Bringing up players from the minors when the rosters expand in September isn’t going to be easy for the Washington Nationals. The Nats would love to promote pitchers Tom Milone and Brad Peacock and infielder Steve Lombardozzi to the big leagues. All three have enjoyed stellar seasons in the minors and are seen as the next round of core players to wear a Washington uniform. That’s great, but at the moment none of the three is on the 40-man roster, which will be full once Stephen Strasburg is activated from the 60-day disabled list.
Someone — or some three — will have to go, and pitchers look the most vulnerable.
Right-hander Elvin Ramirez is one possibility. He was a Rule 5 draft pick from the Mets and has to spend 90 non-September days active on the 25-man roster in order for the Nats to keep him. He had right shoulder injury that kept him on the sidelines all season, and it’s hard not to wonder whether he has fallen well behind a lot of other pitching prospects. He has a power arm but, like Henry Rodriguez, has had some command issues. He will be 24 in October. Like Strasburg, he is on the 60-day DL and does not count against the 40-man total.
Garrett Mock has had a few trials with the Nationals, both as a starter and reliever. He has been in the minors all season with mixed results. He’s averaging five walks every nine innings, and that’s not what the ballclub is looking for. He’ll be 29 in April.
Lefty reliever Doug Slaten has been on the DL since June with left elbow problems. He has been rehabbing recently with decent results but at 31 could find himself on the bubble.
Adam Carr is a righty reliever who could be on shaky ground. An All-American at Oklahoma State, Carr’s minor league numbers have never been great, and he turns 28 in April.
Yunesky Maya likely is safe because of the financial investment the club has in him, and Craig Stammen may have shown enough — an 8.0-2.5 strikeout-walk ratio at Syracuse — to stick around as well.
It’s also quite possible — make that likely — that between now and Thursday one or more Nationals veterans will be traded into a pennant race. The races in both West divisions are still fairly tight, and the Giants in particular are hurting in their bullpen at the moment.
It could make for an interesting week — and a slightly revised roster — before the Nats get back home Friday.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a baseball historian and contributor to MASN’s “Nats Xtra.” Contact him at [email protected].
