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Washington Nationals Player Profile: Nate Freiman

By Ricky Keeler

August 22, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Nate Freiman (35) bats during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics defeated the Angels 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
August 22, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Nate Freiman (35) bats during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics defeated the Angels 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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We introduce you to the newest member of the Washington Nationals, Nate Freiman

Yesterday, after the Washington Nationals defeated the Atlanta Braves, 7-2 in Viera, the two teams exchanged backup first baseman. The Nats dealt Tyler Moore to Atlanta in exchange for Nate Freiman. This spring, Freiman is hitting a mere .120 with one home run and three RBI’s in 25 at-bats.

Last season, Freiman played in 79 games for triple-A Nashville (Oakland Athletics) and had a slash line of .220/.279/.321 with four home runs and 31 RBI’s. The San Diego Padres selected Freiman in the eighth round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of Duke University.

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While the 29-year-old right-handed hitter has only played in 116 games in the Major Leagues (2013-2014 with Oakland), he has played in the Astros and Padres organizations in addition to the A’s. The Braves signed Freiman to a minor league deal back in December after Oakland released him.

If you look at Freiman’s numbers from last season, he was much better in the second half of the year. After hitting .158 in his first 42 games, Freiman hit .283 in the second half with four home runs and 22 RBI’s. Out of the 61 hits he had, 14 of them went for doubles (tied for seventh on the team). However, his .279 on-base percentage was the second lowest on the Nashville roster of any player who played in 75+ games.

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Should the Washington DC native make it up to the big leagues this season, he could be a good option for manager Dusty Baker to use against left-handed pitching. Back in 2013, he hit .304 in 69 games against left-handers. The only three hitters on the A’s that had a better average against lefties (148+ at-bats) were Jed Lowrie, Derek Norris, and Josh Donaldson.

As far as how his Major League career has gone so far, Freiman hit four home runs in 2014, but two of them occurred in one game (August 17 against the Braves). He played in 36 games that season as part of the A’s platoon plans at first base.

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In the end, I like this trade for both teams. The Braves are able to get a player in Moore who has experience at the Major League level and could see some playing time, depending on the health of Freddie Freeman:

As for the Nats, they get a player in Freiman who gives them another depth piece in the minors at first base behind Ryan Zimmerman and Clint Robinson. While he hasn’t had great success at the Major League level, it will be interesting to see what Freiman can do with a different organization.

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