Nationals: Washington Made A Flurry Of Roster Moves
Monday was a busy day for the Nationals, with the team promoting multiple prospects throughout the ranks.
Today has been anything but slow on the Nationals front. It was announced this morning that the team’s top-pitching prospect Cade Cavalli, 2017 first-round pick Seth Romero, and Andrew Lee were all promoted to Triple-A.
The Washington #Nationals have promoted top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli, Seth Romero, and Andrew Lee to @RocRedWings.
— Nate Rowan (@njrowan) August 24, 2021
Cavalli leads all @MiLB pitchers with 151 strikeouts.
All three will be making their Triple-A debuts, though Romero did pitch in 3 MLB games last season.
Cavalli’s promotion was the biggest news of the day. Drafted in 2020, Cavalli has flown up the ranks this season and leads MiLB in strikeouts. He started the year at High-A, going 3-1, with a 1.77 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. His dominance led to his promotion to Double-A where he went 3-3, with a 2.79 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 58 innings.
Cavalli will need to work on his control, with batters laying off his out of the zone pitches more and more in AA. He walked 35 batters at AA compared to only 12 at A+.
Before he was drafted, Romero was known for his off-the-field issues that followed him to the Minor Leagues. He underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2018 season which culminated in him missing all of 2019. Recently, Romero has seen to put his antics behind him and has benefited from it. The plan is for him to stay stretched out as a starter even though he has been working out of the bullpen.
Lee has shown flashes of success this season when he was used out of the bullpen. In 12 relief appearances, he posted a 0.65 ERA, with 31 strikeouts, and only 12 walks.
However, this was just the beginning. It was then announced the Nationals had promoted a trio of their most recent draft picks. Darren Baker, Dustin Saenz, and Cole Quintanilla were all sent to Low-A after starting out in the Rookie League.
More Nationals minor league notes: Recent draft picks Dustin Saenz, Cole Quintanilla and Darren Baker have been promoted to low-A Fredericksburg from the Florida Complex League.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) August 24, 2021
Then, the Nationals announced they had recalled Patrick Murphy and Sam Clay from AAA while optioning Gabe Klobosits back to AAA. Jefry Rodriguez became the odd man out and was DFAed.
Roster moves:
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 24, 2021
* RHP Patrick Murphy, LHP Sam Clay called up from AAA
* RHP Gabe Klobosits optioned to AAA
* RHP Jefry Rodriguez DFA’d
* RHP Javy Guerra cleared waivers, elected to become a free agent
Patrick Murphy was recently claimed off of Waivers from Toronto and immediately slotted in as the Nationals 18th ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline. Murphy was inconsistent with the Blue Jays this year (4.82 ERA, 5.21 FIP, 9.1 IP), but he posted a 1.50 ERA in six innings in 2019.
Klobosits’s demotion was a surprise, seeing how the team is in the midst of a rebuild and should be giving their young core as many reps as possible. While he has struggled, he needs to show if he can stick or not, and sending him back to the minors isn’t the way. In his place is Sam Clay who has looked overwhelmed at times this season.
It was also reported that Aldo Ramirez had been activated from the IL.
Nationals No. 12 prospect Aldo Ramirez has been activated off the IL and placed on the FCL roster. Acquired from the Red Sox in the Kyle Schwarber deal, Ramirez has yet to pitch for a Nats affiliate due to right elbow tendinitis. https://t.co/sQa7nrBbxA
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) August 24, 2021
Acquired in the Kyle Schwarber trade, Ramirez will start in the rookie league as he builds his strength back up. The Nats also promoted Joan Adon to AA. After a busy day, it will be exciting to see how the youngsters perform in their new homes.