Notes and quotes from Wednesday at the Winter Meetings…
RULE 5 DRAFT:
With the 5th overall pick in the 2024-25 Rule 5 Draft, Washington’s Nationals selected right-handed reliever Evan Reifert, 25, a 2018 30th Round pick by the Rangers, who did not sign with Texas, who pitched in the Milwaukee Brewers’ (2021) and the Tampa Bay Rays’ systems (‘22-’24) before he was selected by the Nats on Wednesday afternoon.
Reifert was ranked 28th in the Rays’ Top 30 by MLB Pipeline, with their scouts noting how he impressed in the Arizona Fall League back in 2022 after taking what they describe as, “… an unusual path to prospect status.”:
“[Reifert] went to the Arizona Fall League and blew everyone away with his wipeout slider, striking out 25 of the 40 batters he faced with only four walks and one hit allowed in 11 2/3 innings over eight scoreless appearances.”
After a shoulder injury limited Reifert in 2023, the righty put up a 1.96 ERA, a 2.34 FIP, 3.48 BB/9, and 14.15 K/9 in 35 games and 41 1⁄3 IP at Double-A in the Rays’ system last season.
Nationals select right-handed pitcher Evan Reifert in 2024 Rule 5 Drafthttps://t.co/A4mD0UwqKz
— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) December 11, 2024
Rule 5 Draft picks, of course, must remain on their selecting club’s major league roster for the entire season, and can’t be sent to the minors, “… without first clearing waivers … then getting offered back to his original organization for half his draft price ($100,000).”
POST-FINNEGAN BULLPEN:
Kyle Finnegan was one of the Nationals’ two All-Stars in 2024, posting a 2.45 ERA, a 3.99 FIP, 13 walks, 42 strikeouts, and .191/.255/.340 line against in 41 games and 40 1⁄3 innings pitched in the first half of the season, but in the second half the closer in D.C. struggled, with a 5.79 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 11 walks, 18 strikeouts, and a .337/.404/.490 line against in 24 games and 23 1⁄3 IP after the All-Star game.
Washington’s front office and the 33-year-old reliever reportedly talked this winter about a contract for 2025, but eventually the club decided to non-tender Finnegan, five seasons and 88 saves later, after they signed the right-hander to a big league deal following seven seasons with Oakland’s A’s in which he’d never made it to the big leagues.
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Finnegan and the Nationals agreed on a 1-year/$5.1M deal for 2024, and he was projected (by MLBTraderumors.com) to be due to earn $8.6M for ‘25.
Nats’ GM and President of Baseball Ops Mike Rizzo told reporters this week at the ‘24 Winter Meetings, as quoted by WaPost writer Andrew Golden, the decision to non-tender Finnegan was a matter of how best to allocate available resources:
“The process with [Finnegan], and with all tenders, is the best form of how do you use your resources. We liked the young arms in the bullpen, not only at the big league level, but the minor league level. And we thought that with the money we didn’t spend on tendering [Finnegan], that we could use it to better ourselves and our priorities.”
So where does the non-tender of their closer leave the Nationals this winter, as they look to build up their bullpen for the 2025 campaign?
“Well, losing Finnegan was tough,” skipper Davey Martinez said earlier this week, when he spoke at the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX.
“I put [Jose A.] Ferrer in some situations last year to close games,” the manager said, listing some in-house options for a late-innings role.
“[Ferrer] did really well. I know he’s young. We have Ferrer, we have [Robert] Garcia, we have [Derek] Law who pitched really well for us.”
They’re also at the Winter Meetings trying to see what other options are out there as they try to add relievers to the mix in D.C.
“We’re here,” Martinez said. “We’re looking. We’re searching. I know we’d like to add a couple more bullpen arms. We’ll see what comes up.”