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Nationals Rumors

East Notes: Arozarena, Eaton, Nationals, Sanchez

By Mark Polishuk | October 8, 2020 at 8:14pm CDT

Randy Arozarena, infield prospect?  The current Rays outfielder began his pro career in Cuba’s Serie Nacional as a second baseman during his teenage days, so his defensive future wasn’t exactly settled by the time the Cardinals scouted him as a Mexican League player.  “Some of the question marks at the time were more on profile because he played second base, a tick of third base…and then when we saw him in Mexico when he was eligible to sign he was full-time playing center field and we had great looks there,” Cardinals assistant GM Moises Rodriguez told Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser.  “Profile muddled the evaluation a little bit, but as far as strength and twitch in his swing, that was never in question.”

This offensive potential was enough to merit a $1.25MM bonus for Arozarena as part of the Cardinals’ 2016-17 international signing class, though Arozarena has long since left second base behind, and also left St. Louis last winter.  The Cards dealt Arozarena to Tampa Bay as part of a multi-player trade that seemingly featured Jose Martinez and pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore as the headliners, yet it is Arozarena who has blossomed as a major piece of the 2020 club.  After recovering from a bout of COVID-19 early in the season, Arozarena hit .281/.382/.641 with seven homers over 76 PA in the regular season, and has been even hotter during the Rays’ postseason run.

More from around both the AL and NL East…

  • It seems possible that Adam Eaton has played his last game with the Nationals, MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes that “you’d think they might prefer another corner outfielder with more pop than Eaton can provide.”  Beyond just Eaton’s rough .226/.285/.384 slash line over 176 plate appearances in 2020, the Nats also figure to consider glovework and cost in deciding whether or not to bring Eaton back next year, and neither factor is necessarily in the veteran outfielder’s favor.  Eaton’s defensive metrics took a significant step back this season, and exercising his 2021 club option is a $9MM choice for the Nats — Eaton’s option can be picked up for $10.5MM or bought out for $1.5MM.  With a lot of money already committed to the 2021 team and several roster issues in need of being addressed, Washington might prefer to spread that $9MM around to multiple areas, though letting Eaton go would create another need in left field.
  • Third base is another problem spot for the Nationals, as Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington notes.  Carter Kieboom didn’t produce in his rookie year, leaving veterans Asdrubal Cabrera and Josh Harrison having to pick up the slack to mixed results.  It’s obviously too early to give up on Kieboom, so Dybas suggests that the Nats could just sign another veteran on a short-term contract as a depth option if Kieboom again struggles.  Conversely, the Nationals could make a bigger internal move by shifting Luis Garcia to third base, or look outside the current roster for a free agent signing either big (Justin Turner) or more modest (Jake Lamb).
  • Gary Sanchez is “the biggest decision of the Yankees’ offseason,” George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  Sanchez’s disastrous 2020 season has seemingly cost him the starting catcher job, and it remains to be seen if the Bronx Bombers still consider him as a part of their future.  It doesn’t seem likely that the Yankees would simply non-tender Sanchez (owed a raise on his $5MM salary heading into his second arbitration year), yet a trade might not be out of the question.  The Yankees would obviously be trying to shop Sanchez when his trade value is at its lowest, King notes, “yet, there is no guarantee the Yankees will ever be in position to sell high on Sanchez.”  There is also the matter of finding a replacement at catcher — the Yankees are already looking at a second consecutive year with a big luxury tax bill, so splurging on J.T. Realmuto might not be feasible.
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New York Yankees Notes Tampa Bay Rays Washington Nationals Adam Eaton Carter Kieboom Gary Sanchez Randy Arozarena

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Nationals Part Ways With Pitching Coach Paul Menhart

By Anthony Franco | October 3, 2020 at 9:14pm CDT

The Nationals are moving on from pitching coach Paul Menhart, reports Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The 51-year-old’s contract was set to expire this offseason, and the organization has made the decision not to bring him back, relays Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic (via Twitter).

Formerly Washington’s minor-league pitching coordinator, Menhart took over the big league job when Derek Lilliquist was fired last May. The Nationals began to overcome their now-famous slow start shortly thereafter en route to a World Series title. Obviously, it’s impossible to pin down from the outside how much credit Menhart (or any coach) deserves for that improvement.

Similarly, it’s not clear how much blame Menhart shoulders for the team’s lackluster performance in 2020. This year, Nationals’ pitchers finished 23rd in park-adjusted ERA and 25th in park-adjusted FIP. Reigning World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg barely pitched due to injury, though, and the bullpen has been a thorn in the organization’s side for far longer than Menhart had been on the MLB staff.

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Washington Nationals Paul Menhart

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NL East Notes: Nationals, Doolittle, Mets, Nido, Betances

By TC Zencka | September 27, 2020 at 8:51pm CDT

Sean Doolittle is entering a winter with more contractual uncertainty than he’s ever faced in his career. Unlike most ballplayers who’ve been in the majors as long as he has, he’s never been a free agent before, and because of an early extension he signed with the A’s, he never even went through arbitration. Still, the 33-year-old southpaw is primarily focused on returning to Washington, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Doolittle and his wife are entrenched in the D.C. community, and she wants to stay in Washington. Of course, Doolittle knows nothing is guaranteed in free agency, especially coming off the season he just had. Inconsistency and injury kept Doolittle from ever really looking like the guy that has been the rock of the Nats’ bullpen for years. He finished the season with a 5.87 ERA over just 11 contests, but a strong final few outings provided some hope that this season might be a blip on Doolittle’s return to health – and dominance. As a two-pitch pitcher without elite velocity, there’s not a lot of room for error in Doolittle’s arsenal. But when he’s on, he’s a guy a team can lean on in a postseason run. The Nationals know that. Whether or not GM Mike Rizzo is able to re-sign Doolittle will probably come down to price point. Everything else points to Doolittle staying in the city that’s become his home over the last 3 1/2 seasons.

  • Tomas Nido confirmed that complications from COVID-19 ended his season, tweets Newsday’s Tim Healey. Said Nido via instagram: “Unfortunately, my season was cut short after getting Covid and other related complications while trying to come back. Time to turn the page and prepare for a strong 2021.” Nido appeared in just 7 games for the Mets this season, his fourth straight of seeing time in the bigs. For his career, the 26-year-old backstop holds a .197/.234/.319 triple slash across 270 plate appearances. Veterans Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos handled most of the catching responsibilities for the Mets this season, but both could be free agents. The Mets hold $10MM team option for the 33-year-old Ramos and $6.25MM team option for the 36-year-old Chirinos. Ramos has a $1.25M buyout, while Chirinos’ buyout is for $1MM. Nido remains under team control – and he’s out of options – so he’ll either need to be a part of the catching picture for the Mets in 2021 or risk exposure to waivers.
  • Dellin Betances holds a $6MM player option for 2021 to remain with the Mets, and it’s unclear what direction he’s leaning as of now, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). As DiComo notes, the option comes with a $3MM buyout, so Betances’ decision really comes down to a $3MM question. Even after a season in which he made just 14 appearances for a 5.56 ERA/4.34 FIP across 11 1/3 innings with 7.9 K/9 to 7.1 BB/9, it’s reasonable to expect someone to bid that much for a reliever with high-end upside like Betances. Still, it’s now been two seasons since Betances was a dominant arm out of the pen, and as a New York native who’s spent his entire major-league career in New York, he may look for a way to remain with the Mets. Betances averaged 93.4 mph on his four-seamer this season, a far cry from his days as a 96-97 mph high-leverage arm with the Yankees.

 

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New York Mets Notes Washington Nationals Dellin Betances Sean Doolittle Tomas Nido

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Nationals Extend Dave Martinez

By Steve Adams | September 26, 2020 at 8:49am CDT

SEPTEMBER 26: Washington officially announced a “multi-year” extension for Martinez.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Nationals have agreed to a contract extension with manager Dave Martinez, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). It’s a three-year, $7.5MM contract that will take effect in 2021, Bob Nightengale of USA Today was among those to tweet. His previous three-year contract was set to expire at season’s end, and the Nats had yet to formally make a call on Martinez’s 2021 club option or on a lengthier deal. The new contract will make quite the birthday present for Martinez, who turns 56 years old tomorrow.

Typically, clubs seek to avoid having a manager or general manager navigate a season with the dreaded “lame duck” status — i.e. no contract in place for the following year — but the Nationals have repeatedly bucked that trend by waiting until the eleventh hour to make decisions one way or another on both their managers and GMs. The Nats didn’t extend general manager Mike Rizzo, whose contract didn’t even have a 2021 option, until three weeks ago.

No club in baseball has had more managerial turnover in recent years than the Nationals, but it appears that last year’s World Series win will bring about the type of continuity this current generation of Nats players has yet to see. Martinez became the sixth man to manage a Nationals game in an eight-year span (2011-18) when he was hired, and since moving to D.C., the Nats have never had a skipper last more than three seasons on the job. The Lerner family opted to replace former skipper Dusty Baker even after Rizzo reportedly fought to keep him in place, and Baker only landed with the Nats after the club alienated Bud Black with a lowball, one-year offer when he had emerged as the favorite following the interview process.

Replacing Baker with Martinez, previously the Cubs’ bench coach, has worked out for the Nationals. Despite losing Bryce Harper to free agency before 2019, the Martinez-led club won 93 games and its first title. On the other hand, this year has been a struggle for the Nationals, who saw star third baseman Anthony Rendon leave in free agency and have gone almost entirely without injured World Series MVP-wining right-hander Stephen Strasburg. At 23-34, the Nationals won’t defend their title in this year’s playoffs, but that championship was understandably enough to convince the club that Martinez is the right person for the job. Along with their World Series win, Martinez has guided the Nats to a 198-183 regular-season record during his tenure in D.C.

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Newsstand Washington Nationals Dave Martinez

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Howie Kendrick Undecided On Future

By Connor Byrne | September 26, 2020 at 8:38am CDT

SEPTEMBER 26: Kendrick elaborated a bit on his situation yesterday (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). He’d initially planned to retire at the end of the 2020 season, but the year’s unusual nature has at least given him pause.

“Man, do you want to go out like this? Do you want 2020 to be any worse?” Kendrick rhetorically asked. “2020 has been strange, due to COVID and all the other climate going around the country. It is a strange year. And to think you would end on a year like this … it is a tough one.”

SEPTEMBER 25: The excellent performance of Nationals infielder Howie Kendrick was one of the reasons the team won its first-ever World Series title in 2019, but he and the club have offered disappointing showings this season. Nearly 12 months later, the Nationals are going to miss the playoffs, and they may not have Kendrick in the fold next season.

While the Nationals and Kendrick share a $6.5MM mutual option for 2021, the 37-year-old said Friday he’s unsure whether he’s planning on continuing his career, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. Kendrick, who hasn’t played since Sept. 5 because of a hamstring strain, wants to check on his health before committing to another season. The Nationals, meanwhile, could buy Kendrick out for $2.25MM during the coming weeks, so it’s unknown whether he’ll stay with the team even if he does keep his career going.

Kendrick, a former Angel, Dodger and Phillie whom the Nats acquired from Philadelphia in 2017, has mostly been very good in Washington. He was one of the majors’ top regular-season hitters last year with a .344/.395/.572 mark and 17 home runs in 370 plate appearances, and he smacked the go-ahead HR in the seventh inning of what proved to be a Game 7 World Series victory over the Astros. While Kendrick will live on in Washington lore for his Fall Classic heroics, his output fell to earth during a 110-PA 2020 campaign in which he batted .275/.320/.385 with two homers.

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Washington Nationals Howie Kendrick

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Carter Kieboom Done For Season

By Connor Byrne | September 23, 2020 at 3:20pm CDT

The Nationals have placed infielder Carter Kieboom on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist contusion and recalled right-hander Wil Crowe, the team announced. Kieboom’s IL placement is retroactive to Tuesday, but this will nonetheless end his season.

Kieboom was a first-round pick of the Nationals in 2016 who continues to be regarded as a high-end young talent, but this will go down as a disappointing season for him. The reigning World Series champions Nationals had designs on Kieboom capably replacing departed star Anthony Rendon at third base as early as this season, though the campaign has instead gone poorly for the sub-.500 Nats and the 23-year-old.

While Kieboom does lead Washington in playing time at the hot corner, where he has amassed 30 starts and 122 plate appearances, he could only put together a .202/.344/.212 line before his season ended. Kieboom failed to hit a home run this year, and with a mere one extra-base hit, he ranks last in isolated power (.010) among 243 major leaguers who have amassed 120-plus plate appearances in 2020.

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Washington Nationals Carter Kieboom

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Nationals Select Paolo Espino

By Connor Byrne | September 21, 2020 at 3:47pm CDT

The Nationals have selected right-hander Paolo Espino, placed righties Aaron Barrett (triceps strain) and James Bourque (elbow strain) on the 10-day injured list, and moved lefty Seth Romero to the 45-day IL, the team announced. The Nats also recalled outfielder Yadiel Hernandez.

Espino, 33, could now log major league action for the first time since 2017 – his only season in the majors thus far. He posted a 6.00 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.75 BB/9 in 24 innings between the Brewers and Rangers then, but divided the previous two years among the Triple-A affiliates of those teams and the Nationals. Overall, he has recorded a 4.21 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 657 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level.

Injuries have been an unfortunate part of the package for Barrett, a ninth-round pick of the Nationals in 2010 who was an effective part of their bullpen from 2014-15. Barrett underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, though, and also suffered a fractured elbow. He made his return to the majors late last season, but the 32-year-old has only combined for four innings of six-run ball since then.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Aaron Barrett Paolo Espino Seth Romero

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Sam Freeman Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By Anthony Franco | September 19, 2020 at 3:36pm CDT

Nationals’ reliever Sam Freeman underwent Tommy John Surgery earlier this summer, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The southpaw has been out since August 12 with a flexor strain.

Freeman went under the knife on August 19, relays Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. Given that timeline, it’s likely he won’t be able to return to game action until 2022. Fortunately, the initial stages of the recovery have gone well, Martinez added.

It’s a devastating blow for the 33-year-old Freeman, who underwent the same procedure as a prospect back in 2010. He has seen big league action every year since 2012 but combined for just seven innings over the past two seasons. Freeman only allowed one run in seven appearances for the Nats this season, although his seven walks against six strikeouts hinted at potential forthcoming regression.

Freeman is eligible for arbitration this offseason, but he’s a slam dunk to be non-tendered. He could look to lock on with another club on a minor-league deal this winter or attempt to rehab on his own and explore a deal when he’s further along in his recovery.

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Washington Nationals Sam Freeman

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Nationals Place Adam Eaton On 10-Day IL

By Connor Byrne | September 17, 2020 at 5:18pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have placed outfielder Adam Eaton on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left index finger. They reinstated infielder Brock Holt from the paternity list in a corresponding move.

With the Nationals at 18-29 and in no position to defend their 2019 World Series championship, this injury will end the season for Eaton. The 31-year-old batted a career-worst .226/.285/.384 with four home runs and three stolen bases over 176 plate appearances in 2020.

It’s now possible Eaton has played his final game as a National, as they’ll have to decide whether to pick up a $10.5MM club option or buy him out for $1.5MM in the offseason. In the wake of his output this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Nats move on from Eaton (at least at his current cost) and save $9MM. They originally acquired Eaton from the White Sox in December 2016 for right-handers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez. While Eaton has been fairly productive for Washington, Chicago’s surely thrilled with its part of the deal.

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Washington Nationals Adam Eaton

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Nationals Place Tanner Rainey On 10-Day Injured List

By Connor Byrne | September 15, 2020 at 3:07pm CDT

The Nationals have placed right-handed reliever Tanner Rainey on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain and recalled fellow righty Aaron Barrett from their alternate site, the team announced.

Considering the nature of his injury, it seems highly questionable whether Rainey will pitch again this season – especially with the Nationals at 17-28 and unlikely to qualify for the playoffs. Not much has gone right for the reigning World Series champions this year, but Rainey has been a bright spot in 2020.

Acquired from the Reds for righty Tanner Roark entering 2019, Rainey was a useful part of Washington’s bullpen in his first season as a member of the club, with which he logged a 3.91 ERA/4.37 FIP and posted 13.78 K/9 and 7.08 BB/9 in 48 1/3 innings. Fortunately, the walks and runs have gone way down this season for the 27-year-old, hard-throwing Rainey, who owns a 2.66 ERA/3.79 FIP with 14.66 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 20 1/3 frames.

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Washington Nationals Tanner Rainey

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