Willingham goes to A’s for two minor leaguers
The Nationals traded outfielder Josh Willingham to the Oakland Athletics on Thursday for a 23-year-old relief pitcher and a minor league outfielder, general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Willingham, 31, was a key part of Washington’s offense the past two seasons but missed the final 44 games of 2010 after surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee. The team had resisted the idea of a contract extension, and Willingham was set to become a free agent at the end of next season.
In return, the Nats received right-handed pitcher Henry Rodriguez, 23, and outfielder Corey Brown, 25. Rodriguez pitched in 29 games as a reliever for Oakland in 2010. Brown played 90 games in Double-A and another 41 in Triple-A. Neither was ranked among the Athletics’ top 10 prospects in a survey by Baseball America earlier this month. But the Nats believe Rodriguez, a hard-throwing Venezuelan, adds immediate depth to their big league bullpen and could grow into a setup man or even a closer.
“[Rodriguez] is a guy we’ve scouted a lot lately,” Rizzo said. “We see a physical, big-armed guy with two plus-plus pitches. [And] at 23 years old [he is] a guy that we feel can fit comfortably in our bullpen now and for some years to come.”
| Nats notes |
| » The Nationals re-signed right-handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year contract Thursday night worth $1 million plus incentives. He spent last season with Washington while rehabbing a serious shoulder injury. |
| » Josh Willingham hit 16 home runs and drove in 56 runs in 114 games last season. |
| » Willingham and free agent first baseman Adam Dunn combined for 116 homers in their two seasons together in Washington. |
With Willingham gone, the Nats have broken up what was one of their strengths the past two seasons — a strong middle of the batting order. Both Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn finished last season in the top 20 among all major leaguers in OPS. Willingham spent much of the season among the league leaders in on-base percentage. But Washington did not re-sign Dunn, a free agent, and had sought to move Willingham since last summer.
Barring another trade or free agent signing, Roger Bernadina and Michael Morse are the logical candidates to play left field. Bernadina, especially, is a far superior defensive outfielder to Willingham. But Willingham’s bat will be difficult to replace. He slugged 40 homers in 247 games with the Nats and his .389 on-base percentage in 2010 was a career best.
“We feel the productivity offensively should be consistent with what we’ve had there in the past,” Rizzo said. “I think with Bernadina out there we certainly have supreme defense in left field and a really athletic defensive outfield. And that’s not to say that we’re finished this winter … strengthening and bolstering the club offensively and defensively.”
