2024 Nationals: Threatening To Climb Out Of The Cellar

Updated roster/moves for the 2024 Nationals:

Starting Lineup (Projected):
C - Riley Adams
1B - Joey Meneses
2B - Luis Garcia
SS - C.J. Abrams
3B - Nick Senzel
LF - Eddie Rosario
CF - Jacob Young
RF - Lane Thomas
DH - Joey Gallo

Bench: Ildemaro Vargas, Jesse Winker, Nasim Nunez, Drew Millas

Starters:
SP - Patrick Corbin
SP - MacKenzie Gore
SP - Jake Irvin
SP - Trevor Williams
SP - Mitchell Parker

Closer - Kyle Finnegan

Bullpen - Hunter Harvey, Tanner Rainey, Jordan Weems, Robert Garcia, Dylan Floro, Matt Barnes, Derek Law

Coaching Staff:
Dave Martinez - Manager
Jim Hickey - Pitching Coach
Gerardo Parra - 1st Base Coach
Ricky Gutierrez - 3rd Base Coach
Miguel Cairo- Bench Coach
Darnell Coles - Hitting Coach
Henry Blanco - Catching & Strategy Coach
Ricky Bones - Bullpen Coach
Chris Johnson - Assistant Hitting Coach
Bill Mueller - Quality Control Coordinator
Sean Doolittle - Pitching Strategist

Minors Shuttle/Backups/DL:
SP - Cade Cavalli (IL-60), Josiah Gray (IL-15), Jackson Rutledge, Joan Adon, Cole Henry, DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker, Jake Bennett, Zach Davies
RP - Mason Thompson (IL-60), Jose Ferrer (IL-60), Joe De La Sorsa, Zach Bryzkcy, Jarlin Susana, Matt Cronin, Evan Lee, Amos Willingham, Luke Ferrell, Stephen Nogosek, Adonis Medina, Richard
Bleier, Robert Gsellman, Spenser Watkins, Thad Ward, Luis Perdomo, Jacob Barnes
OF - Victor Robles (IL-10), Stone Garrett (IL-10), Alex Call, Dylan Crews, Jeremy De La Rosa, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, Blake Rutherford, Elijah Green, Andrew Pinckney, Travis Blankenhorn
IF - Carter Kieboom, Jake Alu, Darren Baker, Jordy Barley, Brady House, Yohandy Morales, Trey Lipscomb, Juan Yepez
C - Keibert Ruiz (IL-10), Israel Pineda, Drew Millas



Arrivals:
Joey Gallo - signed as a free agent
Nasim Nuñez - Rule 5 Draft from Miami
Juan Yepez - signed to a Minor league contract
Nick Senzel - signed as a Free Agent
Dylan Floro - signed as a Free Agent
Lewin Diaz - signed to a Minor league contract
Luke Ferrell - signed to a Minor league contract
Stephen Nogosek - signed to a Minor league contract
Adonis Medina - signed to a Minor league contract
Richard Bleier - signed to a Minor league contract
Robert Gsellman - signed to a Minor league contract
Derek Law - signed to a Minor league contract
Spenser Watkins - signed to a Minor league contract
Matt Barnes - signed to a Minor league contract
Jacob Barnes - signed to a Minor league contract
Zach Davies - signed to a Minor league contract
Jesse Winker - signed to a Minor league contract
Luis Perdomo - signed to a Minor league contract
Eddie Rosario - signed to a Minor league contract

Chainsaw318 said:

Ha. Missed that, as I expected him at OF or DH, hadn’t realized he was primarily a 1B.

Carry on.

Click to expand...

Meneses will probably rotate between 1B and DH, along with Riley Adams, unless the Nats sign a 1B this offseason

Nats select Marlins SS Nasim Nuñez in Rule 5 Draft

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/nats-select-speedy-nunez-in-rule-5-draft-sign-yepez-to-minors-deal?fbclid=IwAR1ynzsj05qWj9yEKxDX1r6RMUQgJxxPgO-mIvVK9hEvSRwh4QEB_OHX8nM

Nuñez, who was set to be rated Miami’s No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, is an “elite” defensive shortstop and baserunner who draws walks at a high rate but has yet to hit consistently in the minors. The Nationals understand he’s not ready to play regularly in the majors, but they believe he provides enough skills in specific areas to give him a shot to stay on the roster the entire 2024 season.

Nats agree to MiLB contract with Juan Yepez

Yepez, 25, hit .240/.286/.419 in 104 big-league games with St. Louis over the last two seasons but was non-tendered last month. A right-handed hitter, he has played first base, third base, left field and right field in the majors.

Nats sign Nick Senzel

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/source-nats-sign-senzel-after-candelario-goes-to-reds?fbclid=IwAR1pJQxH-NnnCUzPqMiMkg-O9HrSbGBDzKDQTNnIR4vbBI6hA8QjV-OOSsw

The Nats signed former Reds utilityman Nick Senzel for $2 million (plus $1 million in incentives) overnight, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. This came shortly after Cincinnati signed former Nats third baseman Jeimer Candelario for a reported three years and $45 million.

Senzel, 28, was non-tendered by the Reds last month after a second straight disappointing season, during which he batted .236/.297/.399 with 13 homers and 42 RBIs in 104 games. His defensive versatility, though, remains a strength.

Senzel has played center field, third base, second base, left field and right field during his five-year career. The Nationals could use help at several of those positions in the short-term, so it’s possible they’ll have him move around the field depending on their needs on any given day.

Nats sign Dylan Floro, DFA Jeter Downs

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/why-floro-is-a-bounceback-candidate-and-why-downs-was-dfa?fbclid=IwAR3R2U08FtfFoAJueJmpQ3WdGnhFYu1r5GmavyPhOAHnp5lPaYmCx9M-llU

The Floro signing, though, really does achieve exactly what Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were talking about last week at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. They didn’t need another option to close games (though Floro does have 32 big-league saves on his resume). But they did need another reliever with successful experience pitching late innings in close ballgames. And Floro absolutely fits that description.

Of the 334 innings he’s pitched in the majors, 100 2/3 of them have come in the eighth inning. Another 72 1/3 have come in the ninth inning. And another 59 2/3 of them have come in the seventh inning. His ERA across those innings is 3.60.

Downs hit only .236/.358/.379 in 51 games at Triple-A. The Nats promoted him only when they needed a healthy backup infielder, and even then, they barely played him.

1st Baseman Lewin Diaz signed to a Minor League Deal

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/nationals-sign-lewin-diaz-to-minor-league-deal.html

Diaz spent the entire 2023 season in the minor leagues, where he slashed a solid .268/.362/.442 across 118 games. The solid season at Triple-A continued Diaz’s track record of solid work at the level; the lefty owns a slash line of .258/.341/.479 across 274 career games at that level.

Joey Gallo signs with the Nats, 1 year, $5 million

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/01/23/joey-gallo-nationals-contract/?fbclid=IwAR1o_xeYpCe4Aq2woL9EShs0MYA5xZvNOG2C8813DAMCBdaOgyRs-uzL1Ss

Gallo, an outfielder/first baseman who spent 2023 with the Minnesota Twins, has made a name for himself with majestic moonshots during a nine-year major league career: The 30-year-old has 198 home runs in 863 games. The knock on him is that he doesn’t connect consistently; he has a .197 career batting average, and he hit .177 with 21 homers in 111 games with the Twins while striking out 142 times.

Nationals Sign RHP Luke Farrell To Minor League Deal

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/nationals-sign-luke-farrell-to-minor-league-deal.html

Farrell, 33 in June, spent last year in the White Sox’ system after signing a minor league deal. He tossed 55 innings over 37 appearances, including seven starts, for Triple-A Charlotte. He posted an earned run average of 5.56 in that time, along with a 20.1% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 39.7% ground ball rate.

Though he didn’t make it to the big leagues last year, he does have prior major league experience. From 2017 to 2022, he suited up for the Royals, Reds, Cubs, Rangers and Twins, with an even ERA of 5.00 in 102 2/3 innings. His 23.3% strikeout rate in that time was around league average but he paired it with an 11.7% walk rate.

Nats sign RP Derek Law to a minor league deal

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/law-is-latest-veteran-reliever-to-join-nats-on-minor-league-deal?fbclid=IwAR1fGrcYkJE5n6aAQhrUBFYAj2Ta8nmEM-IO5JHBa2L5Gp0bLGggPAJuLV4

Law, 33, owns a 4.08 ERA, 1.438 WHIP and 12 saves in 247 career games with the Giants, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers and Reds. He spent the entire 2023 season in Cincinnati’s bullpen, going 4-6 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.382 WHIP over 54 games.

Matt Barnes signs Minor League Contract with the Nationals

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/matt-barnes-hoping-for-nationals-bullpen-spot

Barnes pitched the first nine years of his career with the Red Sox, including winning the 2018 World Series and earning his first All-Star selection in 2021, during which he went 6-5 with a 3.79 ERA and 24 saves. The following season, though, he finished 0-4 with a 4.31 ERA and eight saves.

Boston traded Barnes to Miami for Richard Bleier -- who also is a non-roster invitee in Nats camp -- ahead of the 2023 season. After going 1-0 with a 5.48 ERA in 24 relief appearances, Barnes had season-ending surgery for a hip impingement last July.

Nationals add Zach Davies on a Minor-League Contract

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/nationals-sign-zach-davies-to-minors-contract.html

Now entering his 10th Major League season, Davies is looking to rebound after a difficult 2023 campaign. The righty posted a 7.00 ERA over 82 1/3 innings in Arizona’s rotation, with subpar secondary metrics almost across the board. Injuries also limited Davies’ playing time, as separate IL stints for an oblique strain and back inflammation cost him roughly 10 weeks of action. The Diamondbacks designated Davies for assignment and then released him just before the end of the regular season, giving him an early jump on free agency.

Davies posted a 3.79 ERA over 683 2/3 innings and 123 starts with the Brewers and Padres from 2015-20, developing a reputation as a solid back-of-the-rotation type. Never a big strikeout pitcher or a hard thrower, Davies nevertheless found success with a formula of limited walks and hard contact, plus an outstanding changeup that was quietly one of the best pitches in baseball.

Jesse Winker added on a Minor-League Contract to OF/DH

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/nationals-sign-jesse-winker-to-minor-league-deal.html

Winker, 30, is not too far removed from being one of the better hitters in the league but he’s fallen on hard times recently as injuries have seemingly held him back. With the Reds from 2017 to 2021, he walked in 12% of his plate appearances while only going down on strikes 16.5% of the time. His .288/.385/.504 slash line in that time translates to a wRC+ of 132, indicating he was 32% better than league average in that five-year stretch. Among players with at least 1500 plate appearances over those years, only 24 had a higher wRC+.

Nats add Eddie Rosario on a minor league deal

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/nats-add-outfielder-rosario-on-minor-league-deal?fbclid=IwAR0Ih975sKXnMBBcyCZIti1qd7WI9OgCSthI0LsHHZRJFIgj4gV81WFV8ik

The 31-year-old has primarily played left field, but has experience in all three outfield spots over the course of his nine-year career. He owns a career slash line of .268/.305/.460 with a .766 OPS with the Twins, Cleveland and the Braves.

In 142 games with the Braves last year, he slashed .255/.305/.450 with a .755 OPS, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs. He also had three Defensive Runs Saved in 130 games in left field, which would have been third-best among all Nats outfielders behind Alex Call (seven DRS in 124 games) and Stone Garrett (five DRS in 89 games).

Who is Mitchell Parker?

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/mitchell-parker-goes-7-scoreless-innings-as-nationals-shut-out-astros?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Washington's #21 Prospect beat s the Dodgers and the Astros in his 1st 2 starts.

Mitchell Parker had set the stage with his MLB debut, earning his first career win against the Dodgers -- who boast one of the most star-studded lineups in the Majors. He was asked once more to face a star-studded lineup for his home debut

Parker, Washington's No. 21 prospect per MLB Pipeline, blanked Houston for seven innings, allowing only three hits and no walks while striking out eight to earn his second career win. He dealt 73 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. He ended his day with a 1.50 career ERA in 12 innings.