Former Nats Greats - #22

It's been a while, so welcome back here to the Hall of Former Nats Greats. A place where we celebrate all that defines the Nats past, those players who (mostly) failed in such a great fashion they were never heard from again except from within the walls of this Hallowed Blog. Today's edition has one of the most-fun names ever to appear in a Nats Uniform, and actually had surprisingly good numbers.

Today we would like to take the time to honor...

Jonathan Albaladejo!

C'mon, you know you can hear Bob Carpenter trying to pronounce this name in his "Spanish" accent. Anyway...

Have you ever seen that show on HGTV, Flip This House? No? Well, uhh, neither have I... Moving on... The premise of that show is that you take a house that is run down, fix it up, and sell it for profit.

Jonathan Albaladejo is Flip This House.

He was Drafted in 2001 by the Pirates, and released 6 years later, and it was barely a week later that the Nats were able to sign the big Right-Hander for to a minor league deal. Albaladejo spent the majority of the season split between AA and AAA, he earned a September call-up where he dressed to impress.

His first appearance was arguably his best as well, pitching 1.2 innings against the Fish, he struck out 3 and allowed 0 hits. He didn't look back either.

In 15 appearances spanning 14.1 IP, Albaladejo only gave up 7 hits and 3 ER while striking out 12 with only 2 walks. That places his 2007 at a 1.88 ERA and a 0.628 WHIP with a 0.3 WAR.

After the season it looked as though the Nats found a piece that they could use in their bullpen for years to come, but so did the Yankees who traded a young 22 year-old starter for Albaladejo. That man was Tyler Clippard.

Everything worked out perfectly for the Nats as Clippard turned into one of the top Bullpen arms in all of baseball, while Albaladejo never again pitched even close to how well he did in 2007.

Albaladejo - 2008-Present = -0.2 WAR
Clippard - 2008-Present = 1.9 WAR and Counting

This trade goes down as one of Jim Bowden's best moves as General Manager of the Nats. Well done Albaladejo, thank you for your continued contribution to the Nationals.