While the Washington Nationals dropped a tough series to the PIttsburgh Pirates at home over the weekend, there were a lot of moves made around the league. The Nationals themselves made a couple roster moves that left some fans wondering what had happened to a former big name.
Righty Eddy Yean got to make his Nationals and major league debut on Sunday following a wild professional journey that saw him be traded from the Nationals to the Pirates several years back, only to debut with the Nationals against the Pirates after all that time. It must have been a wild day for Yean, but perhaps the more surprising part was learning about the corresponding move.
Robert Hassell III's Nationals tenure in doubt following DFA
If the header and cover image did not give it away, outfielder Robert Hassell III has officially been Designated for Assignment by the Nationals. The decision came as the corresponding move to clear space on the 40-man roster for Yean, but it has likely been one that the organization has seen coming for quite a while.
The interesting part of it all is that Hassell III, who was once a huge part of the return in the Juan Soto trade with the San Diego Padres, was being thrown in conversations of being part of the future outfield not all that long ago. However, due to injuries and just not showing as much upside as several other outfielders in the system, the 24-year-old Hassell III will now be looking for his next chance.
He debuted in the majors with the Nationals last season, and slashed .223/.257/.315 with a .572 OPS in 70 games for the big league club, but had struggled a ton down at AAA this season. He did homer 3 times and drive in 18 runs last year, but a paltry 62:8 K:BB ratio in the majors last year and diminishing approach this year while repeating a level did not do him any favors.
A former #8 overall pick by the Padres back in 2020, Hassell III was ranked inside the Top 40 prospects in baseball according to several publications at the time of the Soto deal in 2022, but he never quite found his ceiling within the Nationals organization. Given the pedigree and former prospect status of Hassell III, it is pretty revealing that Paul Toboni and the new front office felt they had no one else more expendable on the 40-man than him.
Given all that the new coaching staff and infrastructure has done for other players in the organization, it is interesting to see that they already pulled the plug on Hassell III and his development moving forward. Although he had the pedigree, he had fallen behind the organizational depth chart in the outfield behind James Wood, Jacob Young, Dylan Crews, and Daylen Lile at the big league level, and even below guys like Christian Franklin, Andrew Pinckney, and Joey Wiemer at the AAA level.
He always seemed like a likable guy, so I hope he catches on elsewhere and finds some success, but it is tough to see a guy who was once as highly touted as him not quite pan out the way everyone expected him to. We will be sure to update on his status as soon as we know anything.
What do you think of Robert Hassell III being DFA'd by the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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