AFL/Offseason Update: Nov. 11, 2023
After one inning, it was 9-0. After two, it was 9-7. Halfway through, it was 9-9. The final was 12-9. If you knew without clicking through that link to the boxscore, that the Scorpions were the ones to blow a 9-0 lead over the Javelinas in the AFL Semifinal, then you’ve been here awhile.
Peoria somehow managed to score 12 times on just six hits. Sure, three of those left the yard, accounting for six runs, but only one of them was a grand slam. Eight walks didn’t help. Neither did two errors, though only two Javelinas runs were unearned.
The good news is that no Washington pitchers were involved in this meltdown, which should surprise you at least a little.
The usual suspects did appear in the game, batting 5-6-7 in the Scottsdale lineup:
- Israel Pineda started behind the plate and went 2-for-5 with an RBI, a GIDP, and two strikeouts. He was 0-for-1 throwing out baserunners.
- Robert Hassell manned left field and was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. He fielded the only ball hit his way, a single in the top of the 2nd.
- Trey Lipscomb was the second baseman reached base three times on a single, walk, and a two-out double in the 9th. He committed a two-out, two-run error that tied the game at 9-9.
For the second straight year, the Nats’ contingent lost the play-in game.
TRANSACTION UPDATE
As predicted, LHP Matt Cronin made it through waivers and was outrighted to Rochester along with OF Jeremy De La Rosa. The 40-man deadline is this coming Tuesday. As noted in the comments, Washington is going to have to DFA some more guys by this coming Tuesday to make room for offseason pickups, not to mention the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
Earlier this week, we noted the minor-league free agents (MLFAs). A few have since re-signed:
- SS Jordy Barley
- C Geraldi Diaz
- RHP Luis Reyes
- RHP Carlos Romero
I think it may be safe to say the Reyes is the pitching equivalent to Adrián Sanchez, who spent 15 seasons in the Nats organization from 2007-2022. If he sticks, next season will be Reyes’s 11th with Washington.
With the Nats done in the desert, that’s a wrap on 2023 – we’re officially into the ’23-’24 offseason. For those keeping score at home (what is wrong with you?), that’s the end of Season Thirteen, and No. 11 with pics from Lee.
Thanks to Luke and Lee for another year of coverage! It’s interesting that the Scorpions sank without using Ward or Herz. Ward in particular had some of the best numbers on the staff. Either they were at their innings limits or were being saved for the next round (oops).
It seems ironic, or something, that Lipscomb finally took a walk in his very last game. That was his 28th walk in 150 games this season. In 2022 at Tennessee, he walked 26 times in 66 games, so it isn’t a foreign concept to him. At least he had a little success at the plate over the final week to get off the interstate (.205/.214/.265).
Hassell showed an encouraging rebound in AZ after a tough summer: .290/.366/.348. Pineda (.237/.303/.373) would seem to still be on the fence for possibly being DFA’d this week.
Thank you for the acknowledgement!!~
Into the Lens !’ Yes yes and the answer was yes ( lyric from Tempus Fugit – time flies – Drama album Trevor Horn singer Geoff Downes keyboards )
The two resigned vet farm relievers Reyes and Romero ( law firm ?) sure seem like future PD instructors or scouts
Well done Luke and Lee!!!
Thank you!!~
An FYI for ya- MLB.tv is showing Dominican Winter League games, the first game I saw was Gigantes de Cibao vs Toros and it was like a Nats Old Home Game.
Pitching 5 for the Win was Nick Raquet (3rd round 2017), also appearing was Kelvin Guiterrez (2013-2018 Nats – cups of coffee for KC & Balt.) and they honored Nelson Cruz at the game I saw. It may have been his farewell game but as the broadcast was in Spanish was not able to verify that.
And Cruz is not the eldest on the roster, our buddy Fernando Rodney at 46 is (7 G, 0.00 ERA).
That’s very curious about Raquet. Weren’t we told that he “retired”? I see that he actually started 24 games for an indy league team this year: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=raquet000nic
Brief segment/interview with Rizzo at FanGraphs:
“The Washington Nationals farm system is currently robust, ranking as the third-best in MLB on The Board. High-level position player talent is a primary reason, with outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews ranked as the game’s No. 2 and No. 4 prospects respectively. Third baseman Brady House is also in our Top 100 at No. 61.
Mike Rizzo has been in the organization since 2006, almost exclusively at the top of the front office food chain. The likes of Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and Stephen Strasburg have been drafted and developed during his tenure. I asked the club’s General Manager & President of Baseball Operation how the current crop compares to the best of his 17-year tenure.
“It’s probably as exciting of a group of young players, prospects, that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” replied Rizzo. “It’s as good as we’ve had, but I’ll qualify that with prospects are prospects until they compete and win in the big leagues. There are still steps to take, and progress to make.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold was in the small scrum, and he asked Rizzo about how building the team toward its 2019 World Series championship included signing free-agent starters at high cost. Rizzo’s response, in part, was that you draft and develop a couple of your own starters, then finish the process with trades and free agent signings. That served as a good segue to something else I was planning to ask: How pleased he is with the top of their pitching pipeline?
“We like it,” said Rizzo. “We’ve got three good young starters already at the big league level, cutting their teeth and getting experience at the big league level. We’ve got [Jackson] Rutledge who just joined them for a couple of starts. And we’ve got several guys down in the pipeline that I think will be the next wave. When you can put together a list of eight to 10 prospects that you think can be part of your big-league rotation, that’s a big part of the rebuilding process.”
Rizzo gave four examples when asked about notables within that group. Cole Henry and Mitchell Parker were Nationals draft picks, as was Jake Bennett who underwent Tommy John surgery in September, while DJ Herz was acquired from the Chicago Cubs at this summer’s trade deadline. The highest ranked is Henry, whom Eric Longenhagen has assigned a 45 FV. “Those guys are all part of the depth we have at starting pitching,” Rizzo said.”
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-scott-harris-likes-reese-olsons-ceiling/
Strange that Cavalli didn’t come up in a discussion about Nats pitching prospects…
Also dispiriting that of the 5 pitchers Rizzo name drops, Bennett likely won’t throw a pitch in 2024, Henry is a complete wildcard, but looks like TOS may have been as damaging to his career as it was to Strasburg’s.
A much more compelling story would have been about the emergence of the likes of Knowles, Saenz, Alvarez, Luckham, and maybe even Sykora: the depth to the oft-injured, erratic, heralded pitching prospects.
“And we’ve got several guys down in the pipeline that I think will be the next wave.”
I’m sure he was referring to these guys here. I expect Canalli’s omission was merely an oversight
Interesting. Those mentions of Henry and Parker would lead one to believe that they’ll be protected from Rule 5 tomorrow, along with Herz, who seems like a given.
And yes, interesting/curious that he didn’t mention Cavalli, who would seem to be a bigger piece of the puzzle than most of those named.