The Washington Nationals accomplished a major feat on Memorial Day Monday, as the visiting team scored 10 runs en route to a dominant victory over the Cleveland Guardians. It was a momentous occasion for the organization, as it was the Nationals' first time getting back over the .500 mark this late into the season for the first time since 2021.
Needless to say, things have been different under the new regime. While the previous regime was not all bad, as they did win a World Series and pull the trigger on the Juan Soto deal that can now be officially declared a win for the Nationals, their philosophies were outdated and the organization suffered at all levels as a result.
New President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni has shown a tendency to swing under-the-radar deals, and it has resulted in both some early hits and misses so far. Well, on Monday, Toboni was back at it, this time swinging a deal to acquire an intriguing lefty pitching prospect from the Colorado Rockies.
That name is Carson Palmquist, who had been ranked in the Top 30 list for the Rockies until the trade became official today. While there might not be a ton about him that particularly excites you, he could end up being some very valuable starting rotation depth for a club that might need some very quickly.
Jake Irvin hit the Injured List over the weekend, and it still has not been officially announced as how the club will manage his turn in the rotation. But as for Palmquist, who was optioned to AAA Rochester upon completion of the deal, his profile is an interesting one.
The 25-year-old lefty was a 3rd round pick by the Rockies back in 2022, and made his big league debut last season. He started 7 of 9 games for the Rockies and had an ugly 0-4 record with an 8.91 ERA and 2.04 WHIP in 34.1 innings pitched, yikes. However, given that there could be a guy like Luis Perales or Riley Cornelio coming up from Rochester in a couple days, the AAA affiliate might need more arms.
Palmquist does not throw particularly hard and does not strike out a ton of batters, so it will be interesting to see if the Nationals have plans for him to be a starter or reliever moving forward. Nonetheless, the former prospect pedigree makes it an intriguing acquisition, as perhaps the new Nationals coaching staff can get more out of him. Finally, new signing Max Kranick was transferred to the 60-day IL to clear space on the 40-man roster for Palmquist.
What do you think of the Nationals' decision to acquire Carson Palmquist from the Rockies? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
Add us as a preferred source on Google