The Nats Blog
An independent Washington Nationals news, opinion, and analysis site
  • Federal Reserve
  • Archives
    • 2016 Articles
    • 2017 Articles
  • Nats Talk On The Go

Tag Archives: Brian Goodwin

Who Goes Down When the Regulars Come Back

Liz Barr June 04, 2018 2018 Articles 1 Comment

With Ryan Madson’s activation from the DL, Trevor Gott got the short end of the stick and was sent back to the minors. The Nationals are due to get the cavalry back from the DL very shortly and will activate a number of important, formerly injured players. With all these players to add back to the roster, who should get the ax to make room?

The players believed to be returning soon are Brian Goodwin, Daniel Murphy, Matt Grace, and Adam Eaton. That means two outfielders, an infielder, and a reliever should be sent back to the minors.

There are a number of relievers the Nats can choose from, the most likely candidates being Tim Collins, Justin Miller, and Wander Suero. The Nats can go a few different ways with this decision, depending on how they want to balance the bullpen. Grace is a lefty, and Collins is the only one out of that selected group who is left-handed, so that would be a natural replacement. He has, however, been effective in his limited appearances this season. In 2.2 innings over 5 games, he struck out three batters, walked one, and allowed zero runs. He has also had a few Tommy Johns, which could be a factor in his workload down the stretch.

Justin Miller is a relatively under-the-radar pitcher who could easily be sent down, but he’s also performed well in a limited amount of time. In 2.1 innings over 3 games, he struck out five, walked none, and given up zero runs. There’s a lot unknown about him, but if you look at his numbers, his career ERA is 4.86, so that could be a reason for demotion. It has also been two years since he’s pitched in the big leagues, and he could be turning a new leaf. We just don’t know.

Wander Suero is the youngest of the three, and perhaps has the biggest upside. Unlike Collins and Miller, this is his first go-around in the bigs, and there is a lot of potential for him to grow. On the flip side, maybe it means he needs more seasoning in the minors. He has pitched pretty well in the big leagues. In 10 games, he has a 2.70 ERA with 8 strikeouts, 4 walks, and a WHIP of 1.30. Pretty solid, especially for a player of his age. Suero would probably not be my pick to take off the roster, but he’s on the list. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about contract situations and who has an option so this decision could be taken out of their hands due to that.

The easiest decision to make is in the infield: when Daniel Murphy comes back, Adrian Sanchez leaves. I like him and he’s a great guy to have on the bench, but there’s no question here. The rest of your infield roster consists of Matt Adams, Wilmer Difo, Anthony Rendon, Matt Reynolds, and Trea Turner. Sanchez plays the middle infield and third, he’s the natural person for Murphy to replace, and that’s what’s going to happen. Murphy will slide back into the lineup, probably splitting some time with Difo as he gets back into game shape. See you next infield injury or for September call-ups, Adrian.

The outfield is sticky. On the one hand, the first decision is quite easy. No matter whether Goodwin or Eaton comes back first, they’re booting Andrew Stevenson back to the minors. He’s a good kid, but there’s just no room for him. And when the second guy comes back…the Nats are probably going to have to send Juan Soto back to the minors. Soto has been superb, and he’s really provided a spark, but he’s young, and, like with Stevenson, there’s just not enough room in the outfield. His call-up was completely unexpected anyway, and he’ll tear up the minors and become even better. I don’t like it, but it’s what I see has to happen. The silver lining is that if he’s in the minors, it means Eaton is back and healthy, and Spanky is perfectly capable of setting the table and providing a much-needed spark in the lineup.

It’s going to be difficult to say goodbye to some of these guys, as they’ve done yeoman’s work while the regulars had the plague, but this team is getting close to being healthy, and they’re finally going to be in top condition and ready to explode.

Have the Nationals Been Lucky or Unlucky?

Andrew Flax August 19, 2017 2017 Articles Leave a Comment

The 2017 season has been one of many surprises, both good and bad. The Nationals have been absolutely decimated by injuries, but a few not-so-big names have stepped ably into their place. At 73-47, the Nationals are on a 99-win pace and hold a comfortable 14-game division lead. But if they hadn’t had their major injuries, would they be on a 106-win pace? Or if their bench hadn’t stepped up, would they be on their way to 87 wins? Let’s break down all these surprises and see if we can’t figure out the impact they’ve had on this team.

Continue Reading Have the Nationals Been Lucky or Unlucky?

Two Months to See Who’s In and Who’s Out

Court Swift August 07, 2017 2017 Articles Leave a Comment

There are 53 games left in the regular season. Fifty-three games to get through until the games really matter. Fifty-three games for some guys to get healthy, some to get hurt, and others to either play their way on or off the playoff roster.

Continue Reading Two Months to See Who’s In and Who’s Out

Nats’ Benchwarmers are Game-Changers

Dan Zaudtke July 21, 2017 2017 Articles 1 Comment

The Washington Nationals have followed up each division-winning/disappointing playoff loss season with an even more disappointing campaign. 2013 and 2015 were ravaged by poor performance, injuries, and a lack of overall depth. 2012 saw injuries to Jayson Werth and Michael Morse; Bryce Harper was a rookie. While we were relatively healthy, our bench was outstanding — “The Shark,” Roger Bernadina posted a career best 1.7 WAR, hitting .291/.372/.405. He was one of the best pinch-hitters in the league that year. Along with Bernadina, Tyler Moore had an .840 OPS; Chad Tracy posted a .784 OPS; post-deadline pickup and current Nat-killer Kurt Suzuki had a .725 OPS. All of them provided valuable, quality at-bats off the bench. They would all crater in 2013, as no one off the bench with more than 50 plate appearances had an OPS higher than .625. They did not have the depth to make up for injuries to Werth and Harper and the struggles of starters like Adam LaRoche. 2015 brought a mirror of 2013, with a struggling bullpen and horrible string of injuries that would see the opening day lineup together for just two games. They got a very good year from Clint Robinson annd a late season surge from Matt den Dekker, but they did not have enough to make up for injuries, under-performances, and Matt Williams.

Continue Reading Nats’ Benchwarmers are Game-Changers

The Biggest Over- and Under-Performers of the First Half

Joseph Seib July 14, 2017 2017 Articles Leave a Comment

The Nationals kick off the second half of the 2017 season tonight on the road against the Reds sitting 9.5 games up in the NL East. While the squad has sat in first place for practically the entire season, it hasn’t been an easy road getting there. Some players have outplayed their expectations while others have been disappointing so far this season.

Continue Reading The Biggest Over- and Under-Performers of the First Half

Brian Goodwin, the Saving Grace

Liz Barr July 03, 2017 2017 Articles 1 Comment

Everyone is hurt, the bullpen sucks, and Gio Gonzalez wasn’t named an All-Star. The Nationals were in a bit of a skid until Max Scherzer hurled a gem on Sunday night, and things weren’t looking so pretty. Trea Turner’s wrist is broken, Jayson Werth is still out, and the bullpen is a revolving door of awfulness. And yet the Nationals have continued to play some consistent baseball. So who’s been the saving grace throughout all these injuries? Not Scherzer or any of the big boppers in the lineup, but Brian Goodwin.
Continue Reading Brian Goodwin, the Saving Grace

Stars and Scrubs

Court Swift July 03, 2017 2017 Articles Leave a Comment

With 5 All-Stars so far (#VoteRendon), this year’s version of the Nats is Dolly-Parton-like top heavy. The top 6 Nats all have 2 WAR or higher. There are 2 Nats in the top 10 in baseball in both hitting (Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper) and pitching (Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg). Injuries and the craptastic bullpen have sucked a lot of joy out of this season. Yet the calamities that have befallen the team have allowed a few of scrubs to show their worth.

Continue Reading Stars and Scrubs

Who Would the Nationals Protect in an Expansion Draft?

Andrew Flax June 21, 2017 2017 Articles, Features Leave a Comment

Today is the NHL’s expansion draft. If you’re unfamiliar, here’s a quick primer of the NHL expansion rules: each team is allowed to select a certain number of its players to protect. Any others are eligible to be selected by the expansion team, which must select exactly one player from each team.

So, in the spirit of keeping things topical, I decided to take a crack at seeing who the Nationals would protect in an expansion draft. MLB had its own expansion draft 20 years ago when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined, and therefore has its own set of rules.

Continue Reading Who Would the Nationals Protect in an Expansion Draft?

Nats Power Rankings: June 5

Dan Keegan June 05, 2017 2017 Articles, Features Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the latest in a series, in which we review the previous week in Nationals baseball and power rank the players according to their performance. This is an extremely unserious exercise; at no point should it ever be confused with actual baseball analysis. Don’t worry, I will do my best to make sure that is obvious. Without further ado: your Washington Nationals, ranked according to power.  Continue Reading Nats Power Rankings: June 5

Off-the-Field Recap: The Indians Blew A 3-1 Lead

Mina Dunn June 02, 2017 2017 Articles Leave a Comment

The Nationals… did some stuff that didn’t involve baseball this week. Here are their stories.

Continue Reading Off-the-Field Recap: The Indians Blew A 3-1 Lead

1 2 Next →

About The Nats Blog

The Nats Blog is currently in the process being rebuilt due to an issue with our previous host. We will provide new content here and will work on making our archives available ASAP. Please pardon our dust in the meantime, and thanks for your patience.

We are an independent news site dedicated to bringing you the best coverage of Washington Nationals baseball possible. We hope you enjoy.

Social Media