Washington Nationals News: Nats Add Three Players To 40-Man Roster

As the Major League Baseball calendar gets closer to the Winter Meetings, it also means we get closer to the annual Rule 5 Draft. That draft will take place on Thursday, December 10 at the Winter Meetings. All 30 teams have until 11:59 PM ET today to put players on their 40-man roster to save them from being selected in that draft. Yesterday, the Washington Nationals chose to put second baseman Chris Bostick, catcher Spencer Kieboom, and left-handed reliever Nick Lee on their 40-man roster:

At some point during this season, all three players were teammates under Tripp Keister at low-A Potomac. Plus, they all played in the Arizona Fall League this offseason for the Salt River Rafters, also managed by Keister. Down in Arizona, Bostick hit .268 with four home runs and 12 RBI’s in 20 games, Kieboom hit .238 with two home runs and seven RBI’s in 13 games, and Lee was 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA in six relief appearances (five strikeouts to four walks).

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Out of these three players, Bostick and Lee advanced the farthest in the system in 2015 as he got the chance to play games up at double-A Harrisburg. Bostick played 75 games for the Senators and hit .247 with eight home runs and 40 RBI’s. Over the final 48 games of his double-A season, the 22-year-old right-hander drove in 29 runs. The Nats acquired Bostick along with reliever Abel De Los Santos last offseason in the trade with the Texas Rangers for Ross Detwiler. Bostick is the 23rd ranked prospect in the system (according to MLB Pipeline).

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As for Kieboom, the 24-year-old right-handed catcher hit .248 in 71 games with two home runs, 26 RBI’s, and a .344 on-base percentage. Kieboom had a shortened season this year because of concussion symptoms, but he is still a catcher to keep an eye on in the Nats’ minor league system along with Pedro Severino. The Nats’ 5th round pick in the 2012 MLB Draft is the 21st ranked prospect in the Nats system.

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Nick Lee was the only pitcher added to the 40-man. After appearing in 20 games for Potomac (1-1, 2.57 ERA), the 18th round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft was promoted to Harrisburg on July 4. With the Senators, the 24-year-old left-hander went 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA and had one save. While Lee’s walked seven batters per nine innings in double-A, he was able to strike out 10.9 batters per nine innings.

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