The Nationals are suddenly facing a potential roster gap in the outfield, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. Michael Taylor tweaked his knee today and is slated to be looked at more closely tomorrow. With Howie Kendrick also in limbo, both of the club’s right-handed-hitting reserve outfield pieces could be out of commission to open the season. Lefty hitter Andrew Stevenson is the only other 40-man outfielder. Perhaps there’s a chance that the Nats will look to the free agent market — Austin Jackson seems the closest match to Taylor as a right-handed-hitting center fielder — or consider claiming a late-spring roster casualty to boost their depth.
Here are a few more roster notes from around the game:
- The Dodgers expect to carry Alex Verdugo on the MLB roster to open the year, manager Dave Roberts says (via Pedro Moura of The Athletic, on Twitter). After spending two seasons at Triple-A, where he owns a healthy .321/.389/.452 slash, Verdugo certainly deserves a shot. It remains to be seen how he and others will actually be utilized. As things stand, Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger are also available as left-handed-hitting outfield options, though perhaps some roster tweaking could still occur.
- Cardinals lefty Brett Cecil pitched in an instrasquad game today and threw more balls (15) than strikes (12) in his latest shaky outing, according to Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This spring has been a trial for the veteran reliever, who’s still trying to find himself on the mound after losing a bunch of weight following a brutal 2018 season. Command and velocity are both problems at the moment, as Frederickson’s colleague Derrick Goold recently explored.
- Right-hander Sal Romano, who has spent the vast majority of his career as a starter, will be converted into a relief role for the Reds moving forward, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He’ll still be stretched out to the point where he can be relied upon for two- and three-inning relief appearances if needed, though. Unlike some other Reds roster hopefuls, Romano has a minor league option remaining, so it’s possible he’ll continue to acclimate to his new role at the Triple-A level before getting a look the big league ’pen. Romano, who turned 25 this offseason, has long rated as one of the more intriguing arms in the Cincinnati system but hasn’t found MLB success yet. In 232 2/3 innings, he’s mustered just a 4.99 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 — including a 5.31 ERA in 145 2/3 innings of work last year. Making it into the Reds’ rotation would’ve been challenging anyhow, as offseason acquisitions Sonny Gray, Alex Wood and Tanner Roark are expected to join holdovers Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani to round out the starting five.
- Padres right-hander Brett Kennedy has been diagnosed with a lat strain, per James Clark of the East Village Times (Twitter link). The expectation is that he’ll be sidelined for about a month. Kennedy, 24, scuffled last year in his first six MLB appearances and wasn’t expected to command a big league job out of camp. But he posted impressive results in 2018 at Triple-A, with 89 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball over 16 starts, and is certainly part of the depth picture in San Diego.
JFactor
Please, just pay Cecil and release him.
hiflew
It’s always so funny how easy it is for some people to spend the money of other people.
jonsteele
Hiflew, he’s gotta be paid either way. and he’s not good anymore with no real evidence of turning it around anytime soon. You don’t want this guy on an mlb mound in real games.
live42day
I don’t suppose he would take an assignment to Memphis to work out his throwing motion?
RedSox4Life4ever
Or taking up a needed roster spot
JFactor
The money has already been committed. I’m simply asking for his release so they can free up the roster spot for another player.
I’m not spending anyone else’s money
johnrealtime
While the money is already committed, if he plays well enough then the Cardinals could trade him and another team would be responsible for that money. That can’t happen if they release him (though if he plays well and they’re in contention then they wouldn’t trade him)
YADI
if he plays well enough then it wouldnt be an issue and they wouldnt want to trade him. he hasnt played well enough in years and its not looking any better.
the above commenters are correct, cut bait and move on.
JFactor
He has no command or velocity right now, nobody is taking him or his contract
holecamels35
Umm, this isn’t the O’s or Royals here, this is a team that’s trying to win. Why on earth would they use a middling reliever who’s been god awful just to build his trade value? You can find guys who are free agents in the minors who are better. Just move on.
stan lee the manly
He’s healthier than he’s been in a long long time with that weight loss, so I personally think this is a wait-and-see trip to the IL type situation, he won’t hurt anyone there. Apparently he’s so used to carrying so much weight that his problem now is his body is moving quicker than before and his arm can’t catch up.
If he can figure out how to slow his mechanics down a touch, there’s a chance the better conditioning could translate into results.
gmenfan
Your trash is always someone else’s treasure, right ?
DFAed in Gaffa
How do you lose a “bunch” of weight (as the original story said)? That’s like saving a whole bunch of money by switching to GEICO. But I’m pulling for Cecil. His nickname is “squints,” so he must be very near-sighted, like me. We high myopes stick together.
omahamadness
You can’t put him on IR just bc he has to actually be hurt
Cardinals17
If you’d been watching Cecil pitch over the past 3 years, you’d want the Cardinals to eat the money and move on too! What Mozeliak saw in him to give him this high paying extended contract is mind boggling. He hasn’t been able to get anyone out since day one with the Cardinals. Yet Mozeliak demands that he remain on the 25 man roster and be played!! Same with Dexter Fowler.
Vedder80
Fowler is a poor comparison for a number of reasons, primarily that Fowler provided exceptional value on the first year of his contract. There is also a significant difference in the amount of money the team still owes the two.
YADI
fowler is worth giving another chance, cecil however, is not.
DFAed in Gaffa
Would I like you better if you were Eddie Vedder? Yes. But you make good points here.
CardsNation5
It’s only been two years and before he signed with the Cardinals, he was good with the blue jays. The only thing that was mind boggling about the Cardinals signing him was the fact that people felt like that they overpaid for him.
SabrinasDaddy
Verdugo deserves a chance; the Dodgers denied trading him at all cost. Let’s see what he can do…
Chasssooo
I agree
22Leo
Yeah his value is only going to go down as he gets older. The Dodgers need to make a decision about him sooner rather than later.
xXabial
Mr. Todd…when you guys post jobs for this site, you are looking for certain critaria. Right? Too often I see amateur mistakes(like my post) or wrong links. If bball ref a support for mlbtraderumors then you may want to sponsor your sponser with the correct links..
Mike Taylor…reference.com/players/t/taylomi02
xXabial
Btw…I’m prepared to here your excuse to why it happens… I was once married to a redhead so I heard it all.
Hit me with your best shot and fire away….
Cat Mando
dragqueen…..
If you had paid attention in the past you would know they use an “auto-linker” program which sometimes links the wrong player. It happens, much like “Promises in the Dark” do.
If you put as much effort into paying attention as you do to deriding the writers and others you would know this, so “You Better Run” along now. It’s probably past your bedtime and if you are bad you will find “Hell is for Children”
whynot 2
If you are going to be petty and complain about mistakes, you might want to at least spell “hear” correctly.
njbirdsfan
“I can’t wait to here your excuses” while complaing about amateur mistakes…let me guess you vote in a swing state just to top it off.
walterfranciswhite
Another genius signing by Moz
nyy42
i hair ya
Nnnjjjjjhhjj
Ben Fredrickson is a second rate sports writer. StL post dispatch is struggling with the hiring of both Bens- awful writers! Derrick Goold and Rick Hummel are the only writers worth paying attention too at POST right now. Please stop referencing either Ben-both are embarrassing!
Cardinals17
True, but he’s right on target with Cecil!!! Had-he also mentioned Fowler, he’d been on target there too.
zachgwest
He is the future right fielder. Bellinger will prolly be back at first.
arne23
Then where will Mad Max play? I don’t see him as a second baseman.
puigpower
I was hoping they would have traded max for a pitcher.
LADreamin
What?! Why? Despite not being a top prospect, Muncy has a great hit tool and hits with power. He sees pitches really well making his break out year less of a fluke and more of a situation where a young guy finally got an opportunity to shine. We need to keep Muncy and let him develop defensively. I want to see how well he does at 2B this year and if he’s improved at 1B. Can’t wait for April.
zachgwest
He hasn’t played one game at second base this spring so that clearly shows that’s not going to happen for whatever reasoning. Also he isn’t hitting that’s why I said Bellinger will be back at first. Unless another prospect comes up and plays first. I guess that work too.
22Leo
He was surprisingly adequate at 2nd base last season, given his stocky frame..that said, I’’ll believe last season wasn’t a fluke at the plate when I see it repeated. That is not to say he can’t put up similar numbers, but I am not counting on it. The argument against Muncy primarily playing first base is that he is just ok on defense at that position, (or anywhere else or that matter), while Bellinger is simply awesome at first, and that is important. Bellinger is solid in the outfield but it feels like he is kind of wasted there.
empirejim
Surprisingly adequate at 2B? Well, I guess if you like a guy with no range, mediocre glove, and ZERO aptitude for the position. He’s stuck at first because it’s the lesser of the evils. I like Max, but if he wants to be more than DH trade-bait he needs to up his defensive reperatoire.
zachgwest
A first baseman and all of defense is important in my opinion. Pitching can change so much with a extra runner on…
captainchaos55
Nationals should trade for Kemp from the Reds. Reds are swimming in Outfielders right now.
tv 2
the reds pitching philosophy is to give people 20 starts and if they’re not Johnny Cueto they must not be any good
batty
I expect Cecil will start the season on the IL. Hopefully, during that time, the FO decides to go another direction.
SpfldCynic
I could see the Royals sending Brian Goodwin back to the Nationals. They have a crowded outfield, and he could be a decent short-term solution for Washington
619bird
Dewitt and Bowtie will try and squeeze any useful (or not) outing out of the investment they made in this guy. His dog died last year! Give the homie a break. lol
He’ll start on the dl. Then Shildt or someone like Girsch will get instructions that someone saw something positive and it will leak to some hack in the press and off we go on the Cecil crazy train where he’ll get shellacked all around the diamond. Then they’ll either bury him in the back of the pen like last year or release him around mid to late July.
Wolverines2
I don’t see Kennedy anywhere near the big league team this year. He is a placeholder on the AAA team until guys come through there. From what we have seen, he has no chance cracking the big league team this year or probably ever. Wishing him well, but he is not in the top probably 12 candidates at this point, regardless of health.
baseballhobo
With that name, Sal Romano should’ve been a catcher.