Minor League Free Agents
Well, it’s that time of year in the minors when we find out which of the veterans have become free agents. Some of these guys will re-sign, some will retire, and some will move on. Without further ado…
(* = spent entire season on DL)
CATCHERS
AAA – Carlos Maldonado
AA – Brian Jeroloman
High-A – Beau Seabury*, Sean McCauley*
INFIELDERS
AAA – Chris Marrero, Will Rhymes, Josh Johnson
AA – Jimmy Van Ostrand, Melvin Dorta*, Carlos Rivero
High-A – Mike Gilmartin
Low-A – Carlos Alvarez
OUTFIELDERS
AAA – Jason Michaels*, Chris Rahl
AA – Jerad Head
LHPs
AA – Bill Bray, Patrick McCoy
High-A – Josh Smoker*
RHPs
AAA – Mike Broadway, Caleb Clay, Mike Crotta, Cole Kimball, Jeff Mandel, Ryan Tatusko, Chris Young
AA – Brian Broderick
Three players are known to have re-signed prior to the deadline — IF Adrian Sanchez, C Jeff Howell, UT Francisco Soriano — but we’ll have to wait until the next dispatch to find out if there were any others.
Like 2011, there were 26 free agents, though three of the five DL guys were signed as player/coaches (Dorta, McCauley, Michaels) and were never going to be activated, according Nationals Director of Player Development Doug Harris. Overall, there were 550 players that became free agents, according to Baseball America.
This year’s first-time free agents include Nats ’07 draft picks Mandel, McCoy, and Smoker, and a pair of ’06 picks who were removed from the 40-man, Kimball and Marrero. There was only one IFA this year (as opposed to two last year), but has anyone ever heard of this Carlos Alvarez guy?
Smiley!!! The reason why the Nats are so weak in IFA’s.
I don’t feel the same connection to these guys as I have in previous years. I would have liked for Carlos Rivero to have made it, but I don’t feel like any of these guys had great chances to contribute to the major league club.
Do you think that may be because you’re no longer *depending* on these guys to make things better in Washington?
Take Zach Walters, for example. With Ian Desmond as the incumbent, Walters making the club is just gravy; an upgrade to the bench (don’t think it’s not lost on me how Steve Lombardozzi has gone from a fan favorite here to a whipping boy elsewhere in the Natmosphere). But if it were 2009 and Walters were having the season he had this year in that year (i.e. swap Walters for Desmond), there would have been a campaign to “Free Zach Walters” by the All-Star Break (and perhaps more frightening: if Bowden were still GM, he might have done it).
Why didn’t Brad Meyers, Kris Watts, or Tyler Herron become free agents? Also is Maya going to be in the system next year, or is his a free agent?
Watts was released in September. Herron and Meyers may have re-signed — last transaction post from BA is through October 30th; we learned last year that Rahl and Josh Johnson had re-signed after the list was released. Maya’s still listed as signed by MLB.com (same for Ryan Perry), but I think they would still control Maya’s rights for another two years.
Good point on Maya; i was thinking the same thing, that his contract was 4yrs/8M 2010-2013 … but he’s not a 6year MLFA yet. I wonder if the team just releases him. Maybe they see how the Syracuse rotation shakes out in spring training to see if they “need” an innings eater who has no chance of promotion.