Nationals Sign Rene Rivera To Major League Deal
The Nationals announced they’ve signed veteran catcher René Rivera to a major league contract. Fellow backstop Jackson Reetz was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Additionally, Washington reinstated infielder Jordy Mercer from the injured list. Space for Rivera on the 40-man roster was opened when Starlin Castro was placed on administrative leave this afternoon.
Washington will be Rivera’s second team of the 2021 campaign. The 37-year-old backstop was selected to the Indians roster in early May and spent a little less than two months in Cleveland before being designated for assignment. The Indians released him last week.
Rivera tallied 63 trips to the plate with Cleveland, hitting at a respectable .236/.300/.400 level with a pair of home runs. He struck out at an alarming 38.4% rate, though, and Cleveland elected to move forward with their expected battery of Roberto Pérez and Austin Hedges once those two players returned from stints on the injured list.
Of course, the Nats aren’t signing Rivera for his bat. He’s hit just .221/.273/.355 (71 wRC+) across 1614 plate appearances at the major league level. Rivera’s appeal is in his defensive abilities. He’s a 13-year major league veteran who’s well regarded for his work with pitching staffs. Rivera has typically rated as an above-average pitch framer over the course of his career, and he’s cut down attempted basestealers at a fantastic 36.3% clip at the major league level.
That quality glove and veteran aptitude is obviously of appeal to a Nationals team that had been relying on the younger duo of Reetz and Tres Barrera behind the plate. Both members of their desired battery — Alex Avila and Yan Gomes — landed on the 10-day IL earlier this month. Avila is dealing with bilateral calf strains, while Gomes has been held back by an oblique strain.
Starlin Castro Placed On Administrative Leave Following Domestic Violence Allegations
2:06 pm: Castro has officially been placed on administrative leave, the league announced.
1:06 pm: Nationals infielder Starlin Castro will be placed on administrative leave as Major League Baseball looks into domestic violence allegations that have been brought forth against him, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic.
Administrative leave is paid and is not seen as punitive by the league but rather a temporary status while commissioner Rob Manfred and his staff gain further details on the alleged incident. Castro will continue to receive service time while on administrative leave, which lasts for one week but can be extended in seven-day blocks if jointly agreed upon by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.
Additional details on the matter have yet to come to light. Castro is playing out the second season of a two-year, $12MM contract with the Nationals and is scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end.
Brewers Acquire Kyle Lobstein From Nationals
The Brewers announced they’ve acquired left-hander Kyle Lobstein from the Nationals in exchange for cash considerations. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Nashville. To create space on the 40-man roster, righty Ryan Weber was designated for assignment. Additionally, Milwaukee announced that infielder Daniel Robertson has passed through outright waivers.
Washington selected Lobstein to the roster late last month, marking his first major league action in five years. The 31-year-old made three appearances totaling 1 1/3 innings before the Nats designated him for assignment last weekend. Prior to his promotion, Lobstein had spent the year with Triple-A Rochester, where he impressively tossed 21 1/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball, striking out a lofty 29.8% of opposing hitters against an average 9.5% walk rate.
That performance evidently intrigued the Milwaukee front office, which also has Brent Suter, Aaron Ashby, Hoby Milner and Angel Perdomo as left-handed options behind relief ace Josh Hader. Lobstein is in his final option year, so he can be shuttled between Milwaukee and Nashville for the remainder of the season if he sticks on the 40-man roster.
Milwaukee claimed Weber off waivers from the Red Sox a little more than a month ago. He’s made just one appearance with the Brewers, tossing a scoreless inning of relief against the Rockies. Weber has spent more of the year at Triple-A, pitching to a 5.02 ERA with an average 23.5% strikeout rate and a stingy 6% walk percentage over 43 frames split between Boston’s and Milwaukee’s affiliates. He’s appeared in the big leagues for five teams over the past seven seasons, compiling a 5.27 ERA/4.30 SIERA at the highest level. Milwaukee will have a week to trade Weber or place him on waivers.
The Brewers signed Robertson to a one-year, $900K deal over the offseason. The right-handed hitting utiltityman didn’t produce much in a limited look, though, hitting just .164/.303/.274 across 90 plate appearances before being designated for assignment last week. As a player with between three and five years of MLB service time, Robertson has the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. Doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his guaranteed salary, though, so he seems likelier to report to Nashville and hope to play his way back onto the big league roster before the end of the year.
Poll: Who Will Win The 2021 Home Run Derby?
A busy week for Major League Baseball kicked off Sunday with the Futures Game during the day and the first 36 picks of the 2021 MLB Draft in the evening. It’ll continue with Day Two of the draft today and the annual Home Run Derby this evening.
Tonight’s eight-player field consists of top seed Shohei Ohtani, followed (in order of MLB’s seeding) by Joey Gallo, Matt Olson, Salvador Perez, Pete Alonso, Trey Mancini, Trevor Story and Juan Soto. One half of the bracket will see Ohtani/Soto and Perez/Alonso in first-round matchups, while the other half will see Gallo/Story and Olson/Mancini. We’ll take a very brief look at each participating slugger’s season to date (sorted by their first-round matchup) before opening up polls on who fans are rooting for and who they expect to take home the trophy.
- Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Angels: Ohtani has been the talk of baseball in 2021, leading MLB with 33 home runs while also pitching to a 3.49 ERA with a 30.7 percent strikeout rate on the mound.
- .279/.364/.698, 33 home runs
- 93.7 mph average exit velocity, 119 mph max exit velo, 26 percent barrel rate
- Juan Soto, OF, Nationals: Soto hasn’t matched his 2019 power output, but he’s the youngest entrant in the field and has been one of baseball’s elite hitters from the moment he homered in his first big league at-bat back in 2018.
- .283/.407/.445, 11 home runs
- 92.6 mph average exit velo, 115.3 mph max, 10.8 percent barrel rate
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- Joey Gallo, OF, Rangers: After a slow start, Gallo looks well on his way to another 40-homer season. He’s hitting .308/.479/.838 with 15 home runs since June 4.
- .239/.402/.522, 24 home runs
- 92.4 mph average exit velo, 115.1 mph max, 19.6 percent barrel rate
- Trevor Story, SS, Rockies: Story will take the field hoping for an upset win that could serve as something of a Coors Field farewell with the trade deadline and free agency looming.
- .249/.323/.442, 11 home runs
- 90.7 mph average exit velo, 110.2 mph max, 9.2 percent barrel rate
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- Salvador Perez, C, Royals: The seven-time All-Star gets better with age. He’s ripped 32 home runs in just 519 plate appearances dating back to the beginning of the 2020 campaign.
- .275/.300/.501, 21 home runs
- 93 mph average exit velo, 114.2 mph max, 14.3 percent barrel rate
- Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets: Alonso will defend his 2019 title — there was no 2020 Home Run Derby — in the midst of a hot streak. Eleven of the Polar Bear’s 17 big flies have come since Memorial Day weekend.
- .250/.328/.478, 17 home runs
- 92.7 mph average exit velo, 117.1 mph max, 15.7 percent barrel rate
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- Matt Olson, 1B, Athletics: Since 2017, the underrated Olson leads all full-time first basemen with 126 home runs, and he’s on pace to top his career-high mark of 36.
- .282/.371/.567, 23 home runs
- 92 mph average exit velo, 115.3 mph max, 14.4 percent barrel rate
- Trey Mancini, 1B/OF, Orioles: That Mancini was able to return to the field at all after being diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in early 2020 is remarkable; a derby win would be a feel-good story for baseball fans everywhere.
- .256/.331/.460, 16 home runs
- 88.5 mph average exit velo, 113.9 mph max, 12.9 percent barrel rate
Who do you want to see win the 2021 Home Run Derby? (Link to poll for app users)
Who do you WANT to win the Home Run Derby?
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Shohei Ohtani 29% (4,206)
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Pete Alonso 24% (3,503)
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Trey Mancini 15% (2,240)
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Joey Gallo 12% (1,815)
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Juan Soto 6% (807)
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Matt Olson 5% (788)
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Trevor Story 4% (634)
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Salvador Perez 4% (548)
Total votes: 14,541
Who do you think will win the 2021 Home Run Derby? (Link to poll for app users)
Who do you think WILL win the Home Run Derby?
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Pete Alonso 31% (3,288)
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Shohei Ohtani 28% (3,019)
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Joey Gallo 20% (2,168)
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Matt Olson 6% (606)
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Juan Soto 5% (499)
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Trey Mancini 4% (458)
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Trevor Story 4% (406)
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Salvador Perez 2% (242)
Total votes: 10,686
Nationals Place Yan Gomes On 10-Day Injured List, Designate Kyle Lobstein For Assignment
The Nationals waited until the last possible moment before today’s game to make a final decision on catcher Yan Gomes, who left yesterday’s game with an apparent oblique injury. They did, however, ultimately place him on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). In corresponding moves, reliever Kyle Lobstein has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for catcher Jakson Reetz, who will have his contract selected as he is added to the active roster.
It’s quite the whirlwind for Reetz, who spent just three days in Triple-A, backfilling for Tres Barrera, who was promoted to the bigs after last week’s Alex Avila injury. Reetz has yet to record his first hit at the Triple-A level, but he’s up on the Major League roster anyhow, presumably backing up Barrera. Reetz hit .233/.357/.383 in 143 plate appearances with the Double-A Senators in his first action above High-A ball.
The Nationals are already relatively short-handed in the bullpen, but the sudden rash of injuries to their catching corps forces them to expose Lobstein to waivers nonetheless. Washington lost T.J. McFarland to the Cardinals when Lobstein was added to the 40-man roster last week, and the Cardinals proceeded to snipe right-hander Justin Miller a couple days after that. Lobstein doesn’t have the track record of either McFarland or Miller, but the 31-year-old southpaw could very well find himself with a new organization by the end of the week. He was hit hard in three appearances for the Nats, his first Major League action since appearing in 34 games (17 starts) for the Tigers and Pirates from 2014 to 2016. He has a 5.06 ERA/4.39 FIP over 128 career innings.
Gomes, of course, is the headliner here. The 33-year-old Brazilian backstop has been a steady presence for the Nationals since they acquired him from the Indians prior to the 2019 season. Not only did he help steer the ship in their championship season — playing every inning of the final four games of the World Series after Kurt Suzuki was injured — but he has taken on an increased load in his age-33 season, starting 68 percent of their games behind the plate this year. In his two prior seasons in Washington, Gomes handled 57 percent of the catching workload.
He’s helped carry the load offensively as well. Gomes is slashing .266/.320/.439 with eight home runs in 231 plate appearances. That’s good for 102 wRC+, an above-average mark for any position, but well above the catchers’ average of 89 wRC+.
Injury Notes: Nationals, Twins, Braves
Nationals catcher Yan Gomes left yesterday’s ballgame in the second inning with what appeared to be a strained oblique, per Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com. Losing Gomes would be a significant blow for the Nationals, who already placed his backup, Alex Avila, on the injured list earlier this week. Yadiel Hernandez would currently be the Nats’ emergency catcher, though a roster move could come later today if Gomes is expected to miss any amount of time. Tres Barrera is the other option currently on the active roster. He figures to start today’s ballgame at the very least. The Nats could try to get by with just Hernandez backing up Barrera for the next couple of days with the All-Star break starting on Monday.
Now, let’s check on a couple other injury updates from around the game…
- Twins catcher Mitch Garver caught a bullpen session on Friday. Both Garver and Jake Cave could begin rehab assignments in Triple-A next week, writes MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter).Cave’s return would be particularly notable for the Twins, so long as Kyle Garlick, Rob Refsnyder, and Byron Buxton all remain on the injured list. Rookies Gilberto Celestino and Nick Gordon have been pushed into action in centerfield, where the 28-year-old Cave has seen the majority of his playing time over his four years with Minnesota. Cave started slowly at the dish this season, slashing just .167/.239/.262 in 93 plate appearances before a back injury sent him to the injured list on May 15th. He will be eligible for activation after the All-Star break.
- Speaking of Refsnyder and Garlick, manager Rocco Baldelli touched on their progress as well, Park adds. Refnsyder could be nearing a return from a hamstring strain, but Garlick hasn’t made much progress. He could still be facing surgery. Garlick has been out for the past month with a sports hernia after logging a perfectly average 100 wRC+ in 107 plate appearances.
- Braves right-hander Mike Soroka recently underwent successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles for the second time since he last appeared in the Majors, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). It was Soroka’s third surgery in total. Soroka figures to be out until at least July 2022, though an official timetable for his recovery has not yet been made public.
Nationals To Sign Derek Dietrich To Minor League Deal
6:45 pm: It’s a minor league contract, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). He’ll report to Triple-A Rochester.
3:19 pm: The Nationals are signing veteran utilityman Derek Dietrich, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Robert Murray of FanSided previously reported the sides were closing in on an agreement.
Dietrich signed a minor league deal with the Yankees over the offseason and spent most of the year with their top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He took 215 trips to the plate with the RailRiders and hit .215/.413/.393 with five home runs. Dietrich’s deal contained an opt-out clause, which he triggered last week upon not being added to the major league roster.
The blend of left-handed power, strong walk and hit-by-pitch rates, and high strikeout totals he showed at Triple-A has become typical in recent seasons. Between 2019-20, Dietrich tallied 381 MLB plate appearances and posted a .189/.332/.462 line with 24 homers.
It’s unconventional production, but Dietrich generally offers solid results on the whole. By measure of wRC+, he’s been an above-average hitter in every year since his 2013 rookie campaign, with the free bases and power enough to compensate for the very low batting averages. Dietrich’s also shown some defensive flexibility, appearing at each of first, second and third base and in the corner outfield over the course of his career. Advanced defensive metrics have never been fond of his work at any position, but he’s at least been versatile enough for teams to find ways to plug his bat into the lineup.
The Nationals depth has been challenged in recent weeks. Primary utility infielder Jordy Mercer landed on the injured list with a quad strain last week. More notably, slugging outfielder Kyle Schwarber suffered an apparently significant hamstring injury that seems likely to require an extended absence. The Nats have relied on Josh Harrison in left field in recent days, pressing Alcides Escobar into action at second base. That has left the Nats without a true backup infielder — excluding Ryan Zimmerman, who’s limited to first base at this point in his career.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/7/21
Today’s minor transactions:
- Left-hander Ryan Buchter has cleared outright waivers, the Diamondbacks announced. Arizona designated the veteran reliever for assignment earlier in the week. Buchter was a generally productive middle innings arm between 2016-19, but he didn’t see much action in 2020 and has had a poor season in 2021. Buchter tossed 14 2/3 innings with the D-Backs, pitching to a 5.52 ERA with 13 strikeouts and walks apiece. As a player who has previously been passed through outright waivers, he has the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.
- The Red Sox have released left-hander Bobby Poyner, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive (Twitter link). Poyner tossed 34 innings out of the Boston bullpen between 2018-19, working to a 4.50 ERA/3.68 SIERA. Boston passed him through outright waivers in January 2020, and he’d spent the 2021 campaign with Triple-A Worcester. Poyner has struggled in 13 innings at the minors’ highest level this year, allowing 15 runs on 22 hits (including six homers), two walks and three hit batsmen.
- Nationals infielder Humberto Arteaga has apparently cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment over the weekend. Arteaga has been back in action for the Nats Triple-A affiliate in Rochester the past two nights. He’s spent most of the year with the Red Wings but was selected to the major league roster for a day last week, going 0-3 with a sacrifice fly. Arteaga was waived after the Nats acquired Alcides Escobar from the Royals to fill their vacant utility infield role.
Home Run Derby Field Finalized
The eight-man field is set for the 2021 Home Run Derby. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini, Royals catcher Salvador Pérez, Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo will compete in the event.
Ohtani has been perhaps baseball’s biggest story in 2021. The two-way star has a league-best thirty-one home runs and looks like the early favorite to win the AL MVP award. Alonso, who won the most recent Derby in 2019, will be looking to defend his title. The right-handed slugger has popped fifteen homers this year. Story figures to be the fan favorite with All-Star festivities taking place in Denver. The 28-year-old has hit 11 longballs this season. It’ll be an emotional sight to see Mancini on such a big stage. He missed all of last season battling colon cancer but made it back this year and has popped fifteen homers.
Pérez has been the game’s most powerful catcher. He leads all backstops with twenty homers and he’ll get the starting nod behind the plate for the American League in the All-Star game. Olson has also hit twenty dingers this year and will represent the playoff-contending A’s in the All-Star game. Gallo, who’ll join Ohtani, Pérez and Olson on the AL All-Star team, has been on an absolute tear over the last month, bringing his season total in homers up to twenty-three. Soto only has ten home runs this season, but he’s been one of the game’s best hitters since reaching the majors as a 19-year-old in 2018.
The Home Run derby will take place at Denver’s Coors Field on Monday, July 12.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Gallo’s inclusion.
Nationals Sign Nick Goody To Minors Contract
The Nationals signed right-hander Nick Goody to a minor league contract. Goody was released from another minors deal with the Yankees earlier this week, but his stint in free agency didn’t last long, and he’ll now head to Triple-A Rochester.
A veteran of six MLB seasons, Goody has yet to see any big league action in 2021, tossing 22 innings for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. The righty has some very nice numbers (2.86 ERA, 36.5% strikeout rate, 8.23% walk rate) over those 22 frames, making him an intriguing signing for a Nationals team still missing several key relievers due to injury.
Goody is perhaps best known for his solid work in the Indians bullpen in 2017 and 2019, though he followed up those two seasons with injury-marred campaigns in 2018 and 2020. Last season was spent in Texas, after the Rangers claimed Goody off Cleveland’s roster, but the right-hander battled back spasms and posted only a 9.00 ERA over 11 innings.