The Nationals have agreed to terms with free-agent infielder Brock Holt, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Holt had been designated and released by the Brewers earlier this week. The Nats will have to make a corresponding move to clear a spot for Holt on the roster.
Holt, formerly of the Red Sox, will join the Nats as an option to play virtually anywhere on the diamond. He’s in line to serve as depth primarily at third base and in the corner outfield.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted on Thursday when Holt was released, he can be signed for a prorated version of the league minimum salary, which comes out to a hair under $100K. That made him a viable target for interested teams, despite an abysmal start to the season with Milwaukee.
After signing a one-year deal with the Brewers in the winter, Holt’s Milwaukee tenure was short-lived following a 3-for-30 stretch in his first 16 games.
Still, the 32-year-old Holt can point to a more passable .270/.340/.374 batting line during his seven years in Boston. As a depth option, he’ll offer another left-handed bat, a welcome balance to the right-handed Howie Kendrick and Josh Harrison.
Here comes the brockstar comments
Holt it right there.
That made my day
UGH! Yes it just never stops!
good job chaim
Why watch the Sox the remainder of the year? To see what the youngsters look like. 2020 means nothing. I’ve said give CB a chance and still feel that way but obviously ownership thinks nothing of the fans. Hopefully others will also stop watching so the team can remember how ratings tanked in 2015…
The Red Sox are very hard to watch right now:
L8-7
L8-2
L9-5
L17-8
L10-3
L11-5
L4-2
L6-3
L13-6
Very few of their games are close and we have not gotten to see many/if any prospects in each game. I would imagine viewership should be down and getting worse unless new faces like Houck, Dalbec, and Duran show up soon.
Although yes I partially agree that they should bring up more prospects, I also think they should wait until the time is right as calling Houck, Dalbec, Duran, and / or others will only start their clock on service time.
Who is to say Dalbec and Houck are not ready and waiting for spots to be cleared in the next two days. Masslive has written Houck has improved considerably throughout the camp
Do you think John Henry would cover my MLB package cost since I only use it to watch Sox games and rarely do that these days. I want the Sox to lose EVERY game the rest of 2020 as I have heard there are 2 stud pitchers ranked 1-2 in next year’s draft but the Sox will probably draft another 100th ranked IF with their 1st rd pick anyway.
@4WSsince04 – Dalbec may be ready by next year, potentially this year as well. However Houck hasn’t really pitched in AAA Pawtucket, and isn’t much of a stand-out to be called up without preparation. Although yes he has improved, I personally don’t think he’s ready for the big leagues.
We have no idea how the draft will work next year. Might be based on 2019/2020 combined. Might be based on a lottery.So finishing with the worst or second worst record in MLB won’t guarantee anything.
Bloom is awful. This is a team that can spend millions and has done so for years. They didn’t need a tear-down. If they’d have gotten at least one pitcher in the Betts deal and signed some good free agents instead of Perez and Peraza, they’d at least be a .500 team and would be doing it without Sale or E-Rod. They should can Bloom and beg Dombrowski or Cherington to come back.
If the Sox were contending I’d agree with you, but since they aren’t might as well let Arauz, Peraza and Lin play
but why?
With the likes of arauz, peraza, and lin, not only does the product stink and get painful to watch, but you can’t even argue at least AAA level guys can continue or complete their development.
Those three are worse than holt. You still know what you’ve got, there’s no fan interest story, and THEY STILL STINK.
Lin??? Are you kidding??? He should have been Dfa’d LONG ago.
He’s probably thinking of Jeremy Lin.
BROCK HOLT!
Going end up working in pest control.
What? Is he funny?
Brock Holt.
He’s like the predecessor to my favorite player, David Fletcher
A true “National” Treasure
Why? Have plenty of bats .. maybe Difo is gone now
Another missed opportunity by Chaim to bring back a fan favorite. I know its not a huge deal, but this guy raked in Boston and we’ve had a dismal season and could use a little positivity. Bloom fails to see that apparently. Wouldn’t have cost much.
Over/under on ownership using bloom to reset the slate and firing him for luhnow come the offseason?
Why would they do that? You are a moron for that.
I don’t think any team would want to bring back Luhnow after the scandal with Houston. In my opinion, Bloom is one of the smartest GMs in baseball and letting him loose would be a mistake, especially with the direction that ownership has already committed to.
I wouldn’t get rid of Bloom. In no way was I trying to imply that, I just think Brock Holt was a missed opportunity in a dismal season. In the long run Bloom will pay off.
Guess you’re one of the few int the Sox that think Bloom doesn’t know what he’s doing….guess his prior work in Tampa, who by the way is in first place, was fluke! Being sentimental has nothing to do with evaluating talent and making the tough decisions to bring back championships to Beantown…..guess you’d also like to get Petey back out at second base too!
Secondly, your zeal for an average player like Holt certainly influences your opinion of “raked” when you look at his 7.7 WAR over his career! While he may have been fan favorite in Boston, he basically would be a pretty average at best player for the other ML teams if he played there, and probably would never have been described as “raking” wherever he played!
Couldn’t have said it better myself
I’m not against Bloom, I just think he missed an opportunity here. Maybe I overvalued Holt- I rely on stats a lot too, but Holt was a success here and a fun guy to watch. We need that right now.
I like watching the Rays play the Yankees.
“Peraza, Arauz, Michael Chavis and Tzu-Wei Lin — who are all 26 years old or younger — have all played versatile roles for the Red Sox this year, meaning the club wasn’t a fit to bring back Holt once he was released by the Brewers.”
Masslive.com
GAG ME
Once again, there really isn’t a reason to bring back Brockstar back to Boston despite him being a fan favorite. It’s illogical and contradicts what Chaim is trying to do. I’d rather give the opportunities to younger guys that are just starting.
Destined – I Agree, they cost less, have more team control, can be used as trade chips, can have a higher trade value
He would be a better option than Peraza (who I figured as his replacement). Peraza has -.3 WAR on this team. I’m all for starting younger talent, but Peraza before a fan favorite in Holt? No thank you.
I know Holt has worse WAR this season but I would expect that to change in Boston or with more playing time.
I can’t stand Persia or Lin, but I’m happy for Brock.
Time to turn the page on Holt. Glad he got picked up by the Nats. Hope he gets the GW hit tonight.
Would rather have Holt than Vogelbach on the Jays. But having three 1B is their style.
Steve Holt!
But isn’t he Brocked at every position?
Nothing at all would make the Red Sox any good this year. No trade, no picking up players available, no moves whatsoever. They stink. It’s a meaningless season and the perfect chance to get the tax reset. Let’s see the new guys. I like Arauz, he could be a nice find. They need to get a few effective pitchers out of the scrap heap of a staff. Next year? We’ll see.
Trade for them in the next two days….
The Red Sox are in a selling mode right now, and it’d be both illogical and difficult to start buying this late with not much to offer other than the last of our prospects. If the Red Sox are thinking of being competitive in the next few years, then I’d say that either 2022 or above would be the year(s), as Dalbec, Casas, Mata, Duran, and etc. should be ready by then.
I’m happy for the Brockstar. If he can’t come back now to Boston maybe he can when he’s done playing to be part of the team in some capacity at NESN too.
It will only be with NESN or a visiting team, because Bloom goes for younger team control players…..I agree!
Holt’s back in Boston after all.
Then presumably to Philly for the Nats’ next series.
Brock Holt is probably the nicest guy in the world but even he must be sick and tired of his own, obsessive, cultish fan base. We get it, folks from Boston have an irrational love for the guy. Ugh. Gag me with a spoon!
The cultish fanbase of his is mostly women who think he looks like Matt Damon. Everyone else appreciates Holt for what he was, a versatile player who had some big games when he wasn’t injured.
Nice replacement for Rendon…..
I could guess n be right that the Brockstar is happy to be regarded by the fans as he is. The haters need to direct it elsewhere, he’s a great guy n earned the fans he has, even it’s as an after job with NESN.
@pasha2k – Appreciating Brockstar and urging the team to bring him back are two different things. As much as all Sox fans want him back for one last time it’s just not really the direction that Bloom and ownership are going. He will definitely be remembered and cherished by Sox Nation though.
Why is it? that not one of these comments is about the Washington baseball team.