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Nats Lose One, Pick Up Two in Rule 5 Draft

For the third straight year, the Nats picked a player in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft, taking beleaguered Rays RHRP Evan Reifert.

Reifert, who turns 26 in May, was originally drafted in the 30th Rd. by the Rangers out of North Iowa Area Community College in 2018 but did not sign. He came to the Brewers in the summer of 2020 as an NDFA and was traded to the Rays in 2021.

Command issues and health have plagued Reifert since his collegiate days – two things that have never scared off the Nats – with just one season below 4BB/9IP (2024, 3.7) and only one season above 50IP (2021, 60). While Reifert throws the de rigeur mid-90s heat, his bread-and-butter pitch is a “wipeout” slider that’s led to a K rate of 14.9 over four pro seasons and 146⅓ IP.

In the AAA phase, the Nats took RHSP Hyun-il Choi from the Dodgers. The South Korean native turns 25 in May and made seven starts at AA and 14 at AAA, posting a combined won-loss mark of 5-11 with an ERA of 4.92, a WHIP of 1.34 while walking 3.1 batters per nine and striking out a relatively low 8.0.

Longtime farmhand Matt Cronin was taken by the Mariners in the AA phase after splitting time between High-A and AA in the regular season and making eight appearances in the AFL this past fall. The 27-y.o. Florida native was taken in the 4th Rd. of the 2019 draft out of the Univ. of Arkansas and was added to the 40-man following the 2022 season. A herniated disc and surgery to repair it limited him to 14⅓ IP in ’23, which led to his being outrighted to AAA.



Lost in the excitement (well, compared to what we’re in for after this week) of the past two days, the Nats have made a few transactions:

SIGNED
켥 LHPs Connor Pilkington, Jousuet Martinez
켥 RHPs Carlos Romero, Patrick Weigel

The only name that you probably have seen before is the 17-y.o. (as of yesterday) Martinez, who, like all things D.R., is presumably a project. Veteran arms Pilkington and Weigel will help restock the Red Wings roster while Romero is an O.G. who spent ’24 at three levels.

19 Commments

  1. I really like the Reifert pick. Numbers wise, he looks like he could be another smart bullpen addition that we can flip in several years.

    I’m also happy that Cronin has found an org that hopefully values him more than the Nats did. I’m still mystified by how he was handled in 2024. As I’ve pointed out before, Cronin’s 2024 was one the best pitching performances in franchise history. However, you might see similarly dominant numbers from a mediocre player like Jake Alu or Travis Blankenhorn if you sent them down two levels to play in Wilmington for a whole season as well. They may not be superstars, but they’re good enough to bully inferior opposition, which is what happened to Cronin.

    It’s just so confusing because the Nats are in desperate need of bullpen help, as clearly evidenced by taking Reifert. So I don’t understand why the farm coordinators discarded a potential valuable asset in Cronin. So strange. I wish him all the best, but it’s going to be extremely frustrating if he manages to make a career for himself in Seattle.

    I’m really pleased to see we resigned Carlos Romero. Romero had a breakout (out of nowhere) 2024, rising 3 levels, before seemingly hitting his ceiling in Rochester. But we need depth, and maybe Romero can re-discover that magic he found in Harrisburg (0.47 ERA in 16 games) next season in Rochester.

    Finally, I’m quite surprised we didn’t pick more guys in the minor league part of the draft. Last season we took 5 players, and all of them, except Gallardo, who was injured(?) the whole season, performed surprisingly well. With the DSL generating next-to-no talent in recent seasons, our depth at the lower levels is getting pretty thin. If any of the 2024 draftees start well and get promotions early in 2025, we may have a roster crunch in Fredericksburg.

    1. Also, SMS, turns out neither of us was right about Cronin’s status. I’d thought he might have been a free agent, but he was just MILB R5 eligible.

      Does anyone know on what grounds a minor league R5 pick must be returned? Is it demotion to a lower level? With Cronin being selected as a AA player, despite being a AAA player from 2022-2023, it shouldn’t be hard for the Mariners to retain him.

      1. Yeah, looks like the rules are: (1) given when he signed, he’s not an FA until next year and (2) his stint on the 40 doesn’t do anything to R5 eligibility.

        So Cronin is an edge case just because most folks who get out-righted aren’t desired by other teams, especially when they’re assigned lower than AAA. Oh well, I wish him well in Seattle.

        1. Cronin should find new life
          Out in Pudget Sound air
          Choi is very interesting arm to have around as Bossmsn speculates with some starters transitioning into bullpen careers ( hint JR and his 8 th inning Jim Kern transformation ?)
          Dodger depth always finds some fruit falling off the apple tree .
          Plenty of injured 2024 players will be followed on their rehabbing
          Gallardo
          Sullivan
          Pablo A
          And plenty other arms who
          Notched up the injured list totals

      2. The AA and AAA in the phases refers to the 38- and 37-man reserve lists for AAA and AA respectively. Unlike the 40-man roster, these are not publicized so we have no idea who was on them. I have yet to see a better breadown than this one, but it’s 15 years old. I do know that there’s no rule requiring a team to put a guy taken in the AAA phase on the AAA roster.

        2. Thanks for the clarification! There was a back and forth over on Todd’s site about this.

          The existence of a shadow AAA reserve list that doesn’t have to line up with the actual Rochester roster explains a lot.

    2. Jouset . Now that’s a first for a name in Nats chain
      Duke &Duke !
      They expanded big time in North Carolina

    5. Here is a raised stein to Blankenhorn getting a look with Bucs for their RF rotation
      And to the arms heading Panama winter league lead by Bryan Caceres

  3. There had to be more to the Cronin situation than met the eye. Good luck to him with getting another opportunity elsewhere.

      2. Konner Pilkington the fourth
        Robert Hassell 3
        Holiday time makes us think of the film Trading Places .. Randolph …
        Mortimer !!!!! Sell sell sell

  5. Wow I never really looked at José Atencios 2024 numbers deeply .
    3.35 ERA?
    Less than 50 BB allowed
    7-12 pitching in the Delaware Grand Canyon ? 135 IP logged tops in chain
    How does that translate to City Isle ?

  6. I’m late to the party on Hyun-il Choi. this guy was LAD minor league pitcher of the year in 2021, hurt in 2022 and back to full strength in 2024. suspect he’ll be in the mix for rotation in upstate NY.

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