The Nationals have made one thing clear early in the Paul Toboni era, they will churn through a lot of players. It feels like the Nats are making some sort of roster move every other day. Whether it is small trades or waiver claims, the Nats are going to be active this season.
We saw yet another example of that yesterday when they traded for the recently DFA’d Curtis Mead. The reason why they traded for him and did not claim him is actually interesting. Mead was with the White Sox, who are obviously in the AL. For waiver claims, AL teams get first dibs on AL players. Clearly, the Nats coveted Mead, so they gave up a minor leaguer to get in front of the line.
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Taking bets on players like Mead is a solid process for a rebuilding team. Curtis Mead was a top prospect just a few years ago and is still just 25. His elite hitting ability in the minors has not translated to the MLB yet, but the Nats are in a position to give him a shot. If it does not work out, they can either option Mead or just DFA him again. However, if he hits, he could stick around for a while.
Honestly, the strategy is similar to what venture capital firms do, which is what one of you said in the comments. If you take enough of these bets on players with pedigree, at least one or two of them is bound to work out. These are not moves that have much of a chance of making an impact, but the cost of these are very low. All you need for these guys is an open 40 man roster spot and sometimes a lesser known prospect.
The only one of these moves that I have not really loved is the Jorbit Vivas one. Sean Paul Linan is a flawed pitcher, but he is a real prospect. I do not love giving that up for a utility infielder with no minor league options left, especially when you already have Jose Tena. However, Toboni clearly likes Vivas’ skills at the plate, so we will see how that works out.
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Spencer Nusbaum, now of the Athletic, actually predicted that the Nats will set the record for the most players rostered in a season. Right now that record is 71, which the Braves did last season. With all these minor moves Toboni is already making, the Nats are likely to at least challenge that record.
This is a departure from the Nats old ways. In the Mike Rizzo days, the Nats tended to stick with the guys they had. They would make the occasional waiver claim, and Rizzo had a couple good ones. Most notably, he claimed Hunter Harvey and Robert Garcia. However, he was not using the waiver wire at the kind of volume Toboni will. For a rebuilding team, I think Toboni’s approach makes more sense. You have room on the roster to give guys chances.
The Nats use of the waiver wire did not start just this spring though. Toboni went on a waiver claim frenzy in January and early February. He picked up guys like Joey Wiemer, Ken Waldichuk, Andre Granillo and Gus Varland, who all made the Opening Day roster. There were also guys who were only on the roster for a few days before getting DFA’d again.
This churn will certainly keep Nats reporters like myself on my toes. There will be a steady stream of players coming and going in DC. If just a couple of these guys hit, all of this activity will be worth it. The Nats are playing with penny stocks right now. It kind of sucks that the team is bad enough to give all these guys opportunities, but hopefully this sort of stuff will pay off in the long run.
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