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Colin Poche Elects Free Agency

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Left-hander Colin Poche has elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, as the Nats announced earlier tonight.  Washington designated Poche for assignment earlier this week and he cleared waivers, but he had the ability to opt into free agency since he has more than five years of MLB service time.

Poche inked a minor league deal with the Nationals back in February and made the team’s Opening Day roster, but the results weren’t pretty.  The southpaw had an 11.42 ERA over 13 games and 8 2/3 innings with D.C., with more walks (12) than strikeouts (10).  With that rough month in the books, the Nats decided they’d seen enough, and DFA’ed Poche to make room for another veteran lefty reliever in Andrew Chafin.

While a small sample size, Poche’s struggles are a marked departure from the solid numbers he posted with the Rays from 2022-24.  He had a 3.86 ERA over 37 1/3 innings in 2024, but Tampa Bay chose to non-tender Poche rather than pay him $3.4MM in a projected arbitration salary.  While the Rays’ always-tight budget was certainly a factor in the decision, Poche’s strikeout rate has been on the decline (21.6% last year), and he spent time on the injured list with both shoulder and back problems in 2024.

The 31-year-old Poche will now search the market for a fresh start and another minor league contract.  Despite his poor numbers this year, he seems likely to catch on somewhere given his still-recent success in Tampa, and the ever-present need around baseball for left-handed pitching.

Nationals Sign Andrew Chafin To Major League Deal

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6:15pm: Chafin’s contract with the Nationals guarantees him $1MM, according to Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post.

5:45pm: The Nationals announced that they have signed left-hander Andrew Chafin to a one-year major league deal. Fellow lefty Colin Poche has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. Chafin was with the Tigers on a minor league deal but had an opt-out in that pact. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Chafin was signing with the Nats prior to the official announcement.

Chafin, 35 next month, is a veteran with over a decade of solid relief work. He has logged 508 1/3 innings for various clubs, allowing 3.42 earned runs per nine. He has struck out 25.9% of batters faced, given out walks at a 10% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 48.1% pace. He had a strong performance in 2024, with a 3.51 ERA between the Tigers and Rangers. His 12.6% walk rate was quite high but he also bumped his strikeout rate up to 28.5%.

Despite those good numbers, he lingered unsigned through the winter and somewhat surprisingly had to settle for a minor league deal with Detroit in late February. It still seemed like the Tigers would add him to the roster at the end of camp but that didn’t come to pass.

Chafin was an Article XX(b) free agent this winter, which is any player with at least six years of major league service who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Such players get uniform opt-out dates on minor league deals, provided they sign more than ten days prior to Opening Day. The opt-outs are five days prior to Opening Day, May 1st and June 1st.

Though he didn’t break camp with the club, Chafin decided to report to Triple-A Toledo. He put up great numbers for that club, tossing 12 2/3 innings with a 2.13 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 51.6% ground ball rate. That’s obviously a small sample of work but, as mentioned, Chafin also has a lengthy résumé of big league success.

Despite that strong performance, the Tigers never called him up. They are seemingly content with their lefty relievers Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter and Sean Guenther. Chafin apparently triggered his opt-out and landed with a club that has a greater need for his services. The Nationals have used Poche and Jose A. Ferrer as their southpaw relievers this year, with disastrous results so far. Poche has an 11.42 ERA through 8 2/3 innings, with Ferrer at 7.36 through 14 2/3.

The Nats aren’t really expected to contend this year, currently sporting a record of 13-18. Regardless, Chafin can give them a veteran lefty presence in the bullpen for now. If he performs well for the next few months, they will be able to trade him for a prospect or two at the deadline.

Poche should end up on waivers in the coming days. As mentioned, he has had a rough start to the season. He has walked 12 batters faced already, an awful rate of 26.1%. Given those struggles, he’s likely to clear. He had to settle for a minor league deal in the offseason and obviously hasn’t improved his stock since cracking Washington’s Opening Day roster.

He will likely be able to find a minor league deal somewhere based on his previous track record. With the Rays from 2022 to 2024, he tossed 156 2/3 innings with a 3.27 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Paul DeJong Likely Out Until All-Star Break

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Nationals infielder Paul DeJong is on the 10-day injured due to a fractured nose he suffered when an errant pitch hit him in the face. Manager Dave Martinez tells Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post that he probably won’t be back until around the All-Star break.

“I think now they said about a month before he can actually do any activities,” Martinez said. “Hopefully we get him back sometime around the All-Star break, but we’ll see. I mean, only time will tell now. So it’s just about healing with him right now.”

It was April 15th when DeJong suffered the aforementioned HBP. As seen in the video from MLB.com, a pitch from Mitch Keller sails up and in and hits DeJong in the face. Though he was able to walk off the field after that scary situation, he was visibly bleeding and had to hold a towel to his face. Last week, Martinez told reporters that DeJong would undergo surgery on his nose, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, that surgery would take place on April 28th, repairing his sinuses and orbital plate.

In the wake of that surgery, it seems DeJong is still a month away from getting back in any kind of action. Assuming that comes to pass, he’ll spend the month of June ramping up activities before going out on a rehab assignment, which could put him in line to return at some point in July.

The Nationals likely signed DeJong with the hope of trading him midseason. DeJong was flipped prior to the deadline in each of the past two seasons. The Cardinals traded him to the Blue Jays in 2023, getting minor league righty Matt Svanson in return, though his performance tanked with Toronto. He was released, landed with the Giants, struggled some more and was released again. He bounced back with the White Sox last year and was traded to the Royals, with the Sox netting right-handed pitching prospect Jarold Rosado in the swap.

Washington wrapped up its fifth straight losing season in 2024, with no clear short-term answer at third base. Prospect Brady House is the hopeful long-term answer, though he struggled in his first taste of Triple-A in 2024. The Nats signed DeJong to a one-year, $1MM deal this winter. Ideally, he could have played well for a few months, enough to be traded again. At that point, perhaps House would have been able to take over for the second half.

Things haven’t gone according to that script thus far. DeJong hit .204/.246/.278 through his first 57 plate appearances, striking out in 42.1% of them. With this injury absence, he won’t have too much time to improve that line before the July 31st trade deadline. Even though he’s had modest trade value in recent years, his performance has been highly volatile. He has a 32.1% strikeout rate dating back to the start of 2023. He has 38 home runs in that time but his combined .217/.266/.387 line leads to a 79 wRC+.

Since DeJong hit the IL, José Tena has been the regular at the hot corner. He’s hit .286/.302/.381 for a wRC+ of 88 this year. It wouldn’t be a shock to see House called up at some point, as he’s hitting .297/.363/.485 for a 127 wRC+ in Triple-A this year. On the other hand, his .400 batting average on balls in play will surely come down and he’s striking out in 29.2% of his plate appearances.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Nationals Release Stone Garrett

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The Nationals have released outfielder Stone Garrett, reports Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post. Garrett opened the season in Triple-A Rochester. He was designated for assignment in spring training but cleared waivers and remained with the organization as a non-roster player.

The 2025 season hasn’t been kind to the 29-year-old Garrett. He’s tallied 51 plate appearances with the Red Wings and recorded an anemic .087/.176/.130 batting line with a mammoth 43.1% strikeout rate. He has just one hit and 13 strikeout in his past 31 plate appearances with Rochester.

Garrett has appeared in parts of three major league seasons between the Nationals and Diamondbacks. In that time, he’s a .276/.341/.492 hitter — 25% than league average, per wRC+. There’s plenty of reason to take that output with a hefty grain of salt, though. Garrett has benefited from a .369 average on balls in play and has gone down on strikes in 30.2% of his major league plate appearances.

Big league playing time has been scarce for Garrett in recent seasons, thanks largely to injury. He suffered fractures in his fibula and ankle when crashing into the outfield wall at Yankee Stadium in 2023 and spent more than eight months recovering. He logged just six MLB plate appearances in 2024 and spent the rest of the season between Double-A and Triple-A, where he hit only .249/.348/.333 in 79 games.

At his best, Garrett has shown himself to be capable of clobbering left-handed pitching. He’s a career .279/.333/.541 hitter when holding the platoon advantage, and while his BABIP (.362) and strikeout rate (30.8%) even in those situations point to regression, his power against lefties is legitimate. He’ll need to show more than he did in Rochester this year, but the track record and two remaining minor league option seasons should help him find a minor league deal with another club.

MLB Announces Suspensions Following Nationals-Pirates Incident

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TODAY: Lopez had his suspension reduced to two games after his appeal, and he’ll start serving that suspension today.  (MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman was among those to report the news.)

APRIL 17: Major League Baseball announced Thursday that Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez and manager Davey Martinez have received suspensions after a Lopez fastball to Andrew McCutchen sailed high-and-tight, nearly hitting McCutchen in the head. Lopez has received a three-game suspension, which he will appeal. Martinez was suspended for one game and will serve that punishment today. (Managers cannot appeal suspensions of this nature.) Bench coach Miguel Cairo will manage in his place.

The errant pitch to McCutchen eventually prompted both benches to clear. Tensions had already been high. Mitch Keller had hit Nats infielder Paul DeJong in the face a day prior, breaking his nose and sending him to the injured list. Lopez had first hit Pittsburgh outfielder Bryan Reynolds with a pitch before losing the handle on another offering to McCutchen, the very next batter. Lopez was ejected from the game.

The league’s announcement indicates they believe Lopez to have been “intentionally throwing” at McCutchen. Lopez has denied that, and even McCutchen himself suggested after the game that he didn’t believe there was intent behind the pitch.

“It’s just the nature of the situation,” McCutchen replied when asked postgame about the incident (video link via MLB.com). “Take it as is, even if it wasn’t on purpose, which I don’t think it was. I think the height of the moment just got to him, maybe. One got away from him, similar to [Keller]. … Just thankful I was able to move out of the way.”

Command troubles aren’t exactly new for Lopez. He’s walked 10.5% of his opponents this season, hit another pair of batters, and has been charged with a wild pitch. That all comes in just 7 2/3 innings of work. Dating back to 2021, Lopez has pitched 312 1/3 big league innings and walked nearly 10% of the batters he’s faced. He’s also hit another 29 batters — 2.1% of his opponents, well north of league-average — and been charged with 22 wild pitches.

Signed to a one-year, $3MM contract over the winter, Lopez got out to a nice start with the Nats before stumbling in his past two outings. Through his first six frames, he held opponents to a pair of runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. He’s since been tagged for seven runs in a total of just 1 2/3 innings, ballooning his earned run average to 10.57 on the young season.

Lopez logged a 2.89 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 51% grounder rate in 53 innings between the Mets and Cubs last season. He collected 10 holds and four saves along the way. In 183 innings from 2022-24, he recorded a 3.74 earned run average with 30 saves and 21 holds.

Nationals Place Paul DeJong On Injured List With Broken Nose

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  • The Nationals placed Paul DeJong on the 10-day injured list before Wednesday’s loss in Pittsburgh. The veteran infielder suffered a broken nose during Tuesday’s contest. Mitch Keller lost control of a 93 MPH fastball that ran up and hit DeJong in the face. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com relays that DeJong spent the night in a Pittsburgh-area hospital for observation and was released on Wednesday. Signed to a $1MM free agent deal, DeJong opened the year as Washington’s third baseman. He’d spent time at shortstop with CJ Abrams shelved by a hip flexor strain. Amed Rosario and Nasim Nuñez are handling the left side of the infield with both players out. DeJong has opened the season with a .204/.246/.278 showing in 57 plate appearances.

DJ Herz To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Left-hander DJ Herz has decided to undergo Tommy John surgery, according to a report from TalkNats. Herz was recommended for Tommy John surgery in late March but the report suggests he sought second and third opinions before ultimately deciding to go under the knife. The procedure is likely to keep Herz out of commission through at least the first half of the 2026 campaign, though no specific timetable for his return is likely to be announced until after his surgery.

Herz, 24, was an eighth-round pick by the Cubs back in 2019. While in Chicago’s organization, Herz flashed huge strikeout stuff and fantastic results in the lower minors, including a 40.4% strikeout rate between Single-A and High-A back in 2021. It was always held back by lackluster control and paired with poor results at higher levels of the minors, however, such as when he posted a 20.9% walk rate and an 8.24 ERA in nine starts in his first taste of the Double-A level back in 2022. The lefty’s second stint with Double-A Tennessee went better, though his results still didn’t jump off the page: A 3.97 ERA in 14 starts, with a 14.1% walk rate.

Despite those potential red flags, the Nationals saw enough in Herz to trade for him as part of the package for Jeimer Candelario at the 2023 trade deadline. The southpaw made his big league debut last year and looked quite good in doing so. Across 19 starts in the majors, Herz pitched to a roughly average 4.16 ERA (97 ERA+), but struck out an excellent 27.7% of batters faced while walking a much more palatable 9.4% of opponents. His 8.0% barrel rate allowed was somewhat elevated, leading to an elevated home run rate, but even with that flaw Herz’s peripherals looked excellent. His 3.71 FIP was fourth among rookies with at least 80 innings of work last year, his 3.77 SIERA was sixth, and his 3.26 xERA was second to only Paul Skenes.

It was quite the impressive debut for the young southpaw, though one flaw was Herz’s inability to pitch deep into games. Just four of his 19 starts saw him throw 90 pitches or more, and he failed to complete five innings in eight of his starts. Herz’s overall results in his rookie season were more than enough to put him in the conversation for a regular rotation job with the big league club this year, but any plans for him to join the rotation were scuttled when he struggled during Spring Training with a 6.52 ERA, an 8.2% walk rate, and an 18.4% strikeout rate. Those numbers came in a sample of just 9 2/3 innings, but the results were ugly enough that the Nationals made what seemed like an easy decision to option Herz to the minors.

That option was quickly rescinded in favor of placing him on the injured list, however, suggesting that he had sustained an injury during big league camp. That injury proved to be a tear in his UCL, and Herz will now go under the knife and miss all of 2025, plus at least some of the 2026 season. Fortunately for the Nationals, the club has plenty of other young arms to rely on while Herz is out, including fellow lefties MacKenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker. One other name to watch this year is righty Cade Cavalli, who has been out of commission in recent years due to his own Tommy John surgery rehab but figures to be ready to pitch in the majors at some point this year for the first time since 2022.

Poll: Should The Nationals Have Been More Aggressive This Winter?

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The Nationals lost 91 games in 2024 but entered this winter with an arrow that was seemingly pointed upwards. Key young players like CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore took steps forward, while others like James Wood and Dylan Crews made their big league debuts. Between those positive signs for the future and the onerous Patrick Corbin contract finally coming off the club’s books, it was widely speculated around baseball that the Nationals could be a player in the upper echelons of free agency for the first time since their rebuild began in 2021. They instead opted for a much more reserved approach in free agency.

Fan speculation that the club could attempt to enter the Juan Soto bidding to pair their former superstar with the package of youngsters they acquired for him back in 2022 was always farfetched, but the club’s passive winter went beyond not taking a swing at free agency’s top dog. Rather than pursue a big bat at first base like Pete Alonso, GM Mike Rizzo and his front office swung a trade for Nathaniel Lowe and signed Josh Bell. Alex Bregman would’ve made plenty of sense as an addition at third base, but the club opted to take low-cost fliers on Paul DeJong and Amed Rosario instead.

That measured approach to upgrading the lineup carried over to the pitching staff as well. The Nats didn’t appear interested in a mid-rotation veteran like Nick Pivetta or a potential ace like Jack Flaherty who could lead the pitching staff, even when both lingered on the market into February. They settled on depth options like Michael Soroka and Shinnosuke Ogasawara behind their stable of young arms. Even pricey one-year relief arms like Kenley Jansen and Jose Leclerc signed by other clubs looking to take a step forward toward contention were eschewed in favor of non-tendering and then re-signing Kyle Finnegan.

None of those depth moves were necessarily bad on paper, and some of them have worked out so far. Finnegan has looked good in his return to the club’s closer role to this point. It’s hard to argue with Lowe’s .250/.339/.500 slash line as a massive upgrade over what Joey Meneses and Joey Gallo offered D.C. last year. Rosario has looked solid in the utility role he found some success in with the Rays last year. Despite those early successes, the club’s mostly passive offseason frustrated some fans in the nation’s capital. The Nats are just 6-9 to this point in the year and stand little hope of overcoming titanic teams like the Mets and Phillies as presently constructed.

Of course, that well may have been true even if the team had splurged on higher-profile free agents. The Phillies have been one of the NL’s biggest juggernauts for years now and show little sign of slowing down. The Mets added Soto to a team that already made the NLCS. Even with a shocking 4-11 start in Atlanta opening the door to contention a bit more for the Nationals, they’d have a steep hill to climb to get back to the postseason this year. Club owner Mark Lerner suggested to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post back in February that the gap between where the Nationals stood entering the winter and the league’s playoff-caliber clubs was too big to justify a significant outlay.

“When Mike calls me in and says, ‘We really need to think about it,’ for next winter, we’ll talk about it,” Lerner told Svrluga. “Right now, he doesn’t think — and I agree with him: There’s no point in getting a superstar and paying him hundreds of millions of dollars to win two or three more games.”

Lerner went on to highlight the club’s decision to sign Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126MM deal prior to the 2011 season, suggesting that they signed Werth when the club was “right on the cusp” of finding success. That comparison is a somewhat questionable one, however. The 2010 Nationals actually posted a worse record than the 2024 club, losing 93 games, and the Nats finished with a lackluster 80-81 record in Werth’s first year in D.C. before taking off in 2012 thanks in part to the arrival of Bryce Harper.

By contrast, players like Wood, Gore and Abrams are already in place with the club and finding success in the majors. Slow starts this year for Crews and Luis Garcia Jr. highlight the inconsistencies that come with a team built around young talent, but proven veterans would help to paper over those struggles and create a more well-balanced roster. Perhaps that wouldn’t be enough to get the Nationals back to the postseason this year, but a record better than the one the team produced back in 2011 would’ve been within reach. A win total in the low-to-mid 80s can even be enough to squeak into the playoffs in the era of 12 playoff teams, as demonstrated by clubs like the Marlins, Royals, and Tigers in recent years.

What do MLBTR readers think about the Nationals’ decision to hold off on ramping spending back up? Should they have moved more aggressively to exit their rebuilding phase this winter, or were they wise to wait for their young players to develop more before committing to a win-now approach? Have your say in the poll below:

Nationals Place Orlando Ribalta On 15-Day IL, Promote Cole Henry

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The Nationals are calling up right-handed pitching prospect Cole Henry, according to Joe Will of 247Sports.  Henry will take the roster spot of fellow righty Orlando Ribalta, as the Nats announced that Ribalta has been placed (retroactive to April 10) on the 15-day injured list due to a right biceps strain.

After posting a 13.50 ERA over his first 3 1/3 MLB innings in 2024, Ribalta has a 5.87 ERA in 7 2/3 frames out of Washington’s bullpen this year.  Most of the damage came in his first outing of 2025, when the Phillies tagged Ribalta for four runs over two innings of work.  He last pitched on Tuesday, when Ribalta allowed a run over three innings and 58 pitches in a relief outing against the Dodgers.

More will be revealed about the severity of Ribalta’s biceps strain once manager Davey Martinez meets with reporters later today, but even in the best-case scenario, it would seem like the righty will be out for more than the 15-day minimum.  With Ribalta now sidelined, the Nationals have turned to the 25-year-old Henry as a fresh arm for the bullpen, and given Henry his first look at the MLB level.

A second-round pick for the Nats in the 2020 draft, Henry has logged only 130 1/3 innings over five pro seasons due to a variety of injuries.  Most recently, a lat strain limited him to 16 1/3 total innings with high-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg in 2024.  While Henry has started 34 of his 44 games in the minors, he transitioned into relief work this past spring, with an eye towards joining the Nationals bullpen as a long man.

Henry only threw two innings over two Triple-A appearances before his call-up, allowing a hit and three walks over those two scoreless frames.  While not the biggest sample size in the world, the Nats will now see if Henry can eat some innings and translate his strong strikeout numbers (30.34% strikeout rate in the minors) to success in the Show.

Nationals Place CJ Abrams On 10-Day Injured List

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The Nationals announced that shortstop CJ Abrams has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hip flexor strain.  Infielder Nasim Nunez was called up from Triple-A to take Abrams’ spot on the active roster.

Abrams’ injury has been bothering him for the better part of a week, as he didn’t play on Monday or Tuesday before returning to action on Wednesday.  The Nationals didn’t play on Thursday, but that extra day of rest didn’t help Abrams, as he made an early exit during the fourth inning of Friday’s game with the Marlins.  Manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including MLB.com’s Santos Perez) that Abrams had hip discomfort while trying to steal a base in the top of the third, and then again when fielding a grounder in the bottom half of the inning.

Given the lingering nature of the injury, it isn’t surprising that the Nats decided to shut Abrams down entirely for at least 10 days to let him fully shake the hip issue.  Paul DeJong will likely shift over from third base to take over most of the starting duties at shortstop, with Amed Rosario and Jose Tena probably handling things at third.  Nunez also has a lot of shortstop experience in the minor leagues, and the former Rule 5 Draft pick figures to get some playing time in his second MLB season.

Not that there’s ever a great time to visit the IL, but the placement cuts short Abrams’ heavy-hitting start to the 2025 campaign.  Abrams has already hit four homers and delivered a .585 slugging percentage in his first 46 trips to the plate, even if his batting average (.244) and OBP (.289) are far more modest.

Abrams also had a big first half in 2024, earning the shortstop a spot on the NL All-Star team.  Just when it looked like Abrams was having a proper breakout year, however, his production tailed off in the second half, and he was optioned to Triple-A for the last week of the season as a disciplinary response to an off-the-field issue.  Washington president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo made a point of confirming his team’s commitment and belief in Abrams during the Nats’ end-of-season press conference, and the matter might end up being a footnote if Abrams continues as a cornerstone piece for a Nationals team that is emerging from the end of a rebuild.

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