PLAYER REVIEW: JACKSON RUTLEDGE
Age on Opening Day 2024: 24
How acquired: First-round pick, 2019 Draft
MLB service time: 19 days
2023 salary: $720,000
PLAYER REVIEW: JAKE IRVIN
Age on Opening Day 2024: 27
How acquired: Fourth-round pick, 2018 Draft
MLB service time: 152 days
2023 salary: $720,000
PLAYER REVIEW: TREVOR WILLIAMS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 31
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2022
MLB service time: 7 years, 27 days
2023 salary: $6 million
PLAYER REVIEW: PATRICK CORBIN
Age on Opening Day 2024: 34
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018
MLB service time: 11 years, 105 days
2023 salary: $24 million
PLAYER REVIEW: MACKENZIE GORE
Age on Opening Day 2024: 25
How acquired: Traded with CJ Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit from Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022
MLB service time: 2 years
2023 salary: $723,300
PLAYER REVIEW: JOSIAH GRAY
Age on Opening Day 2024: 26
How acquired: Traded with Keibert Ruiz, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo from Dodgers for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021
MLB service time: 2 years, 75 days
2023 salary: $730,000
PLAYER REVIEW: VICTOR ROBLES
Age on Opening Day 2024: 26
How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2013
MLB service time: 5 years, 33 days
2023 salary: $2.325 million
PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 27
How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021
MLB service time: 2 years, 50 days
2023 salary: $728,800
PLAYER REVIEW: JAKE ALU
Age on Opening Day 2024: 26
How acquired: 24th-round pick, 2019 Draft
MLB service time: 73 days
2023 salary: $720,000
PLAYER REVIEW: JACOB YOUNG
Age on Opening Day 2024: 24
How acquired: Seventh-round pick, 2021 Draft
MLB service time: 37 days
2023 salary: $720,000
The Nationals are cutting ties with infielder Michael Chavis, outfielder Blake Rutherford and reliever Hobie Harris, clearing necessary space on their 40-man roster as they prepare to enter the offseason.
Chavis, Rutherford and Harris cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Both Chavis and Rutherford, who ended the season on the active big league roster, had the right to declare free agency and chose to do so, leaving the organization. Harris, who made the Opening Day bullpen but spent most of the season with Rochester, will be a minor league free agent at the conclusion of the World Series.
Those three moves, plus comparable moves with reliever Victor Arano and outfielder Travis Blankenhorn earlier this month, cleared a total of five spots on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, which ultimately will be needed for players who ended the season on the 60-day injured list.
The Nats had six such players on the 60-day IL at season’s end: catcher Riley Adams, outfielders Stone Garrett and Victor Robles, and right-handers Cade Cavalli, Carl Edwards Jr. and Stephen Strasburg. Edwards becomes eligible for free agency after the World Series and is unlikely to return.
Strasburg has already come to the conclusion he’ll need to retire after a failed attempt to return from thoracic outlet surgery, but until he and the organization come to an agreement on how to handle the $105 million he’s still owed through 2026, he will need to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.
Lane Thomas has been recognized for his stellar defensive season with his first career Gold Glove Award nomination.
Thomas today was named by Rawlings Sports one of three finalists for the award among National League right fielders, along with the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr.
Winners at all positions will be announced Nov. 5 on ESPN.
It’s the first time Thomas has finished in the top three at his position in voting conducted by major league managers and coaches near the end of the regular season. The ultimate winner will be determined both by those votes and a sabermetic component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research, which accounts for 25 percent of the final tally.
Thomas enjoyed a breakthrough season for the Nationals not only at the plate (where he hit 28 homers and stole 20 bases) but also in the field. He was second among all NL outfielders with 18 assists, trailing only the Rockies’ Nolan Jones (who played all three outfield positions, plus first and third bases) by one.
PLAYER REVIEW: STONE GARRETT
Age on Opening Day 2024: 28
How acquired: Signed as free agent, November 2022
MLB service time: 1 year, 50 days
2023 salary: $720,000
PLAYER REVIEW: ALEX CALL
Age on Opening Day 2024: 29
How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Guardians, August 2022
MLB service time: 1 year, 66 days
2023 salary: $721,800
PLAYER REVIEW: LANE THOMAS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 28
How acquired: Traded from Cardinals for Jon Lester, July 2021
MLB service time: 4 years, 14 days
2023 salary: $2.2 million
PLAYER REVIEW: ILDEMARO VARGAS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 32
How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, May 2022
MLB service time: 4 years, 7 days
2023 salary: $975,000
The Nationals are adding another experienced name to a revamped scouting department, hiring Brad Ciolek away from the Orioles to serve as senior director of amateur scouting, a source familiar with the move confirmed.
Ciolek spent 12 of the last 13 seasons with the Orioles in a variety of roles, most recently as director of draft operations. Owner of a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in computer information systems, and having spent a year working as an analyst for Bloomberg Sports, he brings an analytical background to a Nats scouting department that appears to be making an effort to bolster that area.
In D.C., Ciolek will hold a title not previously held by anyone in the front office. He’ll work for recently hired vice president of amateur scouting Danny Haas, who replaces longtime head of scouting Kris Kline, who is moving into a new role as a special assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo.
Haas, who came from the Diamondbacks, previously worked for the Orioles with Ciolek, so the two are being reunited in Washington, tasked with overhauling an amateur scouting department that has produced few notable big league players in recent years.
Ciolek first joined the Orioles in 2011 as a player development intern at their spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla. He left after one year to work for Bloomberg Sports but returned to Baltimore in 2013 as scouting administrator, advancing to assistant director of scouting, supervisor of domestic scouting operations and ultimately director of draft operations the last two seasons.
PLAYER REVIEW: CARTER KIEBOOM
Age on Opening Day 2024: 26
How acquired: First-round pick, 2016 draft
MLB service time: 2 years, 167 days
2023 salary: $733,400
PLAYER REVIEW: CJ ABRAMS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 23
How acquired: Traded with MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit from Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022
MLB service time: 1 year, 130 days
2023 salary: $724,200
PLAYER REVIEW: LUIS GARCÍA
Age on Opening Day 2024: 23
How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2016
MLB service time: 2 years, 142 days
2023 salary: $739,000
