Washington Nationals trade Kyle Lobstein in a change of scenery deal

First of all, seeing the name Kyle and the word traded in the same tweet made my heart skip a beat. Sure, the Washington Nationals are five game under .500 at the halfway point, though they are still in the hunt for the National League East title. Too early to start selling off pieces.

Plus, Kyle Schwarber is on the shelf with an injury, he’s not going any where. Yet.

Kyle Lobstein is the Kyle who is on the move. After being designated for assignment last week, he was in DFA limbo and he probably wasn’t going to make it back up to the Nationals if he was out-righted to the minors. We will never know.

After being designated for assignment, Kyle Lobstein has been traded from the Nationals to the Brewers.

His time was brief with the Nationals and his numbers were not great. Thrust in action alongside fellow reliever Andres Machado when injuries ravaged the Nationals bullpen, Lobstein was unable to pitch effectively.

Prior to his three outings with the Nationals, Lobstein last appeared in the Majors in 2016, as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then he had pitched with the Marlins, Dodgers, and Athletics organizations, though only in the Minors.

His work with the Nationals consisted of an inning and a third, allowing three earned runs and leaving DC with an ERA of 20.25.

With such a track record, one would wonder why the Milwaukee Brewers would want Lobstein. Well, they just DFAed a pitcher of their own, in Ryan Weber. Pitching depth is hard to come by these days. Left handers are at a premium regardless of what the situation. Maybe just a change of scenery is what Lobstein needs to get on the right track.

What do the Nationals get in return? The proverbial bag of balls. Technically, the transaction register will read “cash considerations”, but who knows if any money will change hands.

Regardless, if this gives Kyle Lobstein the opportunity to make it back to the big leagues, good for all parties involved.