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Rizzo: Nationals Have Eight Suitors For Jeimer Candelario

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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.

Angels, Nationals Have Discussed Jeimer Candelario Trade

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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.

Twins Eyeing Bullpen Help, Right-Handed Bats

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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.

Nationals Select Andrés Machado, Transfer Víctor Robles To 60-Day IL

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The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Andrés Machado, with righty Amos Willingham optioned to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Machado, outfielder Víctor Robles was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Machado, 30, has been with the Nats since 2021, though he was outrighted off their roster in the offseason. He got added back at the end of April but was clobbered for 16 earned runs in 17 innings, leading to an ERA of 8.47. Having burned all his option years, he was outrighted off their roster again in June and had the right to reject that assignment since it was his second, though he decided to accept and stay in the organization.

Since returning to Rochester, he has thrown 16 1/3 innings with a 4.96 ERA, but with strong peripherals. He’s stuck out 27.9% of batters faced while walking 4.4% of them. A .349 batting average on balls in play and 56.1% strand rate may have pushed some extra runs across, as his FIP is a much more palatable 2.98. That’ll seemingly get him another shot in the Nats bullpen, which is one of the worst in the league. Their collective 5.47 ERA is almost the worst in the majors, just barely better than Oakland’s 5.49. It’s also possible that Kyle Finnegan ends up traded in the next week, since he has garnered some interest.

As for Robles, he was placed on the 10-day IL on June 21 due to back spasms in the lumbar spine, his second IL stint for that issue this year. It seems the club doesn’t expect him back soon, as he’ll now be ineligible to return until mid-August. Andrew Golden of The Washington Post relayed this week that Robles is staying in D.C. for the foreseeable future to do rehab work around the big league club.

It’s another frustrating development for the former top prospect, who has always had speed and defense to offer but generally struggled at the plate. He had hit .233/.306/.359 in his career coming into this season but seemed to show positive strides here in 2023. He has a stronger line of .299/.385/.364 this year while significantly cutting his strikeouts, but the back spasms have limited that to just 36 games.

Robles will be eligible for one more pass through arbitration this offseason, though might not be able to get much of a raise beyond this year’s $2.325MM salary based on all his missed time. He might have been a trade candidate this summer if he were healthy but that’s unfortunately not the case. Players on the IL can be traded but it’s unlikely the interest is high right now, based on his uncertain health status.

Marlins Intereted In Jeimer Candelario

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The Marlins have interest in Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that Miami views “Candelario as a perfect fit.”  With a cumulative -0.9 bWAR posted by Marlins third basemen this season, no team has received less from the hot corner than the Fish, as Jean Segura’s resurgence over the last few weeks haven’t been enough to erase his very rough performance over the first three months.  Segura could move into a utility role in the event of a Candelario trade, as Luis Arraez is a lineup fixture at second base, Jorge Soler is primarily a DH, and the hot-hitting Garrett Cooper is the primary first baseman.

Candelario is one of the more obvious trade candidates available heading into the deadline, as the Nationals are out of the race and Candelario will be a free agent after the season.  After a poor 2022 season with the Tigers, Candelario has bounced back nicely to hit .254/.333/.474 with 15 homers over 390 plate appearances with Washington.  He is owed roughly $1.8MM in remaining salary this season, which is a modest sum anyway but shouldn’t be a problem for the Marlins — owner Bruce Sherman has promised financial “resources” for deadline additions.  Of course, Sherman’s statement came before Miami suffered through an eight-game losing streak out of the All-Star break, but the Fish got back into the win column with today’s 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Nationals Sign Nash Walters To Minors Deal

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The Nationals added to their bullpen depth earlier this week, signing right-hander Nash Walters to a minor league deal (h/t to TalkNats). Walters has been assigned to club’s Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg.

Originally drafted in the third round of the 2015 draft by the Brewers, Walters was initially slowed in his development by Tommy John surgery in 2017 and 2020’s cancelled minor league season. He made his full-season debut in 2021 and quickly advanced through the minor leagues, reaching Triple-A with the Brewers in 2022. Walters was shipped to Anaheim in a cash deal with the Angels that September and made his big league debut in the club’s final game of 2022 against the A’s. He recorded a single out while allowing a hit and a walk in his big league debut.

Walters was non-tendered by the club last November, and while he initially re-signed on a minor league deal the following month, the Angels released him just before Opening Day. That led Walters to sign on with the White Sox on a minor league deal towards the end of April. He struggled considerably for Chicago in the minors, with a brutal 9.64 ERA in 28 innings of work. While Walters was struggling badly in terms of run prevention results, his strong 31.9% strikeout rate seemingly caught the interest of Nationals after the White Sox released him earlier this month.

Now in his fourth organization of the past calendar year, Walters will look to get his run prevention numbers in line with his tantalizing stuff at the Double-A level for the Nationals. If he manages to do so, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Walters contribute at the big league level later this season, particularly if the coming trade deadline on August 1 opens up space in the Nationals’ bullpen.

Nationals, #2 Overall Pick Dylan Crews Agree To Terms

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The Nationals have agreed to terms with second overall pick Dylan Crews, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The Talk Nats blog suggested earlier this week the framework of a deal was in place, pending a physical (on Twitter). The specific signing bonus is unclear, though Heyman indicates it’ll come in around $9MM.

That’s right in line with the selection’s $8.99MM slot value. It’s very likely that’ll go down as the second-highest bonus in this year’s class. Paul Skenes landed a record $9.2MM upon going first overall to the Pirates. The Skenes/Crews duo became the first pair of college teammates to ever go 1-2 in the MLB draft.

Crews, a right-handed hitting outfielder, has been regarded as a top amateur talent going back to high school. He went to LSU after teams declined to meet his bonus demands in the 2020 draft. Crews had a monster career for the Tigers, posting an OPS north of 1.100 in all three seasons while playing in college baseball’s top conference.

Regarded as a potential first overall pick throughout the 2023 season, Crews more than met expectations. He raked a .426/.567/.713 clip over 344 plate appearances as a junior. He connected on 18 home runs, walked at an elite 20.6% clip and kept his strikeouts to a 13.4% rate. Crews won the Golden Spikes Award as college baseball’s top performer and helped LSU to a national championship.

Going into the draft, he was still very much in the running for the first pick. Each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, and MLB Pipeline rated Crews the #1 or #2 player in the class. He topped the pre-draft rankings at BA and The Athletic. Pittsburgh ultimately elected for the potential top-of-the-rotation starter in Skenes. Washington nabbed Crews at #2.

The 6’1″ outfielder is credited with a potential plus hit/power combination. He’s likely to begin his career in center field. Evaluators suggest he might eventually be bumped to right field but should be an above-average to plus corner outfielder if that happens. It’s difficult to find fault with much in his profile. Crews would likely have gone first overall in most draft classes, but Skenes is widely regarded as the best college pitching prospect in more than a decade.

Baseball America slots Crews as the sport’s #3 overall prospect behind Jackson Holliday and Jackson Chourio. He’s one slot ahead of fellow Washington outfielder James Wood (and two places above Skenes). The Nats will hope for Crews and Wood to anchor their outfields of the future once they pull out of their ongoing rebuild.

Nationals Select Rico Garcia

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3:55pm: The Nationals have now made it official, announcing Garcia’s selection. In corresponding moves, right-hander Paolo Espino was placed on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain of his fourth right finger while catcher Israel Pineda was transferred to the 60-day IL. The move for Pineda is simply a formality as he’s already been on the IL all year, much longer than 60 days, meaning he can be reinstated at any point.

8:55am: The Nationals will select the contract of right-hander Rico Garcia from Triple-A Rochester, MLBTR has confirmed. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported this morning that the move was expected to be made today. They’ll need a 40-man roster move to make that official. It’s possible there will be other additions, as Dougherty suggests the team is in a scramble following yesterday’s blowout loss to the Cubs.

The 29-year-old Garcia joined the Nats on a minor league deal just last week after rejecting an outright from the A’s, who’d designated him for assignment. He was tagged for eight runs in 8 2/3 innings during his brief time with Oakland, but Garcia has pitched well in Triple-A this year and continued that trend with the Nats. He’s tossed 2 1/3 shutout frames in Rochester, punching out three hitters along the way.

That drops Garcia to a 2.93 ERA in 27 2/3 innings this season. Dating back to last year, the righty has a 2.60 ERA with a strikeout rate north of 29% against a 13% walk rate in 62 1/3 Triple-A innings. The latter of those two rates is obviously a concern, but Garcia’s results at the top minor league level have been strong nonetheless.

The Nats will be Garcia’s fifth big league team. In addition to the A’s, he’s spent time with the Orioles, Giants and Rockies but never received a lengthy look at the MLB level. He’s tossed just 32 2/3 innings across parts of four seasons, recording a composite 6.29 ERA in those scattered opportunities.

Washington has ample uncertainty in the bullpen, particularly with Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards Jr. on the injured list at the moment. The trio of Amos Willingham, Paolo Espino and Jose Ferrer was tagged for 14 run in relief of Patrick Corbin yesterday. Kyle Finnegan and Mason Thompson are the lone established relievers in the Nats’ bullpen at the moment, and the former is a trade candidate, given that he’s into his arbitration years and only has two years of club control remaining beyond the current season.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/17/23

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The Rangers, Rockies, Tigers, A’s and Orioles all agreed to $4MM+ bonuses with their first round draftees this afternoon. We’ll round up the other $2MM+ signings from Monday (scouting reports from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, ESPN and The Athletic):

  • The Giants are signing 16th overall pick Bryce Eldridge to a $3.9975MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (Twitter links). That’s a bit below the selection’s $4.33MM slot value. Eldridge, a two-way player from a Virginia high school, ranked between 16th and 23rd on the referenced pre-draft lists. Listed at 6’7″, he’s generally regarded as a more talented power-hitting first base/corner outfield prospect than as a pitcher, though evaluators suggest he could’ve been a top-two round selection were he solely on the mound. He’s expected to try playing both ways to begin his professional career. The lefty hitter/righty thrower had been committed to Alabama. San Francisco also signed 52nd pick Walker Martin for an overslot $2.9975MM bonus. An Arkansas commit, Martin is a power-hitting infielder from a Colorado high school.
  • The Yankees announced they’ve signed first rounder George Lombard Jr. According to Callis, the Florida high schooler receives a $3.3MM bonus that beats the $3.07MM slot value of the 26th selection (Twitter link). A right-handed hitting infielder and son of the former major leaguer who currently serves as Tigers’ bench coach, Lombard Jr. had been committed to Vanderbilt. Listed at 6’3″, he’s viewed as a well-rounded and instinctual player who could hit for average and power. Evaluators generally had him as a back of the first-round prospect with some question about whether he’ll outgrow shortstop.
  • The Mariners are in agreement with 29th pick Johnny Farmelo on a $3.2MM bonus, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s the selection Seattle received under the Prospect Promotion Incentive after Julio Rodríguez won the 2022 Rookie of the Year. Farmelo, a left-handed hitting outfielder out of a Virginia high school, tops the $2.8MM slot value of the selection. Generally regarded as a comp round or early second round talent, he’s a plus runner who could play center field and has some power projection in a 6’2″ frame. Farmelo was a Virginia commit.
  • The Brewers are signing 18th pick Brock Wilken for $3.15MM, Callis reports (on Twitter). That’s quite a bit below the $4.02MM slot value for the college infielder. Wilken, a Wake Forest product, is one of the better offensive prospects in the college class. Evaluators suggest he’s a power over contact player but could be a middle-of-the-order presence. They’re divided on whether the 6’4″ infielder will be athletic enough to stick at the hot corner or should move to first base down the line. The right-handed hitter put up a monster .345/.506/.807 showing during his draft year in Winston-Salem. Milwaukee also signed 33rd pick Josh Knoth for $2MM, per Callis (on Twitter). A high school righty from New York, Knoth is credited with mid-90s velocity and two impressive breaking pitches.
  • The Blue Jays agreed to a $3MM bonus with first round pick Arjun Nimmala, according to Callis (Twitter link). That’s below the $3.75MM slot value of the 20th selection. Nimmala, a high school infielder out of Florida, placed in the top 17 on each of the aforementioned rankings. The 6’1″ infielder is credited with plus power projection and a good chance to stick at shortstop. An aggressive approach and elevated swing-and-miss are the primary questions in his profile, though he’s one of the youngest players in the class and regarded as a strong upside play. Nimmala had been committed to Florida State.
  • The A’s went well above slot for third-rounder Steven Echavarria, Callis reports (Twitter links). He lands $3MM, almost $2MM north of the slot value for the 73rd pick. A high school right-hander from New Jersey, he’d been committed to Florida. He has a mid-90s fastball and potential plus curveball. Oakland also signed 39th selection Myles Naylor for the $2.025MM slot value. The Canadian infielder (younger brother of the Guardians’ Naylor brothers) is a bat-first third baseman who’d been slated to attend Texas Tech.
  • The Nationals handed out a pair of $2.6MM bonuses, per reports from Callis and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (Twitter links). Miami infielder Yohandy Morales went 40th overall after hitting .408/.475/.713 during his final season in the ACC. He’s a power-hitting third baseman. High school righty Travis Sykora gets a well above slot bonus as a third round draftee. A Texas commit, Sykora is a 6’6″ hurler who can get into the triple digits and was regarded as a possible top 40 talent in the class.
  • Infielder Sammy Stafura signed for $2.4975MM with the Reds, reports Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). That’s above slot for the New York high school infielder, a Clemson commit. Stafura was viewed as a potential first-round talent based on his athleticism and bat speed.

Nationals Claim Roddery Muñoz From Braves

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The Nationals announced that they have claimed right-hander Roddery Muñoz off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester. Atlanta designated him for assignment last week. The Nationals already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster so no corresponding move will be required.

Muñoz, 23, was an international signing of Atlanta out of the Dominican Republic in 2018 and worked primarily as a starter in subsequent seasons. In 2022, he tossed 100 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A. His 4.66 earned run average in that time wasn’t especially eye-opening, but he struck out 26.9% of batters faced while walking 9.5%.

Atlanta evidently liked what they saw enough that they didn’t want Muñoz to get away in the Rule 5 draft and thus added him to their 40-man roster in November. He’s been transitioned into more of a relief role this year, tossing 39 1/3 innings over 22 appearances. He has a 3.89 ERA for the year across multiple levels, striking out 23.4% of opponents but walking 15.2% of them.

Those control issues seemingly led to Muñoz losing his roster spot in Atlanta, but he’s a sensible claim for the Nationals since they are rebuilding and can be patient with his development. He’s still young, has a full slate of options and has yet to reach the big leagues. If he can rein in his arsenal, he could be a long-term fit for the Nats. He was recently ranked Atlanta’s #22 prospect by Baseball America and #8 by FanGraphs.

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