Friday, July 20, 2012

Revolving Door

Yesterday, to the shock of many in NatsTown, Mike Rizzo and the Nationals organization cut ties with (journeyman?) pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel to make room for rehabbed reliever Drew Storen. So much for the fantasy baseball benefit. The decision was not as easy one for the team, leaving a short bench with only Bernadina, DeRosa, Moore, and Leon. It was, however, the right decision; .228/.282/.411 isn't going to cut it for a first place team.

And one of many Rizzo and Co. are going to have to make in the next few weeks.

There are not one, not two, not three, but four players returning to the Nationals in the next month - nearly all of them will require a corresponding roster move (we will get there):
- Jayson Werth
- Chad Tracy
- Chien-Ming Wang
- Xavier Nady

In a perfect world, only two of these players would be returning to the big-league ballclub but, knowing Nats brass, they all will be returning to the expense of other players.

Let's go down the list, in order of expected arrival:

- Xavier Nady
His rehab stint ends on Friday and the Nationals need to make a decision on his future. In Major League action, Nady hit for a whopping .157/.211/.275 slash-line and so far in 9 games of rehab he has somehow done even worse with a .143/.171/.211*. With the emergence of Roger Bernadina as a quality pinch hitter as well as Tyler Moore's impressive rookie campaign, Nady should be sent his walking papers.

[Ed. Note - I didn't know it was possible to do worse than that...]

Prediction: DFA.

- Chad Tracy
Leader of the 2012 Nationals "Goon Squad", Chad Tracy single-handedly won several games during the first month-plus of the year. He is currently tied for 10th in Pinch Hits in MLB with 6 and his 7 RBI are still 1st in baseball. It is a no brainer that he will be sliding back onto the bench as soon as he is healthy.

Prediction: He takes the place of Ryan Mattheus (who has an option) and brings the team back to a normal 7-man bullpen instead of the current 8-man 'pen.

- Jayson Werth
In just 27 games at the start the 2012, Werth was well on the way to erase the bad memories of his 2011 season. He had a higher average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, walk rate, and contact rate coupled with a lower strikeout rate - things were looking up until a diving catch derailed his season. I believe that Werth will be hitting 1st and 2nd in the lineup (depending on handedness of the pitcher), rotating with Bryce Harper.

Prediction: Tyler Moore will be sent back down to the minors to make room for Werth, specifically because of the option game.

- Chien-Ming Wang
The former Cy Young contender just doesn't have it anymore. The Nationals gave him a chance to return to his former glory but a 6.62 ERA, 2.264 WHIP, and .361 BAA just won't cut it for a team that is trying for its first ever postseason appearance. Move him to the 'pen? Nope. If anything, Wang was even worse coming out of the bullpen; posting a 10.50 ERA, 1.833 WHIP, and .423 BAA against in his 6 innings. It was worth the 3-year/$7.2 Million chance that Rizzo and Co. gave to him in attempt to see him return to his former glory, but not every gamble is going to pay off.

Prediction: Wang will be DFA'ed and probably won't pitch in the majors again in 2012 only to sign a minor-league deal in the winter with another club.

The 2012 Nationals team is in a place that this town hasn't seen before. A place where a player with 90 games started one year prior can be shown the door because he couldn't even cut it as the 5th outfielder on the current squad. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

What are your predictions for these upcoming roster moves? Sound off below!

7 comments:

  1. I think if Desmond were healthy, a good case could be made for DeRosa going instead of Moore. You'd have a well constructed bench with power bats from the left and right sides on the bench then, with a defensive replacement/pinch runner type in Bernadina, the utility guy in Lombardozzi, plus the backup catcher Leon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Moore and Mattheus go down, but come back up Sept 1 for sure. --unless of course the Oblique "disease" continues to be contagious

    ReplyDelete
  3. I believe Stammen is the more likely candidate over Mattheus to be optioned out. The latter has a far better arm and also been more effective of late. Gorzelanny and HRodriguez can serve the 'mop-up/long-man' role, although I wouldn't be surprised if Rizzo makes a trade with his excess pitching before the July 31st deadline.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nady & Wang dfa, agree.

    Werth's impact; How do you send down Moore after the way he's hitting? .310/.376/.536 right now and the highest OPS+ of any regular player on the team. Agree with above; I think DeRosa may get his walking papers. The team has an extra infielder in Lombardozzi who can provide that cover, and if we get killed by injuries we do have one more infielder on the 40-man in Carlos Rivera.

    The toughest decision is in the bullpen. Gorzelanny/HRodriguez are your two "worst" relievers out there. Both without options. If the team was smart they'd invent a soft-tissue injury for one of them to get back to a 7-man bullpen. There's just no way you can touch Gonzalez, Mattheus, Stammen, Burnett, Storen or Clippard. They're all just pitching too well. Stammen is like 25th in the league in bWAR; you can't send him down.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Agreed on Mattheus and Moore. Mattheus because we have set up guys and we need a rh long guy ( Stammen). Moore, maybe for a month as Jayson really shouldn't be playing until at least Aug. 1. NAdy dfa for sure, if Ankiel was and Nady is worse. Wang - time to be done, unless he finally shows some class and offers to go to Syracuse and stay there for the rest of the season.I think we keep DeRosa for the rest of the regular season. Perhaps some more creative use of the dl or a trade would delay, defer some moves. Should be interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm betting its Stammen and not Mattheus. Mattheus is needed for high leverage situations. While they do have Gorzelanny as the long-man. Stammen can go down and start for 2 - 4 until the September roster expansion. He may be needed there ... you never know.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If Davy ever gets over his HRod fetish, by all rights Henry should be DFA. Mattheus, Gorzo, and Stammen have all been really good, so it would be best to keep them all.

    ReplyDelete