While the offseason for the Washington Nationals has drawn some mixed reviews to this point, it would be hard to argue that Paul Toboni has completely sat on his hands. Yes, Toboni has yet to add a true impact free agent thus far, but with still a week to go until pitchers and catchers report, the time has not yet run out on him.
However, it would be fair to say that we are getting late in the game here for the first-time President of Baseball Operations and his new front office full of youngsters. But with some big free agents still out there whether it be Rhys Hoskins, Lucas Giolito, or even a reunion with Max Scherzer in some capacity, there are a lot of names that could make sense for the Nationals.
But this piece is not about any of them, it is more about some of the shuffling the Nationals have been doing with their 40-man roster, which in a sense has been a giant game of musical chairs. Just recently after claiming utility man Mickey Gasper off waivers from the Minnesota Twins not even 2 weeks ago, he is already back out on the open market.
The Nationals already designated their new utility man for assignment back on January 29th, and it seemingly got a little bit lost during the weekend. Taking his place was a replacement waiver claim coming in the form of veteran lefty reliever Richard Loveday, who most recently appeared for the National League East rival New York Mets.
Loveday's stats are not really going to wow anyone just based on his big league performance thus far, with a 5.35 ERA and 1.351 WHIP in 118 career games in the majors, but his numbers in the minors have been solid. As the Nationals continue to figure out their minor league depth for the upcoming season, Loveday will likely be at worst an arm that awaits an opportunity in AAA Rochester as a guy on the short list for a call-up.
He also could be a factor in the Nationals' plans for their Opening Day bullpen, as they have not yet fully settled on who will factor into late-inning roles with incumbent closer Jose A. Ferrer now in Seattle. Of course, we will continue to hope the Nationals make a big move to give fans some excitement, but it doesn't seem like us fans should be holding our breath.
What do you think of the waiver claim addition of Richard Loveday? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.