Monday’s News & Notes

53 Commments

1. To bring the discussion from yesterday’s thread here, it seems Lopez has been promoted to AAA. Stevenson to AA and Robles to A+.

   Have there been rumblings about any other promotions? I fully expect that once the moves start coming, there will be a bunch of them. My guess is Voth gets promoted and added to the 40 man and Jordan gets switched to the 60 day DL to make room. Dusty said that Petit wouldn’t spot start again, and Voth hasn’t pitched since Thursday. Given that Cole just pitched last night, it makes it less likely they promote him instead.

   Also, I wonder what the Nats have in store for Arroyo. He’s a Baker-guy, so I’m worried Dusty will find a place for him at the expense of other more talented guys (see Belisle). Based on how he was roughed up by some teenagers yesterday, maybe nothing will come of it. But with Voth, Lopez, Giolito, and recently AJ Cole re-emerging as an option, I don’t see how Arroyo has a path to DC.

   1. Yeah, Arroyo got rocked in a GCL start yesterday, surrendering 10 hits (apparently all singles?) and 5 ER in 4.2 IP.

      1. I wouldn’t worry about Arroyo’s first rehab start–he looked pretty good in spring training. My guess is that you might be looking at Gio’s permanent replacement. Arroyo has 30 days in rehab, which runs it right up to the trade deadline. Gio likely has about that much time to right the ship.

         Neither Giolito or Lopez could be a replacement for Gio as both will get shut down in August at their current innings rate. Voth could last into September but not likely until the end of the MLB season in October.

         I still think that Lopez might be temporarily converted to relief. If he starts a couple more games and the pitches out of the bullpen the rest of the year, he could achieve his innings limit while helping the big club in August and September.

2. I think the word on these promotions is — Finally!

   The one that holds the most intrigue for me is Robles, he mastered Low A long ago and must have been bored the last month or two.
   I’m not the first to say this, but I hope Rey Lopez’s efforts the last 4-5 starts puts to rest the idea that he would only be good enough to pitch in relief.

   The big question today is who gets the spot start Tuesday? Austin Voth is most deserving.

   1. I think you are right about Lopez long term, but that we could still see him in the bullpen this year given that he only has about 50 innings left to reach his expected limit for this season.

      1. FWIW, Giolito pitched more innings last year, so he still has 70-75 innings left before he gets to 120-125% of last season. Lopez, as noted, only has about 50 innings left in the tank. The Nats have remained very strict about these limits, including the Ross shutdown last year.

         Then there are the Mets, where both Thor and Matz, who are starting against the Nats, have reported arm soreness within the last week.

      2. Do they apply innings limits on non-TJ pitchers? Have the Nats ever shut down a pitcher for workload alone?

         I’m not saying it hasn’t happened, but I can’t think of any examples.

         1. Oh yeah, young pitchers get bumped up by about 20% each season, which is why they’ve occasionally skipped Ross’s starts. He’s on track for about 180 innings this year, which is about what his limit should be.

            In Lopez’s case, he only pitched 99 innings last year, meaning that 120-125 is probably his limit.

         2. They also held Giolito back until May last year for the same reason.

            1. Well Giolito is one of the many TJers in the system, and they tend to be treated much more delicately than those with intact elbows.

               But Ross and Cole are good points. Thanks guys.

            2. I realized my goof on Giolito just as I was hitting the reply button.

               Two other examples were Taylor Jordan, shut down in September 2013 and replaced by Tanner Roark, and going way back to 2007 they even shut down John Lannan in September.

         3. Alex Meyer in 2012 comes to mind

3. An article on Lopez from Minor League Ball: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/6/24/12021140/washington-nationals-reynaldo-lopez-finally-arrived

   It doesn’t say much of anything we didn’t already know, but it’s nice to see he’s getting some attention.

4. Have we seen anything – official announcements or actual media reports – confirming these rumored promotions?

   Also, Koda Glover with one hit allowed so far in 4 AAA innings. That next jump is coming soon, me thinks.

   1. With P-bon returning to the bullpen soon, Glover is probably going to have to wait a bit. With Solis and Belisle pitching well, my guess is Rivero goes back down first to get his head clear. After that, Rivero will be first up to return to DC, with Glover 2nd after him. Best bet is that Glover gets there in September when the rosters expand.

   2. Steve at Nats Talk has heard some unconfirmed rumors that Giolito is the call-up, but he believes that Voth is also still in play. If they bring up a starter, those are the two whose last starts line up for them to make a start against the Mets. Not mentioned outside of here, by folks who probably don’t pay attention to such things, is that Giolito’s last start was really shaky.

      As much as I’d love to see the kids get a chance, it’s really throwing them into the first to put them in a big divisional matchup. Cole got eaten alive in a similar situation and struggled to recover. If it were me, I’d spot-start Petit or Solis and bring up Glover.

      1. Err, throwing them into the “fire.”

         Good point by Karl at the same time I was posting that Pap’s impending return my weigh against bringing up Glover. I don’t think they’ll send Rivero down. If anything, they might DL him to give him a rest.

   3. I’ve heard from reliable sources on Stevenson; others I’ve seen on Twitter from reputable folks. But nothing official.

      1. Tom commented yesterday that he spoke with Lopez, who confirmed his promotion. I can’t vouch for his credibility, but words from the man himself’s mouth is about a definitive as it gets.

5. BA has their July 2 rankings up. Four Nats in the top 30. Well worth the $10 a month. I am excited about Garcia. Report and video are both amazing.

   1. Four of the top 30 is a damn good haul, especially for a team that already has a strong minor league system and is pretty good at the Big League level, too.

      Interesting that so many of the international signings are listed as SS. Granted, a lot of players come up as SS because that’s where the best glove on a team tends to play and then get moved – Zimmerman, Morse, Taylor, Rendon come to mind – but it will be worth watching to see what positions these guys stick at, especially after the team just used 2 of it’s top 3 picks on left sided infielders.

      1. Of course, now we all have to hold our breath to see who gets traded in July. Word is that Werth agreed to defer half of this year’s salary to give the team maximum financial flexibility, and I doubt they would ask him to do that unless they are ready to make a major move.

         Hopefully, absent any fantasy deal for Trout those top 4 (who I assume are Giolito, Turner, Robles, and Lopez) are off the table. Relatedly, Cole’s dominant start could not have come at a better time to improve his potential trade value.

         1. I wonder what sort of value Cole has. He’s still only 24 with a long pedigree (was a top 30 prospect only last year).

            Meanwhile, the Yankees could really use some big-league ready SPs, as Ivan Nova is still somehow getting regular starts.

            I wonder how much more it would take to get Miller or Betances.

   2. Who are the 4 Nats? I know about Garcia and Antuna

      1. Wow Antuna
         Garcia only lefty hitting IF in July 2 haul?

6. Well, it’s official now…and more –

   Lopez, Bostick (!), and Zach Collier to Syracuse
   Stevenson, Ward (!), Brinley (!), and Whiting to Harrisburg. Wander Suero “temporarily inactive”
   Robles, Schrock, and Trey Lambert to Potomac
   Philip Morse and Jacob Howell the first promoted draftees, from GCL to Auburn.

   1. So the Orange stays back?

      1. He’s blocked by Soto (having a good year at Harrisburg) and Skole. It’s the peril of being a one position player.

   2. Wander is temporarily inactive as he had to go back to the DR for a death in his family.

   3. Well there’s the bunch of moves I was expecting! Too bad Marmolejos and Davidson didn’t join the musical chairs. Both are well deserving of a promotion.

      1. Agree on AD

   4. Morse in boxscore was throwing good
      Here is a thought. Agustin could platoon
      With Mesa so anderson can flip flop
      Lineups and match ups
      Everybody agree?

7. Which means someone in Syracuse is headed out, and more promotion and movement are coming.

   1. Steve at Nats Talk says S. Sizemore, T. Campana, and J. Gutierrez released. I don’t know his source.

8. I can’t remember the last time such a high percentage of MLFA signees were promoted in year. But here we are – Long, Ross, Whiting, Lambert, Collier, and perhaps someone else I’ve forgotten. Of course, that is partly because they were playing, to a degree, under level. But better that they help rather than just placehold and keep the teams mediocre.

   1. Maturity and performance beckoned the bump .
      Gil. I like daniel Johnson @ auburn.
      Banks just being a true Aggie
      Cool. Promotions took depth to develop

9. At the MLB level, the call-up is . . . “Beer League” Martin, appearing one day only. According to Chelsea Janes, the Nats intend to call up a starter tomorrow. The Harrisburg Sens site still has Giolito listed as the probable for tonight, so one would think the available evidence is tipping toward Voth.

   1. To clarity, Chelsea says it “could be” for only one day for Martin. As I suggested above, Petit or Solis could also make a spot start, although Dusty apparently said over the weekend that he didn’t want to do that.

      1. I was surprised that they didn’t place Strasburg on the DL Saturday night so they could bring up an extra reliever for Sunday and Monday.

10. And for all you Expo fans out there, I give you the original* Expo:

    http://www.baseballhall.org/discover/card-corner/1969-manny-mota-topps-card

    * First guy taken in the expansion draft.

    1. Cool. When I was a kid, I owned about a half dozen first year Expos cards, but I don’t think Mota was one of them.

    2. Traded to dodgers
       Mike Marshall an expo after SeAttle pilot
       Experience
       Expo ebbe

11. And the winner is Giolito. Congrats, kid and Welcome to The Show.

    1. I thought Giolito made sense from a ticket selling standpoint. It won’t be as big a deal as Strasburg’s debut, but I’ll bet it increases attendance a bit. Hopefully, a little extra money to spend on whomever they acquire this summer.

       1. The only thing that surprises me is that Giolito is coming off a real struggle of a start, with 84 pitches to make it 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 4 BB, and only 3 Ks.

          1. It’s almost like the Nats don’t base their evaluations on one start

             1. I’m not saying that they should base it on one start. I’m just pointing out that he labored quite a bit, particularly in finding the strike zone.

       2. Really doubt selling of tickets had anything to do with the decision to have Giolito start tomorrow. There were not a whole of tickets left for any of the games versus the Mets, and considering the investment made in Giolito, I really doubt the minor bump in ticket sold for a single really matters (if ticket sales were the motivation, they could bring up Giolito against a less high profile opponent at less high profile time).

          Most importantly, the Nats are in a race to win the division, and the Mets are the Nats’ most worthy division adversary. So, any game counts two games in the standings (a win for the Nats and a loss for the Mets). The decision was made because the Nats Front Office thinks Giolito gives the Nats the best chance to win, and the Nats always anticipated having to add Giolito to the 40 man roster at some point during 2016. Nats aren’t as sure a move needs to be made for Voth as there are others that may be needed to added to the 40 man (Lopez, Glover). They had a free move to add Giolito with Taylor Jordan out, for anyone else that they add, the will need to waive someone off the 40 man.

          1. On the flip side, Strasburg knew on Saturday that he was likely going to miss the start, and they could have held out Lopez to use him on Tuesday. That would have made the most sense from a purely performance standpoint.

             Baseball is a business, and you should always follow the money. That’s why Zimmerman starts and Robinson sits (they don’t even platoon) even though they are probably close to equal right now from a performance standpoint and having another lefty power hitter would balance the lineup better when they face righthanders.

             1. I agree, KK, on Lopez coming up to pitch relief this year. He would bring great energy in August or September and can transition to starter in the show next year.

                Bringing up Giolito must be because the Nats want to give him a taste before he spends the rest of the year in Syracuse. Let’s face it, Giolito would be only the 3rd best choice based on results this far.

                I also agree that we are about to lose at least 1 or two of our best prospects in a big trade. It will hurt, as it always does, but the big club has a couple of holes to fill.

             2. I think that Zim starts over CRob because the Nats think that he is the better player, and more likely to help the ball club.

12. Lucas burns his IP tank then voth gets a later
    Look

13. Gil lost in translation
    Encarnacion up to hags not Mesa hmmm

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