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Two 40-Man Prospects Optioned To Potomac

Shortly after putting up eight runs for the second time in three games, the Nationals announced the optioning of three 40-man roster players and the reassignment of six more players to minor-league camp.

As the headline suggests, Anthony Rendon and Matt Purke were officially optioned to High-A Potomac. Carlos Rivero, the third 40-man player, was optioned to AAA Syracuse. The following players were also among the first cuts of the 2012 Spring Training:

  • RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx
  • OF Corey Brown
  • IF Jarrret Hoffpauir
  • C Sandy Leon
  • RHP Rafael Martin
  • OF Xavier Paul

Obviously, this is good news for us as seamheads — presuming, of course that these two players aren’t reassigned — since Potomac is our home base, we might just have my eyes on these two much sooner than I initially thought (*ahem*).

Corey Brown getting sent down (hey, that rhymes!) was a bit of a shock, especially when no-AA-experience Eury Perez seemed like a shoo-in to get optioned, too (hey, that… never mind).

It’s tempting to suggest that Perez could sticking around as a potential trade bait, but the more likely scenario is that the big club wants to work with him for a little longer before sending him to the minors camp.

Otherwise, most of these other moves aren’t surprising. Best guess for the next set of cuts is in a week to ten days.

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  2. Clearly the Nats have some sort of irrational infatuation with Perez. Why else would you stick a guy on the 40 man roster who couldn’t hit A ball pitching? Especially at the expense of a decent high OBP OF (capable of playing CF) in AAA. Could Erik Komatsu have been our 2012 lead off CF? By all accounts, he’s looked pretty good with the Cardinals so far this Spring. Eury Perez, however, certainly will not be.

    1. Brown passed through waivers last November — three days before Perez was put on the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft (he was signed as a teenager). I put Brown on the watchlist because I felt like he had an outside shot of making the club out of ST, and in some respects, I was right.

      I doubt, however, that Komatsu could have made the club as anything but a reserve, which is what he’s most likely to end up as for St. Louis.

      1. I feel like Komatsu has the same reputation as Lombardozzi. Both have become fated to be nothing more than a utility guy, even though they have done nothing but put up impressive numbers in the minors.

        Rizzo is pulling out his hair trying to find that elusive lead off CF. How did he miss Komatsu’s career .389 OBP? Shave .080 points off, and it’s still better than what we’ll currently get from the lead off spot.

        Did anyone here get a chance to see him play in Harrisburg? Was his CF defense really so bad that he was no longer of any value to the Nats?

        Even so, I’d rather take my chances on Komatsu than a 36 year old, Jason Michaels. At least Komatsu has some upside…

  3. Luke, Don’t fret about Brown. From Federal Baseball’s Nats site:

    “Nats’ skipper Davey Johnson did tell reporters that Corey Brown, (who was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI singles today and was 5 for 16 with a HR and a double so far this Spring, impressing everyone defensively in the last few days), was on the right track so far this year after dealing with health issues in 2011 in his first season in Washington following the trade that sent Josh Willingham to Oakland last winter. “‘I told him if he keeps doing the things he’s doing,'” Johnson told reporters including the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore, “‘We won’t have to look for a CFer.'”

    I think Brown was actually 7 for 19, not 5 for 16. He also stole a base today and has reportedly been outstanding in the field, making a diving catch today and then doubling a runner off first with a laser. He may possibly be the best defensive CFer in the Nats organization.

    Davey was quoted by Kilgore as saying Brown impressed him more than anyone else in camp. He cleared waivers earlier, but no one picked him up. We lost Komatsu, instead, to Rule 5. Lucky.

  4. If Brown were to have made the team, I assume he would have been back to a status of no options? Assuming that would be the case, I can see where they would want to see a longer sample of productivity before restoring him to the 40 man, no matter how good he looked in ST.

  5. Just looking at stats for a couple of Rule 5 picks that were taken from the Nats. Looks like Brad Meyers hasn’t pitched this spring…is he hurt? Erik Komatsu seems to be having a good spring for the Cards…will he stick or be returned?

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