In a move to make room for newly acquired relief pitcher Todd Coffey the Washington Nationals decided to designate outfielder Justin Maxwell for assignment.
Maxwell a native Marylander was taken by the Nationals in the 4th round of the 2005 draft but between an inconsistent bat and struggling for playing time has failed to meet expectations.
Maxwell has played in 122 games for the Nationals over parts of 3 seasons (07, 09, 10) and in that time has put up a .201 batting average with a .319 on base percentage. Washington has continued to hold on to some hope for him as have I as well because he does have the tools as a hitter to be a major league player it is just about whether or not he will finally put it all together.
Plus as a fielder he did post a UZR/150 rating of 21.9 in 2010 and a 29.5 in 2009. For anyone not familiar with what UZR is well it stands for ultimate zone rating and the 150 is adjusted to equal out to what a player would do over 150 games. The rating system takes in to account
Outfield arm runs- how many runs above average a player helps prevent with their arm by keeping a runner from advancing
Double play runs- number of runs above average a player is it at turning a double play
Range runs- how many balls above average a player is able to get to and field
Error runs- does a player commit more or less errors than the average player at their position
So for Maxwell his 21.9 uzr/150 means that over 150 games he would have prevented 21.9 runs more than the average outfielder. So he does provide the Nationals with a good glove unfortunately his bat has not come anywhere close to what he has done as a fielder.
Some are saying that his run with the Nationals may be coming to an end. Honestly at times I just wish that Maxwell could get a complete season as a starter just to see what he could do as a hitter. Sort of a sink or swim type of deal if he does not show over 162 games that he can be a big league hitter than ok cut ties or do whatever you want but if he pans out well you got a solid starter. I don’t feel he will ever get that chance at least not with the Nationals.
Now the wait and see game with Maxwell begins. Will he still make the team out of spring training? Will he end up with another team?