Nationals, Luis Avilan Agree To Minor League Deal
The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract bringing veteran left-handed reliever Luis Avilan back to the organization, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).
Avilan, 32, underwent Tommy John surgery last April and was thus limited to five innings with the Nats. He allowed an unsightly seven runs in that time, but the southpaw has a strong track record dating back to his 2012 MLB debut with the Braves. In 349 big league innings from 2012-20, Avilan worked to a combined 3.30 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate, a 9.4% walk rate and a strong 50.3% ground-ball rate.
As with most southpaw relievers, Avilan has been better against lefties than against righties, though he’s far from a pure specialist. Left-handed batters have posted a feeble .204/.279/.281 slash against him through 686 plate appearances, while right-handers carry a decent but hardly dominant .262/.347/.387 output through 805 trips to the plate.
Given the time of his surgery, Avilan will spend Spring Training rehabbing the injury and likely won’t be an option for the Nationals until the summer. If he’s healthy, he can give the Nats a solid lefty in the bullpen and perhaps a modestly priced trade chip if he rounds back into form prior to the end of July.
Nationals Sign Adrian Sanchez, Victor Arano To Minors Contracts
The Nationals signed infielder Adrian Sanchez and right-hander Victor Arano to minor league deals, with Sanchez’s deal inked earlier this month. Both moves were reported on the team’s official transactions feed at MLB.com.
2022 will mark Sanchez’s 15th season in the Nationals organization, as he joined the team as an international signing when he was just 16 years old. This long tenure has included big league action in four of the last five seasons, including 16 games with D.C. this past year. Sanchez has hit .262/.287/.328 over 204 career plate appearances as a big leaguer, and .267/.310/.363 over 4304 PA in the minors.
In re-signing the 31-year-old Sanchez, the Nationals return a familiar face to their depth chart, primarily in the infield. While Sanchez has played a smattering of games as a corner outfielder, the vast majority of his experience has come at second base, third base, and shortstop. He’ll get the opportunity to win a job during Spring Training, but probably unless an injury arises, Sanchez will spend the bulk of next season waiting in the wings at Triple-A Rochester.
Arano is a newcomer to Washington but not to the NL East, as the righty’s MLB resume consists of 74 2/3 innings out of the Phillies bullpen from 2017-19. Rotator cuff inflammation hampered Arano in 2018 and then an elbow surgery sidelined him for much of 2019, as he hasn’t appeared in a big league game since April 18, 2019. Arano was claimed off waivers by the Braves last offseason and he posted a 2.50 ERA over 36 innings for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate but didn’t get another call to the Show. The Braves outrighted Arano off their 40-man in June.
Arano doesn’t turn 27 until February, and there could be some hidden-gem potential for the Nationals if Arano is healthy. When the right-hander was able to pitch, he was quite effective for the Phillies, posting a 2.65 ERA/3.38 SIERA over his 74 2/3 frames, with above-average strikeout (26.3%) and walk (7.6%) rates. At the cost just an invitation to Spring Training, there’s no risk for the Nats to see if Arano is again capable delivering such numbers.
Nationals Select Donovan Casey, Evan Lee
The Nationals have selected the contracts of outfielder Donovan Casey and left-hander Evan Lee, per a team announcement. Both players will now be protected from this offseason’s Rule 5 Draft.
Casey, 26 in February, was one of the four players the Nats received from the Dodgers in the blockbuster deal that sent stars Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles. The 2017 20th-round pick split the 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting at a combined .269/.329/.430 clip with 16 home runs, 26 doubles, two triples and 22 stolen bases (in 27 attempts). MLB.com ranks Casey, the a former two-way player at Boston College, as the organization’s No. 18 prospect and cites his strong arm, above-average speed and plus raw power as his best tools.
Lee, meanwhile, was Washington’s 15th-round pick back in 2018. He’s yet to pitch above the Class-A Advanced level, where he had a fairly pedestrian 4.32 ERA through 77 innings this past season. However, Lee also fanned more than 31% of his opponents at that level while recording a strong 47.8% grounder rate. Another two-way player in college, Lee has improved his velocity since being drafted and has run his heater up to 96 mph. He’s ranked as the team’s No. 21 prospect at MLB.com.
With Casey and Lee now added, the Nationals’ 40-man roster contains 39 players.
Ryan Zimmerman Leaning Toward Playing In 2022
Ryan Zimmerman has only known one team throughout his 16-year Major League career. “Mr. National” was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Nats back in the 2005 draft, and it seems he’s leaning toward a 17th season in D.C.
“I still definitely am planning on playing [in 2022],” Zimmerman said in an appearance on 106.7 FM The Fan this morning (Twitter link via Federal Baseball’s Blake Finney), “but we’ll see what happens. No decisions either way yet.”
The latter half of Zimmerman’s quote leaves open the possibility that he’ll still ultimately opt for retirement on the heels of an outstanding career, but Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has already made clear that’s entirely Zimmerman’s call. Rizzo said plainly at season’s end that so long as he is GM, Zimmerman “has a place on this roster,” before going on to add: “…[W]henever he wants to take a major league contract, just call me up and we’ll give him one.”
Zimmerman, who turned 37 in September, has been a clubhouse leader for the Nationals throughout his time with the organization, serving as the face of the franchise through some ugly building seasons and ultimately emerging as a World Series champion with the Nats in 2019. A former Rookie of the Year runner-up, two-time Silver Slugger, Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star, Zimmerman appeared in 110 games with the Nationals this past season and slashed .243/.286/.471 with 14 home runs and 16 doubles in 273 plate appearances.
Though not the feared middle-of-the-order hitter he once was, Zimmerman still torched lefties in 2021, hitting at a .291/.319/.582 clip with seven homers and 11 doubles in just 116 plate appearances against them. Returning for a 17th big league season would afford him the opportunity to chase down a few milestones as well; he’s just 16 homers shy of 300 for his career and would likely score his 1000th run in 2022 if he returns. Depending on how many years he feels are left in the tank, Zimmerman could also pursue the 2000-hit marker. He’s unlikely to get there as a part-time player in ’22, as he’s currently 154 knocks shy, but if he feels there are two seasons left in his bat it’s certainly possible.
Based on Rizzo’s comments, Zimmerman’s value to the franchise extends well beyond his on-field production. And, given that the 2022 season could represent something of a step back as the Nats evaluate younger players on the heels of a trade-deadline fire sale, it’d be easier (and arguably more valuable) for them to carry a revered veteran like Zimmerman. Washington will likely be considered a long shot (at best) to contend next year, and the Nats surely wouldn’t mind at least a year of Zimmerman’s influence and mentorship for the organization’s next generation of talent.
Nationals Re-Sign Jefry Rodriguez To Minor League Deal
The Nationals have brought right-handers Jefry Rodriguez and Luis Reyes back to the organization on a pair of minor league deals, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.
Rodriguez, 28, has spent time in Majors in parts of three seasons, including a pair of separate stints with the Nats. He’s totaled 123 innings of 5.34 ERA ball between Washington and Cleveland, striking out 16.8% of his opponents against a 13.7% walk rate that is far too high. He tossed 24 1/3 frames for the Nationals in 2021, yielding an unsightly 16 runs on 25 hits and 17 walks with 20 strikeouts.
Rough big league numbers notwithstanding, Rodriguez posted strong numbers in the middle levels of the minors and has a 4.29 ERA in 100 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. His 21.3% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate in Triple-A still leave something to be desired, but Rodriguez has posted decent run-prevention numbers throughout his minor league tenure and still sits around 95 mph with his heater.
The 27-year-old Reyes will give the Nats some innings in the upper minors as well. He’s spent parts of eight minor league seasons in the Nationals organization since signing as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. Reyes split the 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A, pitching to a combined 5.19 ERA in 126 2/3 innings. He’s spent his entire pro career to this point in the same organization and will hope for an opportunity to make his debut at some point in the 2022 season.
Both Rodriguez and Reyes return as depth options for a Nationals club that is in clear need of stockpiling just that. With Max Scherzer now a free agent, Joe Ross ending the season with a slight UCL tear (which did not require surgery) and both Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin coming off disappointing 2021 campaigns, Washington’s once-vaunted rotation is rather suddenly a collection of question marks.
The Nats will likely give young righty Josiah Gray plenty of opportunity in 2022, and it’s all but a certainty that they’ll add a veteran starter or two this winter. Still, retaining some familiar organizational depth makes some sense for them, and they’ll probably be on the lookout for other rotation hopefuls they can bring into the fold on non-guaranteed pacts in addition to whatever Major League deals are signed. The Nats also brought back lefty Sean Nolin on a minor league deal earlier this month.
NL Notes: Gorman, Brewers, Nationals
As the Cardinals look to add more hitting this winter, Nolan Gorman could be the latest homegrown prospect to emerge at the big league level. It isn’t yet clear, however, whether or not Gorman will need more Triple-A seasoning before he makes his MLB debut, as Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Benjamin Hochman of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “From an offensive standpoint, we’re really encouraged with what we’re seeing,” Mozeliak said, also noting that Gorman looked good at second base this season after previously playing only as a third baseman.
Gorman hit .279/.333/.481 with 25 home runs over 523 cumulative plate appearances in 2021 — an .862 OPS in 195 PA for Double-A Springfield and then a .785 OPS in 328 PA for Triple-A Memphis. The 19th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Gorman’s bat looks like it provide a nice complement at second base with Tommy Edman, as Edman has provided excellent glovework but subpar offense over the last two seasons. Barring a major rookie breakout, however, Hochman doesn’t think Gorman himself will provide the offensive boost the Cards need, and Hochman wonders if moving shortstop Paul DeJong for a better hitter would be the answer.
More from around the National League…
- Speaking of adding offense in the NL Central, Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns acknowledged his team’s need to score more runs in 2022, but he told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and Jordan Bastian that “I think we’re likely to remain a run prevention-first team next year, where we’re built around our pitching and defense. I don’t see that changing.” With this in mind, Stearns said that while he’ll naturally listen to what other teams have to offer, “it’s really tough to trade pitching,” even though the Brew Crew have one of the sport’s deeper mix of rotation arms. Since the time of this interview, Stearns did swing one pitching-for-hitting trade, though Milwaukee sent only a single-A relief prospect (Evan Reifert) to the Rays for utility infielder Mike Brosseau.
- The Nationals have made some promotions in their research and development department, including putting longtime staffer Lee Mendelowitz in charge as the new senior director. More changes are coming, president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo told The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty, including some new faces to cover for personnel losses over the last two years (due to pandemic cutbacks and other teams poaching Nats staffers).
Nationals Notes: Soto, Schwarber, Front Office
Before Juan Soto signs an extension with the Nationals, “the first thing that’s going to have to happen is that he knows that he’s working with an ownership that’s going to annually try to compete and win,” agent Scott Boras told The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty and other reporters. “And then I think once he knows that, then he’ll be ready to sit down and talk whenever they choose to talk.”
Soto’s time in D.C. has already produced one World Series title, of course, and the Nationals have been one of the league’s better terms over the last decade, as president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo noted to Dougherty and company. That said, the Nats have also finished in last place in both seasons since that 2019 championship, and traded away a significant amount of veteran talent at the last trade deadline. It seems like the team will reload to some extent this offseason, but it is unclear whether or not the Nationals will make a full-on plunge to try and compete as soon as 2022.
Rizzo did make some indication towards a bigger push this winter, as when asked if he would like to see Kyle Schwarber back in Washington, Rizzo responded with “Why wouldn’t we? I love him.” (hat tip to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe) After being non-tendered by the Cubs last winter, Schwarber signed in D.C. for a one-year deal worth $10MM in guaranteed money, but his price tag for a return will be much steeper after his huge bounce-back season. Bringing Schwarber back would be a clear sign of the Nationals’ intent to contend, and he would also give Soto some much-needed lineup protection.
Even amidst the team’s struggles in 2021, Soto continued to make his case as arguably the game’s best hitter. Soto hit .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs over 654 plate appearances, and has now produced four all-world seasons before his 23rd birthday. Given Soto’s youth and his already-incredible production, it is very easy to imagine that a Soto extension would be the most expensive contract in baseball history.
Soto is projected to earn $16.2MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, a massive raise commensurate with his continued great numbers. Though Soto is still under arbitration control through 2024 as a Super Two player, “we’re not in the mind-set where we got him under control for three more years and have three years to wait. That’s not our view,” Rizzo said. The Nationals might not immediately jump into deep extension talks, however, as Rizzo said the club will wait until after the new collective bargaining agreement is settled “just to see what the rules are” for baseball’s business going forward.
In the more immediate future, Rizzo is focused on making another change to the Nats’ front office. In another piece from Dougherty, Rizzo said the team is going to hire a new director of player development, and candidates from both within and outside the organization will be considered. Assistant GM Mark Scialabba had been in charge of player development but will now move to the player personnel division, while former baseball ops coordinator John Wulf has been promoted to assistant director of player development.
Nationals Re-Sign Sean Nolin, Alberto Baldonado
The Nationals have re-signed left-handed pitchers Sean Nolin and Alberto Baldonado to minor league deals, reports The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty. Both pitchers saw game action at the Major League level this year for the Nats, though it’s easy to infer from the minor league nature of the deals that the results weren’t what either player was hoping for.
The 31-year-old Nolin is the more senior of the two, having bounced around quite a bit since his pro debut in 2010. In fact, dating back to Nolin’s first minor league action a decade ago, he has pitched just 58 innings at the Major League level, pitching overseas and on the Indie circuit sporadically throughout the past couple of years. Last offseason, the Nationals took a flier on the journeyman pitcher after a year abroad pitching for the Seibu Lions, assigning him to Triple-A where he posted serviceable numbers out of the rotation. Nolin was called up to the parent club in August and posted a 4.39 ERA in 26+ innings, albeit with troubling strikeout (16.3%) and walk rates (10.6%) as well as a suspension to show for his time.
Baldonado has had a similarly adventurous career, pitching in the Indie circuit as well as the Mexican League before making his Major League debut this past season for Washington. Like Nolin, Baldonado provided strong strikeout and run prevention numbers in Triple-A but ran into some difficulty after being promoted. Across 14 games, the 28-year-old rookie pitched 10+ innings of 8.44 ERA ball, showing slightly above average strikeout abilities (24.5% K rate) but offsetting that skill with seven walks and three home runs in limited action.
Free Agent Notes: Verlander, Schwarber, Heaney
Justin Verlander will hold a showcase for scouts and evaluators tomorrow, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports (Twitter links). This is the first time Verlander will throw in front of evaluators from other teams since his Tommy John surgery in September 2020. Multiple teams are expected to have personnel on hand, if just as a matter of simple due diligence rather than a clear interest in signing Verlander on the free agent market. As WFAN’s Sweeny Murti observes, it probably safe to assume the Yankees will have personnel on hand — Verlander is throwing at a Cressey Sports Performance facility, and Eric Cressey is the Yankees’ director of player health and performance.
It stands to reason that Verlander will probably hold multiple showcases in order to prove that his arm has recovered from the TJ procedure, and that he’ll be ready to roll when Spring Training camps open. The timing of a second showcase could be particularly important, however, since Verlander has until November 17 to decide whether or not to accept the qualifying offer extended by the Astros today. If Verlander throws well and gets some good buzz coming out of Monday’s session, it could make him lean against taking the one-year, $18.4MM offer to return to Houston, if he gets an indication that at least one other club is interested in making him a more lucrative multi-year deal on the open market.
More from the free agent market….
- J.D. Martinez‘s decision to pass on his opt-out clause will keep the veteran slugger in Boston for another season, though it doesn’t mean that free agent Kyle Schwarber is necessarily roadblocked from a return to the Red Sox. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) that the Sox have already been in touch with Schwarber and will continue to monitor his market throughout the winter. Martinez’s role as the regular DH and a fill-in outfielder might be the ideal spot for Schwarber, as while Schwarber did okay at first base for someone who had never played the position before, he probably isn’t a viable solution at first over the longer term (plus, the Sox have Bobby Dalbec and prospect Triston Casas ready for more first base time). However, Schwarber hit so well during his two-plus months in Boston that it isn’t surprising that the club will look to get creative in trying to find a fit for him in the lineup. For his part, Schwarber said after the ALCS that he would be interested in a return to the Sox.
- Despite Andrew Heaney‘s very rough 2021 season, several teams are eyeing the left-hander as a possible bounce-back candidate. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman (Twitter link) lists the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Nationals as some of the teams interested in the free agent hurler. Heaney still had above-average strikeout and walk rates last year, as most of his problems stemmed from an inability to avoid home runs — Heaney allowed a whopping 29 homers over his 129 2/3 innings with the Angels and Yankees.
Nationals Claim Francisco Perez Off Waivers From Guardians
The Nationals announced they successfully claimed left-handed pitcher Francisco Perez off waivers from the Guardians. The Nats also announced their decision to outright right-handed pitcher Kyle McGowin to Triple-A.
Cleveland selected Perez to make his big league debut in early August. He ultimately got into four games, tossing 6 2/3 frames of relief and allowing three runs. During his brief MLB time, Perez relied mostly on a fastball that averaged just under 93 MPH and a low-80s slider.
That’s not the most overpowering raw stuff, but the 24-year-old posted dominant numbers between the Guardians’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this past season. Over 53 combined innings at the minors’ top two levels, he worked to a 1.87 ERA, punching out an incredible 38.1% of opposing hitters in the process. Perez also still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Nats can shuttle him between the majors and minors for the next couple seasons if he sticks on their 40-man roster.
McGowin’s tenure with the Nats could come to a close after today’s outright. The 29-year-old has appeared in the bigs in each of the past four seasons, with his 30 frames of 4.20 ERA/3.87 SIERA ball in 2021 his most extensive action. McGowan will have the right to elect minor league free agency.