumably use him more often at the hot corner. Nick Madrigal, Patrick Wisdom, Christopher Morel and Miles Mastrobuoni have been part of a revolving door at the position. Morel has raked but isn’t a good defender. Wisdom hits for power but doesn’t consistently put the ball in play; Madrigal has the opposite profile. Candelario is the most balanced of the group.

It’s a modest financial addition for Chicago. Candelario is due around $1.67MM in salary through year’s end. He’d tack on another $200K in incentives if he reaches 600 plate appearances, though that’s also fairly modest. As calculated by Roster Resource, the Cubs have a luxury tax number a bit north of $228MM.

That’s a little less than $5MM shy of the $233MM base threshold. It had seemed the Cubs were trending towards staying below that mark and selling away veteran pieces, but a recent eight-game win streak completely changed the calculus. The addition of one of the top rental hitters available affirms their status as buyers, which had already become clear when they took Bellinger off the trade market yesterday. They also added some middle relief depth tonight in acquiring José Cuas from Kansas City and figure to look for more impactful bullpen upgrades in the next 24 hours.

Candelario’s time in Washington proved fruitful for both parties. He revitalized his stock and now looks positioned for a much more lucrative free agent trip. He’ll be one of the top hitters available in a below-average class for bats. The Nats never seemed likely to issue him a qualifying offer, but the trade officially takes that off the table. Players dealt midseason are ineligible for the QO, so Candelario will hit the market unencumbered by draft compensation.

The club adds a pair of players to a continually improving farm system. Made, 20, is a right-handed hitting shortstop from the Dominican Republic. He didn’t appear on Chicago’s midseason top 30 prospects at Baseball America but ranked 19th on the organizational list at FanGraphs. The outlet credited the 5’9″ infielder with roughly average tools and suggested he has an outside shot to be an everyday shortstop. He’s hitting .240/.328/.355 over 300 plate appearances with High-A South Bend. He hit just three homers there but walked at a solid 10% clip against a lower than average 18% strikeout rate.

Herz, 22, has gotten 14 starts with Double-A Tennessee. The former eighth-round pick owns a 3.97 ERA across 59 innings, striking out an excellent 30.4% of opponents but walking 14% of batters faced. He was 19th among Cubs’ prospects at Baseball America and 22nd at FanGraphs. He sits in the low 90s with his fastball and has an excellent changeup, but the obvious control woes lead most evaluators to point to a bullpen future. There’s little harm for the Nats in letting him continue to start in the minors. Herz and Made will have to go on the 40-man roster this offseason to stay out of the Rule 5 draft.

It’s the first of likely multiple deadline deals for the rebuilding Nats. Candelario was their most obvious trade chip. Middle reliever Kyle Finnegan could be on the move as well. Washinton’s top realistic trade piece would be outfielder Lane Thomas, though it remains to be seen how eager they are to deal him.

Michael Cerami and David Kaplan of Bleacher Nation reported the Cubs and Nationals were in discussions about Candelario. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported Candelario was being traded to Chicago. Cerami was first with Herz and Made going back to Washington.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Chicago Cubs Newsstand Transactions Washington Nationals DJ Herz Jeimer Candelario Kevin Made

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Rizzo: Nationals Have Eight Suitors For Jeimer Candelario

By Nick Deeds | July 30, 2023 at 4:28pm CDT

Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo made an appearance on SiriusXM’s Front Office on MLBNetwork Radio this afternoon, where he discussed Washington’s deadline plans with hosts Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette. As relayed by Bowden, Rizzo provided an update on the market for third baseman Jeimer Candelario, telling the duo that the club has eight teams in on the Nationals’ top trade chip. Rizzo further indicated that the club would “move fast” in getting a deal done once they’re offered the “right player” in exchange for Candelario’s services.

That the Nationals intend to move Candelario is hardly a surprise. He came in at #2 overall as the top position player on MLBTR’s recent update to our Top 50 Deadline Trade Candidates, with both the Marlins and Angels known to have interest in his services. SNY’s Andy Martino also reported today that the Yankees have interest.

It’s not hard to see why Candelario has drawn such interest, as has paired excellent third base defense with a 121 wRC+ in 98 games this season. In addition to his quality defense at the hot corner, Candelario also has experience in the majors at first base. With Cody Bellinger now off the trade market, that makes Candelario the likely best player available at both infielder corners. Speculatively speaking, the Giants, Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Astros each could use help at the infield corners.

Rizzo also discussed the availability of right-hander Kyle Finnegan and outfielder Lane Thomas, who clocked in at #37 and #41 on our Top 50 Deadline Trade Candidates list, respectively. Bowden relays that Rizzo indicated Finnegan has drawn interest from other clubs ahead of the deadline, and it’s easy to see why. Finnegan is controllable through 2025 and has been a solid arm in the Nationals’ bullpen since he made his big league debut in 2020. Finnegan’s career 3.35 ERA and 4.10 FIP are right in line with his 3.07 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 44 innings of work this season as the Nationals’ top option for closing out games.

Thomas, who is under team control through the end of the 2025 season, has slashed a solid .286/.333/.474 in 104 games this season with a wRC+ of 116 while swiping 12 bases in 14 attempts, is not a player Rizzo appears particularly inclined to move, with Bowden relaying that the impetus to move Thomas would be help at a position of greater need than the outfield, where the club sports top prospects James Wood, Robert Hassell, Dylan Crews, and Elijah Green.

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New York Yankees Washington Nationals Jeimer Candelario Kyle Finnegan Lane Thomas

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Angels, Nationals Have Discussed Jeimer Candelario Trade

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2023 at 11:05pm CDT

The Angels have had talks with the Nationals about third baseman Jeimer Candelario, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Halos just pulled off the biggest trade of deadline season thus far and continue to look for ways to upgrade the roster. It’s unclear whether a deal between the clubs is likely to come together.

Candelario, 29, spent several years as the Tigers’ primary third baseman before struggling through a career-worst season in 2022, when he hit just .217/.272/.361 in 124 games. Detroit non-tendered him rather than giving him a raise in what would’ve been his final year of arbitration eligibility, and the Nationals scooped him up on a one-year, $5MM deal in free agency. The gambit could scarcely have worked out better for the Nats.

In 94 games and 398 plate appearances, Candelario has rebounded with a .257/.338/.486 batting line, swatting 16 homers in addition to 29 doubles and a pair of triples. He’s already swiped five bases, a career-high, and should surpass his career-best mark of 19 home runs before long. The switch-hitting Candelario has never been known for his glovework, but he’s posted positive marks at third base in the estimation of Defensive Runs Saved (1), Ultimate Zone Rating (2.0) and especially Statcast’s Outs Above Average (6) so far in 2023.

The Halos certainly didn’t foresee themselves in position to be poking around the third base market at any trade deadlines in the near future three years ago, when they signed Anthony Rendon to a seven-year, $245MM contract. At the time, they hoped to be adding a perennial MVP candidate into a lineup that already featured MVP-caliber talents Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Rendon garnered MVP votes each season from 2017-19, including a third-place finish in his final season with the Nats before he became a free agent.

Although he was excellent for the Halos in the shortened 2020 season, things haven’t gone well since. Rendon has played in just 148 games since Opening Day 2021, hitting .235/.338/.364 while battling myriad injuries along the way. He’s currently on the shelf with a shin injury. The Angels have already acquired third base options Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar in earlier summer trades, to say nothing of their signing of Brandon Drury as a free agent this past offseason. They’re not necessarily lacking in options at the hot corner, but Candelario would nonetheless provide an affordable, high-quality bat to slot into the lineup. If Rendon were to come back from the injured list and reclaim the third base job, Candelario could certainly fit into the mix at first base; he’s logged 518 career innings at the position.

The Angels sudden, blockbuster acquisition of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox has already pushed them north of the luxury tax line, so the remaining $1.8MM that Candelario would add to their luxury ledger isn’t likely to be a major deterrent. They’ve already taken Ohtani off the trade market, and the Giolito/Lopez trade — for their two top prospects — only underscores the notion that owner Arte Moreno and GM Perry Minasian are going for broke in Ohtani’s final year of club control. Whether or not a deal involving Candelario comes together, it seems quite likely that the Angels will be in the market for further upgrades in the lineup. At this point, there’s no sense in holding anything back. They’ve committed to pushing in for a 2023 postseason bid, and there’s no turning back.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Washington Nationals Jeimer Candelario

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Twins Eyeing Bullpen Help, Right-Handed Bats

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2023 at 12:16pm CDT

The Twins are the only team in the AL Central above .500, and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey unsurprisingly tells Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic that they’ll accordingly operate as buyers at this year’s deadline. Bullpen help and right-handed bats are the primary areas of focus for Minnesota between now and next Tuesday’s deadline.

One club the Twins have spoken to has both to offer. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North Radio and 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Twins have talked with the Nationals, who have been scouting Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul. The Nats are just one of many teams the Twins have spoken too, of course, but the presence of outfielder Lane Thomas and surely available relievers like Kyle Finnegan present some obvious fits.

Falvey suggested that the Twins will be in the market for more “complementary” pieces, which might take someone like Thomas off the table, though as a lefty-mashing outfielder with multiple seasons of club control remaining beyond the current year, he’s an on-paper fit at the very least.

Falvey noted, however, that he’s amenable to trading for rental players. The trade market figures to have plenty of righty-swinging options who fit that bill — Randal Grichuk, Tommy Pham, Mark Canha and Adam Duvall potentially among them. (Canha has a 2024 option.)

The Twins are hitting just .219/.293/.369 against left-handed pitching this season, thanks in no small part to a glut of left-handed-hitting outfielders that at one point looked likely to lead to an offseason trade. That never materialized, however.

[Related: Twins’ Outfielders Drawing Trade Attention]

Many of the Twins’ offseason acquisitions who were added with an eye toward bolstering the lineup against southpaws have fallen shy of expectation in that regard. Christian Vazquez, Donovan Solano and Michael A. Taylor all have some past success against lefties, but none has been more than average against southpaws in 2023. Kyle Farmer has hit lefties well but not up to his prior standards.

Incumbent righty bats like Byron Buxton and the previously optioned (and now injured) Jose Miranda, meanwhile, have struggled against southpaws. Royce Lewis and Jorge Polanco have hit lefties well, but both are on sitting alongside Miranda on the injured list. Polanco has been out since early June. Lewis hit the IL in early July and isn’t expected back until next month.

Similarly, the Twins are missing some key contributors in the bullpen. Left-hander Caleb Thielbar has quietly become an excellent setup man since his 2020 return to the big leagues after a five-year absence. The 36-year-old has pitched to a 3.10 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate since 2020 but has just 10 1/3 innings this year due to a pair of oblique injuries.

Brock Stewart, another diamond-in-the-rough find for the Twins, returned to the Majors for the first time since 2019 this year and has posted a 0.70 ERA and 35.4% strikeout rate for the Twins. However, he’s been out since late July with an elbow issue. Stewart threw his first bullpen session today and will throw another Saturday, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter link), but it’s not yet clear just when he’ll be back in the Twins’ bullpen. The absence of both Thielbar and Stewart was felt last night when the Twins’ relief corps squandered a four-run lead and strong start from Pablo Lopez in a game they eventually dropped to the Mariners by a score of 9-7.

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Minnesota Twins Washington Nationals Brock Stewart Kyle Finnegan Lane Thomas

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