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Nationals Add Robert Hassell III, Andry Lara To 40-Man Roster

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The Nationals announced that they have added outfielder Robert Hassell III and right-hander Andry Lara to their 40-man roster. Both players are now protected from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, with the deadline for such moves coming at 5pm Central today. Washington’s 40-man roster count climbs to 38.

Hassell, now 23, was one of six players who went from the Padres to the Nationals in the Juan Soto blockbuster. At the time, Hassell was considered one of the top 100 prospects in the league, having been selected eighth overall in 2020 and then performing well in the lower levels of the minors.

His stock has fallen since the trade thanks to some uneven results as he has battled wrist injuries. He spent most of 2023 in Double-A, getting into 106 games at that level. His 10.9% walk rate was solid but he also struck out at a huge 31.9% clip. He produced a line of .225/.316/.324 for a wRC+ of 81. In 2024, he got into 85 games across multiple levels, lowering his strikeout rate to just 21% but his .241/.319/.328 batting line wasn’t much of an improvement.

However, he is just coming off a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League. He got 100 plate appearances there across 22 games, hitting .281/.360/.517 in those. It’s a small sample but an encouraging sign nonetheless.

Though Hassell isn’t really considered a top 100 guy anymore, it’s possible that overcoming his wrist injuries could get him back on track going forward. The Nats clearly didn’t want him to get plucked away by another club, so he’s been added to the roster today to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

The Nats have Dylan Crews, James Wood and Jacob Young as their likely outfield trio at the moment but Hassell will give them some optionable depth. If he performs well enough to earn his major league debut, perhaps Young could be pushed into a fourth outfielder role, though the designated hitter slot is also fairly open at the moment. That could allow enough room in the lineup for everyone but that will naturally depend on what moves the club makes in the remainder of the offseason.

Lara, 22 in January, was an amateur signing out of Venezuela who just wrapped up a breakout season in the minors. From 2021 to 2023, he posted a 4.97 earned run average across various minor league levels with a 20.8% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. This past year, he made 25 starts between High-A and Double-A with a 3.34 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.

The Nats gave him a roster spot today to keep him away from other clubs. He will presumably get a bump to Triple-A at some point in 2025 and give the club some optionable starting depth. The club’s projected rotation is fairly lacking in experience, as none of MacKenzie Gore, Cade Cavalli, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, DJ Herz or Jackson Rutledge has reached 400 major league innings pitched yet. Gore and Irvin are the only two of that group with more than 151 frames.

The Nats could bolster that squad by signing or trading for a veteran this winter, but if any of those in-house guys struggle or get injured, Lara will be around and battling for a shot to make his major league debut.

D’Backs, Nationals, Yankees Among Teams Interested In Christian Walker

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“At least six teams…plan to aggressively pursue” free agent first baseman Christian Walker, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, adding that the Yankees, Nationals, and Diamondbacks are some of the teams involved in the hunt.  The Mets are mentioned as perhaps more of a peripheral suitor, as Nightengale speculates that the Mets could chase Walker if Pete Alonso isn’t re-signed.

Ranked 13th on MLBTR’s list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, Walker is projected for a three-year, $60MM deal, with the shorter-term nature of that contract reflecting the fact that Walker will be 34 on Opening Day.  Even as he gets deeper into his 30’s, however, Walker hasn’t shown much sign of slowing down.  Over the last three seasons, the first baseman has hit .250/.332/.481 with 95 home runs over 1880 plate appearances with Arizona, which works out to a solid 120 wRC+.  On top of that offense comes standout defense, as Walker has won the last three NL Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible awards in 2022-23 for his superb work at first base.

Because Walker will likely be getting a relatively short contract, any number of teams could conceivably be in the market for his services beyond just the usual big spenders.  This could help the Diamondbacks (who have roughly $157.5MM already on the books for 2025) stay in the bidding, and one would imagine Arizona might have some extra advantage since Walker has stated that he has enjoyed his time with the D’Backs.  Since Walker was issued a qualifying offer that he is sure to reject, a new team would have to give up draft picks and possibly international bonus pool money to sign him, whereas the Diamondbacks would face no penalty for re-signing their own free agent.

Retaining Walker would immediately patch a big hole in an Arizona lineup that could also be losing Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk in free agency.  Pavin Smith hit well in 2024 and might be an interesting backup plan (in at least a platoon capacity) at first base if Walker left, though in the event that Walker returned, the D’Backs could then more comfortably view Smith a replacement for Pederson’s left-handed bat.

The Yankees also have a clear need at first base since Anthony Rizzo isn’t expected to be re-signed, and DJ LeMahieu has been in sharp decline over the last two seasons.  Walker would bring more pop into New York’s lineup, and shore up the infield defense that suddenly became an issue during the World Series.  (For what it’s worth, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald both predicted Walker would sign with the Yankees within the top 50 list’s projections.)

Signing a QO-rejecting free agent comes at a particularly stiff price for the Yankees, as since they exceeded the luxury tax threshold, they’d have to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus money.  This isn’t necessarily a roadblock for New York if the club particularly likes what Walker can offer, and the Yankees might have an edge of their own on the qualifying offer front since they wouldn’t have to give up picks to re-sign Juan Soto.  It has been speculated that the Yankees might turn to Alonso as the backup plan if Soto goes elsewhere, yet even in that scenario, New York might still prefer Walker due to the lower price tag and greater all-around value, as Alonso is only a passable defender.

Washington is perhaps the most interesting of the three known suitors, as unlike the D’Backs and Yankees, it has been a while since the Nats were in contention.  The club’s rebuild process has brought some very interesting younger building blocks (James Wood, CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, MacKenzie Gore, Luis Garcia Jr., etc.) to the District, and with Wood and Crews now in the majors, there have been rumblings that the Nats are ready to turn the corner back towards contention.  Signing Walker would have some echos of the Nationals’ signing of Jayson Werth during the 2010-11 offseason, as that big-ticket addition signaled that the Nats were going to start competing after years of rebuilding.

President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has openly stated that the Nationals are looking for more pop in the middle of the lineup, and first base is the logical position for such an upgrade.  Washington received a cumulative 0.3 bWAR from their first basemen in 2024, and the club has already started clearing space at the position by parting ways with Joey Gallo and Joey Meneses.

Since the Nationals weren’t luxury tax payors and don’t receive revenue sharing, they face the mid-range penalty for signing a qualified free agent — their second-highest 2025 draft pick and $500K in international pool money.  The overall payroll impact for Walker can be easily absorbed since Washington has only Keibert Ruiz’s contract on the books, in addition to the two remaining years’ worth of salary still owed to Stephen Strasburg.

Mets Owner Steve Cohen To Meet With Juan Soto, Scott Boras Next Week

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The Mets have been expected to line up as one of Juan Soto’s primary suitors all winter, and after reaching out to agent Scott Boras on day one of the offseason, owner Steve Cohen is now set for an in-person visit with Soto and his agent in Southern California next week, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Of course, the Boras Corporation also represents key free agents like Pete Alonso, Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman, Blake Snell, Sean Manaea, Yusei Kikuchi and Ha-Seong Kim. Whether Cohen and Boras will discuss any of those names — and whether any of those players will drop in for a sit-down with Cohen as well — remains unclear.

Little needs to be said about the potential fit for Soto in Queens. He’s among the game’s very best players and, as a free agent who’ll play next season at 26, he’s arguably the most coveted free agent since Alex Rodriguez reached the open market at the same age back in 2000. One could argue Shohei Ohtani as well, of course, but Ohtani hit the market at 29 and in the aftermath of an elbow surgery that would keep him off the mound or a full season.

The Mets, meanwhile, have one departing free agent outfielder (center fielder Harrison Bader), another who’s a free agent after next season (Starling Marte) and more than $100MM in free agent salaries coming off the books. Even with a full outfield, the Mets would likely be making a strong push for Soto. No team in MLB has a larger gap between their projected 2025 payroll and their 2024 payroll levels, nor does any team have a larger gap between their projected 2025 payroll and their all-time franchise-record payroll. Beyond that, Cohen is widely known as the wealthiest owner in the league. He’s a lifelong Mets fan who purchased the club as something of a passion project, and he immediately showed a willingness to put forth some of the largest payrolls of any team in major league history. The newly implemented fourth tier of luxury penalization is often colloquially referred to as the “Cohen tax.”

All that said, while an in-person meeting between the two parties is clearly of some significance, it’s not any indicator that there’s major traction toward a deal. Soto has heard from more than a third of the league, with even small-market clubs like the Rays reportedly doing their due diligence. It stands to reason that any club with serious interest is going to have an ownership meeting with Soto and Boras.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner reportedly had a private meeting with Soto over the summer. The Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays Nationals and others have all been mentioned as potential landing spots. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com paints a reunion between Soto and his original organization as something of a long shot, but the Nats will presumably at least be on the periphery. Soto is such an uncommon free agent archetype that teams who’d normally never play for a free agent of this caliber could well throw their proverbial hats into the ring. A quick and decisive free agent process that’s resolved in mid-November feels quite unlikely.

For the Mets, Yankees and other serious bidders, however, getting an early feel for the market will be paramount. So much of any team’s offseason budget would be allocated to a Soto signing that his landing place — regardless of where it is — will have an immediate ripple effect on where those offseason dollars are spent. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if other owners, presidents of baseball operations, general managers, etc. traveled to meet with Soto and Boras in the next week or two, as the Boras Corporation feels out the early stages of interest and sets expectations for what most onlookers expect to be a historic contract — one that could set new standards in terms of net present value and average annual value (when factoring in for the deferrals on Ohtani’s contract).

And, as far as comparing Soto’s free agency to that of Ohtani, Boras unsurprisingly dismissed any such comparisons at this week’s GM Meetings and sought to put Soto in a tier unto himself. Via Puma, Boras had this to say about the comparison:

“I don’t think Ohtani has much to do with Juan Soto at all. It’s not something we discuss or consider. Juan Soto is in an age category that separates him from all. So comparability is not when you do these things for these young players.”

Rays Among Teams To Have Reached Out To Soto

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The Rays are among the teams that have reached out to Juan Soto’s camp since the opening of free agency last week, writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman lists a much less surprising additional six teams that have shown interest: the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays and Red Sox.

The mere mention of the Rays as a possible Soto suitor is going to be met with plenty of skepticism. It’d be a shock if they made a legitimate push for the market’s top free agent. The Rays have tried to land an elite free agent at least once before, as they reportedly made an offer in the $150MM range to Freddie Freeman before he signed with the Dodgers. That wasn’t too far off the price Freeman ultimately landed, but any offers to Soto would be in a different stratosphere. He should handily top $500MM and could secure a contract between $600MM and $700MM.

While it’s fair to assume the Rays themselves aren’t optimistic about their chances, this is illustrative that they have some money to at least dabble in the middle of free agency. The Rays opened this past season with a payroll around $98MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. They’ve got a little less than $40MM in guaranteed commitments for next year (assuming Wander Franco remains on the restricted list and is not paid). Their arbitration class is projected around $25MM, though they could knock that to the $15MM range with a few non-tenders. Trades of Brandon Lowe or Yandy Díaz would subtract another $10.5MM or $10MM, respectively.

None of that is to say they should be perceived as a realistic threat to the big-market teams on Soto. They’ll probably be more active in free agency than many fans might expect given their general spending habits, though. Another mid-tier strike akin to the $40MM Zach Eflin deal from two offseasons ago could be on the table. Any free agent pursuits are complicated by their uncertain stadium situation after Tropicana Field was severely damaged by Hurricane Milton.

The other teams known to have some interest in Soto are all expected. The Yankees and Mets are widely perceived as the favorites. The Dodgers are at least tied to virtually every free agent of note. The news that Mookie Betts is likely moving back to the middle infield is going to fuel speculation about L.A. making a run at Soto. Giants baseball operations president Buster Posey has spoken about wanting to land a star. The Blue Jays were in the running for Shohei Ohtani last winter. The Red Sox have indicated they could be more active in free agency than they’ve been over the past few winters, although a splash in the rotation market seems much likelier than them landing Soto.

The New York Post reported last week that 11 teams had been in contact with Soto’s reps at the Boras Corporation on the first day of the offseason. That leaves at least four unknown clubs, though Heyman casts some doubt on the Nationals and Cubs as possibilities. Heyman suggests that Washington is unlikely to spend at the level necessary to bring Soto back. He writes that Chicago’s offseason plans are more geared towards pitching at the moment.

Soto’s free agency should carry for multiple weeks. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote this afternoon that the four-time All-Star plans to have an in-person meeting with the ownership group of each team making a serious pursuit.

Joey Meneses, Ildemaro Vargas, Michael Rucker Elect Free Agency After Nationals’ Outrights

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The Nationals announced that first baseman Joey Meneses, utilityman Ildemaro Vargas, and right-hander Michael Rucker are all free agents after clearing waivers and being outrighted off Washington’s 40-man roster.  Meneses was eligible for minor league free agency, while Vargas (due to service time) and Rucker (a past outright assignment) were each eligible to elect free agency and chose to exercise that right.  The moves clear some space on the Nationals’ roster for Josiah Gray, Cade Cavalli, Mason Thompson, and Joan Adon, who were all reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Vargas was projected for a $1.8MM salary in his third and final year of arbitration eligibility, and with a non-tender likely looming, Vargas will now get an early start on the free agent market.  The 33-year-old Vargas signed a minor league deal with Washington midway through the 2022 season and ended up hitting .257/.302/.354 over 785 plate appearances and 234 games in a Nats uniform.  Most of Vargas’ playing time came at third base, but he spent a substantial amount of time at both middle infield positions and also chipped in for a few games as a first baseman, corner outfielder, and even a mop-up pitcher in blowouts.

Meneses also broke in with the Nationals (and in MLB in general) during the 2022 season, as he stepped in as Washington’s regular first baseman once Josh Bell was traded to the Padres as part of the Juan Soto deal.  After bouncing around the minors and playing in Mexico and Japan during his long pro career, Meneses made the most of his big league debut by hitting .324/.367/.563 with 13 homers over 240 PA during the remainder of the 2022 campaign.

The magic of that unexpected breakout didn’t last, however, as Meneses had an unspectacular .275/.321/.401 slash line in 657 PA in 2023 as the Nationals’ regular DH.  This translated to a sub-replacement level -0.2 fWAR, and the number sunk to -1.0 fWAR when Meneses hit only .231/.291/.302 in 313 PA this season.  Juan Yepez and rookie Andres Chaparro look to be covering Washington’s first base situation for now, though the Nats are expected to make a play for a bigger-hitting first baseman this offseason.

Rucker’s run in the Nationals’ organization was brief, as he was only selected off waivers from the Phillies in September and he didn’t see any big league action.  Rucker hasn’t pitched in the Show since 2023, and he was limited to 30 2/3 minor league innings with Philadelphia and Washington in 2024 due to a lengthy IL stint because of an arterial vasospasm in his pitching hand.

All of Rucker’s MLB experience came with the Cubs from 2021-23, when he posted a 4.96 ERA in 123 1/3 innings out of Chicago’s bullpen.  The home run ball gave Rucker a lot of issues, though his career 3.94 SIERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, and 9.4% walk rate are all palatable.  Assuming that Rucker is now fully healthy, he’ll likely land a minor league deal with a team in need of pitching depth.

Orioles Claim Rene Pinto, Thaddeus Ward

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The Orioles have made a few tweaks at the back of the roster to start the offseason. Baltimore announced a pair of waiver claims: catcher Rene Pinto from the division rival Rays and right-hander Thaddeus Ward from the Nationals. Baltimore also sent veteran reliever Matt Bowman through outright waivers; he elected free agency. Finally, the O’s selected the contract of lefty reliever Luis González. That series of moves leaves them with 37 players on the 40-man roster.

Pinto opened this past season as Tampa Bay’s starting catcher. It didn’t take long before he lost that job. He only made 19 appearances before being optioned to Triple-A Durham. Pinto spent the bulk of the year in the minors and slumped to a .191/.257/.373 line over 230 trips to the plate. His broader minor league track record is quite a bit better. The Venezuelan-born backstop is a .253/.303/.487 hitter in his Triple-A career. He owns a .231/.263/.404 slash in 237 plate appearances against big league pitching. He joins Blake Hunt on the 40-man roster as options to back up Adley Rutschman, though an external acquisition still seems likely.

Ward, 27, pitched in 26 games for the Nats last year. Washington took him out of the Boston system in the Rule 5 draft. Like many Rule 5 picks, he struggled in his debut campaign. The UCF product posted a 6.37 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. Washington kept him on optional assignment to Triple-A for the entire ’24 season. Ward started 28 games but allowed a 5.64 ERA over 119 2/3 frames. He walked an untenable 17% of batters faced.

Bowman bounced around the league via waivers before finishing the year in Baltimore. The sinkerballer posted a 4.40 earned run average through 30 2/3 innings between four teams. He had a strong year in Triple-A and should have no trouble landing another minor league deal this winter.

As for González, he earns a long-awaited selection to a 40-man roster. He turns 33 in January and has yet to pitch in the majors. The Dominican Republic native has pitched in Japan, Mexico and even Italy during his winding career arc. He worked his way to the Orioles on a minor league deal and tossed 60 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with Triple-A Norfolk this past season. González punched out nearly 29% of batters faced while walking fewer than 5% of opponents.

Those underlying numbers evidently impressed the Baltimore front office. Rather than allow González to hit minor league free agency, they’ll give him a spot on the 40-man for now. If he holds that all winter, there’s a good chance he’ll make his major league debut next year.

Nationals Decline Their Side Of Joey Gallo’s Mutual Option

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The Nationals announced that they declined their end of Joey Gallo’s $8MM mutual option for the 2025 season.  Gallo will instead receive a $2.5MM buyout as he heads into free agency for the third consecutive winter.  Last offseason, Gallo signed a one-year deal with Washington worth $5MM in guaranteed money, broken down as a $2.5MM salary and then at least $2.5MM via the buyout.

The rebuilding Nats have made a habit of signing veterans to short-term deals and then looking to flip them at the trade deadline, though multiple injuries and Gallo’s overall struggles scuttled any trade value.  Gallo hit only .161/.277/.336 with 10 home runs over 260 plate appearances, translating to a 76 wRC+ and a below-replacement value of -0.2 fWAR.

Gallo’s 12.3% walk rate and 13.1% barrel rate were still solid in comparison to the rest of the league, if well below his career averages (14.6BB%, 19.6% barrel rate).  His 39.2% strikeout rate was slightly higher than his career average, yet the third aspect of Gallo’s “three true outcomes” approach failed him greatly.  Gallo’s .175 Isolated Power number was his lowest in any full season.

On the health front, Gallo missed about three weeks due to an AC sprain in his left shoulder, and then over two months due to a hamstring strain.  It might be fair to chalk up Gallo’s shaky production to these injuries, though his overall performance has been very up-and-down over the last five seasons, evening out to almost a perfectly average 99 wRC+ in his last 1844 plate appearances.

This inconsistency has led to Gallo playing for five different teams in the last four years, going from the Rangers to the Yankees to the Dodgers in trades, and then to free agent deals with the Twins and Nationals.  He might have to settle for a minor league contract in the wake of his rough 2024 campaign, though Gallo should still draw some attention based on his past track record.  Gallo is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons but is still only just a few weeks away from his 31st birthday.

Gallo primarily served as the left-handed side of the Nationals’ first base platoon, with a few appearances in both corner outfield slots and at DH.  It was no surprise that Washington would be passing on Gallo’s mutual option, as it is widely assume that the Nats will be looking for a big upgrade at first base this winter.  This could manifest itself as a full-time regular, or perhaps another left-handed bat to split time with Juan Yepez.

Daniel Hudson Announces Retirement

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Following the Dodgers’ decisive victory over the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series last night, veteran reliever Daniel Hudson announced to reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he will retire from playing as a champion. The veteran of 15 big league seasons has played for the Dodgers, Padres, Nationals, Blue Jays, Pirates, Diamondbacks, and White Sox throughout his lengthy career.

Hudson, 37, was selected by Chicago in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. Then a starting pitcher, the right-hander was a fast riser to the majors who made his big league debut just one year after being drafted, in 2009. He made just nine appearances for the team that drafted him across two seasons before being shipped to the Diamondbacks in a deal for Edwin Jackson. Hudson slotted into the Diamondbacks rotation down the stretch and put on a dazzling performance for fans in Arizona, with a 1.69 ERA and 3.22 FIP in 11 starts spread across 79 2/3 innings of work.

That dominant late-season performance suggested the Snakes had landed a quality starter ready for a full season’s workload in the majors. The right-hander’s first full season with the Dbacks seemed to support that, as he posted a solid 3.49 ERA while logging 222 innings across 33 starts for the club in 2011. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse from there. Hudson’s 2012 season saw him post disastrous results through nine starts before going under the knife for Tommy John surgery that July. He’d miss the entire 2013 season while rehabbing and made it back to a big league mound only at the tail end of the 2014 season.

Hudson’s elbow troubles marked the end of his career as a starter, but his time in the majors was just getting started as he began to fashion himself into a reliever. His first season out of the bullpen in Arizona was relatively pedestrian, as the then-28-year-old pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 67 2/3 innings of work while striking out 24.5% of opponents. It was more of the same for the right-hander over the next several years, as he bounced from team to team as a solid but unspectacular middle reliever. From 2015 to 2018, Hudson suited up for Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles with rather pedestrian results. His 96 ERA+ was just below league average during that time, and he struck out 23.3% of opponents.

Things changed for Hudson in 2019, however. After latching on with the Blue Jays on a one-year deal, Hudson looked quite good for the rebuilding club in the first half of the season as he posted a solid 3.00 ERA in 48 innings of work. That solid performance was enough to draw interest from the Nationals, who at the time were in a tight race with the Phillies, Brewers, and Cubs for two NL Wild Card spots. The bullpen had been a sore spot for D.C. throughout the year, but Hudson helped to change that with a dominant late-season run that saw him post an eye-popping 1.44 ERA in 24 late-season innings for the Nationals.

That incredible work led Hudson to join closer Sean Doolittle as one of only a handful of trusted pitchers on Dave Martinez’s staff during the postseason. Hudson managed scoreless appearances in seven of his nine outings for the Nationals during that playoff run, highlighted by his save in the NL Wild Card Game against the Brewers to and his scoreless frame of work to close out Game 7 of the World Series and earn the Nats their first World Series championship in club history. After securing his first ring, Hudson remained with the Nationals for two more seasons. After a difficult 2020 campaign, he pitched well enough during the 2021 season to get traded to the Padres down the stretch, though San Diego ultimately missed the postseason.

The final act of Hudson’s career began in 2022 when he signed on to return to the Dodgers. During his second stint in Los Angeles, Hudson was nothing short of electric when on the mound, with a 2.69 ERA a 26.9% strikeout rate when healthy enough to take the mound. Staying healthy proved to be a challenge, however, as ACL and MCL injuries limited the veteran to just 27 1/3 innings of work over the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. He remained with the Dodgers on a minor league deal last winter, however, and was part of the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Now that he was finally healthy, the 37-year-old impressed with a 3.00 ERA in 63 innings of work while collecting ten saves with the Dodgers throughout the year. While a difficult outing in Game 4 of the World Series skewed his overall postseason numbers, Hudson was a generally effective relief arm for the club throughout their playoff run this year, throwing scoreless frames in five of his seven outings en route to his second career championship.

Altogether, Hudson posted a 3.74 ERA (111 ERA+) and a nearly-matching 3.76 FIP over 855 1/3 career innings during the regular season (to go with 21 postseason innings). He won 65 games and saved 43 while striking out 817 batters and appearing in 537 total contests. Those of us at MLB Trade Rumors salute Hudson on a fine career and wish him all the best in whatever comes next for the two-time World Series champion.

Nationals Asked About Jackson Merrill During 2022 Juan Soto Trade Talks

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As the Padres and Nationals were negotiating the blockbuster Juan Soto trade in advance of the 2022 trade deadline, the Nats were able to obtain such top-tier young talents as CJ Abrams, James Wood, and MacKenzie Gore as part of the six-player trade package.  One player Washington didn’t land was Jackson Merrill, though Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Nationals asked about Merrill as part of the trade talks.

As the Padres and Nationals were negotiating the blockbuster Juan Soto trade in advance of the 2022 trade deadline, the Nats were able to obtain such top-tier young talents as CJ Abrams, James Wood, and MacKenzie Gore as part of the six-player trade package.  One player Washington didn’t land was Jackson Merrill, though Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Nationals asked about Merrill as part of the trade talks.

Though Merrill was the 27th overall pick of the 2021 draft, his prospect stock didn’t really start to take off until he started to post big numbers for the Padres’ rookie league and A-ball affiliates during the 2022 season.  In fact, injuries limited Merrill to only 25 games in 2022 at the time of the Soto trade, so the Nationals weren’t working off a lot of scouting information when they checked into Merrill’s possible availability.  Though the Friars gave up a lot to bring Soto to San Diego, it looks like they made a canny move in keeping Merrill, as his tremendous rookie season helped lead the Padres to the NLDS this season.  Merrill hit .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs over 593 plate appearances, and (even more remarkably) played strong defense as San Diego’s everyday center fielder despite never before playing center during his pro career.

Yepez Favored For Nats' First Base/DH Roster Battle?

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  • Juan Yepez, Joey Meneses, and Andres Chaparro are all right-handed hitting first basemen who are possibly best suited to DH duty, and these similarities make it unlikely that all three are on the Nationals’ roster next season.  Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com thinks Yepez probably has the best chance of the trio, as Yepez hit a solid .283/.335/.429 over 249 plate appearances for Washington in 2024 and had particularly good splits against left-handed pitching.  That might be enough to make the difference in deciding possible platoon or part-time roles for next year’s club.
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