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Nationals, Franmil Reyes Agree To Minor League Deal

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11:15am: Reyes’ contract with the Nats has opt-out dates on June 16 and July 1, Andrew Golden of the Washington Post tweets.

9:18am: The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Franmil Reyes, per a report from Talk Nats (Twitter link). Reyes opened the season with the Royals but was optioned to Triple-A Omaha after a rough start and designated for assignment shortly thereafter. He cleared outright waivers and elected free agency last week.

The 27-year-old Reyes has a pair of 30-homer campaigns under his belt at the big league level but has seen his production take a sharp nosedive in recent seasons. After hitting .260/.325/.503 with 92 home runs in 1540 plate appearances between San Diego and Cleveland from 2018-21, the 6’5″ slugger flopped with a .221/.273/.365 batting line and 33.2% strikeout rate in 473 plate appearances between the Guardians and Cubs in 2022.

Chicago outrighted Reyes off the 40-man roster, and he elected free agency heading into the offseason. He lingered on the market into the new year but signed on with the Royals on a minor league pact. Reyes made Kansas City’s roster this spring but faded after a pair of early homers. In 65 trips to the plate, he hit just .186/.231/.288 and fanned at an ugly 36.9% clip.

Joey Meneses has been the Nationals’ primary designated hitter in 2023 and is slashing .295/.326/.387 with a pair of homers and ten doubles on the season. Reyes isn’t going to supplant Meneses anytime soon, and Dominic Smith is getting on base at a strong enough clip as the primary first baseman (.277/.361/.311) that there’s little urgency to push him out of the lineup, even if the Nats are surely hoping he’ll add some power to that output. It seems unlikely that the Nats would give Reyes substantial time in the outfield; he has just 208 innings on the grass dating back to 2020 and carries career marks of -17 Defensive Runs Saved and -10 Outs Above Average in 1420 career innings there.

Where Reyes could fit onto the big league roster is a secondary consideration at the moment anyhow. He hasn’t been a productive big league hitter since 2021, and his brief run with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate saw him go 3-for-15 with a homer and seven strikeouts. He’ll head to Triple-A Rochester for the time being and hope to pare back his strikeout rate and tap back into the power he displayed during that strong stretch from 2018-21.

Kevin Plawecki Opts Out Of Deal With Nationals

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Veteran catcher Kevin Plawecki triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Nationals, reports Andrew Golden of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Unless Washington selects him onto the big league roster, he’ll return to the open market.

Plawecki signed with the Nats on April 1. It was his second non-roster pact of the year, as he’d previously opted out of a deal with the Pirates after being informed he wouldn’t make the Pittsburgh roster in Spring Training. Plawecki has appeared in 24 games with the Nats’ top affiliate in Rochester. He hit .256/.354/.341 through 94 trips to the plate. The right-handed hitter homered just once but walked at a strong 11.7% clip against a manageable 16% strikeout rate.

Now 32, Plawecki is looking to reach the majors for a ninth straight year. He’s a career .235/.313/.341 hitter in 447 MLB games between the Mets, Indians, Red Sox and Rangers. He split last year between Boston and Texas, combining for a .220/.286/.286 mark over 186 trips to the plate. He had a very tough time controlling the running game last season, catching just five of 51 attempted basestealers. He’d been off to a better start in Rochester, cutting down 10 of 42 runners (a slightly below-average 23.8% rate) through 201 1/3 innings.

The Nationals have relied on a catching tandem of Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams. The former has gotten the bulk of the playing time and is off to a .242/.308/.356 start through 146 plate appearances. Adams has struggled in seven games scattered over the season’s first six weeks.

Anibal Sanchez Announces Retirement

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Longtime big league starter Aníbal Sánchez took to Instagram this evening to announce his retirement. The 39-year-old wraps up a career in which he appeared in parts of 16 big league campaigns.

“Throughout these past 17 years in Major League Baseball, God has given me the opportunity to live wonderful moments on and off the field,” Sánchez wrote. “Baseball has been my great passion since I was a child, and I am extremely grateful to have been able to make that dream a reality.” He goes on to thank his teammates, coaches, managers, scouts, franchise owners and agents at Mato Sports Management, as well as his family, friends and the fans who supported him along the way.

“Today begins a new chapter where I hang up the glove and uniform to pursue my other passions,” Sánchez concluded. “I retire as a major league player; however, I will always be close to the sport I love. See you soon.”

Sánchez began his professional career with the Red Sox as an amateur signee out of Venezuela during the 2000-01 international period. Within a few years, he pitched his way to Double-A and rated as one of the top pitching prospects in the Boston system. Over the 2005-06 offseason, the Sox dealt him alongside Hanley Ramírez and two more minor leaguers to the Marlins to bring in ace Josh Beckett.

Florida called him to the majors for the first time the following June. Sánchez hit the ground running as a 22-year-old, tossing 114 1/3 innings of 2.83 ERA ball over his first 18 appearances. He threw a no-hitter in just his 13th career start, completing the feat in a six strikeout outing against the Diamondbacks that September. Sánchez finished that year ninth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Injuries dogged the right-hander over the next few seasons. He didn’t make more than 16 starts in any of the three years between 2007-09. Fortunately, he returned to health for his first full big league campaign in 2010. Sánchez would make 32 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA in both 2010 and ’11. He was on that pace again in 2012, working to a 3.94 ERA over 19 starts as an impending free agent for a noncompetitive Miami team. The Tigers acquired him in a deadline blockbuster, adding Sánchez and second baseman Omar Infante for a package headlined by former first round pick Jacob Turner.

Sánchez was excellent down the stretch to help Detroit to an AL Central title. He pitched three quality starts in as many outings during that year’s postseason, helping the Tigers to a pennant. The Tigers brought him back on a five-year free agent deal with an $80MM guarantee over the offseason.

Detroit was immediately rewarded with the best season of Sánchez’s career. He worked 182 innings of 2.57 ERA ball over 29 starts. He won the AL ERA title and topped the Junior Circuit with a 2.39 FIP. Sánchez finished fourth in Cy Young balloting and helped the club to a repeat division title. The Tigers came up a round short of the World Series that time around, though Sánchez contributed 12 innings of four-run ball during the AL Championship Series.

The veteran hurler turned in another productive showing in 2014, working to a 3.43 ERA in 126 frames on another division-winning Detroit team. His production fell off thereafter, as his ERA jumped each season between 2015-17. He finished his Detroit tenure with a 6.41 season that led them to decline a 2018 club option. Sánchez made an unexpected resurgence upon landing with the Braves on a minor league deal in 2018. He cracked the MLB club and provided Atlanta a 2.83 ERA over 136 2/3 innings to help them to an NL East title.

That rebound earned Sánchez a multi-year contract in his return trip to free agency. He jumped to the Nationals on a two-year, $19MM pact that paid off incredibly in the first season. He made 30 starts with a 3.85 ERA in the regular season. The Nats made the playoffs as a Wild Card club and embarked on a run to the first championship in franchise history. Sánchez was a productive contributor as the #4 starter, highlighted by 7 2/3 scoreless innings to stake Washington to a series lead against the Cardinals in the first game of the NLCS.

Sánchez posted middling numbers during the shortened season and sat out 2021 entirely. He returned last year on another run with a now-rebuilding Washington club, turning in a 4.28 ERA in 14 outings. It was a respectable finish to a lengthy, accomplished run at the highest level.

All told, Sánchez leaves the game with a 4.06 ERA in a little more than 2000 big league innings. He had seven seasons with 100+ innings and fewer than four earned runs per nine. Sánchez won 116 games and struck out a little under 1800 hitters. He chipped in a 2.93 ERA through 61 1/3 postseason innings across three franchises, helping two teams to a pennant and one to a championship. Baseball Reference valued his career around 28 wins above replacement, while FanGraphs pegged him closer to 31 WAR. He banked just over $103MM in earnings.

Congratulations to Sánchez on an excellent career and all the best in his post-playing days.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Nationals Notes: Dickerson, Kuhl, Kieboom

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The Nationals announced today that they reinstated outfielder Corey Dickerson from the injured list with fellow outfielder Jake Alu optioned to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move.

Dickerson, 34 next week, was signed in the offseason to a one-year deal worth $2.25MM plus incentives. Unfortunately, he only got into two games before landing on the injured list due to a calf strain that ultimately kept him away from the club for about six weeks.

He’s been roughly a league average hitter in the past few seasons but has been better with the platoon advantage. Going back to the start of 2020, he’s hit .279/.326/.417 against righties for a wRC+ of 105 but just .192/.244/.320 against lefties for a 53 wRC+. Manager Dave Martinez tells Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com that Dickerson will start in left field against righties while Stone Garrett will take the short side of the platoon. Given that the rebuilding Nats are unlikely to be in contention this summer, Dickerson’s status as a veteran on a one-year deal would make him a natural trade candidate if he’s healthy and playing well.

In the rotation, the Nats have been dealing with a few absences this year, including Stephen Strasburg’s ongoing issues and Cade Cavalli’s Tommy John surgery. In addition, righty Chad Kuhl landed on the IL a couple of weeks ago due to a sprain of the big toe on his right foot. He seems to be getting close to a return, as Zuckerman relays that Kuhl threw 65 pitches over four innings in a sim game today.

Kuhl wasn’t especially effective prior to the injury, posting a 9.41 ERA in five starts. However, he’s been a serviceable backend starter in his career, with a 4.92 ERA in a larger sample of 598 2/3 innings. The Nats have received some decent work from their current rotation of Patrick Corbin, Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams and Jake Irvin, as all five of them have an ERA below 5.00. Irvin, however, has just three career starts, allowing just one earned run over the first two but six in his most recent outing. Once Kuhl is ready to return, the club will likely have to decide if they want Irvin to stick in the big leagues or continue his development in the minors.

Looking to the farm, infielder Carter Kieboom didn’t play this weekend due to some lat soreness. Zuckerman relays word from Martinez that Kieboom underwent an MRI, though the results haven’t come through yet. Once one of the top prospects in the sport, Kieboom struggled in his first cracks at the majors, hitting .197/.304/.285 in 106 games over the 2019-2021 period. He then missed all of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and dealt with shoulder soreness this spring. He began the year on the injured list with a shoulder impingement and was recently optioned to Triple-A after completing his rehab assignment. The results of the imaging will hopefully shed more light on the issue for Kieboom but the fact that something seems to be lingering in his shoulder is somewhat concerning.

Latest On Corey Dickerson, Chad Kuhl

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Fans of the Nationals received positive injury news today, as their Triple-A affiliate in Rochester announced that left fielder Corey Dickerson is set to begin a rehab assignment. Dickerson signed in Washington on a one-year deal this past offseason, but appeared in just two games for the club prior to the club placing Dickerson on the 10-day injured list with a calf strain. Dickerson, who will celebrate his 34th birthday later this month, is in his eleventh season as a major league player, with a career 112 wRC+.

That solid production would be a boon to a Nationals club that has mostly used 28-year-old outfielder Alex Call in left field while Dickerson has been on the shelf. Call has struggled so far in 143 trips to the plate for the Nationals this season, with a .230/.329/.336 slash line (86 wRC+) so far this season. That being said, Dickerson is not without flaws himself: his wRC+ has declined to a mark of just 97 since the beginning of the 2020 season, and he has hampered by a significant platoon split that has seen him post just a .693 OPS against left-handed pitchers throughout his career.

Fortunately for the Nationals, however, they have a seemingly perfect platoon partner for Dickerson in the form of Stone Garrett, a 27-year-old slugger who has slashed .344/.368/.594 against left-handers in 72 career plate appearances in the majors. Platooning Dickerson with Garrett upon his return to the lineup could help the Nationals solve their offensive woes in left field, where the club’s 85 wRC+ ranks seventh worst in the majors.

Dickerson may not be the only reinforcements on the horizon from the injured list, however. MLB.com’s injury tracker notes that right-hander Chad Kuhl, who signed with the Nationals on a minor league deal during the offseason, threw a simulated game of over 60 pitches earlier this week. Kuhl, who has been on the IL with sprained toe since the beginning of the month, could threaten the spot of right-hander Jake Irvin in the rotation going forward. While Irvin is expected to make his next start, the Nationals figure to reevaluate their rotation after that, with Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post noting that Kuhl’s return could give the Nationals the opportunity to manage the 26-year-old Irvin’s innings going forward.

Nationals To Place Victor Robles On 10-Day Injured List

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6:52PM: Nats manager Davey Martinez told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other reporters that Robles was indeed heading to the 10-day IL with back spasms, and that Alu was being called up as the roster replacement.

5:38PM: Victor Robles suffered a back injury while trying to steal second base in the third inning of Saturday’s game, which led to Robles’ removal from the game.  The Nationals didn’t include Robles in today’s lineup, and it now appears a longer absence is in store, as Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post (Twitter link) reports that Robles is expected to be placed on the 10-day injured list.

Utilityman Jake Alu is expected to be called up from Triple-A Rochester to replace Robles on the active roster, as Alu is on his way to join the Nationals for the start of their series in San Francisco on Monday.  The 26-year-old Alu is already on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, as D.C. added him back in November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.

It’s an unfortunate setback for Robles, whose solid start has now been interrupted by injury.  Robles is hitting .292/.388/.360 over his first 107 plate appearances, with eight steals in nine chances.  Robles’ 113 wRC+ marks his highest total since the 2018 season, though naturally both a small sample size and some battled-ball luck (a .347 BABIP) might indicate that some regression is coming.  Still, Robles’ speed allows him to turn some of those borderline balls in play into hits, and he has considerably improved both his walk and strikeout rates.  After a 23.9% strikeout rate in his first six MLB seasons, Robles has a 13.1 K% in 2023, ranking in the 90th percentile of all batters.

On the flip side, Robles’ once-elite defense has taken a notable step back.  Over just 258 innings in center field, Robles already has -8 Defensive Runs Saved as well as -2 Outs Above Average and a -15.8 UZR/150.  This would certainly give rival teams pause in considering Robles as a trade deadline pickup, since the rebuilding Nationals will likely be open for business on any veteran player.  Robles signed a short-term contract extension in February that gave the Nats a $3.3MM club option on his services for 2024, though Washington has arbitration control over Robles even if the option is declined.  This bit of extra control could be an interesting factor in any trade talks, but naturally the first order of business is to get Robles healed up and back in the Nats’ lineup.

Though Alex Call and Lane Thomas have gotten the bulk of starts as Washington’s corner outfielders, Call and Thomas are the likeliest candidates to step into center field duty with Robles sidelined.  This could open up more playing time for Stone Garrett and Ildemaro Vargas in the outfield, and Alu will likely also get some looks during his first taste of Major League action.

A 24th-round pick for the Nationals in the 2019 draft, Alu posted quality numbers in 2021-22, and MLB Pipeline ranked him 27th on their list of the Nats’ top 30 prospects, Alu began this year on the injured list with a knee injury and doesn’t seem to have really gotten on track, with only a .240/.318/.333 slash line in 86 PA with Triple-A Rochester.

However, Alu’s multi-positional versatility might be more important than his bat in the Nationals’ view, with Robles out of action and Jeimer Candelario also missing a pair of games due to dehydration.  Alu has played mostly third base this season and might chip in at the hot corner if Candelario needs more recovery time, but Alu has also seen a lot of time as a second baseman and a handful of minor league games as a left fielder and first baseman.

Speaking of third base, the Nationals announced that Carter Kieboom was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and returned from his rehab assignment, then optioned to Triple-A.  The former top prospect hit only .197/.304/.285 over 414 plate appearances with the Nats from 2019-21, but he missed all of 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.  A shoulder injury then set Kieboom back during Spring Training, resulting in his season-opening IL stint.  Kieboom has played in only three Double-A games during his rehab assignment, so Washington will give him a longer ramp-up time in Rochester before considering a return to the big league roster.

Nationals Release Chad Pinder

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The Nationals have released Chad Pinder, reports the Talk Nats blog (Twitter link). The veteran utilityman had been in the organization on a minor league contract. He’ll return to the open market in search of a new landing spot.

Pinder, 31, played parts of seven seasons with the A’s. The former second round draftee hit .242/.294/.417 in 553 games with Oakland. At his best, the right-handed hitter has compensated for middling on-base marks with decent power production. He’s topped double digits in homers on four separate occasions. The bulk of the damage has come against left-handed pitching, as Pinder carries a career .264/.322/.456 line when holding the platoon advantage.

While Pinder continued to hit lefties at an above-average clip last season, he slumped to a .218/.250/.341 slash while fanning nearly a third of the time versus right-handed arms. That limited him to minor league offers over the winter. Pinder first caught on with the Reds and spent Spring Training in the Cincinnati organization. He slumped to a .103/.167/.154 line in exhibition play and didn’t make the team. Pinder exercised an opt-out and quickly landed with Washington.

Pinder’s offensive struggles continued with the Nats’ top affiliate in Rochester. In 16 games, he hit .218/.308/.309. He walked at a quality 11.3% clip against a manageable 24.2% strikeout rate but only managed three extra-base hits (a homer and two doubles) in 62 trips to the plate.

Nationals Outright Anthony Banda

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The Nationals announced that left-hander Anthony Banda has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. The lefty had been designated for assignment by the club on the weekend.

Banda, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Nats in the offseason and made the club’s Opening Day roster. He threw seven innings over 10 appearances but with a disappointing 6.43 ERA. He combined a 17.1% strikeout rate with a 14.3% walk rate and 40.9% ground ball rate, with all three of those being worse than league average.

It’s a small sample but most of the lines moved in the wrong direction compared to last year, when Banda struck out 22.2% of opponents while walking 9.6%. In his big league career, he’s spent time with the Diamondbacks, Rays, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays and Yankees before joining the Nationals this year. He has an overall ERA of 5.69 in 118 2/3 innings dating back to the 2017 season.

Banda has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency on account of having been previously outrighted in his career, though it’s not clear at this time if he’s chosen to do so.

Nationals Sign José Ureña To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-hander Jose Ureña to a minor league deal, per Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com, relaying word from the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

Ureña, 31, was signed by the Rockies this winter, securing himself a $3.5MM guarantee in the form of a $3MM salary for this year and a $500K buyout on a $4MM club option for 2024. Unfortunately, he was torched for a 9.82 ERA in his first five starts, getting designated for assignment and then released. The Rockies will still be on the hook for the majority of that money. If Ureña eventually earns his way onto the Nats’ roster, they will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Rockies dish out.

The righty has some good seasons on his ledger, but they are a bit in the rearview mirror now. He posted an ERA under 4.00 with the Marlins in both 2017 and 2018 but has seen it finish north of 5.00 in each season since then. He’s bounced from the Marlins to the Tigers, Brewers and Rockies in that time. For his career, he has a 4.92 ERA, 15.4% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate.

The Nationals have a bit of rotation uncertainty right now, with Stephen Strasburg on the injured list with no return in sight, Cade Cavalli set to miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and Chad Kuhl recently hitting the IL due to a toe injury. That’s left them with a rotation consisting of Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Patrick Corbin, Trevor Williams and Jake Irvin. Gray, Gore and Williams are posting good results so far but Corbin has a 5.74 ERA and hasn’t been below 5.00 in a full season since 2019. Irvin is just making his major league debut tonight.

Ureña will head to Rochester to try to get into a good groove and perhaps get himself in line to get called the next time the club needs a starter. The Nats also have depth options on the 40-man roster in Cory Abbott, Paolo Espino and Joan Adon.

Nationals To Recall Jake Irvin For MLB Debut

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The Nationals are recalling right-hander Jake Irvin from Triple-A Rochester, manager Dave Martinez told the team’s beat (relayed by Andrew Golden of the Washington Post). He’ll start tomorrow evening’s game against the Cubs in what’ll be his big league debut. Washington optioned right-hander Cory Abbott to open a spot on the active roster.

Irvin, 26, has been in the organization for four-plus seasons. The Nats selected the Oklahoma product in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. The 6’6″ hurler has appeared towards the back half of the organization’s top 30 prospects since that point. Baseball America has slotted him between 10th and 23rd over the past four years, including the #22 placement last winter.

Keith Law of the Athletic slotted Irvin 11th in the system. Both Law and BA write that Irvin’s heater sits in the mid-90s. They each praise an above-average to plus curveball while raising questions about his changeup. Baseball America suggests he’s a likely back-of-the-rotation type, while Law feels he’s likelier to settle into a bullpen role.

The Nationals added Irvin to their 40-man roster last November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That came on the heels of a 3.83 ERA showing in 24 starts between High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg. He logged five innings in big league Spring Training before being optioned to Rochester for his first Triple-A work. Irvin has taken the ball five times for the Red Wings, working to a 5.64 ERA across 22 2/3 innings. His 20.4% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk percentage are each a little worse than average.

Washington has a vacancy in the final rotation spot. The Nats placed Chad Kuhl on the 15-day injured list yesterday. While it initially seemed as if Abbott would take the fifth starting role, he pitched two innings of relief on Monday before being optioned back out. If Irvin can get out on a strong foot in his MLB career, he could vie for a back-end role behind Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams and Patrick Corbin. Kuhl had struggled prior to his IL stint, so his hold on a rotation job could be tenuous even once he recovers from the toe sprain that knocked him out of action.

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