News and Notes on the Nationals Minors since 2009
With the announcements this week that MLB was extending its existing relationship with the Atlantic League and designating the Atlantic League, Frontier League, and American Association as “Partner Leagues,” MLB’s vision for the destruction of restructuring minor-league baseball has become a little more clear. Not a lot, just a little. The current PBA between MiLB …
Doing its best imitation of the CDC, conflicting reports came out yesterday regarding fall baseball from Baseball America. In what appears to be the first story, BA reports that a fall instructional league will begin on Oct. 5. Curiously, the article lists Washington and a handful of other teams that train in Florida, leading to …
Ordinarily, I’d be using a pic of Spike here to talk about the state of the system or some other wrapup of the minor-league season that just finished. But there was no season in 2020 and there’s no certainty that there’ll be one in 2021. Probability? Sure. But certainty? As my “father” once said, “Search …
In an unmistakable signal that MiLB is no longer negotiating for its survival—just its surrender—MiLB President Pat O’Conner has resigned. The move comes after O’Conner had changed negotiating teams three times in roughly the space of three weeks last month. As BA noted in its story, the unmistakable signal from both MLB and MiLB owners …
It’s Labor Day weekend. For a minors guy, this means the end of the season. In a good year, there might be another week or two of games, perhaps culminating in a team picture hoisting a “hunk of metal,” to use the parlance of Herr Manfred. But this is not a good year. It’s the …
Baseball America has reported that MLB has laid out a proposal for minor-league baseball for 2021 and beyond, as talks between MiLB and MLB resumed this week – the first “face-to-face” discussions since April 22. Earlier this month, MiLB formed a new negotiating team as Rob Manfred Lite MiLB President Pat O’Conner deemed the previous …
As noted in the comments, RHP Sterling Sharp has indeed cleared waivers and was returned to the Nationals yesterday. Officially, he was placed on the AAA Fresno roster. It is not clear whether or not he will be sent to the Alternate Training site in Fredericksburg.
Sharp had been the first Nats player taken in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft since 2013 when the White Sox plucked away C Adrian Nieto and managed to keep the catcher on the 25-man roster all year.
The irony is that Washington partially contributed to Miami’s move by tagging Sharp for five runs on three hits and three walks over just a 1/3rd an inning this past Sunday. However, he was also ineffective in his penultimate outing, which saw the Mets get to the northpaw for two runs on a Robinson Canó HR, though he also walked two and hit a batter over 2⅓ innings.
Sharp made four appearances total for Miami, with seven runs (six earned) on seven hits (one HR), five walks, and one Victor Robles over five and 1/3rd innings.
Yesterday, the Nats “sent down” IF Carter Kieboom to make room for LHP Sean Doolittle. “Quotes” because in this surreal season, the move doesn’t have the same meaning. Ordinarily, it’d mean Kieboom would go back to the minors so he can play every day rather than sit the bench. Instead, he’ll scrimmage and do the …
Wil Crowe became the latest prospect to make his MLB debut, thanks in no small part to the pandemic, joining Seth Romero, Luis Garcia, and journeymen Dakota Bacus and Kyle Finnegan. Unfortunately, the almost-26-y.o. Crowe also got the call because Stephen Strasburg succumbed to injury—*Forrest Gump pause*—again. Back again we go, to when things made …
Yesterday would have been the All-Star game in the New York-Penn League, and in years past, we’d be speculating on who’d get the bump to Harrisburg to be eligible for the Arizona Fall League. Instead, the longest offseason ever continues and there’s no fall league in 2020. It’s difficult to get that excited about the …