Jon Heyman tweeted earlier today that the Washington Nationals are one of five teams interested in the right-handed power hitter Mark Reynolds.
nationals, rangers, twins, orioles & yankees among teams that have been in on mark reynolds.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2014
Reynolds is a career .233/.329/.464 hitter, who averages 33 home runs and over 200 strikeouts per 162 games played. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark but is he worth having on the bench when, most of the time it is going to be a strikeout when he comes to the plate? I don’t think so.
He last played in 2013 for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. He combined to have an on base percentage of .306 and hit 21 homers, to go along with 154 strikeouts. You like to have the power threat off the bench, but the strikeouts scare you.
He has the ability to play first and third base but is a major downgrade in fielding ability from Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche. He commits more errors per games played than Ryan Zimmerman so that won’t be in the cards for the Nats. If he were to do anything it would be only to pinch-hit.
The Nationals could move Anthony Rendon to third when needed and fill in that spot. Putting Mark Reynolds in the field is a bad idea all together.
The Nationals also have Scott Hairston, Tyler Moore, and two recently acquired right-handed bats in Jamey Carroll and Mike Fontenot. Is it that big of a difference to have one more right-handed bat in Mark Reynolds? I don’t think so.
The one thing Mike Rizzo needs to be looking for is a left-handed bat to complement with Nate McLouth, when McLouth gets the start on certain days.
I just don’t see the need to add a strikeout machine to the roster. The home runs are nice, he just won’t hit enough of them without getting some regular time. So please, Mike Rizzo, stay away from Mark Reynolds.