We are in the phase of rebuilding where the Washington Nationals are looking for cheap talent to patch together a roster. Skimming the wavier wire has once again produced a name and player the Nats are willing to take a chance with. The ultimate low risk-high reward scenario, teams in similar positions hope to maximize on. Worked to a certain degree with Josh Rogers right? Released by the Orioles a year ago, Rogers gave the Nats six decent starts to end the season. Can they duplicate that production from Lucius Fox?
Lucius Fox. The Nationals are his third team in the past month. Kicked to the curb twice before. A long ways from the player the San Francisco Giants thought he’d be when they gave him a $6M signing bonus out of the Bahamas in 2015. He’s a light hitting infielder with some speed. Will he become Jose Siri or Adrian Sanchez? I’m thinking closer to the latter.
Siri was a highly touted international prospect who toiled in the minors and was passed around three teams in three months before finding a home in Houston. He had an OPS of .921 at Triple-A last year, at age 25, then hit .304 during the regular season and made the Astros World Series roster.
Sanchez, whom the Nats recently signed to a minor league contract, is a Nationals lifer. He’s an organizational piece though. Depth. Light hitting. Good defense. An, in case of injury, call-up. Not to be trusted for long periods of time.
The Nationals claimed infielder Lucius Fox off waivers, though don’t expect him to become a household name.
No one expects Fox to come in and compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster. I’m thinking he won’t even see the field at all this season. Remember Humberto Arteaga? Sure you do. Trea Turner injured his finger. Luis Garcia and Carter Kieboom were battling ailments in the minors. Arteaga gets the call and hits a sacrifice fly in four plate appearances before being shuttled back to the Triple-A. He was literally in the big leagues less than 24 hours. The Nationals didn’t trust him, and they are not going to trust Lucius Fox.
The Nationals were at a different stage at that point. Early July, still in the playoff hunt in a weak National League East. Kyle Schwarber wasn’t hurt yet. A rebuilding Nationals team can afford to audition different names. Though with a crowded infield, and youth to play (at just 24 Fox isn’t old, even in baseball years) there won’t be a place for Fox to play at the big league level. Not unless he tears the cover off the ball in spring training. Judging by his .244 career minor league average and one home run every 112 at-bats, I don’t see that happening.
We can hope for Jose Siro, but we’ll probably get Lucius Fox.