Outfielder designated for assignment when Storen is activated
Rick Ankiel has had better birthdays.
The now 33-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Thursday before a 9-5 loss to the New York Mets. The organization has 10 days to trade Ankiel, release him or send him to Triple-A Syracuse. He likely will be claimed by another club off waivers.
Washington made the move to clear roster space for reliever Drew Storen, who debuted Thursday after elbow surgery in April cost him the first 89 games of the season. For now, the Nats are willing to go with an eight-man bullpen — instead of carrying the usual seven relievers — and a four-man bench that will be short a player.
“You look at the construction of the club and the construction of the bench, [Ankiel] was the logical candidate,” Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Ankiel was batting .228 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. His on-base percentage was also just .282, though Ankiel has value as a defensive center fielder with one of the sport’s strongest arms. But he was an increasing luxury caught in a numbers crunch. Ankiel had started 35 games between April 14, when he came off the disabled list following a left hamstring strain, and June 13. But he has started two games since then and had just six at-bats in July.
Nats manager Davey Johnson cited the maturity of rookie Bryce Harper, who has taken over as the starter in center; the health of Michael Morse (strained lat muscle), who returned to the lineup June 2; and the impending return of Jayson Werth (broken wrist) as reasons for the move.
Even Triple-A outfielder Corey Brown, who has 21 home runs for Syracuse and a .948 OPS, can fill in for Ankiel later this summer, if needed. But Washington didn’t want Storen’s return to mean the loss of a reliever like Mike Gonzalez (2.51 ERA), who has performed well, or Henry Rodriguez, whose talent makes him appealing to opposing teams.
Relievers Craig Stammen (2.08 ERA) and Ryan Mattheus (1.69 ERA) have done their jobs effectively, too, and reserve outfielder Roger Bernadina was deemed more versatile, according to Rizzo, with the ability to play all three outfield positions, pinch hit and add speed on the bases.
