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Tuesday’s News & Notes

Nats Trade Thomas to Cleveland for Three Prospects

Lane Thomas, acquired for the corpse of Jon Lester in 2021, was dealt to the Guardians for LHP Alex Clemmey, INF José Tena, and INF Rafael Ramirez Jr.

The linchpin of the trade appears to be Clemmey, the Guardian’s #2 pick in the 2023 draft. In his first pro season, the 19-y.o. southpaw has gone 1-4 in 19 starts for Low-A Lynchburg, and may even pitch against his former teammates this week. He’s now the #6 Nats prospect according to MLB, somehow ranked a slot below Cade Cavalli.

Tena has spent most of ’24 at AAA, posting a line of .298/.353/.493 in 90G with two HR and 14SB. He went 0-for-4 in a three-game callup to Cleveland in late June/early July.

Ramirez may also see time against his former team, as the 19-y.o. will likely go from the Hillcats bench to the FredNats bench after batting .187/.301/.319 in 54G with four HR and seven SB. He’s slotted at #23 in MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 30 for the Nationals.

Team Yesterday Today
Rochester OFF DAY vs. Omaha, 6:45 p.m.
Harrisburg OFF DAY vs. Akron, 6:30 p.m.
Wilmington OFF DAY @ Greenville, 7:05 p.m.
Fredericksburg OFF DAY @ Lynchburg, 6:30 p.m.
DSL Nationals Won, 2-1 @ DSL Angels, 11 a.m.

No probables for today, given that all the games notes on issued on Sunday did not list any probables for today.

Rochester Red Wings, 16-11, 2nd Place, 1½ GB, I.L. East – 54-46 Overall
The Red Wings remain at home this week, hosting the Storm Chasers for six games with a matinee tomorrow. The $64,000 question: How many of the current relievers will still be there on Friday?

Harrisburg Senators, 9-18, 6th place, 10GB, E.L. Southwest – 47-49 Overall
Last-place Harrisburg is back from Connecticut to play second-place Akron for six games, including a day game on Thursday. FWIW, Tyler Stuart last pitched on July 24, so it would seem likely that he’ll make an appearance early in the series, if not a start.



Wilmington Blue Rocks, 15-14, 4th Place, 2½ GB, Sally Lg. North – 46-49 Overall
The Blue Rocks will be in upstate South Carolina to play the Drive in Greenville this week. After taking four of six from Hudson Valley, Wilmington gained two games in the standings and play two of three teams they currently trail in August.

Fredericksburg Nationals, 20-10, 1st Place, 3½ GA, C.L. North – 55-41 Overall
On paper, it looks like Fredericksburg has another six games to feast on an also-ran. But the FredNats always seem to struggle in the park formerly known as Calvin Fallwell field at City Stadium. A split would probably be the best to root for until they return home to host second-place Carolina.

DSL Nationals 2 DSL Mariners 1
• J. Feliz (W, 1-3) 6IP, 0H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 10K, BK, 2WP
• Carela (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• A. Feliz 2-2, 2R, HR, BB, RBI, 2SB
• Hurtado 1-3

Two D-Nats pitchers combined for a seven-inning no-hitter as the DSL Nationals won, 2-1 over the DSL Mariners. 18-y.o. Jose Feliz struck out ten and walked two over six innings to notch his first professional win. 17-y.o. Enmanuel Carela fanned two in the 7th to earn his first save as a pro. 17-y.o. Angel Feliz homered in the bottom of the 6th to give the D-Nats the go-ahead run. He also walked, stole two bases, and scored the first D-Nats run.

18 Commments

  1. Love the Thomas trade. While it’s still unlikely any of these guys turn into MLB regulars, they each have the underpinnings to do so.

    Tena is the most interesting to me. He looks like basically Lane Thomas v 2.0. Thomas couldn’t find regular playing time in a crowded Cardinals outfield, so the Cards shipped him off for pennies on the dollar. Tena too can’t find playing time behind All Star Jose Ramirez and Bryan Rocchio/Daniel Schneeman. But he’s been insanely good at AAA, hitting .308/.365/.522 in parts of 3 seasons. I don’t get why the Guardians couldn’t find a way to give him a real run out at SS or 2B, if 3B is blocked. But he’s managed only 38 plate appearances in 21 games. Being used as a PH shouldn’t be a fair way to judge a player’s future, so I’m happy the Nats will get a chance to. The strikeouts are a big concern, especially for the Nats, who still seem poorly equipped on how to handle players with contact problems. (It’s the same issue with Ramirez, who’s striking out 33% of the time in A ball). Maybe Tena proves himself to be a AAAA player, like Blankenhorn (who’s quietly heating up at the moment), but he’s also 23 and plays the positions with the least depth in this org 3B, SS and 2B.

    Clemmey is another interesting arm with upside. He got a $2.3m signing bonus at the #58 overall pick last year, and is holding his own at A ball at age 19. He was very similarly rated to Sykora last year (albeit slightly lower), which is pretty stellar value to get in return, even if he hasn’t been quite as good as Sykora this season.

    I hope Finnegan didn’t sabotage his value with his stinker of an outing. Looks like we might need to hold onto him a bit longer. But I’d be amazed if Floro remains on the team. He should have serious value, and will be a free agent this October. Looking forward to seeing how the remainder of the day plays out.

    1. A concern on Drew Millas: he’s rated the best defensive catcher in the system. He hits wherever he goes. The Nats have never really given him much of an opportunity at the major league level. My concern is that the Nats throw him into a deal without seeing what they have in Drew. I realize that the Nats have a long-term financial commitment to Ruiz. Nonetheless, I would like to see Millas competing for innings with the Nats.

      1. … cause it’s one , two , three strikes you’re out at the ole ball game .
        Somebody have some fun this early day and put together a trade package which would obtain Dylan Carlson .

        1. Quick, Rizzo, sign Lester out of retirement, so we can trade him for Carlson.

          But seriously, I don’t understand at all why the Nats would be interested in Carlson. They already have too many outfielders in the pipeline that we needed to trade Winker and Thomas. Wood and Young have locked down OF spots, and Crews, Hassell, Lile, Pinckney and maybe Sam Petersen to fight over the last roster spot long term, while Call and Garrett (who’s quietly mashing .362/.464/.638 in July) to provide short term cover. And maybe we sign another reclamation project or two, like Winker, to a one year deal in the Winter. Meanwhile, Carlson has been all around worse than Alex Call over the past season and a half (https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&month=0&ind=0&players=19296%2C20126&startdate=&enddate=&season1=2023&season=2024). Why give away even a bag of balls for him, when Alex Call, for all his faults (not to mention all the other guys), is a significantly better player?

          1. Wil : maybe brass thinks they can roll dice on Carlson pulling a Lazerus ?
            Interesting to find out how much interest is in Dylan F.
            Who again figures in future bullpen “ re – invention “?
            Zach B? JR and Adon both switched to various relief roles ?
            Famous Amos ? Any of the cats drafted last winter in Rule 5 ??

      2. I have been on the Millas bandwagon since the beginning of the year! A very dependable defensive catcher (best in Nats system) who makes contact and nabs opposing runners. Guess the brass does not value defense at that position…..

  2. Very clever strategy Nats brass used with drafting the versatile upside hit tool
    Players in draft then getting a number 2 pick 2023 lefty in trade . Goodness knows many of the 2024 draftees who are pitcher May never mature into long term starting assets on mound but they do provide nice depth for the pipeline to build more competitive affiliates .
    Bennett , Adonis and other DLd lefties figure to keep Hanrahan and other pitching rehab gurus bust next spring .

  3. This is very random, but what ever happened to Moises Gallardo, one of the Nats’ R5 picks? He looked to be the most promising, but hasn’t appeared in a game. On July 3, he was transferred to the 60 day IL. Was it ever announced what the injury was? It’s rare for a hitter to lose an entire season to injury.

    Speaking of the R5 picks. They were surprisingly successful. At least at the minor league level. We took Gallardo, but also:
    1. Samuel Vasquez, A-, 3.76 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 37 K, 31 BB – mediocre. Solid innings eater in relief.
    2. Wander Arias, A+, 3.66 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 38 K, 19 BB – similar but slightly better results to Vasquez
    3. Daison Acosta, AA, 2.68 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 37 IP, 55 K, 20 BB – very good season. But like the guys above, Acosta, despite his really good performance, has remained at the same level (Harrisburg). It seems the Nats just see these guys as some necessary org. depth, which is a shame, because we might have stumbled into a useful piece in Acosta.

    Does anyone know what R5 picks’ rights are next season? Are they again eligible for the R5 draft? Or can they elect free agency now?

  4. Does anyone else find it a bit concerning that this org. has a tendency to acquire ( through trades and drafts) pitchers with either only 2 offerings or control problems.

    I get it that at the worst they can become valuable bullpen pieces, but at some point you need to get starters who can give you innings.

    That you can’t go a third time through the order because you only have 2 offerings is not a recipe fur success.

    Maybe I’m too old school, but you need starters who can show three good ( not necessarily elite) pitches with command even if they don’t 96 mph.

    1. The Rays swooped in, needing someone to fill the vacancy left by Arozarena.

      Fortunately for the Nats there are other bidders than a superfluous Carlson, and now the Nats have struck a deal with the Diamondbacks: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/07/nationals-trade-dylan-floro-dbacks.html

      Prospect return still to be reported… but my guess is something similar to the Winker deal; one solid prospect with relatively major concerns – for a pitcher, control issues and/or limited pitches/velocity; for a batter – high strikeouts and/or defensive positioning concerns, but with, to date, solid performance. Somewhere around their #20 top prospect.

  7. Turns out it’s Andres Chaparro, not even on the DBacks’ top 30, as his prospect luster has worn off after being granted MILB free agency from the Yankees last season. Thus, to keep a hold of him, we’ll need to add him to the 40 man roster, or he can elect free agency again this winter.

    With that said, Chaparro can HIT. In the extremely hitter friendly PCL/Reno, he’s mashing .332/.403/.564, and while his numbers were much more pedestrian in the less hitter friendly IL, he still hit 25 HR.

    He’s a 3B, but his defense there seems to be questionable. It seems to me, he’ll get an extended runout at 1B both this season and next.

    Interesting piece…

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