Nationals, Zack Burdi Agree To Minor League Deal
The Nationals recently signed reliever Zack Burdi to a minor league contract, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the team’s complex in Florida.
Burdi was released by the Diamondbacks in Spring Training. Arizona had claimed him off waivers from the Orioles last fall but elected not to keep him on the 40-man roster heading into the season. After passing through release waivers unclaimed, the 27-year-old will try to pitch his way back to the big league level with the Nats.
A first-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, Burdi was an elite college closer at the University of Louisville. The hope had been that he’d carry that success through the minors quickly and emerge as an immediate late-game weapon for the South Siders, but injuries have thrown him off course. The right-hander had run his fastball as high as 102 MPH in college, but he suffered a 2017 UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery and kept him out for all of 2018. Upon returning, Burdi’s velocity had fallen into the low-mid 90s. He’d rediscovered his arm speed by 2020 and made his MLB debut that year, but he’s struggled with both free passes and longballs over the past couple seasons.
Burdi owns a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over 15 big league appearances with the White Sox and Orioles between 2020-21. He worked 28 2/3 innings of 6.59 ERA ball with those teams’ respective Triple-A affiliates last season, punching out an excellent 34.5% of batters faced but allowing nine home runs with an elevated 13% walk rate. He’ll look to bounce back from that rough 2021 showing and carve out a spot in a Washington bullpen that has posted below-average marks in both ERA (3.94) and SIERA (3.62) over the season’s first few weeks.
Injury Notes: Bell, Voit, deGrom, Walker
Josh Bell left today’s 5-2 Nationals loss to the Giants due to tightness in his right hamstring. Bell walked and advanced to third base during the bottom of the second, but was replaced in the field for the top of the third inning. Nationals manager Davey Martinez said Bell was undergoing an MRI, which would mark the second MRI of the week for the first baseman after tests were negative on his left knee. Soreness in that left knee also forced Bell to make an early exit from Washington’s game on Wednesday.
Given that previous injury, Martinez told reporters (including Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com) that “I want to be cautious” with Bell’s status. More will be known when the MRI results are in, but the Nationals might still opt to sit Bell on Sunday with an off-day coming up Monday, in the hopes that two days of rest will get him ready for Tuesday’s game with the Marlins. Apart from Bell and Juan Soto, the Nats are almost entirely off to a slow offensive start, so any time missed for Bell (batting .345/.446/.509 over his first 67 plate appearances) is a big loss for the D.C. lineup.
More injury news from around baseball….
- Luke Voit has been bothered by a lingering right biceps problems, the Padres first baseman told The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jeff Saunders and other reporters. With only a .143/.315/.167 slash line over his first 54 PA, Voit bluntly described himself as “a waste of an at-bat right now. I’m not doing the team any good. I played through injuries last year and it’s really hard.” Voit isn’t in tonight’s lineup, and while manager Bob Melvin indicated that Voit could be available to pinch-hit, a trip to the injured list might be necessary.
- In an update on Jacob deGrom, the Mets ace underwent MRI and CT scans yesterday, manager Buck Showalter told The New York Post’s Mike Puma and other reporters. The MRI came a few days earlier than initially expected, though regardless, it doesn’t seem as though the Mets will have a plan of action in place anyway until doctors have fully reviewed the results. A stress reaction in deGrom’s right scapula during Spring Training resulted in a four-week shutdown, and these test results will mark the next step in the right-hander’s recovery process. If all goes well, deGrom could be cleared to start throwing, and a possible timetable could be floated for deGrom’s 2022 debut.
- Taijuan Walker is much closer to his return, as Showalter told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jake Rill) that the right-hander is tentatively set to face the Phillies on either Friday or Saturday. Walker tossed two innings in his first Mets start of the season but has since been on the 10-day IL recovering from shoulder bursitis. After throwing a side session yesterday, Walker is now lined up for either a minor league rehab start or a simulated game on Tuesday.
Nationals Designate Patrick Murphy For Assignment
The Nationals have designated right-hander Patrick Murphy for assignment, the team announced. The move makes room on the active roster for Aaron Sanchez, whose contract was selected from Triple-A. Sanchez will start today’s game.
The 26-year-old Murphy was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays last August, and he’s been a member of the Nats’ bullpen since, though he had yet to really earn a regular role. He has appeared in six games so far this season, tossing 5 2/3 innings and surrendering five earned runs on eight hits with eight walks and just four strikeouts. Needless to say, it’s been a rough go early in the season for the former Blue Jay.
Another former Blue Jay will take his place on the active roster. Sanchez will step into the starting rotation and, given that he’ll make $2MM now that he’s on the active roster, it’s reasonable to assume he will remain in the rotation for awhile.
Offseason In Review: Washington Nationals
After back-to-back last-place finishes, the Nationals’ headline additions this winter consisted a 41-year-old designated hitter and a host of post-prime retreads from their 2019 title team.
Major League Signings
- Nelson Cruz, DH: one year, $15MM, mutual option for 2023
- Cesar Hernandez, 2B, one year, $4MM
- Sean Doolittle, RP: one year, $1.5MM
- Ehire Adrianza, IF/OF: one year, $1.5MM
- Steve Cishek, RP: one year, $1.75MM
- Maikel Franco, 3B: one year, $1.25MM
- Dee Strange-Gordon, IF/OF: one year, $800K
2022 spend: $25.8MM
Total spend: $25.8MM
Options Exercised
- None
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RP Francisco Perez off waivers from Guardians
- Claimed INF/OF Lucius Fox off waivers from Orioles
- Claimed RP Hunter Harvey off waivers from Orioles
Notable Minor League Signings
- Gerardo Parra, Tyler Clippard, Adrian Sanchez, Jefry Rodriguez, Andrew Young, Richard Urena, Victor Arano, Jordan Weems, Carl Edwards Jr., Aaron Sanchez, Erasmo Ramirez, Chris Herrmann, Jace Fry, Luis Avilan
Extensions
- Alcides Escobar, SS: one year, $4MM
Notable Losses
- Ryan Zimmerman (retired), Alex Avila (retired), Jordy Mercer (retired), Wander Suero, Ryne Harper, Mike Ford, Jhon Romero
The Nationals loaded up on minor league contracts and familiar faces this winter. They gave out a few Major League contracts, but none that guaranteed a second year. With Juan Soto in the middle of their lineup, the possibility of overachieving into a playoff spot can’t be ruled out, but the Nats chose the prudent path rather than risk more of their future payroll on a present-day fix. They will take another year of Soto’s prime to hold the line and wait to make their next big strike.
The Nationals’ most significant pre-lockout movement was their attempt to sign Soto to a long-term deal. They reportedly offered their young star a 13-year, $350MM extension, which he rejected. That’s not a wholly unreasonable starting place, though there is clearly more work to do on that front.
To that point, much of their work in the early days of the offseason centered on hiring people to work in the front office. They’re slightly more prepared to make the moves they need after doing the work to overhaul their minor league and organizational staff. After losing a number of analysts, the Nats made a number of additions to fill out their development and analyst teams as well.
Complicating matters now is the recent report that the current ownership group might consider selling the franchise. A potential sale would cloud an already difficult extension task for the Nationals and Soto, and there’s no telling how willing a new ownership group would be to spend at the elevated levels that the Lerners have over the years. Any owner would surely attempt to lock down Soto, but who knows how amenable Soto himself would be to jumping immediately into a long-term arrangement with a new owner. Then again, Soto’s younger brother has a verbal agreement to sign with the Nats, as reported by Jesse Doughtery of the Washington Post, which could indicate that Soto is indeed perfectly content with his Nationals experience.
Other than the Soto talks and a minor league deal or two, it was a very quiet pre-lockout period for Washington. After the lockout, they got to work on filling out the short-term roster. They began with a splashy signing, adding Nelson Cruz, one of the most popular and well-respected players in the game. It was a surprising player for the Nationals to key on, no less so in hindsight, seeing as he was the only big-ticket acquisition of the offseason.
The deal itself is a bargain, however, simply for getting a player of Cruz’s standing without a long-term commitment. The contract breaks down as a $12MM salary for 2022 with a $16MM mutual option for 2023. Mutual options are rarely exercised, however, making the $3MM buyout the more likely course. There has been no mention of no-trade protection for Cruz, which is notable because as the club falls out of contention, Cruz will surely be one of the first names mentioned as a trade target. Frankly, at 41, it’s just as likely that Cruz ends up benefiting the team more as a trade asset than as an on-field contributor.
Nonetheless, he ought to provide some lineup protection for Soto. Cruz isn’t likely to see much time in the field, and his presence will largely take away the designated hitter spot as an option for resting Soto and first baseman Josh Bell. If there’s a downside to rostering Cruz, it’s that the narrow range of his utility also limits the malleability of the roster on the whole. Roster flexibility is a means to an end, of course, and if the man they call “Boomstick” can again slug 30 home runs with a 122 wRC+ (as he did last season), there should be no complaining about the fact that he can’t be double-switched into the infield, or what have you, especially with a DH now in the National League.
Elsewhere on offense, the Nationals gave out one-year deals to infielders like they were after-dinner mints. They brought in Dee Strange-Gordon and Maikel Franco, who both made the team. They brought back Alcides Escobar after a surprisingly successful 75-game stint in 2021. At 34-years-old and three years removed from the bigs, Escobar posted a 100 wRC+ and 1.7 fWAR over 349 plate appearances. Washington rewarded that solid effort with a cool $1MM to be their everyday shortstop. The price point and expectation for Escobar says a lot about where the Nationals are as a franchise heading into 2022.
Then they brought in Ehire Adrianza for $1.5MM. Adrianza will offset some of the lack of flexibility that Cruz forces onto the roster, as the former Brave can play just about anywhere on the diamond. Their big “get” for the infield was Cesar Hernandez, a defensive stalwart on the wrong side of 30 brought in for one season and $4MM. The Nationals know Hernandez well from his many years in Philadelphia.
In some ways, he’s a typical Nats player: a sure-handed veteran with not enough power and no single skill that wows, but he has a professional composure and a reliability to his game that serves somewhat ironically as a double-edged sword. He’s put up between 1.7 and 2.2 fWAR in each of the last four seasons, and if he does that again for the Nats, who can complain?
None of these deals — Hernandez, Adrianza, Strange-Gordon, Franco, Escobar — carry any risk whatsoever, but there’s not much upside to dream on either. Even the prospect returns are going to be minimal, should they play well enough to merit flipping at the deadline. Beyond simply making sure there was a name on every locker, the approach here is hard to see clearly. Basically, they’re in wait-and-see mode, a judicious, even somewhat stodgy path forward for a franchise that’s shown a willingness to spend when contention was in the offing.
What’s particularly interesting about this bevy of signings is that most of the vets mentioned above play either second base or third, where the Nats ostensibly roster a pair of top prospects in Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia. The sheen may have worn off, but the pair still represent two of Washington’s higher-ceiling players.
So for a franchise desperate for young talent, why block the path to playing time for two of the prospects they do have? The optimistic viewpoint is that these vets allow the Nats to bring Kieboom and Garcia along at the pace their play dictates, thereby maximizing their potential development. The pessimistic viewpoint will see the roster and notice a host of veterans taking at-bats that could be used to develop Kieboom and Garcia.
Kieboom suffered a UCL sprain during camp and somewhat forced their hand, as he’s now on the 60-day injured list with an uncertain timeline to return. In theory, he should be able to begin baseball activities within the next couple of weeks, but he’ll certainly spend time in the minors upon his return to health. Even after the injury, however, Garcia remains in Triple-A, so the Nats are clearly more comfortable giving the 21-year-old time to chart his own course back to the Majors.
The Nats are largely playing an infield of Franco, Escobar, Hernandez, and Bell so far in 2022, a year in which they have one of the best players on the planet patrolling right field. As they try to convince Soto to play out his career in Washington, it’s fair to wonder if the current state of the roster is doing enough to help their cause. Granted, it takes time to build a contender, and the Nationals might have a year or two to play with since they brought Soto up into a title-contending (and title winning) environment. Or maybe he looks at the infield less than two weeks into the season and wonders, as others might, why this roster was the best plan they came up with this winter.
The brunt of the Nats’ offseason efforts focused on building the bullpen. They started by going through the old Rolodex, reconnecting with former Nats’ closer and fav favorite Sean Doolittle. New face Steve Cishek signed on and instantly became the most reliable arm available to manager Dave Martinez. Tyler Clippard, another former Nat, also signed on a minor league deal, but he did not make the team out of camp. Same for Jefry Rodriguez and a host of others brought in on minor league deals. The upper levels of the Nats’ system are weak enough that many of their minor league signings from the winter were simply meant to fill out their Triple-A squad.
Not so for Anibal Sanchez, however. Sanchez and La Mariposa, his butterfly change, made the rotation out of spring training. The 38-year-old making the rotation is a feel-good story for the opportunity it grants the fanbase to relive the glory of the 2019 title team, but it’s also a telltale sign of the team’s greatest weakness. Starting pitching has long been where the organization hangs its hat, but the old consistency of a rotation anchored by Max Scherzer is gone. Or rather, it’s in New York.
As things stand today, however, Sanchez has yet to make his 2022 debut because of a nerve impingement. In fact, three-fifths of their 2019 World-Series-winning rotation is currently on the injured list (Sanchez, Stephen Strasburg, Joe Ross). Scherzer, as mentioned above, is in New York, and Patrick Corbin, the last member of that unit, is the erstwhile “ace” of the 2022 crew. That’s worth mentioning since Corbin has picked up more-or-less where he left off last year, easily the worst of his 11-year career.
Point being, the Nationals, a franchise long-obsessed with starting pitching, made the somewhat curious decision to stand pat where their starters were concerned, save for bringing back Sanchez. Aaron Sanchez was a somewhat intriguing addition on a minor league deal, but like Clippard, he did not make the team out of camp. He’s on the active roster as of today, but regardless, the Nationals have one of the weaker starting pitching units in baseball, and it’s hard to see that as anything but a choice on their part.
Top prospect Cade Cavalli was close to making the team, so maybe the Nats were simply content to give this year over to the younger arms in the organization. Josiah Gray and Joan Adon are in the rotation now, and how quickly they develop could very well be the difference between these Nationals sniffing playoff contention or cascading to a third consecutive last place finish.
After years of contending, the Nationals had to reset. The coffers were empty. They might have just enough time to pull it off, too. With Soto still three years from free agency, they can probably throw away a season and still make enough of an effort to woo him before he hits free agency — but it’s a gamble. Without more of a farm system, however, they did not have much of a choice. Whatever the impetus, the organization made modest gains this winter with an eye on the more distant future.
If the Lerners end up making an earnest effort to find a buyer, the strategy comes into clearer focus. Otherwise, they can’t look too far into the future because of Soto. Still, over the winter at least, they seemed to focus beyond 2022. If there is a benefit to largely standing pat for a winter, it’s that by avoiding financial commitments beyond this season, they can, now, afford to start thinking ahead to 2023 and beyond. Maybe that was the plan all along, but we don’t know for sure until next winter.
Nationals To Select Aaron Sanchez
The Nationals will be calling on Aaron Sanchez to join the team tomorrow, reports Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Sanchez is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning that a corresponding move will be necessary in order to open a spot for him.
Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, Sanchez will lock in a $2MM salary once his contract is selected. There are also performance incentives in the deal that, if unlocked, could get Sanchez as much as $3MM on the year.
Now 29 years old, Sanchez was a first round selection of the Blue Jays in the 2010 draft. He made it to the majors in 2014, his age-21 season. He largely worked out of the bullpen in his first couple of seasons, but earned a spot in the starting rotation for 2016. He made 30 starts for the Jays that year, throwing 192 innings with an ERA of 3.00, 20.4% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 54.4% groundball rate.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to repeat a performance close to that since, as blister and fingernail issues nagged at him over the next few seasons. After a few injury-marred seasons, the Blue Jays flipped him to the Astros in 2019. He only made four starts for Houston before shoulder surgery ended his season, leading the club to non-tender him. After recovering from that surgery, Sanchez signed with the Giants for 2021, throwing 35 1/3 innings in between various trips to the IL.
With all of those injuries, Sanchez is far from a sure thing, but the Nationals pitching staff needs the help regardless. Stephen Strasburg, Anibal Sanchez and Joe Ross are all on the injured list right now, leaving the club with a rotation of unproven hurlers like Josiah Gray, Joan Adon, Erick Fedde and Josh Rogers. The elder statesman of the group is Patrick Corbin, but he was bombed by the Giants tonight. The lefty allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings, pushing his ERA up to 11.20 through four starts. Sanchez has made three Triple-A starts on the year so far, throwing 15 innings with a 3.60 ERA, 16.4% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 45.7% groundball rate.
Nationals Select Erasmo Ramirez, Place Hunter Harvey On Injured List
The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Erasmo Ramirez. To make room on the active roster, fellow righty Hunter Harvey was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right pronator strain. Utility player Ehire Adrianza was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open up a spot on the 40-man roster.
Ramirez, who turns 32 next month, has appeared in each of the past ten MLB seasons, spending time with the Mariners, Rays, Red Sox, Mets and Tigers. Although he began his career as a starting pitcher, he has spent more time as a reliever as time has gone on, with his last MLB start occuring back in 2018. Last year, he threw 26 2/3 innings out of Detroit’s bullpen, with a 5.74 ERA. His 18.3% strikeout rate was subpar, but he avoided free passes with a 4.6% rate that was about half the league average. In seven Triple-A innings so far this year, he’s yet to allow a run, with 12 strikeouts and a single walk.
Harvey was a first round pick of the Orioles in 2013 but had his career trajectory repeatedly derailed by injuries. He pitched a few innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen in each of the 2019-21 seasons, but they gave up on him this offseason and put him on waivers. He was claimed by the Giants, who put him on waivers again, this time landing with the Nats. In 2 2/3 scoreless innings thus far, Harvey has struck three and walked one. The club didn’t provide a timeline for his recovery.
As for Adrianza, he was signed to a one-year, $1.5MM deal in the offseason to help the club’s infield depth. However, he began the year on the IL with a quad strain and now won’t be able to help the team until June at the earliest. The 32-year-old has appeared in the past nine MLB seasons, spending time with the Giants, Twins and Braves while playing every position on the diamond except catcher.
Nationals Place Sean Doolittle On Injured List
The Nationals announced today that lefty Sean Doolittle has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left elbow sprain. Outfielder Donovan Casey was also optioned to Triple-A Rochester with lefties Sam Clay and Francisco Perez being recalled to take the open spots on the active roster.
Doolittle’s season was off to a blazing start but will now be halted by this setback. In his first 5 1/3 innings of the campaign, he’s yet to allow a run, while only surrendering a single hit, no walks, while racking up six strikeouts. Doolittle told reporters, including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post, that he first felt something last week but that it got worse in his outing against Arizona yesterday. Surgery is not being recommended right now, with the plan being to reevaluate in about ten days. That timeline suggests Doolittle won’t be able to return after a minimum stay on the IL.
Clay and Perez each made their MLB debuts last year, Clay with Washington and Perez with Cleveland. The Nats claimed Perez off waivers from the Guardians in November. Clay, 28, has thrown 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Triple-A so far this year, while Perez, 24, has 5 scoreless. With Doolittle on the shelf, they will be the club’s only two lefty options in the bullpen.
Nationals Claim Josh Palacios From Blue Jays
The Nationals announced Friday that they’ve claimed outfielder Josh Palacios off waivers from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester. Washington freed a spot on the 40-man roster earlier this week when infielder Dee Strange-Gordon was placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
Palacios, 26, made his big league debut with the Jays in 2021 and went 7-for-35 (all singles) with three walks, a couple of hit-by-pitches and 11 strikeouts. The resulting .200/.293/.200 batting line obviously isn’t appealing, but the 2016 fourth-rounder has a better track record in the minors, where he’s slashed .287/.367/.402 in parts of six seasons.
Capable of playing all three outfield spots, Palacios draws praise in scouting reports for solid defense, above-average speed and good bat-to-ball skills. He’s never had much in the way of power, however, evidenced by a career-high of eight home runs back in 2018 — though it’s perhaps of note that he has already connected on a pair of round-trippers in just 24 Triple-A plate appearances so far in 2022. He’s not a burner on the basepaths but does have a pair of 15-steal seasons under his belt, and Palacios has fanned in under 20% of his minor league plate appearances while walking at a 10% clip.
The Nationals’ current outfield mix includes Lane Thomas, Victor Robles, Yadiel Hernandez, newly recalled Donovan Casey and, of course, superstar outfielder Juan Soto. Palacios could eventually get a look as a versatile fourth-outfield option, but for the time being he’ll provide some depth in the upper minors.
Nationals To Promote Donovan Casey
The Nationals are calling outfielder Donovan Casey up from Triple-A, according to Chuckie Maggio of the Pickin Splinters website. No corresponding move has been announced, though Dee Strange-Gordon was scratched from the initial starting lineup the Nats posted earlier today for their game against the Pirates.
Casey was already placed on Washington’s 40-man roster back in November, and the 26-year-old’s fifth pro season will now include his debut as a Major League ballplayer. Selected by the Dodgers in the 20th round of the 2017 draft, Casey was acquired as part of the four-player package the Nats received for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the last trade deadline.
Casey is a Boston College product who has hit .278/.337/.464 with 54 home runs and 52 steals (from 63 chances) over 1563 career plate appearances in the minors. That line doesn’t include much Triple-A success, however, as Casey has a modest .190/.250/.342 slash over 172 PA at the Triple-A level. It could be that the Nationals’ hand was somewhat forced by a potential injury situation on the big league roster, yet Casey at least had a .905 OPS over his first 25 PA of the 2022 season.
Baseball America (17th) and MLB Pipeline (19th) each have Casey listed within the Nationals’ top-20 prospect rankings, and BA also gave Casey extra mention as the “Best Athlete” in Washington’s farm system. His speed and athletic ability has translated into some excellent defense in the outfield, and Casey’s strong throwing arm makes him a good right field candidate. Both BA/Pipeline scouting reports have some questions about his bat, particularly Casey’s high propensity for strikeouts.
While the situation could change based on roster moves involving Strange-Gordon or other players, Casey would seem to fit as a glove-first backup outfield type. Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and Lane Thomas make up the D.C. starting outfield, while Strange-Gordon and Yadiel Hernandez were working in a backup capacity.
Athletics Claim Gabe Klobosits, Designate Luis Barrera For Assignment
The A’s announced Monday that they’ve claimed righty Gabe Klobosits off waivers from the Nationals and, in a corresponding move, designated outfielder Luis Barrera for assignment. Oakland’s 40-man roster remains at capacity.
Klobosits, a towering 6’8″ right-hander, made his big league debut with the Nationals last season and allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits and five walks with five strikeouts through 11 1/3 innings of relief. He averaged 94.8 mph on his heater during that time and induced chases on pitches outside the strike zone at a gaudy 35.6% clip, both of which surely hold some appeal to the A’s. The former 36th-round pick also posted a brilliant 1.64 ERA with a sizable 28.9% strikeout rate against a respectable 8.8% walk rate in a combined 38 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year.
It’s an intriguing profile in the first place, and the fact that Klobosits still has a pair of minor league option year remaining makes it all the more appealing. The Athletics’ bullpen picture is pretty much wide open after the team let several veterans walk and did nothing to reinforce the group via free agency. Klobosits should have ample opportunity to make an impression on the A’s this year.
As for the also-26-year-old Barrera, he’s long rated as one of the better prospects in the Oakland system but has seen his stock dip in recent years. The left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing Barrera put the ball in play and drew plenty of walks in Triple-A last year, but he showed minimal power en route to a .276/.348/.393 batting line that checked in at 12% worse than league-average by measure of wRC+. Scouting reports on Barrera peg him as a capable defender at any of the three outfield spots with well above-average speed. He ranked 24th among A’s prospects at Baseball America and 32nd at FanGraphs.
Despite last year’s 10.1% walk rate in Triple-A, however, virtually every report on Barrera cites a need to be more selective at the plate. BA notes that he swung at 48% of the pitches he saw in 2021, which makes that walk rate both remarkable and, quite possibly, anomalous in nature. Still, Barrera has a solid track record up through Double-A, and even if his ceiling is ultimately that of a fourth outfielder, he’s a largely MLB-ready one. Viewed through that lens, it’s rather surprising to see the A’s jettison Barrera in this manner, but the organization must feel fairly confident in its outfield depth beyond him. The A’s will have a week to trade Barrera or try to pass him through outright waivers.