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Luis Garcia (infielder)

Nationals Notes: García, Outfield, Meneses, Robles

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Nationals manager Dave Martinez spoke to members of the media at the Winter Meetings today, with Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com and Andrew Golden of The Washington Post each relaying some of the details. Notably, he said that Luis García isn’t guaranteed the second base job and that the club is looking for some left-handed power in the outfield. He also provided health updates on Victor Robles and Joey Meneses.

García, 24 in May, was a top 100 prospect on his way up to the majors but hasn’t been able to firmly establish himself at the big league level. The rebuilding Nats gave him a chance to take over the keystone last year but he was eventually optioned to the minors in August after hitting just .260/.294/.363 for a wRC+ of 74. He was recalled in September and finished strong with a line of .304/.360/.507 from that point, but in a small sample of just 75 plate appearances.

Unsurprisingly, that brief flash of better results isn’t enough to sway the club’s decision makers. His 1,245 career plate appearances have amounted to a tepid line of .265/.295/.395 and wRC+ of 85. He’s also received poor marks for his glovework at second, with career tallies of -5 Defensive Runs Saved, -16 Outs Above Average and a grade of -7.8 from Ultimate Zone Rating.

The Nats still have some faith in him, as he is still on the roster after the non-tender deadline, but it might be a make-or-break year for him. He qualified for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of $2.4MM. The fact that he was tendered a contract suggests the Nats are willing to give him another shot at that price point, but he is going to be out of options next year. If he continues to struggle, he could get bumped down into a reserve role or perhaps lose his roster spot entirely. The Nats also have infielders Jeter Downs and Ildemaro Vargas on the roster or could perhaps find external additions if they decide to move on from García at some point.

Turning to the outfield, the desire to find a lefty bat in quite sensible as the current mix leans heavily to the right side. Each of Lane Thomas, Stone Garrett, Alex Call, Meneses, Robles and Jacob Young are righties. The club signed Corey Dickerson to try to balance things out last year but that didn’t go according to plan. He struggled through the first few months of the season and was released after the club couldn’t flip him at the deadline. The club also has James Wood, one of the top prospects in the league. He hits from the left side but is just 21 years and has yet to reach Triple-A. Even if he does make it the majors in 2024, having him and a veteran addition in the same lineup would hardly be a problem.

How they approach the situation this time around will obviously depend on how much they are willing to spend. Cody Bellinger is the top lefty-hitting outfielder but it would be a shock if a rebuilding club like the Nats outbid the field for his services. Another veteran on a short-term deal similar to the Dickerson signing is probably a safer bet, though the club will obviously be hoping for better results. Jung Hoo Lee has now been posted for MLB clubs but he seems to be quite popular and will require a significant multi-year deal plus a posting fee. Some other lefty-swinging outfielders in free agency include Kevin Kiermaier, Joc Pederson and Michael Brantley.

The trade market is headlined by old friend Juan Soto, but he is widely considered a rental since he already turned down a massive extension from the Nats and is set for free agency after 2024. With the state of Washington’s roster, they don’t make sense for a reunion. It would be a similar situation for someone like Alex Verdugo, who is also a year from the open market. The Cardinals would likely be open to a trade of someone like Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson or Brendan Donovan.

As for Meneses, the club will be looking for a bounceback from him next year. He debuted with a bang in 2022, hitting 13 home runs in the final 56 games of the season. But his first full season in the bigs resulted in just 13 more homers over 154 contests, though Martinez relayed today that Meneses was battling a knee issue during the season. It’s unknown how severe this issue was or when it arose, but it is perhaps the reason for a 2mph drop in his average exit velocity relative to 2022. If getting back to health helps him reverse course, that would provide the club with a nice lineup boost regardless of external additions. In a separate tweet from Golden, Martinez says Meneses is doing agility work now and looking good, hoping to play first base and the outfield next year.

As for Robles, the news is less positive. He missed the second half of 2023 due to back spasms and Martinez relayed that Robles hasn’t played winter ball this offseason since he hasn’t yet proven himself healthy. He still has a couple of months before Spring Training gets going but it’s notable that the issue appears to be lingering. He is going into his final arbitration season before he’s set to become a free agent. Like García, he was once a top prospect that has thus far struggled to firmly establish himself in the big leagues. He currently has a career batting line of .238/.312/.360 in 1,801 plate appearances, translating to a wRC+ of 81.

Nationals Option Luis García, Release Corey Dickerson

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The Nationals announced after today’s game that they have requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson and optioned infielder Luis García to Triple-A Rochester. The corresponding moves haven’t been announced but Talk Nats reports that outfielder Blake Rutherford will be selected to the roster for one of them. Infielder Jeter Downs will be recalled for the other, per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post.

García, 23, was once a top 100 prospect but has continually struggled to hit in the big leagues. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s appeared in 302 games and taken 1,169 plate appearances, coming into today’s action. He’s mustered a batting line of .263/.291/.388 in that time, which amounts to a wRC+ of 82. That includes a .260/.294/.363 showing this year, translating to a 74 wRC+.

Those numbers are especially concerning since his hit tool was supposed to be his standout feature as a prospect. Advanced defensive metrics don’t like his glovework at second base much, with García having tallied -2 Defensive Runs Saved there in his career, along with -14 Outs Above Average and a grade of -6.5 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His numbers at shortstop are worse.

The Nats will now send him back to Triple-A to get more work there, though he has little to prove at that level. In 82 games there in his career, he’s hit .306/.368/.554 but hasn’t been able to replicate that at the big league level. He’ll now try to get back in a groove and earn himself another chance.

From a service time perspective, he began this year with one year and 164 days of service. He’s already gone well past the two-year mark but his chances of reaching Super Two status at the end of the this year could go down, depending on how long he’s out. Perhaps more importantly, he has just one option year remaining. Once he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he’ll burn that last option here in 2023 and be out of options going into 2024. The Nats will likely still be rebuilding next year and could give him another shot, though his grasp on a roster spot would likely be more tenuous at that point.

As for Dickerson, 34, it’s hardly a surprise to see him lose his roster spot now. He was one of a handful of veterans that the Nats brought in over the winter on one-year deals to serve as veteran mentors and hopefully become trade chips. Jeimer Candelario showed the best-case scenario as he mashed and was able to be flipped to the Cubs for a couple of prospects. But Dickerson has hit just .252/.285/.357 for the year, producing a wRC+ of 71 that would be a career low for him. Now that the deadline has passed, the club will use his roster spot to give a chance to other players with a greater chance to help in future seasons.

One of those players the Nats will get a look at will reportedly be Rutherford. The 26-year-old was a first round pick of the Yankees, getting selected 18th overall in 2016. He was considered a top 100 prospect going into 2017 before getting flipped to the White Sox that summer as part of a seven-player deal that sent Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees.

The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019 to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, but he didn’t hit much in the years to come and was eventually outrighted off the roster, without getting a chance to make his major league debut. He cleared waivers in the process, meaning the other 29 clubs in the league had a chance to grab him and passed.

He reached free agency after last year, signing a minor league contract with the Nats in the winter and has seemingly been back in good form. He’s hit .345/.395/.583 in 62 games split between Double-A and Triple-A this year, producing a 153 wRC+. That’s obviously much better than his combined batting line of .262/.305/.399 from 2019 to 2022. The Nats will now give him a chance to see how he can handle major league pitching. If he succeeds, he still has no service time and can be retained for six seasons beyond this one. He also has an option year remaining, giving the club a bit of roster flexibility to use at some point.

Nationals Release Maikel Franco

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The Nationals have released veteran infielder Maikel Franco, reinstated second baseman Luis Garcia from the injured list, optioned righty Cory Abbott and selected the contract of top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli, per a team announcement. Cavalli’s looming promotion had been announced by the team earlier in the week. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com first noted that Garcia was in the clubhouse and that Franco appeared to be packing up and saying his goodbyes, indicating a move was on the horizon.

Franco, who turns 30 today, has spent the season as Washington’s primary third baseman. The Nats signed the former Phillies top prospect to a minor league deal over the winter, and he broke camp with the team. Franco has gotten 99 starts, with the vast majority of that time coming at his customary position at the hot corner. While he’s been a durable lineup fixture, the right-handed hitter simply hasn’t produced much at the plate. Franco posted a .229/.255/.342 showing across 388 plate appearances, only connecting on nine home runs with a meager 3.1% walk rate.

It’s a second straight well below-average season for Franco, who managed a .210/.253/.355 line with the Orioles last season. Fellow journeyman Ildemaro Vargas, who was selected onto the big league roster at the start of this month, has a far more productive .317/.354/.450 showing in 65 plate appearances. The switch-hitting Vargas has taken hold of the third base job as a result, while Garcia is now in line to pair with top prospect CJ Abrams as the primary middle infield duo. That pushed veteran second baseman Cesar Hernandez to the bench and squeezed Franco off the roster.

A nine-year MLB veteran, Franco finds himself on release waivers. Assuming he goes unclaimed, he’ll hit free agency and be able to explore other opportunities elsewhere. It seems likely he’ll be limited to minor league offers, although he’d technically be eligible for another team’s postseason roster if he signs before the end of this month.

NL East Notes: Abrams, Harper, Knebel, Guillorme

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Nationals’ infielder Luis Garcia has been dealing with a sore groin and may be headed to the injured list. Manager Dave Martinez relayed this info to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, who added C.J. Abrams was pulled from the Rochester Red Wings lineup today. Dan J. Glickman of Pickin’ Splinters then relayed word from Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy that the removal of Abrams was on order of the big league club, with ESPN’s Jeff Passan later confirming that Abrams will indeed be called up.

Abrams, of course, was one of the pieces coming to Washington in the Juan Soto trade, with many considering him the centerpiece of Washington’s return in the deal. Abrams got some MLB time with the Padres this year, though the Nats initially optioned him to the minors after the trade. With Garcia’s injury, it seems like he is set to make his debut as a National, about two weeks after the trade.

Even before this injury popped up, recent reporting had suggested Abrams would take over at shortstop, with Garcia moving over to second base due to his poor defensive showing at short. Abrams should take over regular shortstop duty for now, with Garcia eventually slotting in next to him at the keystone whenever his groin heals. Currently considered the #11 prospect across the league by Baseball America, Abrams hasn’t hit much at the major league level yet, but he’s hit .310/.360/.480 in Triple-A this season. He’ll celebrate his 22nd birthday in October.

In other NL East news…

  • Phillies’ slugger Bryce Harper will take batting practice tomorrow for the first time since fracturing his thumb in June, with Matt Gelb of The Athletic relaying word from skipper Rob Thomson. Harper was dealing with torn UCL before that thumb issue, which had limited him to DH duties only. Though it was hoped the downtime from the thumb issue might lead to improvement in the elbow, that doesn’t seem to be the case, with the club just focusing on getting Harper’s bat back into the lineup for now. On that front, getting Harper back into BP is a notable step. Despite the torn UCL, Harper has hit .318/.385/.599 on the year for a wRC+ of 166. Getting him back to the Phils would obviously provide a huge boost down the stretch, as the club looks to battle its way through a tough postseason race with less than two months now remaining on the schedule.
  • While the progress of Harper is good news, the Phillies also got some bad news today. Reliever Corey Knebel left today’s game with a lat strain, the team announced to reporters, including Gelb. The severity isn’t yet known, with Knebel now slated for an MRI that will likely provide more information. The hurler has a 3.45 ERA on the season, though his 20.9% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rates both represent career worsts. Things looked much rosier earlier this month, as Knebel had a 2.59 ERA until a five-run outing on August 2. Taking that one outing away would certainly make his numbers look better, though the lack of punchouts and increased free passes are still concerning.
  • The Mets announced to reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that infielder Luis Guillorme left today’s game with left groin tightness. He will undergo imaging tomorrow. Though it’s unclear how serious the issue is, the timing is unfortunate as the Mets’ infield has been taking a beating of late. Both Eduardo Escobar and Jeff McNeil had to leave Friday’s game due to injuries, which forced the club to turn to outfield Mark Canha as an emergency third baseman. Escobar relieved Guillorme today and McNeil started the game, so it doesn’t appear terribly dire. However, the club may have to consider adding another infielder to the roster in order to build in some rest for such a banged-up group.

Nationals Notes: Abrams, Garcia, Hernandez, Franco, Corbin

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The Nationals could soon be in line for a shakeup of their infield. Top shortstop prospect C.J. Abrams was arguably the centerpiece of the six-player return for Juan Soto and Josh Bell. The Nats immediately optioned Abrams to Triple-A Rochester, but Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post writes that the club is likely to soon recall the 21-year-old to the majors.

Once Abrams makes his way to Nationals Park, he’s likely to play everyday at shortstop. Dougherty indicates the organization views Abrams as their long-term franchise shortstop, which is hardly a surprise after the club made him a key piece of such a monumental trade. The former sixth overall pick only has a .232/.285/.320 line through his first 46 big league games, but he owns an impressive .311/.366/.503 mark in his first taste of Triple-A action. Baseball America rated him as the sport’s #11 overall prospect on their latest update.

The Nats have already been turning to a young player at shortstop. Luis García has been one of the organization’s more promising prospects for years, but he’s still just 22 years old. The 6’2″ infielder has drawn praise from evaluators for his pure hitting ability. He’s hit plenty of line drives in his limited big league time, but he’s also shown an extremely aggressive approach. García carried a .290 batting average into play tonight, but he’d reached base at just a .295 clip based on a microscopic 0.9% walk rate. (That’s gone up slightly, as he did draw a free pass in tonight’s game).

The jury may still be out on García’s offensive upside, but it’s apparent he’s miscast as a shortstop. Prospect evaluators were divided on his ability to stick at the position long-term, and the results in his big league time have been ghastly. In 568 2/3 career innings at shortstop, García has rated a staggering 19 runs below average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast’s Outs Above Average has him at 17 plays below par. As Mike Petriello of MLB.com observed this afternoon (Twitter link), public defensive metrics have rated the Nationals’ shortstops as by far the worst collection of defenders in the majors this season. That’s not entirely on García — the since-released Dee Strange-Gordon and Alcides Escobar also struggled — but it’s clear the team could use a better defender to anchor the infield.

García won’t lose his spot in the starting lineup on a rebuilding team, though. Once Abrams is in the big leagues, García is likely to kick to the other side of the second base bag. He’s rated as a below-average but not quite so disastrous defender at the keystone. Still, there’s reason for Washington to challenge their young players in non-competitive seasons. That’s particularly true with the team rostering a couple of aging veterans who are playing out the final few months of one-year contracts.

Second baseman César Hernández and third baseman Maikel Franco have each played the majority of games this season, but neither has performed well. Hernández owns a .241/.305/.306 line through 476 plate appearances. The switch-hitting infielder has incredibly not connected on a single home run all season after popping a career-high 21 longballs last year. Franco has only a .228/.255/.337 showing in 373 trips to the plate. Among players with 300+ plate appearances, only Tigers second baseman Jonathan Schoop has a lower on-base percentage (.240) than Franco’s .255.

Clearly, neither player is going to be a key piece of the rebuild. The club’s hope of cashing either in for future value at the trade deadline has come and gone, with both struggling so badly there was no real interest from contenders. With that in mind, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com wonders whether Hernández and Franco will even hold their roster spots for the rest of the 2022 season. Zuckerman notes that Franco may be in better position to remain in the lineup. While Abrams’ arrival should push Hernández out of the starting lineup, journeyman Ildemaro Vargas stands as Franco’s biggest competitor for reps at the hot corner with Carter Kieboom out for the season.

Hernández and Franco aren’t the only struggling veterans on a club that’s 39 games under .500. Southpaw Patrick Corbin has been one of the sport’s least effective starters. After allowing six runs and failing to make it out of the first inning in a start against the Phillies on Saturday, Corbin carries a 7.02 ERA through 110 1/3 innings. That’s easily a personal worst, but Corbin has been well below-average for three straight years after an excellent first season in Washington. Since the beginning of 2020, he owns a 5.98 ERA through 65 starts.

Manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Andrew Golden of the Washington Post) that the club will take advantage of a team off-day on Thursday to skip Corbin’s next turn through the rotation. That’s a temporary measure designed to afford the left-hander more time to work with pitching coach Jim Hickey, and the club is apparently not considering permanently removing Corbin from the starting five. “I want to leave this year with a positive moving forward to next year because, regardless of what anyone thinks, he’s going to be one of our starters next year and the year after that,” Martinez said of Corbin.

The 33-year-old is under contract for two seasons beyond this one. He’s due around $24MM next season and will make a bit more than $35MM come 2024. Given Corbin’s struggles, it’s hard to envision the Nationals getting out from under any of that money. With Washington likely to be rebuilding over the next two seasons anyhow, the club can live with some struggles from Corbin as he picks up innings as part of an uncertain rotation.

NL Notes: Knebel, Phillies, Cain, Garcia

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Recently-minted Phillies manager Rob Thomson told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia today that Corey Knebel is out as the team’s closer, for the time being. Signed to a one-year $10MM deal this past offseason, Knebel hasn’t demonstrated the same sharpness he did in last year’s campaign with the Dodgers. While this season’s 3.24 ERA through 25 innings is plenty respectable, his 20.7% strikeout rate is far from his career average while his 14.4% walk rate ranks amongst the worst in the league. Knebel’s four blown saves also stand as the highest mark in the league at the moment.

After a messy May, the Phillies have surged with an 11-2 record thus far in June, bringing their season record above .500 to 32-31. Despite the recent hot stretch, the Phillies remain eight and a half games back of the first place Mets in their division and three and a half games back of the last NL wild card spot. A closer-by-committee approach figures to help the team stay in their groove, with Seranthony Dominguez and Brad Hand representing steadier options than Knebel thus far.

Some other Wednesday items from the Senior Circuit…

  • After optioning Mickey Moniak on Tuesday, the Phillies appear set to roll with a platoon of Matt Vierling and Odúbel Herrera in center field. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb speculates how the team may upgrade that arrangement given the feeble production from the first two players thus far, plus the questions that have plagued Herrera dating back to his 2019 suspension. Gelb lists Michael A. Taylor, Ramón Laureano, and Victor Robles as realistic trade targets for the club should they seek to plug a defense-first option between corner outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. The center field platoon’s production will be worth monitoring through the summer, as the Phillies have holes in the infield and bullpen as well but may not possess enough financial or prospect capital to address all three areas.
  • One center fielder who isn’t an option for the Phillies, or perhaps for any team much longer, is Lorenzo Cain. Speaking with Andy McCullough of The Athletic, the 36-year-old Brewer acknowledged the likelihood that this season may very well be his last in the major leagues. The two-time All-Star remains a strong defensive player and as affable a clubhouse personality as any, but admits to difficulties in elevating his offense at the ten-year mark of his career. To that end, a .168/.223/.226 showing through 41 games has already begun to cost him some playing time this season. For now though, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns remains in Cain’s corner, citing Cain’s defense and contributions to four straight years of playoff baseball in Milwaukee as reasons to exhibit patience.
  • Nationals manager Dave Martinez has an update on another 2015 World Series champ, stating that Opening Day shortstop Alcides Escobar will return in a utility role when he completes his current rehab assignment. 22-year-old Luis García will be given some leash at the position after his hot start to the year at the Triple-A (.899 OPS in 42 games) and Major League (.829 OPS in 13 games) levels. Neither player profiles as a defensively elite shortstop at this point in their careers, so Escobar’s current OPS of .552 figures to cut into the playing time of other slow-starting veterans’ around the infield (Maikel Franco, .669 OPS; Cesar Hernandez, .646 OPS) over the youngster looking to establish himself.

Nationals Promote Luis Garcia

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The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled infielder Luis Garcia from Triple-A Rochester and placed shortstop Alcides Escobar on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring. Manager Dave Martinez tells reporters that Garcia will be the everyday shortstop moving forward (Twitter link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Washington also optioned righty Francisco Perez to Rochester and recalled southpaw Evan Lee from Double-A Harrisburg for what will be his Major League debut. Talk Nats first reported that both Garcia and Lee were headed to the big leagues (Twitter links).

Garcia, who turned 22 last month, has too much big league experience under his belt to technically qualify as a “prospect” anymore, but he’s still a key young player whom the organization hopes to install as a core player. Signed as a 16-year-old amateur back in 2016, Garcia was in the big leagues by 20 years of age and has already accumulated 386 Major League plate appearances, albeit with an underwhelming .254/.285/.395 slash line to show for it.

However, Garcia was a consensus top-100 prospect heading into both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and his work so far in Triple-A illustrates the reason evaluators have been so bullish on the young middle infielder. Through his first 42 games (193 plate appearances), Garcia is hitting .314/.368/.531 with eight home runs, six doubles, four triples and a stolen base. His 17.6% strikeout rate is well below the current average, and he’s drawn walks at a respectable 8.3% clip as well.

It’s the second straight season of huge Triple-A production for Garcia, who hit .303/.371/.599 in 159 Triple-A plate appearances a year ago. That didn’t translate into big league success when he tallied 70 games in 2021, but he’d hardly be the player to struggle in the Majors at such a young age before piecing it together as he continues to develop.

It’s easy to argue that the Nationals should’ve had Garcia in the Majors awhile ago. Escobar, one of several veteran minor league signees on whom the Nats have relied in the infield this year, hit just .220/.264/.288 prior to his IL placement. Maikel Franco is fourth on the team in plate appearances despite a .258/.284/.376 output, though the magnitude of his role is due in no small part to Carter Kieboom’s Tommy John surgery. Dee Strange-Gordon has managed a .315/.315/.370 output in 54 trips to the plate, but his most recent productive MLB season came back in 2017.

Whether this was the plan or not, it’s worth pointing out that enough time has passed that Garcia can no longer reach two full years of Major League service time this year. He entered the 2022 campaign with one year and 37 days of service time, meaning he needed 135 days on the active roster or Major League injured list to reach two full years. As of today, there are 126 days remaining on the regular-season calendar. Had Garcia reached two years of service in 2022, he could have potentially been eligible for free agency after the 2026 season. The earliest he can reach the open market now is post-2027.

Of course, all of that is dependent on whether Garcia is able to solidify himself at the Major League level, which he has thus far been unable to do despite multiple auditions. Had the Nats truly been concerned about his free-agent trajectory, they probably wouldn’t have fast-tracked him to the big leagues and let him accrue a full year of service before he even turned 22.

As for the 24-year-old Lee, he’ll be tabbed to start this afternoon’s game against the division-leading Mets. He’s had a nice start in Harrisburg this year, pitching to a 3.60 ERA with a strong 29.4% strikeout rate but a more problematic 11.9% walk rate. MLB.com ranks Lee 17th among Nats farmhands, while Baseball America lists him 20th in the system. Both scouting reports on Lee praise his low-90s heater and a potentially plus curveball while noting that his lack of a third strong offering creates some risk that he’ll eventually land in the bullpen. Lee was a two-way player at the University of Arkansas and is thus still relatively new to full-time pitching, so there’s perhaps a bit more room for development than one would expect out of most soon-to-be 25-year-old pitchers.

Nationals To Promote Joan Adon

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October 3: The Nationals have announced the recall of Adon, with Luis Garcia going on the IL with a strained oblique muscle as the corresponding move.

October 2: The Nationals will promote right-hander Joan Adon prior to tomorrow’s game, manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post) tonight.  Adon will make his MLB debut starting Washington’s final game of the season.  The 23-year-old Adon is already on the Nats’ 40-man roster, added last November in advance of the Rule 5 draft.

While it might not be a long outing for Adon, he’ll at least get a cup of coffee in The Show to cap off his fourth professional season.  An amateur signing out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016, Adon hadn’t even pitched at high-A ball prior to 2021, but advanced up the ladder with over 105 combined innings at the high-A (87 IP), Double-A (14 IP), and Triple-A (four IP).  Adon has a 26.9% strikeout rate and 8.81% walk rate during his 2021 season, and those decent numbers have translated only to a cumulative 4.97 ERA.

MLB Pipeline rates Adon as the 22nd-best prospect in Washington’s farm system, citing his 60-grade fastball with mid-90s velocity.  Though Adon has worked only as a starting pitcher in 2021, Pipeline’s scouting report feels his future as a starter or as a reliever will depend on whether or not Adon can get consistent success with at least one other secondary pitch.

Nationals Select Gerardo Parra, Designate Ben Braymer

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The Nationals have selected the contract of outfielder Gerardo Parra from Triple-A.  Parra will take the active roster spot of infielder Luis Garcia, who was optioned to Triple-A after last night’s game.  Left-hander Ben Braymer was designated for assignment to open up 40-man roster space.

After playing in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants in 2020, Parra made his return to Washington by signing a minor league deal with the Nats in the offseason.  The 34-year-old will now officially return to the big leagues and receive a salute from D.C. fans for his contributions to the Nationals’ 2019 World Series championship club.  After originally joining the Nats on a free agent deal in May 2019, Parra’s clubhouse leadership was praised as a key factor in the team’s midseason turnaround, and he quickly became a fan favorite for his choice of “Baby Shark” as his walk-up music.

In terms of on-field production, Parra hit .250/.300/.447 over 204 plate appearances for Washington in 2019, but it has been a while since he has provided even average offensive numbers.  Since the start of the 2016 season, Parra has hit .273/.315/.404 with 32 homers in 1150 PA for an 80 OPS+, and he batted a modest .267/.305/.384 for the Yomiuri Giants last season.  With Andrew Stevenson recovering from a strained oblique, however, the Nats were in need of outfield depth, so Parra got the call from the minors.

Braymer posted a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 innings for the Nationals last season, which represents the only MLB experience of his six-year professional career.  An 18th-round pick for Washington in the 2016 draft, Braymer posted some solid numbers as a starting pitcher until he hit Triple-A, as he has a 7.06 ERA over 88 innings at the top minor league level.  It wouldn’t be out of the question if another team claimed Braymer off waivers to see if they could get him back on track, or perhaps even just give him a look as a relief pitcher.

Nationals Place Starlin Castro On Restricted List, Call Up Luis Garcia

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12:42PM: Castro went on the restricted list because he is “dealing with a family matter which requires his immediate attention,” a source tells Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.

11:23AM: The Nationals announced that infielder Starlin Castro has been placed on the restricted list.  Infielder Luis Garcia has been called up from Triple-A to take Castro’s spot on the 26-man roster.

No further details were released about Castro’s situation, though he didn’t play in last night’s game against the Pirates.  After his debut season with the Nats in 2020 was cut short by a broken wrist, Castro has struggled to a .239/.287/.312 slash line over 254 plate appearances this season.  Castro’s .266 wOBA is one of the lowest in the league and his .296 xwOBA isn’t much better, as the veteran isn’t making much hard contact whatsoever.

Castro has played almost every inning at third base for Washington this season, so depending on how long he is absent, the Nats will have a major hole to fill in their lineup.  Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison, or Garcia could all get some playing time at the hot corner while Castro is gone.  Garcia hasn’t hit much over 152 career PA in the big leagues, but the former top-100 prospect has been swinging the bat well at Triple-A Rochester this season, hitting .270/.336/.478 with seven homers in 128 PA.

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