With the Nats looking for another starting pitcher, could they look to take a chance on Justin Masterson?
While the Washington Nationals have looked to add another starting pitcher this winter, they were not able to add Mike Leake and Wei-Yin Chen as they went to the Cardinals and Marlins respectively. They have had interest in Ian Kennedy, but Jon Heyman of MLB Network is reporting that the Royals are serious on adding Kennedy, even if it means giving up a first round pick:
Royals seem very focused on Kennedy. Good yanks connection there w/excellent pitching coach eiland. Others still in tho.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2016
If the Nats can’t get Kennedy, they can look to the second tier of the free agent market, which requires not much risk, but a lot of rewards. We have looked at one name already that could be an option in Cliff Lee. Another name that I want to throw out there as a possible fit for the Nationals is right-hander Justin Masterson.
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Masterson signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox last winter, but he was not able to have much success. In 18 games (nine starts), he went 4-2 with a 5.61 ERA (4.89 FIP). He was eventually released in August. Boston was the team that drafted him in the second round back in 2006.
Over the course of his eight-year career in the big leagues, he is 64-74 with a 4.31 ERA. His best season as a professional occurred in 2013 with the Cleveland Indians. During that All-Star season, he went 14-10 with a 3.45 ERA in 32 games (29 starts). He was in the top ten in innings pitched and strikeouts that year and he threw three shutouts as he helped the Indians advance to the postseason.
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Back in September, Masterson had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and he has had issues with his knee in the past. With these injuries, his fastball velocity has decreased drastically. According to Fangraphs, his average velocity on his fastball has gone down from about 92 miles per hour in 2012 to 87 miles per hour this year.
Another thing that does not help Masterson is his control has been inconsistent, to say the least. He has walked four batters or more per nine innings in two of the last three seasons, including 5.1 walks per nine in 2014. Plus, for a pitcher that relies on his sinking fastball to get outs, he only induced groundball outs 52% of the time last year (the lowest percentage of his career).
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While I could see Mike Rizzo going with more of a big name like Lee instead of Masterson, it would be interesting to see if new pitching coach Mike Maddux could get the right-hander back to what he was in 2013. If the medicals check out and Masterson is healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Nats sign him to a one-year deal and allow Joe Ross to begin the season at triple-A Syracuse.