The newest Nationals pitching prospect, fitting for a kid from Houston, had been through baseball’s draft rodeo before. Matt Purke agreed to a $6 million contract with the Texas Rangers after being drafted No.?14 overall in 2009 out of high school. Unfortunately, Major League Baseball and not Texas ownership was controlling the team’s finances. The deal was rejected, and Purke was offered $4 million. Instead, he chose college, going 16-0 for Texas Christian as a freshman in 2010 before shoulder bursitis scared away some scouts this spring. But he wasn’t all that worried. Purke believed rest was all he needed this summer and was more than willing to undergo medical procedures, including an arthrogram, to give the Nats the same confidence. It worked, and Purke agreed to terms a few minutes before the deadline at midnight Monday. But if healthy, why sign as a third-round pick instead of going back to TCU and turning himself into a higher pick next spring?
“When I got to TCU I got a sense of, ‘This is home. I can fit in with these people and be a part of this group,’?” Purke said at his introductory news conference at Nationals Park on Thursday. “Throughout the days I was [in Washington] before the All-Star break, I got the same feeling, when I was able to talk to the owners, be around the stadium and see the fans and stuff. I said, ‘I know this feeling,’ and it was a good one.”
Purke was wearing No. 47 on Thursday — kind of a random number but one he had a good reason for donning. The left-hander grew up idolizing another No. 47 — Atlanta Braves great Tom Glavine.
– Brian McNally
