From Nationals Journal, the Nationals finally made the roster move necessary to open up a 40-man spot for Johnny Estrada. The San Diego Padres claimed RHP Enrique Gonzalez off of waivers from Washington. Gonzalez was claimed late in 2007 from the Arizona Diamondbacks but never made an appearance for the Nats.
Of more interest was the signing of Japanese LHP Katsuhiko Maekawa to a minor league contract. As Barry reported
He went 2-1 with a 1.82 ERA for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League … Maekawa had legal problems in Japan resulting from a hit-and-run accident. He did not pitch in Japan in 2007 because of the problems, and according to Japanese media, he had been driving without a license for as many as four years and was unofficially barred from the Japanese major leagues. He was the No. 1 draft pick by the Kinetsu Buffaloes in 1997. He’s 29, and was 1-7 with a 5.26 ERA with Orix in 2006
It’s unlikely that he’ll be anything more than an extra arm in Columbus, but the more interesting aspect is the fact the Nats have made their initial step into the Pacific Rim. It’s not a move on par with Ichiro or Hideki Matsui or Daisuke Matsuzaka, those moves appear to be farther out on the horizon. This move is similar to the signing of Esmailyn Gonzalez (though, Smiley seems more of a “prospect”). By signing any Japanese player, the Nats have identified themselves as a candidate for Pacific Rim options. Bill Singer and the Nationals scouting department are working on the Nats visibility in Asia. It’s going to be a longer process as they build a network within Japanese baseball.
What will be worth watching is whether the signing of a Japanese player with baggage back home will be viewed positively or otherwise.
Positively Half St (10 more days) | 05-Feb-08 at 3:38 pm | Permalink
Amazing. I’ll grant that E. Gonzalez had a bad year for Arizona last year, but I am surprised that they took him off the roster instead of Ryan Langerhans, who I can’t imagine would have been claimed.
As for Maekawa, look for folks to complain about bringing on another “bad character”.
Ryan Sullivan | 05-Feb-08 at 6:08 pm | Permalink
What explanation can JimBo and company have for Josh Whitesell on the 40 man roster? It is embarassing and beyond stupid to lose any pitching arm with potential with Whitesell still on the 40-
Dick | 05-Feb-08 at 6:42 pm | Permalink
For that matter, why not option Ross Detwiler? They could have done that without losing anybody, right?
Brian Oliver | 05-Feb-08 at 7:18 pm | Permalink
Ryan - I don’t think the Nats would make amove like that with Whitesell after just placing him on the 40-man. The guy that seemed most likely to be bumped (to me) was Ryan Langerhans.
Dick - There is a difference between options and roster spots. Options only come into play during the season as part of the shaping of the 25-man roster. Someone needed to be waived off of the 40-man to make room for Johnny Estrada.
Hendo | 05-Feb-08 at 7:47 pm | Permalink
Brian - Agreed about Langerhans, although it seemed to me he must have had (and may still have) some physical / mechanical problem to have underperformed as badly as he did in ‘07.
I wonder what the Nats envision for him in ‘08? PECOTA — for what it’s worth, which may not be much as a predictor — assigns him a +1.2 WARP.
Ryan Sullivan | 05-Feb-08 at 7:48 pm | Permalink
Brian-
I agree it might be bad form, but honestly, his ceiling along with his age make him a player that should not be on any teams 40 man roster (especially with Johnson, Dmitri, Boone, and Whitney) along with Marrero and others in the minors, ahead of him in the organization.
I do not mean to make this sound personal, as he is probably a wonderful person, but a player who’s ceiling is .280 with 15-20 homers should not be protected over an arm.
pahou | 06-Feb-08 at 5:50 am | Permalink
Josh Whitesell is a real class act that can play baseball!!! He could step into the majors if need be, but the Nationals need to trade or retire Larry Broadway so that Josh can move up and still play everyday. Larry is a real class act also, unfortunetly he has proven that he can’t move up so it is time for him to go, or get traded to the Atlantic League, so that another former Senator could become league MVP.
senatorsfansunite | 06-Feb-08 at 9:36 am | Permalink
pahou:
Agree with you thoughts on Whitesell. Really nice guy. Could step in the MLB if needed. Greatly improved both bat and glove last season. I hope he gets a shot..
Will
Terry Byrom | 06-Feb-08 at 9:42 am | Permalink
I find it interesting when “we” throw around terms like ceilings and talk about how guys have passed one another.
As good as all the players below AA project to be, until someone does more than Whitesell at AA then Whitesell is still “technically” ahead of them.
Baseball isn’t a science. It’s played on a field. Things change. Ceilings are essentially semi-educated guesses, but still guesses.
Baseball and professional sports in general are littered with guys that never turned into what everyone thought they would turn into. For proof, just look at all the high school kids the NBA has drafted that haven’t turned out doing anything.
Lastly, Chris Marrero might very well turn out to be the second coming, who knows. He’s young, so he has that going for himself. But he still has a ways to go before he’s a big league player.
And just so I’m clear, I’m pretty excited about the possibility of watching him play everyday this year in Harrisburg, and to getting to know him.
My last comment is that as fun as it is to talk about all of these “prospects”, that’s exactly what they are, prospects. Every team has a lot of prospects. For every Derek Jeter, there are dozens of Clint Hurdles, and for every Clint Hurdle there are dozens and dozens of Josh Murrays.
Oh wait. You probably don’t know who Josh Murray is. Well he was the second Milwaukee Brewer drafted in the 2002 draft, out of high school, within 100 miles of where Prince Fielder was drafted out of, by the same scout. Murray along with Fielder were going to be two can’t miss, long time all-stars. Fielder at 1B and Murray at SS. He had all the tools and the Brewers just drooled over him.
By the way, he never played above A ball.
Louis J. | 06-Feb-08 at 10:10 am | Permalink
Brian- the Nats will have another roster move if they add Ray King to the 40 man roster. Any predictions? There are a number of options: Langerhans or a Rule 5 player or trade of Casto….
Terry- have patience and tolerance. This is a blog and emotions & opinions run wild.
Ryan Sullivan | 06-Feb-08 at 11:03 am | Permalink
Terry-
I think it goes without saying that most of the guys we discuss on this blog would be lucky to reach the majors, as the odds are against most of these guys. That being said, I was more commenting on the relative strengths and weaknesses of this organization and using those factors as to whom should have been exposed to waivers.
I think most everyone would agree that we have a weakness at pitcher, especially guys that can light up the radar gun, which is something that Gonzalez does well. And I assume that Rizzo spoke up for him, which is why he was grabbed off waivers in the first place. True, he is 25 but he is expected to have a career in a bullpen, if things work out.
With Whitesell, he is a 1B who does not have the gifts that you typically want in a top 1B prospect. And yes, his numbers were solid last year, but he is limited to one position, and does not have the power potential you desire from first base. Not to mention that we have Nick Johnson and Dmitri signed for two more seasons each ahead of Josh at the major league level. And at 1B in the minors, we have Marrero that obviously has a higher prospect pedigree, along with a few others (Rhinehart, LeFave, Whitney etc.) that have some promise as well.
At the end of the day, I think losing Gonzalez will probably not be looked upon as a crippling move, but I think Bowden’s obsession with OFs and an overstocking at 1B has caused us to lose a somewhat promising young arm, which is what we should be striving to collect and protect right now.
Terry Byrom | 06-Feb-08 at 12:31 pm | Permalink
Ryan,
Two years ago I would have agreed about Whitesell, but players evolve and change. I think Josh showed me last year he’s got a chance. He adapted and that’s most of the battle.
Guys, don’t get me wrong, I’m VERY excited about the prospects and the prospects of watching some pretty good talent come through Harrisburg this year.
As Louis asked of me, I ask of all of you, patience and tolerance with the system and realize that most are not going to turn out, but the few that do, oh my gosh.
I think all of the affiliates other than Columbus are going to be competitive this season. And Columbus might very well be competitive, it just doesn’t really “count”, that’s all.
senatorsfansunite | 06-Feb-08 at 3:17 pm | Permalink
I remember Josh Murray. He was considered a “can’t miss prospect”. I have a bunch of his cards. Was wondering what happened to him but never bothered to look it up.
I think a lot of people are to caught up in the “prospect” game, including myself sometimes. Prospecting is fun, gives us something to do when baseball isn’t being played and provides insight into players who we might see come to town at some point. Forecasting prospects are like forecasting the weather; and we all know how often weather forecasters are wrong. Sometimes things don’t work out as projected.
Everyone will continue to read the “prospect” lists, analyze the rankings, and debate who should and shouldn’t be on those lists. At the end of the day (like Terry said) “Baseball isn’t a science. It’s played on a field.” What happens between those white lines will determine if the player will remain a prospect or someone who “had potential” and didn’t make it.
Will
Dick | 06-Feb-08 at 3:54 pm | Permalink
Brian, so basically the die was cast by putting Detwiler on the 40-man roster in the first place, right? Something they didn’t have to do and have, so far, gotten only 1 big league inning in return. Removing him at this point from the 40-man roster would expose him to waivers, right?
Brian Oliver | 06-Feb-08 at 4:07 pm | Permalink
Dick - That’s correct about waivers being the only way to get Detwiler off of the 40-man. But I’m not that upset about the move itself. Detwiler did have four seasons before he had to be placed on the 40-man but in all honesty, if he is as good as advertised he should be on the 40-man far sooner than that. Even when you take options into account, I’d believe the Nationals are expecting Detwiler to be ready to stick in the majors long before he uses up all of his options. The only thing that adding him to the 40-man for September did was allow him to accrue a handful of days of service time. In the grand scheme of things that should not be an issue.
I guess what I’m trying to say is if the early addition to the 40-man or the options thing becomes an issue, then Detwiler did not develop as expected.
Pilchard | 06-Feb-08 at 4:50 pm | Permalink
Brian,
While agree with you generally that is unlikely that the Nats will use up their options with Detwiler, putting Detwiler was an unnessary move and it has already caused one pitcher to be claimed by the Padres. Also, service time could be the issue in the future. To me, putting Detwiler on the MLB roster was simply an unncessary PR move by Bowden (which is typical). At a minimum, it has now cost the Nats a pitcher with no gain for the franchise.
Brian Oliver | 06-Feb-08 at 5:44 pm | Permalink
I honestly doubt 30 days of service time is going to play a huge role in the long term. Assuming he makes the team out of spring training (a long shot at this point), he won’t be arbitration eligible until after the 2010 season. If he’s down for roughly three months this season, that can be pushed off until 2011. I wouldn’t concern myself too much with it.
As for losing Enrique Gonzalez, put me down as not being too upset about it. He might have been a worthwhile spot starter or mop-up guy but he could just be another fungible guy.
Rather than all of this focus on Detwiler or Whitesell, the guy that should have been the move was Ryan Langerhans.
EdDC | 06-Feb-08 at 6:19 pm | Permalink
Why the interest in Katsuhiko Maekawa? Does anyone know anything about him? What pitches does this guy have? Does he still have potential at age 29?
If you look at his record, the reliever has a lifetime record of 19-36 with an era of 5.09 and a WHIP of 1.60. His last year was 2006 when he was 1-7 and at least improved his era to 4.37 but his WHIP was 1.63.
http://thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Katsuhiko-Maekawa.shtml
Sure it is good to break into the Japan league, but what do the Nats’ Winter League scouts see in this guy? I guess the answer is that he is just a small low-cost gamble.
Gary | 08-Feb-08 at 8:10 pm | Permalink
Terry…as far as Marrero goes, I saw him @ Potomac last summer. Harrisburg could be his next stop; after that, who knows??
I’m just hoping I can get back to Potomac this year (and take in the new stadium downtown as well). My brother and me have talked about Harrisburg and/or Hagerstown at some point…
As far as the Japanese pitcher (I’m not gonna even TRY his name) goes, that’s why we have spring training.